大象传媒

Ah that lad roooney is at again, go on sunny...rooey and owen, rooney is well big he can hold the ball and finish to good effect rooney holds up ball owen makes a run lays it off to owen, who goes past 1 then rounds goal keeper and SCORES!!!!!. 1-0 to england against sweden and only 5 minutes have gone past

i was quite impressed with Ghana's power play against Check, though if finishing became more clinical there could have been 3 or 4 mre goals.

Rooney should start on Tuesday against Sweden in place of Peter Crouch because I just feel that Owen plays so well when up front with Rooney. Perhaps Owen has not been performing like what has been expected from him because he hasn't had Rooney's brilliance. So that's what I think, Rooney up front with Owen, and Crouch sitting on the bench, maybe coming on in the 70th minute if it's not working.

No Crouch means no more long balls. And Rooney has the knack of making swift moves from middle of the park. And with Heagreves playing in front of defenders, Lampard can float around and make those runs ...mmm ...cant wait ...surely this new formation will work for England ...

Im not so sure Hargreaves is the way forward against Sweden, his distribution so far has been sloppy and he isnt the type of player to look forward, its all backward and square passes. Michael Carrick has a far wider range of passing and is more adept at finding a killer pass than Hargreaves. He is far better positionally and more importantly, he looks forward before playing a pass. He has a much better awareness of whats around him. The only explanation for Hargreaves playing is that he has some rather obscene imformation on the sauce swede that he doesnt want leaked to the media. I look forward to Steve McClarens Reign!

Im not so sure Hargreaves is the way forward against Sweden, his distribution so far has been sloppy and he isnt the type of player to look forward, its all backward and square passes. Michael Carrick has a far wider range of passing and is more adept at finding a killer pass than Hargreaves. He is far better positionally and more importantly, he looks forward before playing a pass. He has a much better awareness of whats around him. The only explanation for Hargreaves playing is that he has some rather obscene imformation on the saucy swede that he doesnt want leaked to the media. I look forward to Steve McClarens Reign!

Im not so sure Hargreaves is the way forward against Sweden, his distribution so far has been sloppy and he isnt the type of player to look forward, its all backward and square passes. Michael Carrick has a far wider range of passing and is more adept at finding a killer pass than Hargreaves. He is far better positionally and more importantly, he looks forward before playing a pass. He has a much better awareness of whats around him. The only explanation for Hargreaves playing is that he has some rather obscene imformation on the saucy swede that he doesnt want leaked to the media. I look forward to Steve McClarens Reign!

cant wait to see rooney and owen striking together it will be awsome although i`m from india i`m the most carziest fans of england honestly evry one of them was awsome.

Dear Leigh Matthews,

The only explanation for you posting that Owen Hargreaves may play against Sweden because he has 'obscence imformation' about the England manager, is that you have been reading to much of the Sun and listening to Ian Wright.

Perhaps England fans should wait until after the Sweden game before passing judgement on Owen Hargreaves? I could write a long message defending Hargreaves, but it would pointless I fear judging by a lot of the rather immature comments one read on internet blogs and messageboard and some newspapers.

Whilst it may be churlish to make comparisons, Ronaldinho is not castigated and treated like a leper for not playing in his home country's league. Owen Hargreaves has won many medals and trophies whilst playing for one of the top clubs in the Bundesleague. He is not, and has not been playing in the lower leagues and has not been 'hopping' on the back of his nation's birthright to gain international status. He is clearly an intelligent and hardworking player who manages to steer clear of social controversy. Let his football do the talking and those overweight 'barrack room' pundits in their 'ENGERLAND' shell suits can crawl back under whichever stone they emerged from ....or back to the pub where they can, along with their 'mates' manage to pick a team which in their eyes will always deliver. If only it were that simple.

Whilst it may be churlish to make comparisons, Ronaldinho is not castigated and treated like a leper for not playing in his home country's league. Owen Hargreaves has won many medals and trophies whilst playing for one of the top clubs in the Bundesleague. He is not, and has not been playing in the lower leagues and has not been 'hopping' on the back of his nation's birthright to gain international status. He is clearly an intelligent and hardworking player who manages to steer clear of social controversy. Let his football do the talking and those overweight 'barrack room' pundits in their 'ENGERLAND' shell suits can crawl back under whichever stone they emerged from ....or back to the pub where they can, along with their 'mates' manage to pick a team which in their eyes will always deliver. If only it were that simple.

ahhh... Owen Hargeaves - the old playing [insert players name] in the Michael Carrick position. *rolls eyes*

I personally have nothing against Owen Hargreaves. I am sure he is a good player in the right circumstances. However, it makes my blood boil that Sven is wasting the opportunity to try out Michael Carrick with one of Frank Lampard or Steven Gerrard. What did we lack against T & T? Firstly the ability to keep the ball and secondly the ability to pass the ball constructively and create opportunities. Michael Carrick is good at keeping the ball and passing both long and short. I could understand using Hargreaves if we wanted to man-mark someone like Riquelme out of the game but that is not the situation. Carrick came on for Gerrard against Jamaica and ran the game - he produced the pass of the game to Lennon which led to the penalty. Please, please, please, Sven, earn your money and make a sensible decision about this critical position.

I hope Owen Hargreaves doesn't regret not playing for Canada in the first place with most of the fans not wanting him to play for England now. I personally think he is a good player and should be given the chance. He mistakes a mistake and its highlighted so much.

Why not have Gerrard as the holding midfielder? He can tackle well, has a great range of passing and can switch the play to the flanks. if gerrard has a problem with doing this then tell him he should be proud playing for his country in any position (which in an interview hes stated anyway so should be all good..) This will allow Lamps to venture forward, whilst rooney helps link up play and feed owen, whilst having a few cracks himself every now and then. Although Becks must start for his set piece ability and killer passes, I can't help but feel the ability to take players on down the wings with pace so as to stretch the opposition out of position then play thru the artilery left by lamps and rooney could work better. joe cole down the right and downing down the left perhaps? that said im 100% behind sven - at the end of the day we can't change him so let's get behind him and england. Bring on the swedes!

"Why not have Gerrard as the holding midfielder?"

Didn't you watch the FA Cup Final? Didn't you see Gerrard's stunning goal in the last England game? Do you watch football??! Suggesting that he should be grateful for any role he gets is tantamount to a studied insult to a fantastic playing talent. Both Gerrard and Lampard score stunners - but the shape of any England team should be dictated by the current form of the players. 'Current form' indicates that Gerrard is firing on all 16 cylinders perhaps slightly more effectively than Lampard, nothing against the Chelsea man you understand....pbut just look at Gerrard's goals at the moment! Plus with Gerrard's occasional over-enthusiastic leap into the tackle, he does tend to fall (unfairly) foul of the referee's book so Svennis is making a bold decision by resting this midfielder who is far more than a holding player!

Am I alone in having a sinking feeling that Sven will play Owen Hargreaves against Sweden when he should be playing Carrick? What is it about Hargreaves that Sven sees? Or has Owen Hargreaves not only got the photos but also the negatives? Lets see if he subs Lennon for Beckham second half. For me Lennon was the best player on the park ofr the final 20 mins against T&T

Am I alone in having a sinking feeling that Sven will play Owen Hargreaves against Sweden when he should be playing Carrick? What is it about Hargreaves that Sven sees? Or has Owen Hargreaves not only got the photos but also the negatives? Lets see if he subs Lennon for Beckham second half. For me Lennon was the best player on the park ofr the final 20 mins against T&T

i think Theo Walcot should play atleast 30 minutes tomorrow. he is a good little player and as we've already qualified it would be nice to see what he can do before we go into the second round. What was the point in taking him if he's not going to play? Personaly i think he plays the same game Owen used to when he was at the top of his game, fast with a good finish, the only difference being that Theo is faster than Michael has ever been

Hargreaves must have something that we have not yet seen. I was disappointed to hear the boo-ing he recieved against Paraguay; I would bet that these people have never seen him play 90 mins for the best team in Germany. Also I think it is a good idea to break the Gerrard/Lampard partnership but Gerrard should play with a defensive player in the next round. With Rooney back to play make and take on long shots, there will be less pressure to play both Gerrard and Lampard. We lose so much of Gerrards influence when he plays with Lampard, we should sacrifice Lampard to get the best out of Gerrard.

I think Owen Hargreaves is a very poor player.
We have seen him play many times for England now and he's not great defensively, he's not a play maker and he stands on the ball for TOOOOO long... the amount of times i've watched him stand still with the ball for about 30 seconds and have the ball taken off him is depressing to think that he is in Englands world cup team when players like Carrick aren't getting a look in.
If we need a defensive midfielder Caragher does the job 10 times better and if we need a holding midfielder Carrick again is 10 times better. Hargreaves plays German football... he just doesn't fit in with our type of play

This Englad team is just a bunch of much hyped brilliant players. They don't have any team-coordination and their finishing is pathetic. I don't think they will make it to the Semis.

Gerrard, Lampard, Beckam all are good players ....but England has to go a long way to become a team.....

Have jim bob and johnny brown ever seen a football match?

Hargreaves as a holding midfielder for a game where you want to avoid a Gerrard booking would make perfect sense if he could tackle or pass.

But, on the evidence I have seen with my own eyes (and no other reason), he is not good enough. He gets to every loose ball late and has to dive in. He doesn't close players down when they are about to shoot. Canada are welcome to him.

Also, when has Sven's wretched diamond formation ever worked?

Grasp the nettle and leave out Lampard. Let Gerrard do what he does best and take control of the game box to box. Then we might finally have some fluent football. And I'm not a Scouser.

Rightly or wrongly,Sven picks the England team.You can speculate all you like on who plays where and when.At the end of the day its the result thatcounts.Teams that keep clean sheets win World Cups.OK so England have not played well yet but have already qualified for round 2.Just wait until England play to their full ability then you moaners wil be eating your words.Everyone reckons they can do the managers job.Its easy after 10 pints of the stuff that cheers. For goodness sake get behind the the team.They are there in Germany to bring the world cup back to the home of football that is ENGLAND

Rightly or wrongly,Sven picks the England team.You can speculate all you like on who plays where and when.At the end of the day its the result thatcounts.Teams that keep clean sheets win World Cups.OK so England have not played well yet but have already qualified for round 2.Just wait until England play to their full ability then you moaners wil be eating your words.Everyone reckons they can do the managers job.Its easy after 10 pints of the stuff that cheers. For goodness sake get behind the the team.They are there in Germany to bring the world cup back to the home of football that is ENGLAND

Why doesnt Becks play the holding role? He grafts as hard as anyone, his passing is better than anyones and it would allow Gerrard to play on the right as he does for Liverpool. That would allow Lampard and Gerrard to get forward without getting in each others way. Rooney and Owen should start, no doubts they are our best strikers, Crouchy is a last twenty minutes player. His finishing is average and we play long ball when he plays(not his fault but it happens). People get over excited about the last games. Owen has been doing it 8 years, how can u lose faith so soon? Crouch has scored v Jamaica and T&T! I think I could do that too. We missed Neville which is a weird thing to say but as good a defender as Carragher is, he doesnt get up to support Becks and that allows them to play one on one against us instead of dragging another defender out wide as when Neville plays. Lennon is good coming off the bench too, but he shouldnt start, lets be honest he was up against a second rate full back on a yellow card. He wont skin Nesta and Ayala that easily. Plus his final ball is average. But he will cause problems last 20 mins if were not winning with pace and ability to beat a man, along with Crouchy in the air. But lets start with our best players and play our way. Passing it. When we play better teams, there will be more space and our quality will show. Everyone is raving about Argentina because they played well two games. You have to win 7 games in a row (usually) to win the World cup. Even chelsea dont manage that too often. Its about peaking at the right time, and its better for us to peak later. Dont forget who beat Argentina only 3 months ago.

Gerrard - Beckham - Lampard - Cole

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That would be my first choice Enland midfield as it allows Gerrard to bomb forward on the right as he has done for Liverpool for most of the season to great effect. Beckham would be the holding/defensive minded midfielder who would sit back and spray passes forward, this then releases Lampard into a more attacking role without him having to worry about no-one being behind him covering. I dont believe Sven has tried this midfield before as the only time he played Beckham as a holding player was against Ireland when we played 5 across the middle. It is worth mentioning that in that particular game Beckham was Englands outstanding player.

I really think Theo Walcott should get a good run out tomorrow... and not just 10 minutes like against Jamaica because we need to see what this 17 year old can do before we start hitting the critical stages of the tournament. I agree that we should play Owen from the start but if like the last 2 games he is again being a 5ft 7" striker trying to hold of defenders instead of making runs through the defence we should take Owen off and see what the youngster can do, if not in my opinion Defoe should have gone because atleast we would have had a use for him

I personally think the diamond in midfield could work quite well for the team, but it all depends on how well Hargreaves plays. And how well the full backs can get forward (maybe a problem for Carragher).

I think that if he does play well and that the formation works, that in the last 16 (who ever the opposition is) Gerrard will start instead of Cole (Cole then being used as an impact sub as against Argentina last Nov)and play in the at the tip of the diamond, behind Rooney & Owen, with a licence to roam. Beckham and Lampard would be tucked slightly in on the left and right, with Hargreaves in the holding role.

On current showings (Lampard being solid but not amazing, Becks tendancy to tuck in anyway and Gerrard looking our best player) i think it could play to our strengths and Gerrard as an attacking outlet would take the pressure of the recovering Rooney, especially in the last 16game. Also the thought of both Rooney and Gerrard operating freely in the final third of the pitch would frighten any team (inc Argentina) and be a major weapon.

Also as a Spurs fan and having watched Carrick all season (and being a big fan of his) i still think that Sven is right not to use him in the holding role. Carrick is a wonderful ball player and an excellent reader of the game, but essentially he's a creative player (even though he prefers to play deeper) and i think the team need a player in there who's solely there to break up play and distrupt the opposition and approaches the game in this way. Carrick just doesn't approach the game like that. I think thats Hargreaves is the best candidate as he does this exact job for Bayern. Only 2mrw will tell if he can cope in this role at international level.

Though if Sven had Hargreaves in mind for this position why he hasn't given him a run of games before the world cup to get used to it, instead playing defenders in the role (King, Carragher). Its perplexing? But then again if it pays off no one will care.

It really does amaze me that we seem to find so much to comment about what Owen Hargreaves hasn't been given the chance to do thus far and yet our very established and highly paid superstars in the world's top leagues can't seem to produce for the three lions what they do on a regular basis for their clubs. Hats off to Gerrad for stepping up when it mattered and producing one of his more typical strikes - but where's Beckham (a right-back?); Lampard suddenly seems to not be interested in finding the net with runs from the midfield; Regardless of who partners Owen upfront he has to produce the goods-there's no excuse. After all this is the World cup, this is where it really counts. 1966 was four decades ago; it's about time!

Interesting, fans, pundits and commentators alike are all mentioning the speed at which Spain, Portugal and Argentina are playing at the moment, comparing it to the same tempo played week in and week out in the Premiership. The difference being these teams pass the ball to each other with speed and accuracy, ultimately the last pass into the channel or box is only a few yards and not delivered from the halfway line to players in forward positions. Running all over the pitch at pace without the ball is not going to win the World Cup. Watching the likes of Spain, Argentina etc. reminds of Liverpool in 70's who let the ball do the work by moving it up the pitch at speed in three's with short deliberate passing, if no openings were created then the ball ended up being switched to either flank, funny that, Liverpool won everything then? Come on England!

Why is he not playing Lennon??
drop beckham inside a little and smack lennon on the wing. that will give beckham more scope for drifting and picking up the balls in the middle and spraying them out to the wings (ie lennon) . lennon was fantastic against T&T. i agree that Theo shud play a part at some point tonight too. YEAH!

hello i would just like to say england did really well in the world cup and i am really happy because you all tryed your best my fav england players are lampard and roooney and beckham xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
hopefully we will win the next worl cup cum on england we have 4 more years to train and win the next 1 at least u tryed ur best xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

i love rooney

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