England vs Ecuador

[cmacdon]

I don't know about you guys, but this match is a highly anticipated one for me.

Ecuador, of all the underdogs, is the most likely to pull and upset. Now don't get me wrong my British...um chaps....your team is looking good, but Ecuador surprised a lot.

For some reason, I think this will come down to extra time and England will win a low scoring affair, 1-0 perhaps.

I also do not know how the absence of Owen will affect England.

Predictions?

[MinOs]

Eduador 1-0 :bigwink:

Actually it will probably be the same as the Ecuador - Germany game. England is the sure winner.

[Ian01]

2-0 England, hopefully they play like they did in the first half against Sweden all match

[Thomson]

i just hope Sven does the right thing and plays a 4-5-1 or something similer.

maybe with gerrard pushing up to support Rooney

[James Bond 007]

Sven Eriksonn needs to pull his Abba loving, Ikea using head out of his arse and start doing what hes paid £4 million to do.... Manage!!!

Stevie G IS Englands best player, he is a match winner and the longer Sven keeps playing him at the back of a diamond in the anchor role we mayswell be playing with 10 men bcoz he cant have as much impact on a game if hes 30 yards behind play.

Gerrard is the best midfielder in the world (I dont give a fuck what anyone says he is) and we need him sat behind the striker(s) where he has proved invalubale to Liverpool time and time again for the last 2 years.

Quote of the day:

"If England win the world cup it will be inspite of Eriksonn not because of him"

Robbie Fowler

[Thomson]

i agree.i dont think he should play Crouch from the start neither, he's more effective coming on later on so he can disrupe the Ecuador defense like he did against the Argies

[JuliaAguilar]

I will likely only catch the second half of this game, since I have to go pick up the baby, who stayed the night at my dad's last night. (Hey, I gotta go out every once in a while!) But I'm thinking England will win, though it will be a really well-played match by Ecuador. I'm going for a close match, 2-1 England.

EDIT: I realized now that I'm watching the Germany game that this game is not on today. Damn you all, with your trickery!

[Canty]

If Germany can beat them 3-0 we should be able to match that score without trying. I'll have my doubts though. England haven't played anywhere near like they should be yet.

I'm over the moon that Carrick is playing but why is Sven putting Hargreaves in LB??? He has never been and never will be a defender. He is a decent MF as proved on Tuesday. FFS Sven, Carragher been doing well in that position.

[Henkie]

Stevie G IS Englands best player, he is a match winner and the longer Sven keeps playing him at the back of a diamond in the anchor role we mayswell be playing with 10 men bcoz he cant have as much impact on a game if hes 30 yards behind play.
Technically, that's supposed to be a great place for someone with a decent pass and good defensive skills, because on that position you get the ball early in an attack and quite a lot of space, usually, so you can set up attacks and decide the pace of the game and stuff like that, it's a very controlling position. The only problem is that you're expected to do a lot of defensive work as well, which most playmakers don't like, which is why quite often a playmaker is coupled with an assistent who'll clean up the mess (at Liverpool this is Xabi Alonso, at Chelsea you have Makalele, Milan has Gatusso, etc.). This means you basically use two players for one role, which is a waste of the player, but it's a solution that works if your playmaker won't (or can't) defend. Eriksson figured he would get Gerrard to do the dirtywork (because Gerrard didn't mind doing it before Liverpool won a CL and Gerrard became a big man) besides doing his part as a playmaker. That would allow for an extra creative midfielder (Lampard) who could play closer to the strikers and that would make the English midfield pretty strong.

But it all went wrong, because in the last years, Gerrard has changed his style of play and instead of makeing the play from behind, he tries to be the creative midfielder for the long shots and the assist from close behind the strikers, just like Lampard. Beckham, the second possible playmaker from behind, is stuck on the right wing and not capable to do the defensive work and Hargreaves, the possible assistent, wasn't living up to the expectations. So your stuck with Gerrard and Lampard at your central midfield. This has two major consequences. When in possesion, your central midfield is close to the strikers and your opponents goal, so the opponents midfield is pushed back which makes the spaces smaller and makes it easier to defend. This is why both Rooney and Owen haven't been able to shine, because they need space to run and shoot, they aren't the technical geniuses like Ronaldinho, Robben and Christiano, but fast strikers like Ronaldo and Shevchenko. This also explains why Lampard scores so little: he doesn't get the time and space for a decent aim.
The second major consequence is when not in possesion. In those situations there are large gaps between the defence and the midfield, or between the defence and the back line. Also, the supposed defending midfielder is too far upfront, and therefore easily avoidable, which also leaves possibilities for countering.

This all explains why almost all of your goals are long shots (1-0 against Paraguay, 2-0 against T&T), or headers with an assist from far away (1-0 against T&T and Gerrard's goal against Sweden).This style of play works against defensive teams that try to slow down the game (T&T), but against teams that have a decent midfield and a fast attack, you will get in trouble.

All in all, you could play with Gerrard in the role James wants for him, but only if you get either a decent playmaker or an assistent as the second central midfielder, and you haven't got one.

[1522]

gerrard, best mf in the world known all my life.

don't you hate all of those faggots that wank over ronaldinio and stuff i mean he is good but only since he started scoring wonder goals that he has been noticed, fukin glory fuckers

[britishbulldog]

Why the fuck is Sven playing Hargrieves?! He's an awful player he just got lucky last time round. Terrible mistake, hopefully we wont pay for it.

[navid]

england 2-1. ecuador will score first i say.

[Ray]

Probable Line-Up (4-5-1):

Robinson

Hargreaves - Ferdinand - Terry - A Cole

Beckham - Gerrard - Carrick (Holding) - Lampard - J Cole

Rooney

I think this makes for a very interesting match. I'd like to see Lennon brought on for Beckham in the latter stages. Also, I think it's Englands last chance to show the world that they are capable of taking it home this year.

If we still have as many problems with the managing after this match, then we can kiss Juels Rimet goodbye. That's if we win it tommorow.

[Quiet_Riot]

gerrard, best mf in the world known all my life.

don't you hate all of those faggots that wank over ronaldinio and stuff i mean he is good but only since he started scoring wonder goals that he has been noticed, fukin glory fuckers


You're an idiot, Ronaldhino has been adored since he was about 15, and if you watched ANY La Liga, you'd know he scores very few "wonder goals", but rather, provides chances with deft touches and great runs.
Best player in the world, no doubt, no one else even comes close.


Anyhoo...tomorrow, i have no idea why Svengali is playing Hargreaves at right back, Carragher is one of the best defenders, why not leave him there?

[cmacdon]

You're an idiot, Ronaldhino has been adored since he was about 15, and if you watched ANY La Liga, you'd know he scores very few "wonder goals", but rather, provides chances with deft touches and great runs.
Best player in the world, no doubt, no one else even comes close.


Anyhoo...tomorrow, i have no idea why Svengali is playing Hargreaves at right back, Carragher is one of the best defenders, why not leave him there?

Don't worry, he's probably referring to me.

I love ebw noobs who register and think they can just throw "fuck you" in anyone's face.

Are you gonna cry because Ronaldinho has millions of fans? Seriously noob, you can have the half naked asian avatar and the cool insults in your posts, but you're still a noob and no one cares what you have to say.

Earn respect by giving it first.

[Canty]

Gerrard is an excellent player no doubt, but best in the world? Nah. Maybe a Liverpool fan having saying this has something to do with it.

[mathue]

Ecuador girls > England Girls

thus 1 - 0 ecuador

[cmacdon]

Ecuador girls > England Girls

thus 1 - 0 ecuador

Shit, he's right.

[csite]

I would love england to win, just to lose in a later stage, the pain is greater :lol:

come on England

[ThePope#15]

I'm thinking 2-1 to England.

So, anyone watching Eastenders right now?

I keed I keed.

[Sherlock]

Its started! Rooney is gonna need help from midfield definatley. I dont think Sven will let him play a full game either.
Edit: John Terry, yellow card. I think he flying kicked that other guys head.:uhoh:

[:tom:]

lawlz we keep fouling the black peoplez

[Sherlock]

Noooo, Hargreaves!

We dont need anymore long term injuries.

[csite]

ashly cole saved england, should have been 1-0 to ecuador

[mathue]

englands tiring out.... besides ecuador almost scored regardless of coles deflection it barely hit the crossbar. but rooneys getting no help at all, they should sub crouch in

[csite]

i think england should bring on theo wallcott, lets face it, THIS england HAS no chance of winning the worldcup, at least give the young guy a chance to play.

[mx6driven]

1-0 Ecuador I hope, but you guys are sooooo anticipating England on winning hhaa, I havent really witnessed too much england soccer except for the high names like Beckham, and Owen and such

[Sherlock]

Yes! England score from a David Beckham free kick!

One of those was long overdue.
Edit: Beckham looks tired now.

[mx6driven]

Its Ovaaah, England did well!

[Henkie]

Today, the big loser wasn't Ecuador, the big loser was football. England was not able to create anything and Ecuador was not willing. Again, England needed a free kick to win. Aren't you guys worried, because England have only faced one nearly decent opponent (Sweden) and still haven't been able to show some decent offensive football.

[rand0m]

why did Beckham vomit after he score?

[navid]

i agree henkie, england needed a free kick and brilliance from a set piece shot from beckham to win, besides that, it was very unimpressive. england will get eaten apart if they dont step it up against Portugal/Netherlands.

[kit kat]

Portugal or Holland will smash England if they play like that. I find scotland matches more entertaining than that game

[Canty]

England should have scored way more if Lampard could've got at least one of his easy chances into the net. Apart from that scare in the first half (cheer's Ashley Cole) Ecuador did very little. Lennon should start instead of Beckham next match (hopefully against Holland) but once again we gave the opposition way too much space in our half of the field. Rooney and Carrick had a great game as expected as did Hargreaves even though for the vast majority he was played out of position (again).

Downing is pointless.

[JuliaAguilar]

You know something I noticed today? For all the bitching big football fans do about Ronaldo being fat (yes, I know, he was injured), they sure don't say a damn thing about Rooney. He's a chunky bastard. Or is he always like that? Never really heard much from him before this World Cup.

[Rado]

Yes but Rooney is solid, and puts his strength to use.

Even when he had his shirt off (Not being gay) but I didn't really see any "fat"

Oh and lampard is fucking shit!

[Quiet_Riot]

lampard is fucking shit!


Oh so true.

Ashley cole was my MOTM.

[Canty]

Lovely bit of skill by Rooney near the end. Pity Lampard put it way over the bar when he had an open net.

[mathue]

boooo the over-anticipation by ecuador goalie

[Rick Derris]

Woo, go England. They're like the Edmonton Oilers of the World Cup.

[Solaris]

English fans are always so critical of our own players. We played well after the goal, we had a lot of possesion and kept the ball well. And created, I'd say, about 3-4 chances were the finish just let us down. On another day they could have easily gone flying in. So, I'm not worried that we only scored from a free kick.

About Hargreaves, it wasn't lucky that he played well against Sweden, he's a good player and I think a lot of criticism he gets is partly due to the fact that he was born in Canada and plays in Germany.

He played averagly at right back, but he's not a right back, so that's Erikkson's fault. Against Sweden, Carragher didn't fill me with a lot of confidence - he didn't look fit at all. He's much better at centre back where he plays with Liverpool. But Neville is still the no.1 right back.

I did like the tactics we used today, it seemed less rigid than when we play 4-4-2. I just think Joe Cole and Beckham should push up more often.

[AsHopeDies]

How many games in a row can the resulting dialogue be, "if we finished better would have have scored 3 more goals." I mean, after a few games in a row, it's like saying, "if I was faster, I would have won the race." "If we were better, we would have won the game." It gets to a point where you just have to realize that you can't finish better, you aren't good enough, it becomes a skill thing and not a luck thing. If it wasn't for free balls and hair pulling, England would probably not be in the tournament any more.

And for those calling for Beckham to sit the next match. What are you thinking? His ability on the free ball is practically the only reason you are still playing.

And yeah, and for the hype, Rooney hasn't shown me dick. He's the Landon Donovan of England.

[Fugitive]

i think england should bring on theo wallcott, lets face it, THIS england HAS no chance of winning the worldcup, at least give the young guy a chance to play.


Try going to Asda, go to the produce section and pick up some;

"We didn't qualify for the World Cup Sour Grapes."

[arsenalfan]

england got so lucky cuz of ashley cole. robinson just stood there, i never liked him anyway. gotta love beckham's free kick tho

kinda reminds me of this http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3344063717363648290&q=beckham+greece

im sure england will win vs portugal, since deco is banned and ronaldo is injured

[MrDeliquent85]

The one and only reason Beckham is in and should remain in the team is because of things like that. Calling for his head is crazy no matter how much he isnt up to standard in open play. He won us the Paraguay game, the T&T game and now the Ecuador game, why are people even considering dropping him ? and why arent they considering dropping Lampard who is clearly out of form and has come nowhere near with his shots.

The problem with Beckham is he lacks the speed and stamina he once had, he doesnt chase aswell as he used to and he certainly cant run past anyone down the wing, thats why he has started dropping back and dropping inside, he cant handle the pace, certainly not against young wingers. Lets drop Lampard and push Beckham inside. One thing we know Beckham can do is pass, thats his game, thats what he does. Lets push him inside to start getting hold of the ball and controlling the game, he can pick passes to Rooney, Gerrard and the two wingers.

Keep Carrick just infront of the back two doing what he did against Ecuador and lets get young Lennon working that wing. With Carrick holding and Beckham sitting in the middle of the park Gerrard can get right up to help out Rooney and with Cole and Lennon pushing the flanks they too can look to get Rooney in on goal.


______________ Robinson

????? ___ Ferdinand ___ Terry ___ Cole

______________ Carrick

______________ Beckham
Lennon ________ Gerrard ________ Cole

______________ Rooney


A sort of 4-1-1-3-1 formation.

[Quiet_Riot]

______________ Robinson

????? ___ Ferdinand ___ Terry ___ Cole

______________ Carrick

______________ Beckham
Lennon ________ Gerrard ________ Cole

______________ Rooney


A sort of 4-1-1-3-1 formation.

At last! other people see Lampard is doing NOTHING. DROP HIM.

[James Bond 007]

Lampard has been England's worst player so far, he should definatley be dropped, hes been awful!

Anyway, another convincing display by England LMFAO!
I cant believe how consistantly bad we have been in the world cup so far.

Im not too worried yet though bcoz historicaly we do better against bigger teams, I dont know why we cant raise our game unless we have opposition we deem worthy enough.
England have a very arrogant attitude towards lesser teams and it could have cost us yesterday if Ecudor had taken their chances.

[Ray]

I think Lampard is basically Gerrard but without the shooting skill. We should drop Lampard because he's wasting the chances that Gerrard could be finishing off if we keep him in a single attacking position with a holding midfielder behind him and joe cole and beckham/lennon on the wings.

That performance shows that we need two upfront. I say give young Theo a run.

[whocares]

Well, it was a nice goal from Beckham.

The english had a hard time with Ecuador, though. They gotta improve against Portugal...

[mathue]

I think Lampard is basically Gerrard but without the shooting skill. We should drop Lampard because he's wasting the chances that Gerrard could be finishing off if we keep him in a single attacking position with a holding midfielder behind him and joe cole and beckham/lennon on the wings.

That performance shows that we need two upfront. I say give young Theo a run.

crouch maybe?

[MrDeliquent85]

Lampard has now had 21 shots, about 9 on target and 0 goals.

Walcott won't play again now. Unless we go 2 or 3 up against Portugal or unless we're getting hammered 4 - 0. I don't think Sven will risk him in any type of close game.

[ehdmi]

That's what i like to see...those crazy English...

[arsenalfan]

does anyone here play winning eleven 9 or pro evolution soccer 5?

[James Bond 007]

I play ProEvo5..... Best football game in the world EVER

FIFA is shit compared to PES5, infact I would rather have PES1 than any of the FIFA games.

[Canty]

Swap Lennon for Beckham and start with either Lampard or Gerrard but definately not both. Maybe sub one for the other. Play either Carrick or Hargreaves in a holding role (where he actually plays for Munich) with Carragher as RB.

[Ray]

I play ProEvo5..... Best football game in the world EVER

FIFA is shit compared to PES5, infact I would rather have PES1 than any of the FIFA games.
Yeah I've got a 360 and cant have Pro Evo on it. It's definately the better game. Luckily my mate has a PS2 and we play it on there all the time. But we never really play it on the 360.

BUT! Pro Evo is coming out on the 360 in Jan 2007. Long wait, but well worth it.

[AsHopeDies]

The first game Beckham doesn't start is the game England loses.

[JuliaAguilar]

I like Beckham but he's overrated. Only thing he's good at is set pieces. England could play (and win) without him.

[SupraTwinTurbo]

I like Beckham but he's overrated. Only thing he's good at is set pieces. England could play (and win) without him.

Haha, not against Equador...

[AsHopeDies]

I like Beckham but he's overrated. Only thing he's good at is set pieces. England could play (and win) without him.

They haven't proved that in this world cup at all. When it comes to putting the ball in the net...he IS their offense.

I'd even go as far as to say he isn't overrated. Everyone knows he's slow and lacks a lot of the technical skill. It's not like anyone is claiming that he's better at that stuff then he really is. But the name of the game is scoring goals, and his ability on set peices to put the ball in the net is not touched by anyone else.

You cannot convince me that England would still be in the cup if Beckham wasn't playing.

[cmacdon]

Haha, not against Equador...

Ashley Cole beat Ecuador yesterday with that incredible recover defense. If he didn't deflect that, that would have definitely been under the crossbar and in.

[whocares]

Ashley Cole beat Ecuador yesterday with that incredible recover defense. If he didn't deflect that, that would have definitely been under the crossbar and in.
Yeah, but Ecuador stopped it... that's why they have defenders...

[Solaris]

I think you missed his point - he's saying that Ashley Cole saved England because he blocked the Ecuador shot.

I agree with everyone in this thread - drop Lampard! He's been playing poorly for Chelsea and England all this year. Beckham plays better in the centre anyway. And for the guy who said Beckham lacks technical ability, what are you smoking?

[spootinsteve]

my room mate thinks England will lose, and hes english... wears an english jersey every day... it takes a lot for him to admit defeat...

i havnt really been watching England, but apparently its been boring :( good luck to them though, they deserve some luck to go their way...

[whocares]

I think you missed his point - he's saying that Ashley Cole saved England because he blocked the Ecuador shot.

I agree with everyone in this thread - drop Lampard! He's been playing poorly for Chelsea and England all this year. Beckham plays better in the centre anyway. And for the guy who said Beckham lacks technical ability, what are you smoking?
Oh, yeah. I did miss his point... thanks for correcting me.

[JMac453]

And yeah, and for the hype, Rooney hasn't shown me dick. He's the Landon Donovan of England.

At least he's touching the ball unlike Donovan
He gives the England side energy unlike Donovan
He has made some great passes to players in his short time being back unlike Donovan

Basically, you're retarded

[Canty]

drop Lampard! He's been playing poorly for Chelsea and England all this year. Beckham plays better in the centre anyway.

WTF??? If a player on my team scored more than the vast majority of the forwards in a season getting around 20 goals than he can play as poorly as he likes. He's been fantastic for Chelsea this season. :err:
He hasn't played briliantly (sp) so far for England (like most of the team actually) but he will score against Portugal.

[AsHopeDies]

At least he's touching the ball unlike Donovan
He gives the England side energy unlike Donovan
He has made some great passes to players in his short time being back unlike Donovan

Basically, you're retarded

I'm not comparing his performance to Donovan's, dumbshit. I'm saying he has been heavily hyped and hasn't lived up to you...you know...like Donovan.

I said for all the hype he hasn't shown me fuck all. You see, there's this guy on the American team that got hyped out the ass and also didn't show me fuck all, his name is Landon Donovan. See the connection now? God you are a simple creature.

[MrDeliquent85]

I said for all the hype he hasn't shown me fuck all. You see, there's this guy on the American team that got hyped out the ass and also didn't show me fuck all, his name is Landon Donovan. See the connection now? God you are a simple creature.

Rooney broke a bone in his foot in april, his first competitive game since was against T&T, Sweden was his first full game since april. Anyone who expected Rooney to be up to standard this early is stupid. Give him atleast another game or two, should England get that.

[AsHopeDies]

Excuses are like assholes right...

I'm not saying he's not a world class player. He's obviously very good. But if you go back to my original point, all I was saying is that Beckham gets dogged by the English fans and they call for him to be sat down, and yet, they wouldn't still be in the cup if it wasn't for him. And at the same time they sing the praises for Rooney, when he hasn't done dick. He was hyped to high heaven and he hasn't performed. Does he have reasons? Sure, but that doesn't make what I said untrue.

Shit, against Ecuador, right after Beckham scored, they showed a live shot of a shitload of English fans outside the stadium....every single one of them were chanting...Rooney, Rooney, Rooney, Rooney. I was like, what the fuck? Am I missing something here?

[MrDeliquent85]

Excuses are like assholes right...

I'm not saying he's not a world class player. He's obviously very good. But if you go back to my original point, all I was saying is that Beckham gets dogged by the English fans and they call for him to be sat down, and yet, they wouldn't still be in the cup if it wasn't for him. And at the same time they sing the praises for Rooney, when he hasn't done dick. He was hyped to high heaven and he hasn't performed. Does he have reasons? Sure, but that doesn't make what I said untrue.


Since his injury noone has hyped him up. Sure, there are still levels of expectation and what you might think is hype is more the case of hope but most people or atleast more intelligent people wont be expecting him to set the world alight just yet and certainly not in the earlier stages. Like I said, give it time, should he get that time.

[Ray]

Since his injury noone has hyped him up. Sure, there are still levels of expectation and what you might think is hype is more the case of hope but most people or atleast more intelligent people wont be expecting him to set the world alight just yet and certainly not in the earlier stages. Like I said, give it time, should he get that time.
Exactly.

Also, don't think that everyone thinks like the media in England.

[AsHopeDies]

Well, I live in the states, and between this board, many other sites covering the cup, epsn coverage, abc coverage, world cup live on espn, etc...to me he was very hyped. I was very excited to see him play. He's looked fresh, he's looked quick, he's just looked off. So I'd say he hasn't delivered, but whatever, we'll agree to disagree.

The main point of my comment was that most (i.e. not all, so calmn down) people who were posting in this thread and others here have been, Rooney Rooney Rooney, Beckham sucks. And my reaction to that is that Beckham has been England's offense so far in the cup, and he's the reason they are still in the tournament (well, him, Terry, and Cole).

I'd rather have a mediocre midfielder who could score like he does on free balls, then a quick midfielder with strong defensive skills.

[Canty]

He'll prove himself against Portugal as will Lampard.

Not that either of them actually need to (imo) .