The 2012 UEFA European Championship - Poland/Ukraine - The Thread!

[NBC]

I saw something on the Sky Sports wire a week or so ago where Capello said he made a mistake taking Lennon to the World Cup over Walcott. Didn't see the full story, but the headline.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by NBC

I saw something on the Sky Sports wire a week or so ago where Capello said he made a mistake taking Lennon to the World Cup over Walcott. Didn't see the full story, but the headline.

Why? Walcott was garbage in training and Lennon had been lights out before being injured last year.

[SeoulFire]

Originally Posted by Locke

Interesting. See, good things happen when you get rid of Wayne 'The Sulk' Rooney.

France hasnt hit the net once the entire first half. Not too surprising really.

Or perhaps it is the absence of Flopmaster G.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by SeoulFire

Or perhaps it is the absence of Flopmaster G.

Haha, yeah, maybe, but when Rooney is subbed and his sub instantly comes on and scores the game winner....that has nothing to do with Stevie.

Besides, maybe check the recent goal scoring form for England between Gerrard and Rooney.

[SeoulFire]

Sure. If I remember correctly it would be about 3-1 Gerrard in a little over a year. I can't recall the number of caps each have had during that time but oh well.

Nobody on England has performed well when it has counted and that includes Gerrard. If you took off the glasses and the blinders you may be able to see this.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by SeoulFire

Sure. If I remember correctly it would be about 3-1 Gerrard in a little over a year. I can't recall the number of caps each have had during that time but oh well.

Nobody on England has performed well when it has counted and that includes Gerrard. If you took off the glasses and the blinders you may be able to see this.

Haha, I know, I'm just busting your chops because I think Rooney is stunningly overrated. Honestly, most English players are heavily overrated by their own media.

As for who plays well for England? I frankly dont care, I enjoy watching English mediocrity. I cheer for Germany, and I think the last time those two met things went okay....

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by NBC

I saw something on the Sky Sports wire a week or so ago where Capello said he made a mistake taking Lennon to the World Cup over Walcott. Didn't see the full story, but the headline.

FABIO CAPELLO last night revealed his biggest World Cup regret - leaving out Arsenal's Theo Walcott.

The England boss admitted he should have picked Walcott rather than Spurs winger Aaron Lennon for South Africa. Capello, who is still considering his squad for the February 9 game with Denmark, said: "I am really happy that Theo is back.

"He is playing how I remember when he started to play with us.

"It was a tough decision leaving Theo out for the World Cup. He played only a few games before the end of the season, but he was not the same player.

"Instead, he played every time with fear in the tackle. He was not able to win back the ball quickly and then when he turned, his movement was not fast, like it is now.

"Even when I decided not to pick him, I still thought he would be a player I would think about after the World Cup, because he could play 25 minutes and be dangerous.

"But I made a mistake not selecting him. He is so fast he can make the difference in every moment. I should have taken him."

Walcott's hat-trick in Croatia was probably the highlight of the Italian's reign as England boss .

And Capello added: "It was a really difficult choice. Lennon was playing very well. Theo was not at the top at that moment.

"I chose Lennon and not Theo for this reason, after the training in Austria and the Japan game.

"Lennon was perfect. He played two games in the World Cup then got injured. Looking back, this is one change I would have made for the World Cup."

like typical Capello he doesn't make sense, because he ways Lennon was perfect and then got injured

I thought Lennon was terrible at the world cup, but his form going in was excellent, and I don't really blame him for his play because I don't know any RM in the world that would be decent with Glen Johnson behind them

however, in terms of mistakes not taking Walcott is way down the list of things Fabio messed up at the World Cup, constructing an entire plan around Emile Heskey making room for an out of form and injured Wayne Rooney is likely at the top

and also, Lennon was first choice RM, if anything was a mistake it was taking SWP as the backup

[SeoulFire]

Haha fair enough!

I will be the first to criticize Rooney for his overwhelming display of mediocrity (and even that is being generous) but it seems as though whenever anybody puts on the Three Lions their is a stunning transformation into a fat sassy millionaire who doesn't give a crap.

Besides, it's not his fault he was selected

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

like typical Capello he doesn't make sense, because he ways Lennon was perfect and then got injured

I thought Lennon was terrible at the world cup, but his form going in was excellent, and I don't really blame him for his play because I don't know any RM in the world that would be decent with Glen Johnson behind them

however, in terms of mistakes not taking Walcott is way down the list of things Fabio messed up at the World Cup, constructing an entire plan around Emile Heskey making room for an out of form and injured Wayne Rooney is likely at the top

and also, Lennon was first choice RM, if anything was a mistake it was taking SWP as the backup

Yeah the list is pretty long:

- Taking John Terry after the whole Bridge fiasco
- Not benching Rooney when it was clear he wasn't effective.
- Playing Lampard and Gerrard in the middle, which has never worked
- James Milner
- Deciding that Joe Hart wasn't experienced enough to play
- So many substitution errors
- Playing slow as #### Gareth Barry

[d_phaneuf]

and like it or not for the next probly 8 years when fit Rooney will be in every England squad, whether he is in form or not, which is the problem, when he is in form has he showed last season he can be a top 5 player in the world, but he hasn't shown that for awhile...

at least with the rest of the side though Capello is showing that certain players don't have a permanent place

Hart is the goalie for probly the next decade, happy with that

Dawson, Cahill, and Jagielka have been getting games at CB
Ashley Cole should be good at LB for a few more years and by that time Gibbs should be ready
Steve Kelly or Kyle Walker should be ready to take over at RB by Euro qualifying games next fall

and most importantly he seems to have moved away from the 4-4-2 to a 4-2-3-1

gives Rooney more room to roam, it likely means Carroll up top and I think he can play that role well, two wide midfielders to choose from (Johnson, Lennon, Walcott, Young, depending on form)

and for the holding 2 midfielders Wilshere and another CM, which for the next little while is probly Lampard or Gerrard, but hopefully soon enough it's someone like Rodwell, Henderson, Huddlestone

think the next 4 years have the potential to probably produce the 'best' England side in the last decade, although it's probably the optimistic view, but the u21, u19, u17 sides that performed well over the last few years are turning in to good senior players

[NBC]

Most people over here couldn't fathom that he took Ledley King with his litany of injury concerns, regardless of his on-field footballing qualities.

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by NBC

Most people over here couldn't fathom that he took Ledley King with his litany of injury concerns, regardless of his on-field footballing qualities.

I dono how he originally took him over Dawson

same with the fact that just now Jagielka is getting looks with the squad when he should have been for the past 2 years

and Upson not only making it but being picked for the game against Germany

[Alex.ua]

EURO 2012 ticket

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[d_phaneuf]

Wales are going to beat England on saturday

and when they do, Capello should immediately quit

this team he named, and making JT captain again, may be the worst yet

[Locke]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

Wales are going to beat England on saturday

and when they do, Capello should immediately quit

this team he named, and making JT captain again, may be the worst yet

You're dreaming. Wales may well win, but Capello isnt going anywhere.

He'll blame the fact that hes got a very shallow team right now.

Making John Terry Captain is an asinine move. Completely stupid. But whatever, he seems to have a hardon for Central defenders so have at it.

I'm excited for the upcoming Germany matches, getting to see guys like Grobkreutz and Schurrle should be fun.

[d_phaneuf]

I know he won't quit, but he shouldn't be allowed back in to the country

if the Back 4 is Johnson, Terry, Dawson, Cole

Wales will score, Terry and Dawson are both better in the box and in the air, Bale, Bellamy, and Ramsey will torch them with speed

just waiting until september 2012 at this point

[Locke]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

I know he won't quit, but he shouldn't be allowed back in to the country

if the Back 4 is Johnson, Terry, Dawson, Cole

Wales will score, Terry and Dawson are both better in the box and in the air, Bale, Bellamy, and Ramsey will torch them with speed

just waiting until september 2012 at this point

Haha, thats funny! You're not fired, we just dont want to let you back into the country. You'll have to manage England from France or Wales.

To be fair though, I've found that Cole and Johnson have been playing a lot better lately. I cant speak for Dawson because I havent really seen him play.

The issue is that no one is really scoring. Rooney has been out of form, granted hes been much better lately than he was at the start of the year, Crouch is inconsistent at best, Defoe is only consistently injured and Carroll just got back to playing and has only ever played 1 game for England so I dont know what to expect from him.

By the way, I didnt watch the Spurs game on the weekend but saw the review show, holy crap did Defoe miss like 4 or 5 complete sitters. Harry must have wanted to punch him in the face.

[d_phaneuf]

the problem isn't Cole he may be an absolute tool but he is one of the best LB's in the world

It's Johnson getting torched by Bale and also Dawson and Terry are both great defenders in the box but lack foot speed, you need someone with some speed to play with them (at Chelsea Terry has had Carvalho and now Luiz, Dawson has King/Gallas/Kaboul who are all quick). I just think it's a bad combo, Jagielka would be a good partner for either.

The strike force has something like 30 goals in a combined 130 games this season in the league

and yes Defoe is terrible, and what made it even worse was you could see that under his kit he had a "100 goals" shirt because he is on 99 right now for Spurs, and by the end of the day he should have been at about 105

I at least hope Capello plays Rooney and Carroll together, seems like it should be a good fit, Carroll up top and he is good in the air, allows Rooney to drop back a bit like he does for Man U

[Locke]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

the problem isn't Cole he may be an absolute tool but he is one of the best LB's in the world

It's Johnson getting torched by Bale and also Dawson and Terry are both great defenders in the box but lack foot speed, you need someone with some speed to play with them (at Chelsea Terry has had Carvalho and now Luiz, Dawson has King/Gallas/Kaboul who are all quick). I just think it's a bad combo, Jagielka would be a good partner for either.

The strike force has something like 30 goals in a combined 130 games this season in the league

and yes Defoe is terrible, and what made it even worse was you could see that under his kit he had a "100 goals" shirt because he is on 99 right now for Spurs, and by the end of the day he should have been at about 105

I at least hope Capello plays Rooney and Carroll together, seems like it should be a good fit, Carroll up top and he is good in the air, allows Rooney to drop back a bit like he does for Man U

I just dont think Capello should be playing Carroll at all unless the points are a sure thing. He just got back to fitness, playing him in an international game is a risk.

Knowing Capello, it'll be a 0-0 or 1-1 game and he'll be desperate at the end and throw Carroll on.

As for Defoe, I was watching the highlights and I couldnt believe it, I figured Spurs supporters must have been going out of their minds. He could have had a one in a million game there, and in a way he did, just not the way most people would like it.

[Locke]

England just got a huge let-off.

Tottenham winger Gareth Bale has been ruled out of Wales' Euro 2012 qualifier against England on Saturday with a hamstring injury.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...report?cc=5901