Hart 4 (cost us both our goals) Glen Johnson 5 (some good attacking play, but went missing far too often) Terry 5 (solid performance) Ferdinand 6 (probably our best defender) Cole 5 (did ok, but unfair to judge too harshly given his limited time on the field) Walcott 3 (did absolutely nothing and was anonymous) Parker 5 (some good invention, but too many backward passes) Wishere 7 (England's best player, but still a little too erratic to be considered an England regular yet) Milner 5 (some neat touches, but not our best option on the left) Lampard 5 (took his penalty well, but otherwise anonymous) Bent 4 (what's the point in having a striker if he can't at least hit the target from close range?) Subs: Baines 6 (did well when he came on and looked a solid replacement for Cole, but a little nervy at times) Young 7 (close call for MOTM for me; took his goal well and made a huge impact on the game) Downing 5 (should have started instead of Walcott)
My go then: Hart - 6 - unfair to blame him completely for both goals (explained below) Johnson - 5 - got forward well and, well, we know what to expect from him defensively by now. No glaring errors though Terry - 6 - solid and fairly anonymous, but in a good way Ferdinand - 5 - fairly solid performance, but should have perhaps defended better for the first goal Cole - 6 - was going well before his unfortunate injury Wilshere - 7.5 - good game from him. Some good play, drove on well in the buildup to both goals, should soon be pushing for a regular place Parker - 4.5 - first touch was poor in the first quarter, and his performance was below the level of what we were expecting of him. Gradually got better though Lampard - 5 - took the penalty well, but went missing while Wilshere seemed to be pulling the strings. Once again we expect better from him Milner - 6 - looked good going forward and was industrious as usual Bent - 4 - poor by his recent standards. Should have taken his late chances Walcott - 4 - tracked back a few times to help out Johnson, but did not make the most of his chances going forward Subs Young - 7.5 - should have started, made a real difference when he came on and should be in the starting 11 now Baines - 6 - looked solid and was adventurous going forward. Great touch for the goal despite some occasional lapses of control Downing - 5 - not really given enough time to make a real difference, tricky chance at the end was a difficult ask to put away The reason why I think that Hart should not take all the blame for the two goals is as follows. For goal 1 he would have expected the ball to be headed across him, so he prepared to dive that way. Instead Ferdinand missed the header at the near post and it snuck in. An unlucky goal to concede, but by no means was it unpreventable. For goal 2, we can pretty much absolve Hart from blame. Milner moved out of the way of the ball, and the graphic ITV used seemed to show that Milner wold have blocked the ball had he stayed put. Hart did well even to get a touch on it IMHO, if the wall had stayed put then there would have been no issue. For me, this is how I would like England to line up (with everyone fit and available etc.) 4-3-3 Hart G.Johnson Terry Ferdinand Cole Parker Wilshere Gerrard (you can only have one of him and Lampard and for me Gerrard is the one) Rooney (yes, out wide) Bent Young Bent I believe is the one to play there for England. He had a poor game today but I back him to get better. If not, we can move Rooney inside and play A.Johnson, Walcott, or Lennon out wide. Milner on the bench as a utility. For friendlies we should gradually phase in the likes of Cahill, Dawson, Jagielka, Walker (possibly), Baines, and the rest. Just my (slightly long) two cents
SuperPav9... No room for THudd in your future set-up for England? Personally, I think he's better than Wilshere.
I think he's definitely one to consider, but might a midfield 3 including Thudd and Wilshere be a bit lightweight? You would have to get the right balance, but Huddlestone is definitely a player I would like to see in an England shirt. My list was by no means exclusive though
"Lampard - 5 - took the penalty well, but went missing while Wilshere seemed to be pulling the strings. Once again we expect better from him" I don't think he took the penalty well at all, the keeper should have had it, but dived over it. Other than his penalty he was invisible. I cannot for the life of me see why he is still in the England team.
His selection was a mystery to me I'll admit. I'll also concede that it was a dodgey pen, but the important thing or me is that he scored it. Perhaps he deserved a 4, but that seemed harsh considering that he got the goal
Nice to see good old Capello blaming the result on fatigue. I'd put it down to poor finishing, a weak midfield, poor passing and a lack of creativity. When Young came on things looked a better but we should have had Harry's missus up front and someone to help Wilshere
I was going to say something worthwhile and critique the performance, but any contribution by the England players against Switzerland has to be better than choosing to have a hair transplant, instead.
Loved Capello's fatigue excuse. Poor dears have had their feet up for a couple of weeks and yet still can't get going for an England match. When we lose to Holland in August the excuse will be that they're not match fit. Then one month later when we struggle to overcome Wales it will be that the players are to tired after one month of Premiership football. Is there ever a time when they are not tired?
