Posts Tagged ‘England’

Scotland lost last night which of course I’m gutted about, but England and Wales both won, so as far as mainland football is concerned 2 out of 3 ‘aint bad.

Sadly my predictions were way off for the England match, I said 3-1 to Germany, but the second choice team of players did good to pull the victory out of the bad – Terry must be thanking his lucky stars right now after his massive mistake to give Germany a gift of a goal. My Scotland prediction was close to the mark (1-1), and I think my team did great because they held it to a nil nil draw for 82 long minutes, which in Scottish terms is practically a win. Well done to Bellamy and Wales for sorting out the Danish and making their fry-up this morning extra special.

So, with the media having kittens about how good England are right now, do they have any chance of ever clinching world cup glory with England at this time?

I think that as far as England are concerned, this could be their time, and as a Scotsman it pains me to say that, but Capello has invigorated the team so much, and they genuinely look like they could walk away world cup winners.

It all depends on fitness and if the players want to work together effectively. Rooney spend as much time off the pitch as on it, Owen is gone forever IMO, Lampard and Gerrard clearly dislike each others playing styles, Beckham is getting a bit past it, but then you have guys like Defoe, Bent and Shawn Wright-Philips who had an exceptional games last night (definitely my pick for Man of the Match), Walcott and the rest of the new breed.

I think that they are doing well under Capello, but the English Premier League managers will only take so much of his arrogance before they tell him exactly ‘where to go’. I think Capello was out of line giving Benitez a hard time last week over the Gerrard issue, and I get the feeling other managers, like Sir Alex Ferguson or Martin O’neill could have something to say if he keeps acting like that.

Regardless, I like that they could do well in the world cup, they just need to hold it together. We’ve seen them crack under the pressure that the media heaps on them in the past, and it’ll doubtless happen again, but it’s just about focus.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, are in the same sort of boat. Scotland have proved they can play with the big boys, with the last couple of years showing vast improvement, and a big leap in the FIFA rankings. The problem is up front we are terrible. McFadden and Miller are Scotland’s only real goal scorers, and as they spend time on the injured list repeatedly, that means a lot of nil nil draws for the tartan army.

Wales and N. Ireland, two teams that show glimers of solid play, and have good results every so often, but I would be really surprised if they qualified for the cup. Well just have to wait and see.

So lots of football on tonight, but two main games that anyone needs to be concerned with: England Vs Germany and Scotland Vs Argentina.

I’m just going to put t right out there: England are going to be in serious trouble. With the news that Walcott is out now with a dislocated shoulder and anyone with a degree of decent ability gone, I wouldn’t be surprised to see 3, 4 or even 5 go past the keeper. Let’s have a look at who’s out of the match; Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown, Joe Cole, Ashley Cole, Emile Heskey and Joe Hart.

That’s a massive loss to the squad that now consists of; Carson, Robinson, James, Bridge, Davies, Johnson, Terry, Lescott, Mancienne, Richards, Upson, Barry, Carrick, Downing, Bullard, Parker, Wright-Phillips, A Young, Agbonlahor, Bent, Crouch, Defoe. ouch!

So England still has Terry but after his foot troubles the other day I don’t expect him to make it past the first 60 minutes. The real threat toward Germany comes from forwards, Wright-Philips, Bent and Defoe. They are going to have a serious problem in midfield, with the loss of Gerrard and Lampard, but to be honest they are terrible when they play together, so it’s a good chance for Barry and Bullard to make a real name for themselves.

The match I really care about is the Scotland Vs Argentina one. The press are all over this just as much as the England game which is great to see. I think that Maradona’s presence will make his players perform brilliantly, but a quick check has shown that Scotland are 4/1 odds on to win tonight. The Butcher thing is getting a bit stupid though – get over it please. It should be about Scotland not about his never-really-existed rivalry with the little coke-snorting midget.

Regardless, Scotland will have a tough time with the players they are missing, Craig Gordon’s just been pulled out, then you’ve got Darren Fletcher, James Morrison, Ross McCormack, Steven Fletcher and Kenny Miller all sitting on the sidelines. That’s Scotland’s best keeper, midfielder and striker all out, which means were left with Aberdeen striker Lee Miller and Dundee United midfielder Scott Robertson, who just got called up last minute.

I hope that both England and Scotland win tonight but realistically this is how I see it going down:

Germany 3 England 1
Scotland 1 Argentina 1

I’m particularly gutted as I won’t be able to watch the Scotland game, as I live in England and don’t have Sky TV, so I’ll be watching the England match with the sound turned down, and I’ll have my DAB radio on with the Scotland game on. It might sound confusing, but it’s for my country dammit!