***Official England v Mexico Thread***

[Vhero]

i thought milner was one of the better players personally.

Really? I thought he was extremely quiet and didn't do anything for the game considering his position.. Then again he couldn't have got worse than Carrick...

Carrick was playing???!!!!!

Exactly... I had a rag watching the match with us and even he said "how the fuck has Carrick got a call up he is shit".

[Ted Hughes]

England scored 3 against a skillful side on a good unbeaten run, who could also have had 2 players sent off, without getting out of 1st gear. There will be corners & free kicks at the World Cup & teams have to stop England from scoring from them in games like that, before they can talk about beating them in other areas.

Favourite for that job will be the ref giving free kicks for fuck all infringements in the box or allowing blatant holding by defenders. Otherwise no one in that tournament has what it takes to stop the likes of Crouch nicking goals. They'll have to really take advantage of JT, Wio & co in order to beat England because they can score in any game from a set piece.

[Grob]

Good test, good warm up. Interesting setup from Capello, i hope the lose affiliation to 442 that we saw last night is a sign of things to come. An elastic 442 is Englands best chance of success. We have neither the right mix of midfielders or attackers to make the 4-3-3/4-5-1 formation, so often prefered over the past few years but by and large beginning to fall out of fashion, work.

Mexico were more nsync then we were. Thats not a surprise as they're squad has been together longer than ours in prep for the WC. England got better as the game went on which was a good sign.

Negatives

Baines/Carrick/Huddlestone not up to it. I'd cut the 3 of them now from the squad.
Gerrard was hopeless outwide
Walcott's decision making leaves much to be desired
Milner looked a squad player at best
King uncharacteristically paniced often
Defoe was anonymous

Positives

The regulars had good games (Rooney, Plug, G Johnson, Gerrard in the middle, Crouch)
Caragher looked assured when he came on
Both keepers did well, but Joe looked more commanding.
Walcott looked a threat with his pace, Lennon too.

The problem area that needs to be balanced is midfield. AJ and Joe Cole need to be looked at on the left. Barry would be a massive loss after seeing Carrick and Huddlestone attempt to play his role last night. Parker could be an option though. Also, the cover at full back is truely dire. It may be a case of taking just Caragher as cover and hoping nothing happens. Baines was just completly out of his depth. Phil Neville would have been a better bet as cover.

If i was picking a team now mine would be

--------------------Hart

G Johnson---Terry---Ferdinand---A Cole

Walcott----Barry----Gerrard----A Johnson

-----------Rooney-----Crouch

The only 5 positions you would say are pencilled in are the back 4 and Rooney. Gerrard and Barry maybe if Capello has the bottle to leave Lampard out and Barry is fit. The rest of the starting spots are probably still up for grabs.

Capello is a better manager than Sven and McLaren. I think he will have us right.

[Blue2]

Surprised you would go for Walcott Grob. To me there is rarely an end product from him. Gets in good positions, but doesn't make the right choice when he gets there. I would leave him at home- Lennon, SWP, Johnson & Cole are all better than him in the wide position. Much of the rest I would agree with especially Carrick and fat boy Tom.

[LookMumImOnMCF.net]

How can you leave Lampard out?! Incredible.

[Vhero]

How can you leave Lampard out?! Incredible.

I agree judging on this seasons performances Lampard over Gerrard any day of the week.

[Grob]

How can you leave Lampard out?! Incredible.

Because i think the 4 in midfield that ive picked provide a better balance than any other combination of the players in Fabio's 30, including Lampard. Incredible.

[LookMumImOnMCF.net]

How can you leave Lampard out?! Incredible.

Because i think the 4 in midfield that ive picked provide a better balance than any other combination of the players in Fabio's 30, including Lampard. Incredible.

Along with Rooney, Lampard is the best player England have and he's consistently proved this over several seasons. He's certainly better than any of the midfielders you have picked. You can't leave out your best players in the interests of 'balance'.

[HeyMark]

How can you leave Lampard out?! Incredible.

Because i think the 4 in midfield that ive picked provide a better balance than any other combination of the players in Fabio's 30, including Lampard. Incredible.

Along with Rooney, Lampard is the best player England have and he's consistently proved this over several seasons. He's certainly better than any of the midfielders you have picked. You can't leave out your best players in the interests of 'balance'.

Of course you can mate, its the same idea of building a team and not just playing a bunch of superstars

[LookMumImOnMCF.net]

How can you leave Lampard out?! Incredible.

Because i think the 4 in midfield that ive picked provide a better balance than any other combination of the players in Fabio's 30, including Lampard. Incredible.

Along with Rooney, Lampard is the best player England have and he's consistently proved this over several seasons. He's certainly better than any of the midfielders you have picked. You can't leave out your best players in the interests of 'balance'.

Of course you can mate, its the same idea of building a team and not just playing a bunch of superstars

Not in this case. Sorry but both Barry and Gerrard have been pants all season. AJ's relatively new and Walcott hasn't done anything decent in years.

How can you leave one of the Prem's greatest players out for this lot?

A team can be 'balanced' where all the players are useless. I'm not saying that these four are, but it's just one of those buzzwords. I'm pretty sure a midfield with Lampard in can be 'balanced' enough.

[Grob]

How can you leave Lampard out?! Incredible.

Because i think the 4 in midfield that ive picked provide a better balance than any other combination of the players in Fabio's 30, including Lampard. Incredible.

Along with Rooney, Lampard is the best player England have and he's consistently proved this over several seasons. He's certainly better than any of the midfielders you have picked. You can't leave out your best players in the interests of 'balance'.

Of course you can mate, its the same idea of building a team and not just playing a bunch of superstars

Not in this case. Sorry but both Barry and Gerrard have been pants all season. AJ's relatively new and Walcott hasn't done anything decent in years.

How can you leave one of the Prem's greatest players out for this lot?

A team can be 'balanced' where all the players are useless. I'm not saying that these four are, but it's just one of those buzzwords. I'm pretty sure a midfield with Lampard in can be 'balanced' enough.

England have won without Lampard before you know. Many times. I reckon we could do it again.

[Dameerto]

Mexico just beat Italy 2-1 - it sounds like Mexico were all over them.