Although that was a pretty unininspiring game, I was really happy with the way England set up and played. We were up against a much more creative and, probably, better team. Yet we looked solid, didn't concede too many chances, and took ours well when it came. It doesn't make for thrilling viewing, but it does make for points in group stage games.77
Players that stood out for me were... erm. Creative expression and displays of skill were thin on the ground to say the least. Ashley Young coped pretty well with a slightly more playmaker-y role, incuding the great ball through to Welbeck for the goal that won the game. Welbeck took the goal very well indeed. Will he start ahead of Carroll? You'd think not, as Carroll provides more of the English 'rough-and-tumble' up front (read- he uses his elbows more), but I know who I'd rather have on the pitch in the event of a one on one. Defoe and Walcott both did well when they came on. I wonder if Walcott will start either. He's certainly a useful player to have on the bench, but I suppose a lot of it will depend on the formation. 4-5-1, you'd expect him to start.
The game itself doesn't bear much analysis, but the result will stand England in good stead going into the group games. Of course, the Cahill thing was annoying. If one Chelsea centre half had to miss the tournament, why oh why couldn't it be Captain Bionic? Cahill will no doubt be incensed that the injury came about so needlessly, and unsportingly. I, on the other hand, am incensed that a certain gurning, trophy-stealing, alleged-racist ex-captain couldn't have been the one to take the fall.
Now, of course, Martin Kelly has been drafted in to fill the gap. He won't play (please God), and as I mentioned previously, there is still decent depth at centre back. Terry and Lescott will be no worse as a partnership than Terry and Cahill would have been. At current rates,we will lose at least two more key players before our first game a week today, so maybe we should have a couple of days of training with those soft sponge balls, and helmets.
I don't think we learnt much from Belgium that we didn't already know. We are a technically limited team, but if we can retain that solid shape that sucks a lot of the fun out of the game but makes defending a lot easier, we will remain hard to beat. Hopefully that will be enough to see us through the group stage.
I'll be back over the weekend after watching the first couple of matches, and in time for a preview of England-France. Until then.
Players that stood out for me were... erm. Creative expression and displays of skill were thin on the ground to say the least. Ashley Young coped pretty well with a slightly more playmaker-y role, incuding the great ball through to Welbeck for the goal that won the game. Welbeck took the goal very well indeed. Will he start ahead of Carroll? You'd think not, as Carroll provides more of the English 'rough-and-tumble' up front (read- he uses his elbows more), but I know who I'd rather have on the pitch in the event of a one on one. Defoe and Walcott both did well when they came on. I wonder if Walcott will start either. He's certainly a useful player to have on the bench, but I suppose a lot of it will depend on the formation. 4-5-1, you'd expect him to start.
The game itself doesn't bear much analysis, but the result will stand England in good stead going into the group games. Of course, the Cahill thing was annoying. If one Chelsea centre half had to miss the tournament, why oh why couldn't it be Captain Bionic? Cahill will no doubt be incensed that the injury came about so needlessly, and unsportingly. I, on the other hand, am incensed that a certain gurning, trophy-stealing, alleged-racist ex-captain couldn't have been the one to take the fall.
Now, of course, Martin Kelly has been drafted in to fill the gap. He won't play (please God), and as I mentioned previously, there is still decent depth at centre back. Terry and Lescott will be no worse as a partnership than Terry and Cahill would have been. At current rates,we will lose at least two more key players before our first game a week today, so maybe we should have a couple of days of training with those soft sponge balls, and helmets.
I don't think we learnt much from Belgium that we didn't already know. We are a technically limited team, but if we can retain that solid shape that sucks a lot of the fun out of the game but makes defending a lot easier, we will remain hard to beat. Hopefully that will be enough to see us through the group stage.
I'll be back over the weekend after watching the first couple of matches, and in time for a preview of England-France. Until then.
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