大象传媒

This is simply the best commentary on the England game I've read - insightful, critical, constructive, and amusing - thanks for this Paul!

Paul Mason = voice of a nation. Absolutely spot on from first to last. Get on the next plane to Gelsenkirchen!

Did you apply for the England job?

Oh my God..so there ARE some people that saw the game exactly as I did! Thank you, not just for making all the points about the team that I would myself, but for the best piece of writing I've read in months.

Paul, you forgot a third possibility.. that is that this is all within the plan..to do just enough against the smaller teams, also not giving anything away tactically..then really pick it up for the bigger games. I know this sounds unlikely but i'm holding on to this hope.. cause unfortunately you are not really flying out to Gelsennirchen and , with only the other two possibilites england's world cup stops here.

One other thing... passion.. you are spot on about Rooney and i'm so surprised how little passion we are showing compared to most other teams in the tournament. Beckham, used to be like Rooney, Gerrard is like Rooney for Liverpool but not England. Someone needs to seriously stand up and be counted out there against Portugal.

Should Sven's men manage to beat Portugal on Saturday will you conveniently forget this posting?

This is really good stuff. Now the 大象传媒 should put it somewhere much more prominent so that someone in charge of the team might actually take the advice. Please, its our last hope!

England must be more aggressive, they must attack, no more sideway passes , onwards and forward. When England plays Portugal they must be play with spirit and attack hard , do not play defensive play offensive and charge forward, 90 minutes of hard work.

Best wishes for England , from Jerry in Ontario, Canada

Due to the fact we are scared of failure, we will hopefully grab a lead, at some stage of the game, and shut up shop, make 3 defensive substitutions and hope Portugal will give up. Portugal will not give up. As we have seen in the past, when this happens the losing team always hit back very late on, get an equaliser and then go on to win the game. We MUST get forward as much as possible. We MUST stop passing the ball from side to side and into the corners. We MUST score more than one goal. We do have the players to do it. Sven should now take the reigns off and unleash the players to play how they play best. Good Luck to them.

Nice post ;)

oh btw IF we do go 1-0 up in the first 30 Minutes DO NOT sub in an extra defender and DO NOT try to hold on for the remaining 60 Minutes, carry on attacking and for once kill of the opposition like we know you can!

COME ON ENGLAND!

4-5-1 worked!? I dont think Rooney on his own up front worked at all. He'd play alot better if he could come in from a little deeper.

Why not have Crouch up there with him? He's a tower to aim at in the box and from what I've seen Rooney and Crouch would be capable of setting each other up.

I agree with the Lennon thing. Generally if the game isnt going too well for England we should look for positive attacking substitutions well before the last 5 mins of the game!

Sorry chaps, but it is the former and not the latter.

2 words only; SPOT ON!

Literary genius. A marvellous piece of writing. Im a writer myself, and i would be rather proud of that. Top notch!

Well off the mark, what England need to do on Sunday is play a new formation with Crouch & Walcott up alongside Rooney, play 3-4-3. Forget full backs, they will not be needed against Portugal. I would drop Gerrard & Lampard and play with Carragher & Dowling in midfield. I would also explain to "the lads" that the sooner the tournaments finished the sooner they will be back to their cosited lives and the longer the holiday they will get.

Oh by the way did I mention I was Scottish.....just kiddin with all of the above, I really do not care who wins, so long as football does in the end.

Best of luck for Saturday

Why England team coach Mr.Errickson is not motivating the players while the game is on? he is just an idle on the bench and showing his frustration,this is not the way to deal with his palyers,he should learn from Scolari

Hi,Actually everything placed on here is NEGATIVE and obviously you are a reporter since you are a failed manager.Whilst you comments are not without foundation you do not get the best out of people by calling them rubbish. Prehaps your editor should adopt the same ideas with you, look at all managers football, cricket industrial companies, support the people who work for you.Your comments are as per most of the press/TV there for sensation, reaction finding fault ALL the time is easy.Ask the other non participating 24 managers where they would rather be,at home or still playing.?????????

Paul

This is a stunning collection of incontrovertible truths and insightful comment.

Why the hell aren't you a football punter for the world cup period, I can barely stand one more piece of waffle from the current batch of pundits.

The current pundits seem bereft of intelligent comment except for Alan Hansen, and occasionally Shearer. The limit of their insight is that England need a "performance" and that winning is nothing more than feeling confident and having "tempo". I despair.

What a fantastic article. Well written and straight talking. It would be great if the team saw this.
Come on England !!!

4 games, 3 wins and a draw, 6 goals for, 2 against. Strategy? Lets attack the player responsible for 3 of our goals.

Lay of Beckham!!

Very good. Spot on about the passion and i hope Sven does realise that this is the biggest competition in the world, that he may never get another chance of winning it and that with the players we have, it would be a cop-out were we not to reach at least the semi-finals in one of the competitions he has managed us for.

i wish for all the english supporters that this could happen. its a pitty to see their team underperforming in a rather horrible way, playing nearly on the same level as ecuador does,reminds me of our squads showings during the 90s, with some english-style-hoofing-the-ball-forward added, sge should have left ages ago, just imagine some fella called klinsmann would have been appooointed 2 years ago by the fa ( yeah, uuhh, another foreign manger, german, a diver) a more than controversial dicision that would have been, but, how do u think, would england play now??? he made a decent team out of a more or less avarage bunch of players- to be honest, the whole world knows our squad is not packed with worldclass players, not opening the decision if english players are overrated, they, at least, got the same level as our squad- how could the english team play now? what would have happened when they wouldve shown theyre not overrated but truly world class? hope smoething happens, looks like fa has as sge successor appointed someone who wont be able to do the unpopular changes, u need to bring in someone young , hungry, whos up to date, with enough character to kick out old guns and give new ones confidence, maybe shaerer would do, or sheringham, or paul mason, as a solution to change ur fate during this tournament. good luck , may we meet in the final ( hope sge then forgot to practice penalties ;-) )

Paul,

Excellent advice. If only we actually had a manager who was interested in 'England' and not himself, together with copious amounts of cash and women. Unfortunately, we are stuck with Eriksson to oversee at least one more performance to embarrass the nation.

Those England 2006 World Cup Review DVDs are going to sell like hot cakes.

Paul,

Great comment !! Can't agree with you more . One point that I want to add, that is England should play in a way that they played in the 1st half against Paraguay ( ie. fast passing, hard pressing the opposition in front,middle and back portion of the field ), just like a heated premiership game -- This is the edge of the English game vs. others ( no other league play in a more physical and fast pace than the premierleague. You have to play to your full potential and should not allow others to dictate the way you play !! The slow passing style that England's been playing so far is more suited to the South Americans and the Portugees. So,on coming Saturday, England should think hard how they want to play !!

How can an idiot like Sven get a ridiculously paid job in football and you don't? This analysis is spot on and there is nothing that isnt true. Lets hope that the england team see and take note of this!!

Ha ha ha! i think you'd do a better job than sven. I like the idea of getting rid of the WAGS the players are obviously not fired up because they've been scoring where it doesnt count and probably wasting their energy. I know freddy ljungberg believes in this philosophy as he never likes to have sex the night before a game, having said that based on his performances in this WC maybe its not a good idea.

To the person who asked will I withdraw it if we win... it depends. If its 1-0 from a Beckham free kick after some wretch dives 5 yards outside the box, followed by an hour of catennaccio...no. But (apart from fantasising about Wazza and co sticking this up on their noticeboards) there is a chance that the England players will just ignore Sven: it is easy to do with that kind of manager (as we all know from work). Just think back to the joy and passion with which the England of Platt, Lineker, Gascoine played. I would rather play like that and lose than win by accident.

In addition, (re comments above) I would say that Sir Clive's winning England Rugby Union team did not play "boring" rugby: they did exploit their power but believe me - his coaching methods are revolutionary compared to almost anything in English football (Klinsmann seems to be doing something similar). When Woodward actually gets control of a football team, and gets a deeper understanding of the game, I think he will revolutionise the English game.

And don't be too hard on my 大象传媒 colleagues suffering out there in the heat of the Hotel Adlon. If they started doing Mihir Bose/ Henry Winter type stuff 5 mins after the action most people would just switch off - the TV exec's nightmare! On the other hand there is clearly a market for this level of analysis and I have sent an email to the 大象传媒 sport bosses alerting them to this discussion thread.

Paul; you are pretty much spot on with your comments apart from the one about Beckham. Our David always gives everything he's got (even when being sick!!)Without him we would not have won our group - remember England's first three goals?However the rest of your analysis is very good and more astute than Sven's at the moment.
IS OUR SWEDE TURNING INTO A TURNIP?

I'd like to emphasize/expand on point 6.

Couldn't agree more. I've been saying this for ages. Our defence spend far too much time playing amongst themselves. If they could produce play like this linking up with the midfield every time we'd be laughing.

I still think we're too negative. We've got the attacking players to terrify the oposition.

On Saturday we need to go at Portugal hammer and tongs. We need to get forward, stay forward and batter them for at least the first 30 mins. Try and kill the game off. We've got the ability, we just need as you say, that desire of Wayne Rooney in every single player in that squad and that pot is coming home on 9th July

Come on England!!!

Even if this did make it to the England camp (where players are now heavily on the defensive), I fear it would fall on deaf ears. We all know what they're capable of; personally, I'm still waiting for England to deliver on Beckham's earlier promise that they would 'excite' us in the latter stages of the tournament. And putting us through that torturous, emotional wringer each time they play does not count in my book!

Absolutely spot on. As a Welshman supporting England (Wales haven't qualified since 1958 so I always adopt one of the home countries)I, like many other supporters, have been frustrated by the lack of passion shown by the English players. On paper the team is outstanding and should be a match for anyone, including Brazil, Argentina and the hosts Germany. Sven seems like a nice chap but he's no motivator and I am afraid that his soon to be replacement is of the same ilk and England will just keep stumbling along for the forseeable future. England have the talent but lack passion and a good motivating manager. Scolari was the man for you.

BECKHAM IS DOING THE BEST STOP CRITISISING HIM?

As per, as per, as per typical negative English attitude. Yeah so what if we have played crap and Beckham hasn't set the world on fire. We are in the last eight of the world cup! So when exactly do you mouthy so called fans start getting behind your team rather than at them. I hope England win the cup however they play so you can come back and eat your words. You call yourselves England fans you're an embaressment. Get a grip and get behind them. I'm sure they respond better to cheers than jeers.

wat a load of bull. Apart from point number 5 it was a load of rubbish. Do you actually know anything about football, everyone is saying drop Becks but if it was not for him we would hae probably not got through have you forgot he scored the first goal against Paraguay, set up the first against T&T and then scored against Ecuador. For god sake the guy was actually sick and still did not come off, Fair enough he has made a couple of mistakes but so has every other country. And the only goals we have let in was in a game that did not matter. Now I beg all England Fans and Newspapers get behind your the boys and maybe they might get the belief to win the thing. COME ON ENGLAND!!!!

Great comments Paul. Can imagine this circling round the baden-baden camp, causing murmurings and rumblings amongst the players. Maybe, just maybe, we'll see a little coup on Saturday. (Would love to see Svens face when his team completely disobey his weak, defensive, and negative orders and play with some spirit). Can you imagine the interview after the game:

G. Crooks:- Well Sven, a brilliant display, are you pleased with the way the team performed today?

S. G. E:- Well, er, no, not really. They, er, didn't do as they, er, were told. I, er, would much prefer to win 1-0 than concede, er, 2 goals.

G. Crooks:- Yes, but Sven, they scored 4!!!!!!

This fraff is exactly what has been haunting our game since 1990, and partially the reason why we are going into a world cup with our manager already resigned.
Negative, unfounded and without depth. Thats how I would describe your analysis. There are no justifications for your judgements but rather you gloss over what YOU would do in Erikkson's place. Sven has taken our team to the QF of the world cup and we are still treating him and the team like they didnt even qualify. If we love 442 so much why do we lambast sven when he plays it? If 451 doesnt work then why do so many pundits implore him to play it when we play 442? If you believe Rooney needs a partner (which I don't) then who do you drop in midfield? Do you negate Steven Gerrard just to get Crouch on the pitch? What has "golden boy" Frank Lampard done this world cup, yet has had a fraction of the criticism that the captain has received? I believe that what you say about passion Paul is so offensive to the players that you shouldnt be in a position to comment if you honestly believe that. David Beckham's persistence in the blazing heat against is testament to him and this generation of players. Ashley Cole's last gasp block also. But because not all the players have the Rooney glare they are not passionate? Utter crap.
Argentina supposedly scored the best world cup goal ever. Passing the ball 24 times. That move consisted of forward, backward and lateral passes. But England shouldnt do this apparently!!! Its like our media and our public rant and complain and make life generally hard for the team and the manager, but tactically have no better suggestions and lack tactical knowledge. For example, England have played one team so far in this tournament who have allowed them to play an open game (ie not 9 men behind the ball) and that was Sweden. Yet not many pundits would admit to it.
I would of laughed my head of if under fire, Sven brought Defoe and Bent, only to see them flop under the pressure of not being quite up to the level (Borgetti, Kezman, Ibrahimovic) only to get blasted for doing what the media TOLD him to do.
We might actually win this world cup, or at least get to the final. Support the team and this might happen. And I mean SUPPORT the TEAM.

If that is the issue. You get 100% for your comments, but credit should go to Sven for coming out with positive result. If you are a historian, you might say is "Ok, Beckham was not good, deserved to be subtituted though we won (he scored)." when you are results oriented, you will say, "Ok guys, put more effort, and I am happy we have won." The fact will remain that England have won, supporters are happy, YAAHH Good results afterall thats what we want, POSITIVE RESULT. I am sorry to say this, you may go to Germany but be a responsible ENGLAND SUPPORTER, the lads needs your support and choose the sit so near they can hear you cheering.

Spot on.... Somebody, somehow get Sven to read this...

ok here's the deal - sven's the manager til august like it or not, 2 posibilities...

1 - England play glorious football just as in italia90 or euro96 and lose!!!

or

2 - England do what needs to be done to get the right result and win... just like italy 82 or germany (every single time they ever won wc) or even brazil (back in 94... yep boring but successful)

It's been 40 years guys... personally gimme the cup we can work on the beautiful game afterwards.

I just wish Sven could see this! It's amazing how little that man knows about football.

I just hope Steve Maclaren has some balls and actually picks the best TEAM when he's in charge rather than the 11 most expensive (and not necessarily the best) players.

Muppets.

As a neutral who loves to see the best players play the best football, I agree with all of the above. Most insightful. However I'll give you one other difference between this team and the 1966 England winning team. The 2006 team are multi-millionaires used to the good life. No big deal if they don't win. The 1966 team earned a "normal" salary with glory and pride as their motivation in the England shirt. It's the reason 2nd and 3rd Division players from Northern Ireland mustered a victory against England. HUNGER. Rooney has it as he is young, the rest have lost it. It's why England need "old school" managers, not Lazio coaches as their leaders.

Spot On ... this article is one of the best I have read... lets hope that the team is able to conjure up the courage and display the passion that rooney and beckham wear on their sleeves! All the Best to England!!!

Well said ! We are playing to accomodate our least effective player - Beckham - who has been woeful except for the goal but on-one else gets a chance at dead ball for us. First since Azerbywhotsit .. a real football superpower .. Wake up and smell the coffee. Play Rooney in the right place give the fast boys a go Lennon/Walcott, Gerrard for captain. If Beckham was a proper captain he would have stood down for the good of the team as he wasn't playing well enough to be in on merit. Deadball to Rooney or Gerrard - these boys can play and are not past it. Beckham has been generally poor for the last two years or so. Sven has not got the B#### to front him up. Sir Alf would not have stood for it .... he knew about picking the best team.

lol

Think its about time we all got behind the team and the manager! Stop criticising a team that has managed to get to the quarter finals without breaking into a sweat - we know we have that extra gear and im sure we will use it! the lads have done the job they set out to do so far so start supporting them and maybe it will give them the boost they need to go on and lift the cup!

This is the best blog of the World Cup so far....by a country mile!

TO the scottish bloke who wrote in: we knew you were scottish as you spelt cossetted as 'cosited', so you really didnt hae to tell us.

This world cup is so frustrating for England fans. Everyone knows that what you say is true, except the people that count.

I'm also sick of the back-patting going on between the England players. I know they need to give each other support but they never have a single piece of constructive critisism. Notice that Rooney has not been interviewed - I'm sure he would rant like every other england fan that "Sven is a muppet" and "Lampard is over-rated"

Paul, loved the original post but your follow up....mmmmmm.....'I would rather play like that and lose than win by accident'......I truly do not believe that the likes of Sir Clive (who I agree would have been an invaluable asset to the current set-up, or lack of it) would share that sentiment - this is professional sport, and as such with the weight of a country's expectations on their shoulders, winning is everything......sorry to be so unromantic, but it sounds like a typical British sentiment, i.e. we love a great loser....

I hope that you sent this to Sven
and Mclaren.

An excellent piece of analysis. Are the FA reading this. Completely agree with sending the WAGS home. They get as much coverage as the players.

Can someone also tells me what Alan (state the obvious) Shearer brings to punditry.

Like every other armchair manager you haven't got a clue. When you have the mangerial experience and success of Eriksson then maybe i'll pay attention. To call the highly professional performance against ecuador 'shambolic' is ridiculous.
One thing people forget about Eriksson is that when he took other he had the prescence of mind to bring young players into the side and get rid of hasbeens like Batty,Wise Ince et al. The media complain when he brings in young players (e.g. Rooney, Lennon Walcott) but then insist on thier immmediate inclusion. The media say Sven is inflexible tactically yet then he mixes it up he is 'making it up as he goes along'. My advice to all the moaners out there is to enjoy our progress and stop whinging. If and when we get knocked out, the post mortem can begin....

Hi,

Like every supporter, we'd love to see England play better and to win the WC.

And quick point about the 1990 campaign. I seem to remember us playing shite until the Camersoon game. We scraped through the group thanks to a late Mark Wright header against Egypt, neeed extra time to see off Belgium... hardly fabulous footy!

Let's hope the Portugal game brings the team out, just like the Cameroon game did...but this time around, a woeful semi final win and a boringly victorious 1-0 final will suffice.

James

Like every other armchair manager you haven't got a clue. When you have the mangerial experience and success of Eriksson then maybe I'll pay attention. To call the highly professional performance against ecuador 'shambolic' is ridiculous.
One thing people forget about Eriksson is that when he took other he had the prescence of mind to bring young players into the side and get rid of has beens like Batty,Wise Ince et al. The media complain when he brings in young players 'too soon for them, no experience at this level'. (e.g. Rooney, Lennon Walcott) but then insist on thier immmediate inclusion in the starting line up! The media say Sven is inflexible tactically yet when he mixes it up he is 'making it up as he goes along'. My advice to all the moaners out there is to enjoy our progress and stop whinging. If and when we get knocked out, the post mortem can begin....

Paul Mason is not qualified to talk about football!!!

I'm surprised how many people used the phrase 'spot-on' since I don't think it is spot-on in the least. I agree almost entirely with Darryl (post 40). I'm so incredulous at the criticism of the England team at this stage that I feel like starting an anti-press campaign. It seems that whatever the England team do it is described as 'shocking'. My summary of key points affecting the Ecuador game would be:

1. Very hot - and I think the pace and control of the game was handled extremely well by England considering this.
2. New formation - worked well. There was a lot more positive forward incisive passing - particularly from Carrick. You can't ALWAYS pass the ball forward, as the buy who wrote this article seems to suggest.
3. Clear improvement. Much better overall performance and shape to the team.

As Darryl said, the contradictions are unbelievable. We get criticised for being one-dimensional 4-4-2, and then criticised for switching to a 4-5-1. Someone pointed out that Scolari is apt to switch formation 5 times in a match! They are pro footballers, they should be able to switch systems!

I think the worst thing I heard was on Radio 5 live (which has gone down in my estimation). Rooney was being interviewed (in a negative way of course, having helped England to just reach the QF). he used one phrase 'you people seem to say we are'nt playing well...' Later on in the studio, some turnip had the absolute cheek to be almost HURT and shocked by Rooney's comments - and what they suggested about the 'attitude' of the England players. My GOD - can you believe it! Imagine what it would be like to put everything into a game, and then know you are just going to be lambasted for being awful 'shocking' no hopers.

And finally - terry butcher - you're a jerk.

Why cant we have someone like Klinsman as manager? After all he made such an impact on the English game. What has Sven Goran REALLY ever done? The way Klinsman jumps up and down and goes mental when the GERMANS score is what I wanna see from an England manager. Not SGE sitting there trying to look cool like a poor mans Van Basten, with McLaren sitting there with his pen and paper. Klinsman is all about passion and patriotism. He was also a superb player. No wonder the German lads respect the man & are punching above their weight for him. Would our lads do that for SGE? No. McLaren? No. Pearcy? Too right, they would John!

Firstly, this is fantastic! Excuse my ignorance, but is there any way we can get someone senior in the England team or management to actually read this? I often think that footballers should spend an afternoon in the pub to actually watch a match, just so they can see what the real fans go through. Reading this post will let them knwo what we think!
Do any footballers actaully read this site?

Does anyone have Sven's email address?
It might make him think, but then again, would it need to be sent to everyone on the FA commitee as well?

Excellent comments, it seems to me that some of our players think they are world class but dont have to show it.
Its now time to stand up and be counted with a world class performance against a weekened Portugal, followed by victory against Brazil. Then i will believe some of our players are world class.

Excellent comments, it seems to me that some of our players think they are world class but dont have to show it.
Its now time to stand up and be counted with a world class performance against a weekened Portugal, followed by victory against Brazil. Then i will believe some of our players are world class.

If someone has the vision that you have,that shows the tru passion to a game, that when we play the simple way, and attack at speed. We are up there with the best. Please please pass on these comments of yours to the England Team. Even if you have to put a poster on every players door. Very well done, keep up the good comments.

Sven should be sent back to Italy where he can play chess.England should stick to playing real football.

This is a profound blog and should be sent to all the England Team and its support staff. Why can't it be true. The only worrying thing after the World Cup is we have a new manager, earning a b****y fortune, who is part of the current England set-up too!

As with most of the british press it seems like all you can do is moan, moan and moan some more. england won their group, beat ecuador (something brazil and argentina couldnt do at least once in qualifying), joe cole is one of the players of the tournament, beckham has won us three games, even if he hasnt done much else, which by the way is rubbish anyway because he has off the ball. all those armchair fans who dont play the game to any standard should stop moaning its very hard to break down teams who stick eleven men behind the ball. england, had they taken all their chances, could have scored four on sunday, so arguabley the only problem is finishing. quite frankly people should get behind the team and stop whinging, terry butchers a disgrace and so are you, sorry but your comments do nothing to help. england will come good, and i couldnt care less if they play slightly boring football if they win the world cup. if your a real fan you'd pick out the positives, such as rooney, ashley cole, joe cole, the center defence, the fact we won our group, knocked out ecuador etc etc, i hope you feel ashamed

i would drop beckham for lennon. drop lampard, and put rooney in his position. put crouch up front.

hargreaves or carrick for CM not really pushed I guess carrick to start and bring on hargreaves later for some steel.

alternatively, if england are afraid to drop beckham could lennon be played at right back?

We need to get a petition together to either get this man to the England training sessions, or to at least get this 10 point plan read out to the England team!!!

The players are lacking passion, direction and a grip on reality!!!

Paul this is simply another attempt to get the country against England. However one way it could help is by putting pressure on the team to perform. WAKE UP WE ARE IN THE LAST 8 OF THE WORLD CUP, WITHOUT EVEN PLAYING HALF OUR GAME WE ARE CAPABLE OF!

The best is yet to come...no deco = no inspiration....Ghana to win on pens today and on pens against Spain in quarters...England v Ghana Semi and we will play Argentina in the Final.

COME ON ENGLAND

Good article with some very insightful comments and observations, one BIG problem though looking to the post Sven era....how is Steve Maclaren going to be any different to Sven, just look around at the other managers/coaches at the finals and the vast majority of them show at least SOME passion, not Steve (or Sven)he seems to just like jotting things down on his little pad

I also wonder whether Maclaren will have the guts to make the big and hard decisions when they are needed, he should have talked Sven in to taking Beckham off after he was being sick, but he seems like a Phil Neal yes man to Sven's Graham Taylor and doesn't seem to want to really influence anyone yet.

But on a positive note I (an I'm sure the rest of the country)would be delerious if we play as badly as we did against Ecuador and win the next 3 games, highly unlikely to happen though is it!

O.K. Paul, so you would do it differently. However, you don't have Sven's credentials and potentially, live in a dream world not that far removed from the global branding agency to which you refer. Sven is reality and from where I'm sitting (in front of my TV for nearly every match) he's a winner.

The team have to run around a very large park for 90 minutes and reputedly (on average) cover 10-12 miles in that time (it is claimed 2 of them flat out). Passion does not win World Cups. Skill and controlled aggression may do and I supect some of Sven's ex-girlfriends could explain this to anthony. Beckham once had passion and also red cards.

I want to believe our team is the best; not easy when I watch Argentina play but where would be the thrill if every match was a foregone conclusion?

I'll provide the passion. Let my Gladiators (and their manager) provide the skill, stamina and heart to do their best on my behalf and so far they have not let me down.

Come on England.

I hope you publish this. After the Portugal - Holland game, the only ones left smiling were England. My conspiracy theory is that the ref was on the FA payroll to get rid as many players as possible to facilitate England, be it Portuguese or Dutch.
Remember World Cup 1986, Euro 2000 and Euro 2004 v Portugal? - England do not thave the bottle when it comes to big games. Extremely lucky against Trininad and Tobago, even luckier against Sweden not to mention Ecuador. Playing like this there is no chance of progressing. Dream on!!

1) Unleash Gerrard, the one truly world class player the English team has.

2) Play the ball along the ground, the way football is meant to play.

3) CELEBRATE.

Nice piece of writing - but I dont agree with all of the slating that the England team is getting.
For once we are playing badly and still prgressing in a major tournament. Remember Italia 90, euro 96, World Cup 2002??? We played really well in those games and still went out. If we can scrape through every much and win the world cup then so be it.
Sven 'haters' should just be quiet - he will be gone in two weeks anyway - get off his back and try and find some ounce of support for him. He may not look passionate - but beneath his body language he must surely want to win the World Cup more than anyone - if he didnt he would have left a long while back.
I really believe that we could cause a huge surprise this year - if only the rest of country had some sort of belief!

Self respect and honour are important. I would be ashamed to win the world cup playing the football we do even though the history books will forget....

There is no honour winning the way Greece did in the European Championships. It would true to say that noermally the best team wins the WC..if england do they would have broken that trend...come on ARGENTINA!

I support the team and want to be positive.

It is worth pointing out that we don't appear to have played anybody who is any good, and my worry is that if we had, we'd be out of the tournament by now. I mean no disrespect to the other teams, but I can think of at least three groups we wouldn't have got out of, and most of the teams in the last 16 would have beaten us based upon current form.

Maybe things will get stepped up a little as the opposition in front of us improves, I hope so, because it will have to.

I think our main problems have been
a) an inability to convert decent chances
b) a paucity of decent chances in the first place
c) an inability to hold onto the ball for any period of time.

Viz a) - not much we can do about that now, striking options are limited. I think Sven is correct is sticking with Rooney on his own and keeping Crouch on the bench. I think we'll see Crouch if we go behind in any game.

b) and c) I think are the same problem. None of the main quartet, Carrick excluded, are any good at actually holding on to the ball. They are all fabulous going forward, but always looking for the killer pass and not doing the 'simple things well' as the cliche goes. We desperately need a central, as opposed to an attacking, midfielder to link with Carrick, expand our possession, and allow the attacking midfielders to get into strong positions in which to receive the ball. My solution, would be to lose one of Lampard or Cole (probably Cole) and put in Hargreaves alongside Carrick. Maybe push Gerrard further left.

I'm going to spoil it all now by saying I'd put David James in as well. Robinson has no authority.

Got to disagree with most of it. Joe Cole to stop trying to unlock defences? Lampard should push up (thought he already was to be honest). I did not see Robinson telling John Terry to flick the ball in the air and is he responsible for Sol Campbell? Beckham is rubbish isn't he, I mean he scores winning goals, tracks back, provides the best dead ball skills in the team, runs his heart out and pukes because he's ill, lets drop him for someone with 2 caps.

I can't be the only person in England who thinks we should stop all this 'lets moan until we go out and then we can secretly be really happy cause we can moan for another four years' junk.

Would any other country give a toss about the fact we've not scored 15 and run around like headless chickens, this is the world cup not the carling cup. Do you all want Kevin Keegan as a manager again...?

What a load of codswallop.

Let's look at the facts:

1) We're in the QF
2) Lampard will eventually get used to the ball and score
3) We haven't lost a game and would have won all 4 if it were not for Sweden 'cheating' (look where the corner was taken from for their first goal)

The result is what matters - if Argentina hadn't scored in extra time against Mexico and had gone out on penalties would the Argentinean fans have been saying that at least they went out in style?

However, there are some slight amendments that need to be made - for instance now we have a holding midfielder, Lamps and Gerrard don't need to drop back to far to take the ball off the defence. They should be making runs that Carrick will pick out

Beckham - great at the deadball situation and crossing. I don't care if he goes missing for 89 minutes of the game - if he has a chance at the end of the game to score from a free-kick and takes it (a la vs. Greece) and we win then fine.

Lennon looks good because he comes on against tired opponents, he cannot cross it nearly as well

Bring on Portugal - 3rd time lucky

Brilliant! Send it to Sven and all the team. I'm sure in their hearts they'll agree and act on it! It's the only way to unleash the spirit and will to win! We know they can do it!

Also - Message 40 about Sweden being the only team not to defend with 10 men behind the ball. Very true

I enjoyed your post almost as much as you will enjoy mine. Being Swedish myself, (Through my wife's adoptive paternal grandfathers' third cousins' sister) I have a naturally keen insight into some of Sven's tactics for the Portugal game.

1st I think he will employ John Terry at left-back (Left back at the hotel as security against the bill not being paid.)

2nd Owen Hargreaves will be right-back (Right back behind the goal as second-string ball-boy.)

3rd Sven will abandon 4-5-1, 4-4-2, 4-3-4 etc in favour of a new formation known as the Christmas Tree, bright and attractive, but only works for 12 days in the year!

4th Sven will start the game a halfhour early so we can be at least 5-0 up before the Portugese turn up!

Good luck lads!

Newsnight does football ... always an worrying combination. A bit like the Money Programme doing ballet.
However there is some merit to this post but some of your targets are too easy.

Beckham's scored/created 3 out of our 6 goals so far. The midfielder who's not performing, probably because he's trying too hard is Lampard.

So, leave it as it is, if it's not working bring Lampard off, move Beckham inside and put Lennon on the wing ...

I enjoyed your post almost as much as you will enjoy mine. Being Swedish myself, (Through my wife's adoptive paternal grandfathers' third cousins' sister) I have a naturally keen insight into some of Sven's tactics for the Portugal game.

1st I think he will employ John Terry at left-back (Left back at the hotel as security against the bill not being paid.)

2nd Owen Hargreaves will be right-back (Right back behind the goal as second-string ball-boy.)

3rd Sven will abandon 4-5-1, 4-4-2, 4-3-4 etc in favour of a new formation known as the Christmas Tree, bright and attractive, but only works for 12 days in the year!

4th Sven will start the game a halfhour early so we can be at least 5-0 up before the Portugese turn up!

Good luck lads!

A pithy analysis indeed, but I have to disagree with the sentiments of first paragraph of the follow-up (post 30). It would be less than ideal, for sure, but if England end up mediocre and lucky World Champions that will do very nicely, thank you. I've seen far too many England exits accompanied by words such as "gallant", "unlucky", "robbed", "they threw it away", "the ref cost them the game", and so on.

"Mediocre and lucky World Champions"? Now that has a nice ring to it...

Post 87 - point 3.

I don't care if it only works for 12 days a year. Providing these are 28th June to 9th July 2006 inclusive

Post 88 - 100% agreement (although it would be nice if the refs did stop robbing us of extra time goals!!)

Great Journalism. All tongue in cheek and yet so decisively accurate. I just wish some of the players would get to read this column and react positively. Not all critics are wrong and not all people are knocking for the sake of it. We all want the team to do well and they are in the knock out phase so sub standard performances will have the effect they should. Only the best progress in general

Have to say I do not agree with Paul's original assesment of what needs to be done, we're not playing attractive football but its effective none the less (so far). The thought of dropping Beckham because he is not preforming is ludicrous when he's been apart of most of the goals we have scored. He is also the only person on the pitch (sol campbell excluded) who has been involved in two world cups so has the experience, especially against those sometimes less than honest South American opponents. Not to mention the quality from his dead ball situation - which in the later stages is far more important because the games are a lot more tight. Lennon from the start, no-way, too much of a risk and a lot more effective coming on when teams are tired. Rooney is not a lone-striker needs to pick the ball up deep and run at people.
Who cares if we play bad and win. Profesional sport and winning is winning!!!

Er, so anyone who voices qualms about England鈥檚 performances is not a true supporter of England. Hmm. Is it not obvious that the reason Paul 鈥榮pot on鈥� Mason and others are expending so much mental energy on the subject is precisely because we yearn for this collection of hugely talented individuals to realise their potential as a team, and are less than joyous at the prospect of our lads being cruelly exposed by the likes of Brazil or Spain at the business end of the tournament? We're looking ahead to the challenges posed by the forthcoming match(es) and don't see the virtue in quietistic blind faith.

It seems that a handful of the posters on this thread are part-time students of the insidiously disingenuous rhetorical ploys so beloved of the New Labour spinners: for example, anyone who highlights shortcomings in the NHS system is accused by Health Ministers of malicious failure to support 'all those hardworking doctors and nurses who do such a wonderful job', or of taking perverse pleasure in moaning and denigrating people for the sake of it.

Leo Beenhakker and Lars Lagerbaeck read our team and tactics like an open book and devised shrewd gameplans ultimately insufficient to compensate for the talent-deficiency of their gutsy but limited sides. Where I diverge from Paul Mason is that no one will be more ecstatic than me if we win the World Cup 'accidentally' or playing poor football, but what are the chances of that happening? A team can't just suddenly pull a top performance out of a magic hat when absolutely required - a team has at least to show glimpses of top form over the course of a number of games. On the other hand, another Belfast could happen at any time. Sven masterminded our performance in that game too, remember?

Paul, you've really embarrassed yourself here. Have you just done a cut and paste from the back pages of recent sensationalist tabloid stories and then asked its tunnel vision readership to post comment on this site to big you up?

Your 10 point plan shows such stunning lack of football knowledge that I'd wager you don't even understand why you should be embarrassed.

One word for you and all your instant gratification seeking negaticians:

Ignorant.

You even lose marks for punctuation and formatting. Button your shirt, your mouth, and stick to what you know!

To be fair, this is titled "Idle Scrawl" and that is certainly what it is.

"Do any footballers read this site?" -
Yes, Mike, footballers are Newsnight's core audience. There's nothing they like more after a gruelling mid-week work out than political and economic analysis. And I'm sure though they'd be thoroughly narked off if whilst browsing for further comment and consideration of the fall out from the Clarke interview that they found Newsnight was doing football.

As an Irishman on the outside looking in, I would say, "Keep up the good work boys."

Seriously, we have been laughing at the complete mockery that Sven has made of the FA and the job of 'caoching' the best crop of young players England have had for a generation.

You also forgot to mention the disgusting salary that man is getting for doing absolutely nothing. You have no chnace of winning this World Cup, and he will ride off into the sunset with his pcokets full and the trophy cabinet (if there is one)still empty.

Paul's analysis is in the main accurate - and great to read! Several other posters have also made perspicacious comments - we've got where we have largely thru luck, but now with a little adjustment we can win this. I agree with the following:

Rooney is not functioning at his best as a lone striker - he needs to be running in and causing havoc, and there's no-one to feed, up front. He's also very vulvernable there to provocation from defenders, esp given his fragile temperament - what happens if the Portuguese get him sent off? - they will surely try...

So bring on Crouch; otherwise bring Gerrard well forward. It was so frustrating last time seeing balls being passed in front of goal, and no-one there to put them in. Drop Lampard - he's just not firing; and maybe play both Carragher and Carrick to hold the centre and enable balls to be played forward. Beckham's dead ball skills and goal creating passes are essential. He could be replaced by Lennon late - but not too late - in the game.

The players must learn to keep the ball and pass it, not play long balls which almost always go to the opposition - we've seen this year in year out! Why do they persist?

I think the team are not playing as well as they can for three reasons:
- unfamiliarity with the formation on the day, so confusion over their role
- too many players asked to play out of their usual position; and they don't get enough practice in the new ones under the pressure of real games
- they are playing too defensively: we need a stong attacking formation and for the players to push forward relentlessly to kick the heart out of the opposition early on

I agree that the manager's lack of obvious passion may be filtering thru to the team. But when Gerrard is captain - as I think he soon will be - it will raise his England game and he'll galvanise the team just as he has at Liverpool. A factor which I've not seen mentioned is that it's arguably hard psychologically for the many 'captains' in the team having to take a subordinate role; and Gerrard especially has flourished with responsibility.

Meanwhile let's stop the knocking and give praise where it's due! Well done to manager and team for getting this far - the best is yet to come!

Response to message 85. Amusing but true. I don't think even by starting 30 minutes earlier and playing against themselves, England still will not beat Portugal. Pundits on 大象传媒 were talking about playing Holland in the QF when they England had yet to play the 3rd qualifying round vs Sweden! Had England lost vs Sweden and played Germany, Germany would of made mince meat out the english team. Take one game at a time. After saturday it will be Scolari 3 -Eriksson 0.

England have not been threatened in the WC so far. Of course we are going to win 1 or 2 nil if a team defends for ninety minutes - it does indeed take two to tango. When we are threatened we will up our game because we need to and we'll provide the much needed spectacle that our fans want.

Also, which have been the best games of the tourny so far??? Argentina had one (and maybe ARG vs CIV was good due to both teams trying to attack). And spain and germany did too. Also the Brazilians beating an attacking japanese side (what happened to them against the defensive sides of Croatia and Oz?) Everyone else has encountered teams that are tough to break down and finally manage it.

I think we will play an epic QF vs portugal, beat them in extra time, same against Brazil in the SF and then finally bring on the germans and we can spank them in the final with a peter crouch hat-trick!!!

EPIC

PS to all the pessimists, at least we're not french....

Performance vs Result: It all depends on how you look at it. I think it is quite short-sighted to say "if we play badly and win the World Cup, then that'll be fine by everyone" because that's a big if. So far we've managed it against weaker teams, but to lift the cup we now have to play and beat 3 strong teams.

The lazy view is to say "3 wins + clean sheets and 1 draw, what's to complain about?"

The pessimistic way of looking at it is to say that we've only played one decent team and we couldn't win or stop them scoring.

And the more thoughtful view (I hope) is to recognise that we've done what we had to do against teams that have defended with 9 or 10 men. Firstly, applying some attacking pressure whilst being careful not to overstretch ourselves and let the weaker team a chance to get into the game (thank you Ashley Cole). And secondly, play with the knowledge that there are 90 minutes to break them down, rather than urgently rushing around trying to score in the first 15. The issue for the next stages of the competition is whether this conservative style is the only way we can play or if it was just a tactic to see us through against teams that shut up shop. If it is the first, then we could get caught out against better opposition and we should also find a more inspirational manager. If it is the latter, then as we play against teams with a more open style then we will also be able to open up and let our players' quality come to the surface.

i think that howard wilkinson should be England head coach

99 - very good posting by Freddie and one I agree with

97 - it depends as to who kicks off as to whether that extra half hour would make any difference. And the ref can't book the Portuguese for time-wasting if they are not there

If Freddie in post 99 is referring in part to my earlier one (88), I did say that "winning ugly" would be less than ideal, and I certainly don't imagine that it would be fine by everyone - but it would be by me! Well, not fine, exactly, but fine enough :-)

Look at it this way.

If england had played a more attacking 442 against the weaker teams, we would still have to change to 451 against stronger opponents, and at least now we have practised it. We only risk one of our strikers being injured (from a choice of 2) so it makes sense. Sure, we may have scored a couple more goals against weaker sides with a 442, but i like to think it was a deliberate preparation for when we come up against brazil and argentina.

England were finally learning how to keep the ball a bit as well.

Keep lennon and crouch in reserve. Wait and see what lampard and beckham do next game. If things arent working we can sacrifice either of them at half time, either for lennon if we want to keep our formation, or for crouch if we decide to go 442.

Rooneys back to fitness and form, carrick suits the holding role, beckham has scored, cole and gerrard are doing okay, and our defence seems a little less shaky.

Its time to be positive and get behind our team.

Spot on. Something must be done before he makes another daft decision. Make Theo the Manager with Steve to hold his hand. He is unlikely to play and has no experience at this level, so worth a try.

Sven Who?

Ever since I saw a Seinfeld episode claiming fans are never part of the winning team, they simply only watch the game, my view on football has completely transformed. I can't take England seriously anymore anyway. And as a West Ham supporter, it is with grim satisfaction that not only am I used to watching my team lose, but that most of Englands best players are from that club. How can Lampard et al ever expect West Ham fans to will them to win???

Excellent............I can hire a team, an an aeroplane and a plastic surgeon. Temporary Kidnap Sven (female disatraction) and make you his replacement in 24 hours. Or was that the "A-team" who used to do that..........
Sorry it's too late now, the boys need our support .....c'mon England.

Paul, well said, at last someone who knows and is not afraid to say - that Sven is as much use as a dead donkey. And as for the England players, if they are the best we can produce, then we have a lot of problems...can`t pass, can`t control the ball, one forward gear & three reverse.
An injured Rooney is better than the rest of the donkeys we have in Germany.

This is a great article... I hate to criticse the England team in any way but to improve enough to go somewhere int his tournament and pressure teams like Portugal we really need to implement some new techniques (aka everything above) oh and umm get rid of Sven, he's clearly upset that Sweden got knocked out and his decision making abilities have been effected!

Great times Simon.

If it hadn't been for my fellow countryman Sven you wouldn't have reached this far. I can't wait to see your postings once England's reached the final.

David Beckham was sick, later it was revealed the vomit had a name - Paul Mason.

If the Premiership had more decent 'English' strikers, Sven would have taken them (the media always reports foreign is best hence too few of our own), I have every confidence he will get the best from those he has out there.

I back the English Coach,his assistants along with the team, worts and all, it was the media that labelled many of the team 'world class' hopefully this will be achieved in this World Cup.

I was at Wembley for the final in 1966, Ramsey's team struggled on their way to the final and came good, I won't be in Berlin for this final (I would like to be) but I am confident we will beat Brazil in the Semi final and get there.

What is it with the British media? always 'anti' anything that could be good.

Come on England - You can do it.

Brilliant.

But the bigger tragedy is that once we've finally got rid of tha overpaid and underskilled mad professor, Eriksson, we get his dogsbody, Steve McLaren, for God knows how long.

Is the FA so named because that's all the insight or intelligence they have?

Concerning comment 7,
Actually, this is a picture of a badly dehydrated teenager who will play world cup football until he fries to a crisp. Question is, does Sven work them too hard during the days between games, preventing re-hydration and recovery before the next game? (Beckham vomit etc...) Or are the wives and girlfriends draining the players of essential bodily fluids.
RSPV

Being as impartial as a Scotsman who doesn't want to be Prime Minister can be I think you are all missing something here.

That is a realistic assesment of how good England are. You have reached your level. Getting to the quarter finals is a decent performance and nothing to be ashamed of, if you are really lucky you might get one round further.

The sad thing is, if you go out at this stage you are going to look at it as a failure when its really just playing to form and something you should actually take some pride in.

Of course this leads to questions like "where do supporters unrealistic expectations of an England football team come from ?" on which I couldn't possibly comment.

I Think that we will rue the day when we allowed those media mutts, Alex Furguson and his cronies at the FA (including Bobby Charlton) to dispose of Sven. Let's face it. it's because he picked Peter Crouch and that's where the media war began.
How must Rooney feel now that the Scots' Ferguson wanted him out of the world cup. Especially after being prised out of Everton on the promise of a better carreer by Man Utd. Bet there was no mention of the possibility that Man U would oppose his inclusion in an England world cup squad. Nothing like that in the contract!
When this was mentioned on the BEEB it is noticeable that only Strachan supported Sir Alex in the fight against Rooney playing. (ex-Man U captn)
Sven Goran Eriksson is not the problem, The FA and it's low-achieving grandees is.

Perfect analysis except DROP Beckham now and make Terry captain, it will work wonders as I am sick of watching England games knowing there is one huge reason why we don't & won't ever do well right there in the number 7 shirt wasting every corner , free kick & chance that or Lennon or Lampard wouldn't.

Forget all that technical tosh such as
...Triangle, Diamond, arc, 4-5-1, 5-3-2, or such like, the lads don't understand it, just play the usual 4-4-2 shape, that is what they are used to, but play it at hi-tempo down the wings with two fast wingers, and a fast centre forward
with a forward pushing midfield during the attack, but it must be relentless and with hi-energy to overwhelm the opposition, thus match fitness is a major factor.
In order to keep the players focussed the wife's and girlfriends should be sent home taking their giant sunglasses with them,and whilst the game is in progress, 'Sven' should be confined to the dressing room, with Mclaren on the bench, but with a decent pair of shorts, his Glen Hoddle style shorts are rather indecent for a man his age.
After the world cup, McLaren should follow Sven through the exit door,
we need a completely new set up.

Great analysis, the most simple aspect is basic, no wifes or girlfriends, no cell phones , England is in Germany to win Football not for a little holiday. Focus, Focus and charge ahead, play aggressive football, no more defence.cheers for England. Jerry in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada

I have told you all once Howard Wilkinson for England (JASPER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

If that fails i will be at the head of England because i Jasper have watched football for my team Leeds since i was 8 and i know everything about football Michael Jasper Wood what a manager

Since when has watching Leeds provided anyone with "knowledge" about the way football is played?

I think Sven has done a reasonable job under a lot of ridiculous media pressure. We are a game away from the semis and doing as well as as any English team in the WC since '66. Sven seems to get all the stick rather than the players, it's their job to get into scoring positions from midfield. How can you dump your captain mid tournament when he has made a vital goal in the first game and scored the winner in the last?

Brilliant article - get on the 'plane son, England needs you!!

I was lucky enough to watch Forest under the Clough era (you know, that guy who was the best Manager England never had - but let's forget his last season and where Forest are now). Did he tell John Robertson he was rubbish? You bet he did. Did he tell Kenny Burns he was rubbish? Right again. Did he pull Martin O'Neill off the pitch for not doing what he wanted when he was on a hat-trick during the 1978 Charity Shield Match when Forest thrashed Ipswich 5-0? 10/10. Did they respond? Two European Cup wins tell you they did.

So, what's wrong with our current manager Mr Sven (I've had a charisma by-pass) Goren-Erriksen? Like the rest of the team: too much money: not enough incentive. Bring Ghana back into the Commonwealth and play them en-bloc. Now, THAT'S what passion is all about. None of this '...well, if we don't win I can still buy a Ferrari with half next week's money to cheer me up...' Half of them can't speak, let alone understand tactics.

Awesome

Serious - who are you Mr. Mason?

What are your credentials?

What have you done that gives you the right to criticise and slag of a winning team?

Drop Becks? lol suppose he's been rubbish by setting up 2/3 and scoring 1.

Get a grip sir!

And listen to the sensible genuine England fans that have posted here...

Get behind the team! and Sven! ...

Not against them.

Good luck England!

Comment #130 is not a bad time to answer some of the above.
1) What are my credentials? Zip as far as sport is concerned - that's the point.
2) But I do know a bit about management because I have studied it and reported on it - and even done pieces about what business managers can learn from footy; with real academics in it who know what they are talking about.
3) I was fired to write this because I obeserved that England are facing a typical business management problem - a) a mismatch between a "strategic" manager (Sven) and poor execution mechanisms; b) poor team leadership skills.
4) Sven is a typical "light touch" strategist. He seems to believe that the players come ready-made and autonomous and that he has to set them in motion, make substitutions and then generally review once the game is over. However WC football, like business, has moved on: even CEOs have to be tacticians now - I would like to set up a "Sven cam" and observe how the management team actually manage "in game". My hunch is they don't.
5) Leadership skills: the problem is Beckam - and I accept he is a great footballer - does not seem to have the right leadership skills. Either he is not seeing what we the spectators see - or he does not have the authority to do stuff like put a stop to long-ball-itis. All you city boys out there (I mean investment banking not Man City) must know what happens if a previously hot team of traders starts to underperform: the team leader gets moved on
6) Why did I go on about Sir Clive W? Because his approach to management at the time perfectly suited the game and the players at his disposal: no player comes as a finished item - he hones their skills to fit the machine; plus above all pro Rugby Union players will tell you that "the game is now won with the top two inches" - ie the brain. When all teams are equally well drilled it is concentration - hard to maintain and especially when dehydrated - that is crucial.
7) Will I eat my words if they beat Portugal? Well we had it from Rio yesterday - they would rather win the final ugly than go out playing like Brazil. If they win ugly what is the point of all the national mythmaking around the flag, the team etc. If they win by making their system work, and with passion (and as I was trying to point out it will not take much to get them there) then obviously somebody has been reading this blog!
8) Finally, much though I would love to be out there in Gelsenkirchen, I think the suggestion about me getting plastic surgery to look like Sven is going a bit too far. Look like Sven? Sven?!?!?!

Completely agree with all that you have said. So refreshing to see a journalist providing solutions rather than the same old lazy journalism we see day in day out saying "Beckham out" etc.

For Portugal, drop lampard, move beckham inside and put lennon on the wing. carrick has to stay cos every pass he made was a forward pass.

Sven should have gone after the world cup in Japan. To quote Gareth Southgate: "At half time against Brazil, we needed Winston Churchill in that dressing room. Instead we got Iain Duncan Smith!!"

I am sure that you are next manager of next england world cup team.
Great job done !!!

Someone somewhere out there must know how this can be forwarded to the team. Phil Neville - send this to your brother!

brilliant, you'd have the job if it was upto me

I hope the players are reading these comments because they need some of this drumming into em instead assuming every time they walk out for England its another game and another easy payday for which lets face it at present their current form doesn't warrant even a scrap. Lets face it, if they were on performance realated pay well they'd be earning the same a non-league players!

That aside common England give your best, not same again....

I think some people need to grow up!

Great, common sense insight. Well done. It's not that i'm not satisifed with winning ugly, but like you, it's so easy to see how we could improve.

The main thing that gets me is Sven's fixation with Beckham? If he was anyone else other than Sven's bosom buddy he would be history by now. He is offering us absolutely nothing except free kicks and corners (and even his corners were poor against Ecuador). Its like watching a school match, every time we get a dead ball over trots the teacher's pet to take it. Its not like Gerrard or Lampard don't bang in free kicks week in week out in the Premiership.

And you're right, in what way, shape or form is he a captain or a leader of any kind on the pitch? What Gerrard and Terry do for their clubs is being a captain, give the armband to one of them and watch them lift our game.

Come on Sven. Don't muck it up again. Come on England!!

Amid all this fanatical football talk. It would be great if the flag waving and patriotism continued all year, not just when football was on the agenda.
I imagine that when it is all over, whether England wins or looses, the flags will disappear, along with the patriotic chanting.
It's a sad reflection on the real spirit of the Englishman.
I am English and proud to be so. I carry the cross of St George all year on my golf buggy.

Portugal--9 men + coach looked far better fighting machine then England with Sven hoping for early exit and holidays in Dubai.

Sven--Can麓t even get up

May be it`s a blessing as the team can start to think on its own.

Arvind

Those that think a well overdue lucky free kick by Beckham should merit him the England captaincy over Terry are fools who will be proven so by the next game against Portugal. If Terry had been captain against Ecuador we would have won with at least another goal probably in the first half. It seems to me that Erikksson would have to completely drop Beckham if Terry was captain because he thinks the captaincy is his God given right as an England player but in all this time has achieved absolutely NOTHING for England. The World Cup cannot come home if you reach the semi finals or are runners-up but oh yes, we will hear from many fans "well we did well.." blah blah, trying to hide their immense disappointment because they know this team is the best & the best team need the best captain to win it!

come to think of it... back in 90 England did play crap... until the end that is when we got knocked out... selective memory? well yes thats the point I guess.

who cares how England plays.. if they win... all we will ever remember is that we won!!

Of course I will definately expect a glorious performance in 2010!!! cos by then we will be the defending champions for whom simply winning is not enough... we'd have to win it in style :)

Comment 140. Do i get a prize for being absolutely correct?