Don't get me wrong, I love to tune in to the African Cup of Nations, if only for comedy goalkeepers and Mark Bright's commentary, or the Copa America - plenty of Latin flare on display.
I fell in love with the game around the time of football's rebirth - Italia 90 - and we haven't had a better World Cup since. Following England has been painful and I, like so many others, lost interest in them.
But Don Fabio may be winning me over - even if England were dire against Kazakhstan at Wembley last Saturday.
My one fear is that he falls into the trap of forcing Steven Gerrard AND Frank Lampard into the team at any cost.Two world class players no doubt, but they just cannot perform in tandem. Lampard has earned his right to start ahead of Gerrard at present and Gareth Barry just has to play in order to anchor the midfield as he has done astutely of late.
Gerrard doesn't perform on the left, and with Theo Walcott's hat-trick in Zagreb cementing his place in the starting line-up for the foreseeable future, for me, there's no place for him at the moment other than on the bench - what an amazing player to have on your bench!
Joe Cole has been one of England's better players over the last two years so when fit, and if in form, he'd get my nod. As he isn't fit for Belarus tonight, I'd love to have seen Ashley Young given a go.
Imagine it, Walcott and Young terrorising fullbacks on both flanks... That hasn't happened though as Capello has gone for the same midfield that started against the Borats.
Have you heard about the new Zidane? Bordeaux's Yoann Gourcuff is the latest of Les Bleues' young playmakers to inherit the moniker.Franck Ribery, Samir Nasri and Hatem Ben Arfa, all quality players in their own right, have all been dubbed 'the new Zizou' and now it's the turn of Gourcuff.
After a spectacular long-range belter against Romania at the weekend, maybe the French Press are right this time...
I'm not the biggest fan of players being labelled 'the new Maradona' or 'the new Van Basten' or 'the new Carlton Palmer'.
Ribery, Nasri and Ben Arfa all play from the left or right for their clubs and we all know that Zidane was a maestro from the centre of the park, a unique player who's technique resembled no other.Maradona was the same, and there have since been many young Argentine starlets compared to him since.
The latest, Lionel Messi, is truly world class and has the ability to make his mark on the history of the game, whether Gourcuff has the same pedigree remains to be seen.
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4 comments:
Agree that Ashley Young deserves a chance at least. He has surprised me since moving to Villa... quality player. Can't see why he isn't even getting on the bench... same goes for Woodgate and Micah Richards (both fit and playing well).
I think Capello might surprise you with the Gerrard/Lampard combination. He seems to have the ability to make tactical changes midway through a match to which the players actually respond. But Barry can't be dropped. Perhaps a starting midfield of Gerrard, Lampard, Barry and Joe Cole... with Gerrard wide right when we don't have posession of the ball.
What about lil Theo? He had a poor game last night and is still inconsistent but he has that ability to rip defences apart...
I'm still not convinced with the Lampard/Gerrard combination. The space that Gerrard left behind him on the left was frightening. If we play that away against decent opposition Ashley Cole will have to be at his defensive best because Gerrard doesn't seem willing to track his man.
The same applies for Walcott, who was at fault for Belarus's goal (although Gerrard and Bridge were holding hands and what the rest of the back four were doing I'm not entirely sure) but he occupies more of the flank as he plays wider.
It certainly worked better in the second half when Heskey played on the left and Gerrard supported Rooney. But could England play that way against Germany, Spain or a more competent team?
Good point about Don Fabio though, he doesn't appear to be one-dimensional and seems to get the best out of players - so far so good.
I also agree with you about Richards and Woodgate. Upson isn't international class in my book, but although I'm not the biggest Wes Brown fan, he is playing solid football at the moment.
It's all looking a lot rosier than under McClaren (two 'c's' in McClaren because he's an extra c@%t).
Walcott looks good in the bank of four in midfield. If we are playing that system and he is getting his own way on the right flank... chocs away! But when it's not working (a-la-last night), we need a bit more guile. Gerrard, Lampard, Barry and Joe Cole are all classy passers and movers and I don't see how they can be left out.
I agree about the left-hand-side. But as you say, when Cashley is back we will be stronger. Don't forget that Bridge has hardly played this season and that back four last night only really had one certain starter (Ferdinand). Wes Brown has done a decent stand-in job, but I think he's a good centre-half and an okay right-back.
I still have my reservations about Gerrard on the left, but I also have faith in Don Fabio. His record speaks for itself. All in all though, the future looks bright.
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