So we've been knocked out in the quarters then?

That's a pretty average return, wouldn't you say?

In the qualifiers he scored 9 goals, more than double the amount of any other english player.

In the major tournaments the great players are remembered for what they do in the knockout stages more than anything else. The big games. Rooney was poor, but that doesn't mean he won't produce the goods when it matters.

In the quarter finals theres 8 teams left. 8th from 32 teams in the world cup is above average. Losing in the 2nd round would be average.

The worrying thing about the england game for me, has to be the team selection. I didn't expect fabio to turn into gregg abbott mid tournament!

He played swp, who can't cross the ball on his normal flank, on the other side. He played a defender he knew wasn't fully fit. He played a striker who has scored less goals than a paraguay goalkeeper from a similar sort of caps!

Surely he knows he got it badly wrong?!

The only mistake he made was milner on the left instead of cole.

Everything to do with the England national team is an extremity, If we had won 1-0 the press would be saying we are gonna walk the world cup, we draw 1-1 and its all doom and gloom.

We played ok-ish but didn't bring our shooting boots, USA didn't trouble us too much and only scored through a keeper cock up, heads up and onto the next match.

Didn't Italy draw with USA before going on to win the last world cup.

Milner has had a far better season than Cole, harsh to call it a mistake.

He'd also had three days of not being able to train fully due to a virus in the week before the game.

It was possibly a mistake to gamble on his fitness, but we don't want to open the whole 2005 Challenge Cup Final debate up again.

100% agree. It's also a fact that our 2 most successful world cup campaigns started with a draw. 1966 and 1990.

And both of them teams would d*ck all over the current crop of $hite.

Rooney needs to be played up top. He's bagged 30-odd goals for man u in that role. Hopefully if Barry is fit for Friday we'll see Gerrard pushed upto just behind Rooney in attack.

The problem we have is centre half. King's WC could be over so who goes into that role now? No pace and a lack of time to build a partnership is extremely worrying for me.

Green should keep his place. Ok he cocked up with the goal, that happens and rather him get it out of the way in game 1 rather than the knockout stages. Let's not forget the world class save he pulled off in the second half, that showed character.

I laugh at all the people who say we should go back to James, as if he has some great blemish-free record. I'd stick with Green too.

Re the world class save, we was about an inch from getting beaten at his near post, and a double slating, and a bigger post mortem. Not sure it was a world class save, it would have been poor to concede from there.

I'd agree on both, not sure what dropping Green would achieve and the save was not what I would bracket as world class, I think it was the commentator trying to redeem a bit of cred for Green.

Putting Wright-Phillips on the left was an even bigger mistake! Unless Cole wasn't 100% there was no reason to play SWP down the left hand side, he's proven that he can't cross the ball from the right hand side, so to ask him to do it from the left is stupid, it was never going to happen.

Green had already anticipated Altidore (?) going across him and had begun to move to dive that way (A mistake in it's own right). That meant he had to stop, change direction and make the save from close range. A top class stop IMO.

If Capello was picking players on form like he said he would, Joe Hart would be the keeper and deservedly so. He's had a great season and should be the keeper instead of Green or James, they've both had poor season's. I know Hart is young(23) and hasn't played much at this level but look at other teams who've gone with young keepers. Neuer (23) for Germany, Lloris (23) for France, Romero (23) for Argentina. If there good enough, there old enough IMO.
Heskey shouldn't be playing, he played quite well the other day but we drew and he didn't score, infact he never scores and you cant just rely on Rooney. Either bring Barry in and play Gerrard behind Rooney or play Crouch/Defoe with Rooney, atleast there a threat upfront.
Lennon/SWP cannot cross to save there lives, same as Walcott. SWP on the left was a poor choice by Capello IMO, Joe Cole should of played there.
In defence, Carragher will get terrorised by better teams. He's far too slow and although the others aren't much better i'd go with Dawson. He's had the best season out of them all and if Capello stuck to his word then Dawson would start. Lampard was terrible against the Yanks but so were most of the team.
We should win the group still but we wont go very far, QF at best IMO. Spain will walk it even if Torres doesn't play, best team by far IMO.

I'm with you on this mate!
The team should of been picked on form and Green has dropped some howlers for West Ham this year and imo James shouldn't of even gone.
I was surprised Capello didn't pick on form and if he continues down this path we are going nowhere.
The team should be imo.
Hart,Johnson,Dawson,Terry,A.Cole,J,Cole,Barry,Lampard,Lennon,Gerrard,Rooney.

Radio commentary the other day was completely ruined by a persistent, high-pitched droning. I just wish 5live would ditch Alan Green and Mark Lawrenson.

agree with that team. Only issue i have is having out and out wingers and attacking fullbacks, they seemed to get in each others way against USA. Lennon was skinning their fullback but the ball hardly went to him in the second half.

Why isn't Bang's name on this thread yet?

Utter scandal it is. Presumably because the OP is too up himself to change it?

Not been a decent game so far.

Glad to see englands performance has been put in perspective by performances elsewhere. Only germany have been impressive so far though theres still brazil and spain to kick off.

No one wants to lose the first game, and that has really shown with the cautious tactics.

Got a feeling Brazil will do something really special and light up the tournament tonight.

... like lose!

Cmon boys, lets get off to a winning start. Can easily do these!

Hopefully our resident moderator will change it for us to Bangs World Cup Thread.

C'mon McLaren you know you want to