[demonrail666]

Hopefully of interest to some of you, the people at that ZonalMarking website I linked the other day have come up with their own European team of the season. I don't know all the players listed but it's definitely a far more interesting line-up than the other one I linked.

 

First Team:

Joe Hart, Manchester City
Stephan Lichtsteiner, Juventus
Vincent Kompany, Manchester City
Mats Hummels, Dortmund
Jordi Alba, Valencia
Andrea Pirlo, Juventus
Yaya Touré, Manchester City
Santi Cazorla, Málaga
Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid
Lionel Messi, Barcelona
Falcao, Atlético Madrid


Substitutes:

Gianluigi Buffon, Juventus
Lukasz Piszczek, Dortmund
Thiago Silva, Milan
Sergio Ramos, Real Madrid
Giorgio Chiellini, Juventus
Xavi Hernandez, Barcelona
Arturo Vidal, Juventus
Marco Reus, Borussia Mönchengladbach
David Silva, Manchester City
Robin van Persie, Arsenal
Olivier Giroud, Montpellier


Here's the link for more info ...

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2012/05/...e-year-201112/

[SonicBebs]

Hard to know how to feel after that. So far all 3 strikers look ok. Defoe will always be dangerous, welbeck had a good game and took a very good goal, and i thought carrol looked good against Norway, linking up with ashley young nicely. Young looked rubbish today though, slow and easily gave away possesion.
I dont think we have a problem defensively and up front we are dangerous. We just cant seem to get the ball up to our strickers. Which is odd because gerrard, parker and milner are really good too.
Im gonna blame walcot and downing

[demonrail666]

I think our defence looks ok. Ashley Cole is obviously superb and I really rate Cahill. Personally I'd start Lescott ahead of Terry but so long as he stays fit and behaves himself, he does work well with Cahill and is greatly helped by Parker sitting just behind the midfield. I still don't like Glenn Johnson. A strong winger will tear him apart. He's fine when we're chasing a game but I don't trust him if we're trying to defend a lead. I think we still really miss Gary Neville in that position.

Our forwards will always score if given the chance but the problem, as you say, is our midfield. Gerrard's not the player he was and Milner's decent but not one to turn a game around. I still have a soft spot for Wallcot but he's obviously not a player you can rely on, and Oxlade Chamberlain seems another tournament away from showing his real potential. Young does go missing and makes mistakes but (as we saw today) he's always capable of doing something out of the blue, making him probably our most dangerous midfielder at the moment. But I think the midfield will generally struggle to create chances and likely get heavily overrun by the better teams. Our best bet may be with set-pieces. We have a fair bit of height and Terry, Cahill, Carroll, etc are always dangerous when it comes to corners.

[SonicBebs]

Cahill is out, and Martin Kelley is in. Apparently Micah Richards also ruled himself out when he wasn't picked first time. Prick.
Still think we'll be ok with Lescott and Jagielca. It is a shame though

[demonrail666]

 

[the ikara cult]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

I think our defence looks ok. Ashley Cole is obviously superb and I really rate Cahill. Personally I'd start Lescott ahead of Terry but so long as he stays fit and behaves himself, he does work well with Cahill and is greatly helped by Parker sitting just behind the midfield. I still don't like Glenn Johnson. A strong winger will tear him apart. He's fine when we're chasing a game but I don't trust him if we're trying to defend a lead. I think we still really miss Gary Neville in that position.

Id have Lescott and Cahill all day, they both play understudy in their club life but they rise to the challenge for England. If Kyle Walker was fit he's my no1 all day long, he isnt a great defender like Cole yet but he seems like much more of a live wire who's ready to learn and get better than Glen Johnson who just looks comfy as fuck

[the ikara cult]

and youre singing my tune about Gary Neville, ive always loved him. He has the kind of face that people dislike, but he's a thousand times more passionate than some prat like Phil Jones.

[demonrail666]

Yeah, G Neville was probably the most underrated of that entire 'golden' generation. You're right, he never really looked the part but was a brilliant defender. It'll be interesting seeing how he does as defensive coach. I reckon even now he's still better than Johnson and the way things are going he may have to don his shin pads again come Monday. We can only hope.

[the ikara cult]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

Yeah, G Neville was probably the most underrated of that entire 'golden' generation. You're right, he never really looked the part but was a brilliant defender. It'll be interesting seeing how he does as defensive coach. I reckon even now he's still better than Johnson and the way things are going he may have to don his shin pads again come Monday. We can only hope.

Im still expecting absolutely fuck all. The Portugal/Holland/Germany group is more interesting at the moment

[demonrail666]

Yeah, it's actually quite nice not having that burden of expectation (unless expecting not to get past the group stage counts as expectation). And I'm actually a lot more comfortable with footballing despair than I am optimism. I remember feeling almost envious of the French in the last world cup. Their meltdown really was world class. If things are gonna fuck up for England, let them really fuck up, I say. If we can't come back as winners we may as well come back as the ultimate footballing disaster in the tournament. I'm hoping for brawls after Terry calls Defoe a pickaninny during training. I'm hoping Neville will run onto the pitch mid game to twat Glen Johnson after he makes yet another misjudged gallop forward, leaving the defence exposed. I'm hoping of leaked rumours that a WAG did the nasty with a Ukrainian Mafia boss.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

poor US. we used to have a team..

[demonrail666]

Yeah, I never saw it but drawing with Canada is pretty bad. Did Dempsey play?

Although a big name, I really don't think Klinsmann was the answer for you guys.

[Bertrand]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

I'm hoping of leaked rumours that a WAG did the nasty with a Ukrainian Mafia boss.

That would truly be brilliant...
What could top that, I don't know...
Surely, some team will come up with something...

[h8kurdt]

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

poor US. we used to have a team..

You've actually got some great players and you're thrashing of Scotland should show more than a draw with Canada.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

poor US. we used to have a team..

pscheh...

 

this US team is probably better than ever in terms of quality players. it's a growing sport here and this new generation is showing it by playing in top teams abroad.

also

1) what h8kurdt said!

2) http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/sto...aly-first-time

still, these are friendlies, no real stakes except maybe a bit of pride, so don't expect the moon tomorrow. klinsmann is trying out different systems. please get informed of why and how in this article:

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1679/...-formation-for

i expect klinsmann to do better than bradley. bradley is a good guy and i wish him well working for egypt, but professionally he doesn't have the chops to build a world-class team. klinsmann has had his career ups and downs, but he operates at a different level than bradley-- have some patience and see you in 2 years.

[demonrail666]

I think the major plus for the US now is that, in Donovan and Dempsey, they have two players that can reasonably have a team built around them. The danger is that they become a Gerrard-Lampard problem: too similar and end up cancelling each other out.

As el Symbols says, Klinsmann has two years to get it right. I'm still not convinced he's the right man but saying that, I don't know who I would've chosen instead. And at least he's now in a situation where he knows who his two best players are, which has to make any further team selections a lot more straightforward.

[demonrail666]

Just to say, there's a great article in this week's Time magazine by Bill Saporito.

 

I couldn't find a link to his article so you'll have to buy it if you're interested but it is really worth a read.

Originally Posted by Bertrand

That would truly be brilliant...
What could top that, I don't know...
Surely, some team will come up with something...

He's apparently doubtful with injury but if he goes, Mario Balotelli has to give Italy the potential edge there. Although John Terry will always put England in contention.

[the ikara cult]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

Just to say, there's a great article in this week's Time magazine by Bill Saporito.

 

I couldn't find a link to his article so you'll have to buy it if you're interested but it is really worth a read.

Thats all well and good, but why is he standing like a ballerina?

[demonrail666]

A slot on Strictly if things go as tits up as we expect this June?

[the ikara cult]

Well Audley Harrison is still boxing, so anythings possible