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Originally Posted by Scucca  King's only drawback is his injury proneness. Other than that, he's superior. |
Rio Ferdinand is twice the player Ledley King ever will be.
No defender in the world combines athleticism, technique and footballing intelligence quite like Rio. Ledley King is a decent Premiership defender, nothing noteworthy though and wouldn't improve any of the top 4, if he would, he wouldn't be playing for Spurs!
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Originally Posted by Scucca You're blaming King for Spurs being bobbins? Harsh! |
It's kinda how football works these days, if you're a good player you go to the top clubs, if you're average you play for a side like Tottenham.
Hell I'm not even sure how much Ramos fancies King, he might be a bit clumsy for a Spanish coach. Woodgate will probably be his forst choice, then there are quite a few contenders to partner him.
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Originally Posted by Scucca Have you been polling managers? If you haven't, stop talking bobbins |
I've lost track of the number of times opposition managers have came out and said what an absolutely outstanding defender Ferdinand is. Top managers from all round Europe too, I'll dig up quotes if you like. Been in the PFA team of the year 3 times in the last 4 years, an almost cert for UEFA defender of the year this year. King simply isn't at that level, he's a good Premiership battler but not up to it at the highest level.
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Originally Posted by Scucca Nonsense. You sure you don't get your info from Championship Manager? |
I'm sure. Since Benitez took over Liverpool he's realised it too, hence the signings of Kuyt, Voronin, Babel, Torres and probably a new striker in the summer, he's a limited player, doesn't score enough, loses the ball too often and doesn't contribute much in open play. A good player for the last 10 minutes, but not a starter at the highest level.
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England dominate when they play at pace, with variation in short and long balls. Crouch fits the bill for that, given the flexibility he offers compared to one dimensional players like Defoe.
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Against the most technically gifted teams England don't have the ability to dominate, especially if you're playing in hot weather, which in big tournaments you invariably are. The best option is to grind and play on the break, which England have a decent enough team for.
Try and play high tempo, press up the park and give away possesion right after you get it back and the better teams will play it right through you, like they always do.
When was the last time England beat a top team in a competitive match playing open football?
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Nope. England bottle it against the likes of Brazil and do not impose their style. And, to be honest, Rooney has a habit of going deep too often so we often are restricted to 451
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It's nothing to do with bottling it. It's because when you lose the ball against a top side they make you chase for 10 minutes to get it back. Then whan you do get it back it's normally deep inside your own half, so you punt it long to your strikers who are completely isolated and lose the ball again. British midfielders aren't comfortable enough taking it under pressure and our defenders aren't comfortable enough passing it under pressure, so we "play safe" and lose the ball too often. You can't impose your style on a team if you don't have the football!
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The worst performances I've seen have been England trying to play 433. You've watched Chelsea a couple of times too much.
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Hardly any sides play with two orthodox strikers these days. You at least need someone in the "Bergkamp" role dropping off and giving you an extra man, otherwise you get overran.
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We have a shortage of class full backs, but when fit there is no-one better.
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You're getting way ahead of yourself, I'm not saying he's not a future England player, but right now he's too naive for International football, that was exposed vs Croatia. Wes Brown OTOH is vastly experienced at the highest level and certainly wouldn'y have been exposed the same way Richards was.
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They have 2 world class players- the Spanish boy and Gerrard. His tactics reflect that. Barry and Gerrard would certainly make a great double act.
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That's never going to happen. Barry is being bought to either replace or compete with Alonso, he'll be playing alongside Mascherano next season if he plays at all. Gerrard will play in front of them 4-2-3-1. The same way Benitez's Valencia side played. Also Liverpool have 3 top players, Mascherano is the new Makelele
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