English soccer

Well, we can't really blame England for a less than satisfying performance against Kazakhstan. It is quite hard to attack when you have more than 3/4 of the team defending. Passing inside the box is almost impossible. However, that being said, the midfield of England was not good at all. With Lampard and Gerrard playing together, they left a big gap in their own half. The fact that Kazakhstan, a team worst than Hong Kong in ranking, managed to dominate the midfield in the first quarter of the second half was shocking. The defense were no better. Kazakhstan players were able to slice open England's defense with hardworking runs and pace. Pity they lacked a strong/big striker that can stand his ground and finish with style. Kazakhstan players often went out of breath when they reached the penalty box. Kazakhstan's style of smooth passing football is also more attractive than England's style. England players were quite a bore to watch. They have a odd habit of stopping the ball, looking around before passing. This really bring the pace down. Kazakhstan on the other hand belt out powerful passes and runs, giving us some smooth football. England stop and pass style can be frustrating to watch. But thank god, England can cross well. Lampard's freekicks were very accurate, and so was Brown and David Beckham. However, it was kind of cheap to take advantage of the height difference to score. Almost all goals, except defoe's break, was from setpieces and cross. This is not how a top team works. Maybe Michael Owen should play in the end. As for Gerrard and Lampard, I think both cannot play together in a 4-4-2 formation. I think they can't play together at all, considering how disastrous the 4-3-3 formation was, and don't even think about the 3-5-2 formation by the former manager.

U must realise that they always cannot perform under pressure. U see when they play against croatia, before the match, ppl were not having hopes on england to win, but they did win. And when ppl expects them to win, they struggled, especially towards weaker team. I have come to a conclusion that gerrard and lampard cannot paly together in the midfield. Either of them should play with barry.

ya that is what everybody is buzzing about....possibly as there are many star players, in order to get place in the first line-up they try to show their individual performance to convince his supporters or his managers which ultimately effects the teamwork ...well my view may sounds trivial but who knows it might be one of the reasons, right ?...

At times it seems that they have too many superstars... These superstars are great when they play with the people helping out around them, but when they come up with other superstars, they are suddenly uncomfortable... But, Capello is the right guy to kick the back side of a few of the superstars and put them to their place... Yesterday England thrashed Afghanistan 5-1... Interestingly all 6 goals came in the second half after Afghanistan held on in the first half... Cheers! Ram