Final Game of Qualifying Ends In Victory

England 3 Belarus 0

England: Foster, Johnson, Ferdinand, Terry, Bridge (Milner 78), Lennon (Beckham 58), Lampard, Barry, Wright-Phillips, Crouch, Agbonlahor (Carlton Cole 66).
Subs Not Used: Hart, Upson, Ashley Cole, Carrick.

Goals: Crouch 4, Wright-Phillips 59, Crouch 76.

The final qualifying game saw a comfortable victory for England. Belarus were not too bad, and indeed showed some glimpses of thoughtful football. Nonetheless they were not strong enough to compete consistently during the match, and England were able to mostly outplay their opponents.

Agbonlahor and Crouch started upfront, with Wright-Phillips given the left side of midfield position. Fabio does not seem to think of Milner as a potential solution to this position.

An early goal by Crouch took England to half time with a 1-0 lead. The game ambled along, neither a dirty nor unentertaining spectacle, but certainly had an end of campaign feel to it.

Beckham was introduced in the second half and livened things up a bit. Wright-Phillips got a second goal, and Crouch grabbed a poacher’s goal after Carlton Cole’s (on for Agbonlahor) shot was parried by the Belarus goalie.

The defence made no errors and Ben Foster did make one very good save on what was a quiet evening for him. Beckham was given man of the match inexplicably. England have now a 100% home qualifying World Cup strike rate at the new Wembley. One thing that characterises Fabio’s reign as the new manager is that he has made the new Wembley feel like a home and the fans have now expereinced sustained success there.

So the qualifying comes to an end and now we must prepare for the tournament. There will be many players eager to impress and to try and make the squad for South Africa 2010. December 4th will see the draw for the finals and we will see who are group opponents will be.

Well done to all the players in the successful qualification campaign. It has been quite entertaining.

No Rooney Or Gerrard

England’s final match in qualifying group 6 will see the England team without Wayne Rooney nor Steven Gerrard. Both are injured for tonight’s game. Fabio on the radio this morning said that Agbonlahor and Milner are the likely starters. It is not often Fabio is so candid about team selection, usually keeping us guessing to the last hour before the game.

Personally, I am looking forward to seeing how Milner performs on the left side of midfield. Together with Joe Cole they represent our best choices in that position. For me , Gerrard on the left is not quite the solution. Against lesser opposition maybe, but against the best in the world, I am not sure if he is the correct choice. You can only go with what is available, but it would be good if Milner could make a strong case for his selection on the left side of midfield. Agbonlahor is likely to start too, the experience will do him good, and hopefully he can perform well.

Glad to see the game is on ITV, though last Saturday’s games was shown in pubs either on the internet, (remember to disable any screen savers should this “experiment” happen again…which hopefully it won’t) or on Albanian TV via irregular satellite feed.

One last hurrah then tonight in terms of competitive games. The next competitive game will be in South Africa in June 2010! Let’s sit back and see the team gain a final 3 points…hopefully.

Competitive Defeat

Ukraine 1 England 0

England: Green, Johnson, Ferdinand, Terry, Ashley Cole, Lennon (James 15), Carrick, Lampard, Gerrard (Milner 46), Rooney, Heskey (Carlton Cole 72).
Subs Not Used: Bridge, Upson, Barry, Agbonlahor.

The stadium in Dnipropetrovsk was a cauldron in what was a vital game for the Ukraine. It was an intimidating atmosphere with flares and a partisan crowd that collectively urged the Ukraine to victory, allowing them to be favorites for the runner up place in the group at the expense of Croatia.

The complexion of the game was set in the 14th minute, when after hesitancy by Rio Ferdinand allowed the Ukrainian striker through on goal. Robert Green came out and brought the player down, thus denying a goal scoring opportunity. The referee awarded a penalty and Green became the first England goalkeepr to be sent off in history.

James came on replacing Lennon. The penalty was missed. Could this be a let off? Ukraine were persistent, rugged and competitive. A rocket shot by Nazarenko in the 29th minute deflected off Ashley Cole’s head (probably gaining speed with the deflection) blasted into the England goal and really can be described as unstoppable.

England took time adapting to playing with 10 men. Gerrard replaced at half time due to injury by James Milner, gave the England team some shape that allowed England to battle hard. It was not enough to find an equaliser, and the Ukraine created the better of the chances in the game. Cole came on for Heskey and showed some adeptness, but the 10men could only battle hard. Ukraine deserved the victory through dogged determination and a home crowd that expected nothing less than victory.

Maybe this was a timely defeat. The defence was a little frail, though the team did well to limit the scoring, but they were unable to return a spectacular result. It should be stated though David James did make one phenomenal save and his ability should never be underestimated.

This result should remind us all of what can happen in a football match. Carefully thought out game plans can be ruined by a the loss of a player through a sending off. Adapting to a new game plan, and playing for most of the match with 10 men is a hazard of any game. At least we should recognise our frailties and approach every game with humility. We have qualified and in the summer of 2010 we will be playing with the big boys. They most certainly will not be believing that they are unable to beat England.

Squad News & Thoughts

Paul Robinson has pulled out of the squad with a hip injury and will be replaced by Joe Hart. Gary Cahill has been called up in place of Joleon Lescott, who has been withdrawn because of a calf problem.

Michael Owen had the perfect opportunity to give some food for thought for Capello, when he was picked to start for Manchester United against Wolfsburg in the Champions league game at Old Trafford last week. With an onlooking Capello, it would have been a golden opportunity for Owen to put himself in the manager’s mind. Alas it was not to be as Owen limped off after 20 minutes and will be out for a further two weeks. That he has not figured in any of England’s qualifying games and consequently is down the pecking order for selection, it is unlikely he will get a chance. That is not to say it will not happen for him, but the circumstances would have to be extraordinary and Owen would have to be fit.

Others not in the squad include Joe Cole, Theo Walcott, Owen Hargreaves, Jermaine Defoe. They are either injured or not match fit after long injury. These players will however be in contention as at the time of writing they are returning for their clubs. All being well they will be pushing for places for 2010.

No great surprises in the squad, except Ben Foster does not make it, and Agbonlahor returns for the injured Defoe. It should be remembered that we have got to this stage without sorting out the midfield, mostly due to injury to Joe Cole. Perhaps it is time to give James Milner a start in the left side of midfield?

Disgraceful 3

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/matthew_syed

/article6863708.ece
Matthew Syed writes a nice article in The Times concerning the TV rights for the Ukraine v England game. I would just add that I do not watch these so called “reality” shows so am not to blame. Indeed seeing the culture of this country and its attendant value systems makes many people feel less apart of the fabric of this country than perhaps they should. Sporting events and in an ideal world, the good natured rivalry that these events might engender go some way in creating a sense of community and common purpose that is not reliant on personal gain or shallow values.
The Setanta contract at least allowed people to meet at the pub and enjoy the game in a convivial atmosphere. Sure if you are not keen on football then there was no imposition on you to watch the game. Simply you did not go to the pub.
Moving the game to the internet and declaring it a dead rubber, is a disingenuous argument. The internet is not the medium for watching programs, TV is. To not show the game on TV interupts the narrative of the England team’s progress to the World Cup. And as far as Ukraine is concerned it is not a dead game. The joy of watching the England team’s progress to the finals is seeing each step and each nuance unfold LIVE before our eyes.
There is a lot wrong with this country, and this decision goes a little further in destroying the fabric of this country. Profit comes first. For this blogger this straw might be the one. When the inevitable World Cup hype begins next summer, remember when the glossy trailers begin that the media TV companies were not so concerned when this perceived lesser game was to be played. There they demonstrate their true colours when it comes to the national game, the game that England gave to the world.

Disgraceful 2

“Perform’s executive chairman, Andrew Croker said: ‘The world is changing…this is a classic example of it. It’s exciting. Anyone who wants to come on a journey with us should sign up – they will enjoy it.”

So Mr.Croker, if you are limited to 1 million connections, “Anyone” cannot watch it.
What about if the persons ISP goes down? Who is liable for that?

There is a point that the commercial interests of companies impinge too much on the identity of the country. In Germany all national football matches are on TV.
This is a disgraceful experiment!

Your experiment sucks!

Disgraceful!

The match against Ukraine will not be shown on TV. instead it will be shown on the internet and in selected cinemas. The audience are invited to take part in this experiment of watching the game on their PC. On the radio this morning a chap said it was an interesting concept, citing his children watching TV on their laptop. All I can say is this is a load of bollocks! Having the away games on the now defunct Setanta was not ideal but at least you got to see the game by finding a pub that had Setanta. I will not be paying to watch on the internet and am not happy that the footballing public of the UK are being treated this way.
It is not the FA but the broadcasters who are not prepared to pay for the game. The only hope is to find a pub that has an irregular satellite TV feed, and that the game can be viewed in a foreign language.

England Squad For Final 2 Qualifiers

Robinson (Blackburn), Green (West Ham), James (Portsmouth); A Cole (Chelsea), Terry (Chelsea), Johnson (Liverpool), Bridge (Manchester City), Lescott (Manchester City), Brown (Manchester United), Ferdinand (Manchester United), Upson (West Ham); Milner (Aston Villa), Lampard (Chelsea), Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), Gerrard (Liverpool), Barry (Manchester City), Wright-Phillips (Manchester City), Carrick (Manchester United), Lennon (Tottenham); Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), Heskey (Aston Villa), Crouch (Tottenham), C Cole (West Ham), Rooney (Manchester United).