Scott Parker for me. Fully focused and a powerhouse at the heart of our defence. Tackles well and rarely gives away possession and always seems forward-thinking in his distribution. Quality stuff imho! Over to you...
johnson suprised me yesterday didn't have a bad game, walcott for turning match around & should start him tuesday, as for the diver young i thout he was ****e yesterday & wouldn't play him tuesday.
Funny, Haven't thought Parker has been up to it, looks short of international class to me, looks slow, half lost and not fit. With that finish yesterday I go for Welbeck, with Walcott only No 2 due less playing time - he had a great 20 minutes yesterday, his speed finally pulled Sweden apart.
Welbeck is looking much more the finished article now, his running is intelligent and he is a handful for any defender, cracking goal yesterday as well...
I think Parker will get found out against a better side, particularly if we have to chase the game. He makes these excellent blocks because he's not got the positional sense to be in the right place. Cole for me too- our only world-class player bar possibly Rooney though I thought Carroll was superb yesterday.
Walcott played better and contributed more in the short time he was on the pitch than anyone else has done in 180+ minutes of football. Hart should have done better with Nasri's goal, and with both Swedish goals. The defense were poor for that 20 minutes vs Sweden, and should have pressed better against the French. There have been a dearth of meaningful passes from midfield, and only when good balls go in have the strikers looked capable. 20 minutes of Walcott for me wins him more plaudits than 180 minutes of Cole or Hart so far.
[QUOTE Hart should have done better with Nasri's goal, and with both Swedish goals. . [/QUOTE] As a keeper I couldn't disagree more. Nasri's strike was a good one which he saw late. I don't think many keepers would have done better. As for Mellberg's first, he gets a strong glove to divert it away and it's hit Johnson and gone in. The second one was terrible defending and left Hart helpless.
Hart should have come for Mellberg's second. He didn't even think about going for the cross. Terrible defending, but he needed to be more decisive - it could hardly have made things worse. He's made some great saves so far, and is definately our best keeper still, but he's not without his faults.
In hindsight given the defence gave him a free header he should have come but when a ball is played into that area you expect the defence to deal with it and by the time he'd have realised Mellberg was free coming out for it would have just left him halfway.
The ball should never have been there with Swedes lined up to score. Defensive line was yards too deep. Whose fault is that? The organisers at the back, Hart and Terry. (Northolt aint no wum. I think he's been Englands best too, unfortunately.)
I'd say Gerrard or perhaps Johnson. Gerrard has been a wonderful captain so far and Johnson has put some great tackles in.
As a keeper I couldn't disagree more. Nasri's strike was a good one which he saw late. I don't think many keepers would have done better. As for Mellberg's first, he gets a strong glove to divert it away and it's hit Johnson and gone in. The second one was terrible defending and left Hart helpless.[/QUOTE] I'm with you on the sweden goals,but (as an ex park goalie!) i coulda saved nasri's on a hot day. and I felt against France he reacted very late on at least 2 other occasions - felt he was very on edge for what was for him a very big occasion. He seemed more comfortable against sverige.
It's patently clear judging by the replies here that no individual is having a stormer. After two games we had a fortunate draw against France scoring with our only shot on target and a slightly better performance to edge the Swedes despite a suicidal 20 minutes when we defended like planks but recovered with some obvious substitutions. It will be interesting to see who has to make way for Rooney. Ukraine looked very poor at the back in both their games. They were hanging on against Sweden and the French, apart from the five minutes before they took the lead, were never troubled. I think we'll probably play the ManUre trio Young, Rooney and Welbeck as their club understanding should prove effective against a suspect back-line...
Scott Parker for me (based on consistent performance so far). He has tremendous work rate, and the sort of commitment we need. He's up and down the field the whole game. Will he get found out in future games? We'll see. Again based on performances so far. Close behind for me... Gerrard and Hart.
