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England vs Israel
- Thread starter GrandOldTeam
- Start date
- Status
My ratings:
Robinson 6 - Didn't do anything
Richards 7 - Looked impressive in both defence and attack but he'll face stiffer tests in future
Ferdinand 6 - Not called upon in defence, where is the great ball playing defender of legend?
Terry 6 - See above, would love to see him use the ball more rather than pass it five yards to the anchoring midfielder
Cole 6 - Seems to have stood still over the past 18 months. Perhaps its the Beckham syndrome of marrying a pop star. Used to be the best left back in the world but Richards is showing him up on the other flank.
SWP 7 - Can be pleased with his performance. Again the opposition has to be taken into account but he deserves a run in the side after his performance here and for Chelsea over the past 6 months.
Gerrard 6 - Tidy enough without bossing the game.
Barry 6 - See above.
Cole 6 - Showed some good touches and set up the first goal well.
Heskey 6 - Frustrating because his physique gets him into great positions and does cause defenders problems. He's just so bloody hopeless
I hope I'm proved wrong but he reminds me a bit of Anichebe, or rather Anichebe reminds me of Heskey. With their physique they could be world beaters, ala Drogba. Probably did enough to start ahead of Crouch on Wednesday.
Owen 6 - Took his goal well and looked to be getting back some sharpness.
Robinson 6 - Didn't do anything
Richards 7 - Looked impressive in both defence and attack but he'll face stiffer tests in future
Ferdinand 6 - Not called upon in defence, where is the great ball playing defender of legend?
Terry 6 - See above, would love to see him use the ball more rather than pass it five yards to the anchoring midfielder
Cole 6 - Seems to have stood still over the past 18 months. Perhaps its the Beckham syndrome of marrying a pop star. Used to be the best left back in the world but Richards is showing him up on the other flank.
SWP 7 - Can be pleased with his performance. Again the opposition has to be taken into account but he deserves a run in the side after his performance here and for Chelsea over the past 6 months.
Gerrard 6 - Tidy enough without bossing the game.
Barry 6 - See above.
Cole 6 - Showed some good touches and set up the first goal well.
Heskey 6 - Frustrating because his physique gets him into great positions and does cause defenders problems. He's just so bloody hopeless
I hope I'm proved wrong but he reminds me a bit of Anichebe, or rather Anichebe reminds me of Heskey. With their physique they could be world beaters, ala Drogba. Probably did enough to start ahead of Crouch on Wednesday.Owen 6 - Took his goal well and looked to be getting back some sharpness.
monty
Sack Sky and donate to GOT...donations are needed
My ratings:
Robinson 6 - Didn't do anything
Richards 7 - Looked impressive in both defence and attack but he'll face stiffer tests in future
Ferdinand 6 - Not called upon in defence, where is the great ball playing defender of legend?
Terry 6 - See above, would love to see him use the ball more rather than pass it five yards to the anchoring midfielder
Cole 6 - Seems to have stood still over the past 18 months. Perhaps its the Beckham syndrome of marrying a pop star. Used to be the best left back in the world but Richards is showing him up on the other flank.
SWP 7 - Can be pleased with his performance. Again the opposition has to be taken into account but he deserves a run in the side after his performance here and for Chelsea over the past 6 months.
Gerrard 6 - Tidy enough without bossing the game.
Barry 6 - See above.
Cole 6 - Showed some good touches and set up the first goal well.
Heskey 6 - Frustrating because his physique gets him into great positions and does cause defenders problems. He's just so bloody hopeless
Owen 6 - Took his goal well and looked to be getting back some sharpness.
I agree with all of that Bruce, Heskey will be kept in as he is a better partner for Owen that Crouch could ever be. As for Owen himself, how long is going to take for him to get that sharp edge he had three or four years ago, I don't think he ever will in which case should he be in the side?
GhostOfDixie
Player Valuation: £70m
Sorry Adi I have to take issue with you there. Without really jumping on the 'Lets slag off the ex-Liverpool player' bandwagon which seems to have been the case from Evertonians, Heskey was one of the reasons why we did so well today.
I thought as soon as he went off, the team lost that territory up front and apart from one good pass by AJ we didn't look like doing anything. I thought Heskey held the ball up well, played some neat passes, mixed it up, got involved. But more importantly he staying in the middle.
AJ comes on and instantly goes wide. Obviously I want to see AJ do well, but at the moment I just don't see any reason why McLaren would pick AJ over Heskey, and he shouldn't. AJ should not really play alongside Owen because all you are left with is two players who just pull out wide, leaving a massive hole in the middle.
I would have liked to have seen AJ with Heskey, because that would have been a better fit. A target man and a pacy striker, the perfect combination.
And someone said earlier about Romario and Bebeto, so why not AJ and Owen. Well for a kick off, Romario and Bebeto have miles more skill, control and creativity then AJ and Owen have. They were unpredictable, whereas the only thing certain with AJ's game is that he will go wide, and he will win you loads of throw ins. Owen on the other hand will always miss harder chances.
As for the side, I thought it was a quality performance, International class. Every player got involved, neat touches, when they lost the ball, they got it back, we were looking to attack and we did the job well.
I thought the booing for Bentley is just testament to the bollocks that we seem to allow into our stadium these days. But this comes back to the desire to always have a pop at one of our own. Does it help the player? does it help the team? no it doesn't.
I also have to ask why have a quip at Beckham marrying a popstar and his career going downhill? Apart from the fact he is playing in a lower standard league, he is still playing great football for club and when he can country. He has been a great servent to his country and has single handledly won more games then many of the current players. And that is a fact and I think he deserves respect for what he has done for football.
I thought as soon as he went off, the team lost that territory up front and apart from one good pass by AJ we didn't look like doing anything. I thought Heskey held the ball up well, played some neat passes, mixed it up, got involved. But more importantly he staying in the middle.
AJ comes on and instantly goes wide. Obviously I want to see AJ do well, but at the moment I just don't see any reason why McLaren would pick AJ over Heskey, and he shouldn't. AJ should not really play alongside Owen because all you are left with is two players who just pull out wide, leaving a massive hole in the middle.
I would have liked to have seen AJ with Heskey, because that would have been a better fit. A target man and a pacy striker, the perfect combination.
And someone said earlier about Romario and Bebeto, so why not AJ and Owen. Well for a kick off, Romario and Bebeto have miles more skill, control and creativity then AJ and Owen have. They were unpredictable, whereas the only thing certain with AJ's game is that he will go wide, and he will win you loads of throw ins. Owen on the other hand will always miss harder chances.
As for the side, I thought it was a quality performance, International class. Every player got involved, neat touches, when they lost the ball, they got it back, we were looking to attack and we did the job well.
I thought the booing for Bentley is just testament to the bollocks that we seem to allow into our stadium these days. But this comes back to the desire to always have a pop at one of our own. Does it help the player? does it help the team? no it doesn't.
I also have to ask why have a quip at Beckham marrying a popstar and his career going downhill? Apart from the fact he is playing in a lower standard league, he is still playing great football for club and when he can country. He has been a great servent to his country and has single handledly won more games then many of the current players. And that is a fact and I think he deserves respect for what he has done for football.
GhostOfDixie
Player Valuation: £70m
I agree with all of that Bruce, Heskey will be kept in as he is a better partner for Owen that Crouch could ever be. As for Owen himself, how long is going to take for him to get that sharp edge he had three or four years ago, I don't think he ever will in which case should he be in the side?
Well I never saw AJ swivel and score a quality goal, infact I haven't seen that for a while. I think we all need to not be biased to Everton players if we are talking about England. Becuase its not about Everton, its about the English players, and who is doing the best job. Owen scored a great goal and was unlucky not to score a three.
When AJ plays, I just see poor quality, and not what I expect from an 8.5 million pound player. Ok he made one good pass, but he isn't exactly setting the stage on fire is he?
I think we all have to give credit when it is due.
I agree, I thought Heskey did ok today, I was just saying that with his physique he could do so much more but he seems to lack something.
The Beckham comment was in reference to something Ferguson said this week about his dedication to football sliding after he got married. Cole was the best left back in the world at Euro 2004 where he marked Ronaldo off the pitch. Since then he hasn't maintained those standards. Is there a connection between his own marriage and his drop in form?
I'm being strict with my ratings on purpose because frankly I'm tired of this generation of players being bigged up as the dogs nuts and failing miserably to perform on the big stage. Maybe it's time we started being more realistic about their performances? We won comfortably today but then any team with Idan Tal in it should be dispatched comfortably.
And for what it's worth I agree that AJ isn't international quality. He's a decent PL player but not good enough on the international stage.
The Beckham comment was in reference to something Ferguson said this week about his dedication to football sliding after he got married. Cole was the best left back in the world at Euro 2004 where he marked Ronaldo off the pitch. Since then he hasn't maintained those standards. Is there a connection between his own marriage and his drop in form?
I'm being strict with my ratings on purpose because frankly I'm tired of this generation of players being bigged up as the dogs nuts and failing miserably to perform on the big stage. Maybe it's time we started being more realistic about their performances? We won comfortably today but then any team with Idan Tal in it should be dispatched comfortably.
And for what it's worth I agree that AJ isn't international quality. He's a decent PL player but not good enough on the international stage.
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GhostOfDixie
Player Valuation: £70m
Fair enough. Heskey lacks mobility, but he makes up to it with strength and he has intelligence to make the right pass or to find the flick on's.
@Beckham, Ferguson is just fuelling the debate really and justifying himself by getting rid of the best (still) crosser of a football on earth.
I think Cole's form has suffered because of his move from Arsenal to Chelsea. He left a disciplined side managed by a great manager, to an egotistic side managed by an egotistical manager. Who obviously only won the league because they were financially streets ahead, now what it is more level, he is being found out.
It could have been Cole's marriage, but I can't see a happy occassion upsetting a players form, I would think it was the tap up and all the crap that surrounded his move.
@Beckham, Ferguson is just fuelling the debate really and justifying himself by getting rid of the best (still) crosser of a football on earth.
I think Cole's form has suffered because of his move from Arsenal to Chelsea. He left a disciplined side managed by a great manager, to an egotistic side managed by an egotistical manager. Who obviously only won the league because they were financially streets ahead, now what it is more level, he is being found out.
It could have been Cole's marriage, but I can't see a happy occassion upsetting a players form, I would think it was the tap up and all the crap that surrounded his move.
GhostOfDixie
Player Valuation: £70m
Yeah I agree about AJ, but at the moment I don't even think he is good enough for the Premiership. He makes very little runs and apart from his alarming lack of goals he just isn't doing it for me.
I imagine in Yakubu performs, and Vaughan/Faddy could cause Moyes a problem, no player should be exempt from being dropped, regardless of there value.
Lets hope he can sort it out soon.
I imagine in Yakubu performs, and Vaughan/Faddy could cause Moyes a problem, no player should be exempt from being dropped, regardless of there value.
Lets hope he can sort it out soon.
monty
Sack Sky and donate to GOT...donations are needed
Hang on Ghost, I never mentioned AJ just Owen and I think that you'll find that I have arguede that Heskey is a better player now than when he was with the Pool. Incidentally you are right that we blues can be biased against rs players, I attacked Owen who is a Newcastle player if I remember correctly
GhostOfDixie
Player Valuation: £70m
Hang on Ghost, I never mentioned AJ just Owen and I think that you'll find that I have arguede that Heskey is a better player now than when he was with the Pool. Incidentally you are right that we blues can be biased against rs players, I attacked Owen who is a Newcastle player if I remember correctly
Ok fair enough, but I was just highlighting that Owen looked pretty sharp when he banged in that goal, and that is Owen all over, he may not have 90mins worth of impact, but he does have an impact and that's why is scoring goals.
GhostOfDixie
Player Valuation: £70m
How about some credit for a great performance today. I would rather see England do well then see Neville and AJ on the pitch. I don't think either of them have done enough to warrant a place. Lescott is different, but he's not going to shift that defence.
i cant believe what Im reading- yes Heskey did ok tonight so credit where its due- He did OK. But lets look at the guilt edge chance he missed in the 1st half- he missed it by about 10 yards over the bar. In international football you get few chances and even fewer that easy.
He falls too easily and isnt the greatest in the air so is he international class?! If Heskey is a player that we are relying on then this is a sorry state of affairs.
We have strikers that are coming back to fitness that are the furture- Dean Ashton I believe would link up superbly with Owen. AJ is a player that I think is of international class due to the work ethics and his finishing ability- he is having a bit of a strange patch but I believe he will come back with a bang soon. Even Darren Bent is a much better player than Heskey and I would much rather see him play.
He falls too easily and isnt the greatest in the air so is he international class?! If Heskey is a player that we are relying on then this is a sorry state of affairs.
We have strikers that are coming back to fitness that are the furture- Dean Ashton I believe would link up superbly with Owen. AJ is a player that I think is of international class due to the work ethics and his finishing ability- he is having a bit of a strange patch but I believe he will come back with a bang soon. Even Darren Bent is a much better player than Heskey and I would much rather see him play.
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