Wales vs England 26/3/11

[Joss]

What was he saying about the 4-2-3-1?

The presenter mentioned England being in a 4-3-3 and he said that it allowed us to dominate the midfield more, with Wales playing 4-3-3 he thought that if we didn't go for that, we could get overrun in midfield.

Read it as Rooney playing off Bent in a 4-2-3-1, but he was probably talking about the dreaded 4-4-2 now I think about it lol.

---------- Post added at 10:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:12 PM ----------

Yeah he was talking about a 4-4-2. My bad.

 

[FMRocco]

Including Parker was a typical, illogical Cappello move. Why wait till the player is 31 to call him up for a tournament he will be 33 during? He wasted his time on Gareth Barry when all this time he could have played Parker for the last 2 years. Muppet.

EDIT: Obviously i know this isn't the tournament yet, and is a qualifier, but why pick him now and not 1-2yrs ago.

 

[CJACKO11]

I thought it was a decent performance from England but we tookt he foot off the gas in the 2nd half. It always seemed to me that if we needed another goal then we could have got one but the result was fair. I thought the 3man midfield in Lampard, Wilshere and Parker worked very well and all 3 had very good games and i dont think Lampards international career is over yet. The defence wasnt tested much but JT's marauding run for the 1st goal was just pure class and it shows why he is captain. NO SURRENDER!!!

 

[Joss]

"Again he [Capello] has answered his critics" - he did today, how often has he before? World Cup 2010 anyone?

 

[Joel`]

Including Parker was a typical, illogical Cappello move. Why wait till the player is 31 to call him up for a tournament he will be 33 during? He wasted his time on Gareth Barry when all this time he could have played Parker for the last 2 years. Muppet.

So, as I gather it, you want Parker to play, but are angry that Capello picked him? It appears even if Capello gave a set of Swedish blonde twins to every England fan, we'd still find ways to criticise him.

 

[Joss]

Capello dodges questions about whether he'll stick to 4-3-3 - "It is a uuuuuh good formation.. eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrh, but the important thing is they played as a team... They can play 4-4-2"

Uh. No. No they can't. Don't be a tease.

---------- Post added at 10:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:18 PM ----------

So, as I gather it, you want Parker to play, but are angry that Capello picked him? It appears even if Capello gave a set of Swedish blonde twins to every England fan, we'd still find ways to criticise him.

It's fair enough though...

Stats were wrong!

"Sorry, Wilshere 57 passes, 86% completion, one interception, Ramsey 56 passes, 71% completion, no interceptions"

 

[FMRocco]

So, as I gather it, you want Parker to play, but are angry that Capello picked him? It appears even if Capello gave a set of Swedish blonde twins to every England fan, we'd still find ways to criticise him.

oO)

....no. I am confused by his general management. He picks Parker, at 31(33 when euros start) NOW, when he could have picked him over the last two years. It is pointless to do so imo. Will he go to the euros? it's doubtful. Barry and SWP probably will though.

Cappello deserves all the criticism he has gotten too.

 

[GodCubed]

oO)

....no. I am confused by his general management. He picks Parker, at 31(33 when euros start) NOW, when he could have picked him over the last two years. It is pointless to do so imo. Will he go to the euros? it's doubtful. Barry and SWP probably will though.

Cappello deserves all the criticism he has gotten too.

IMO, you're wrong. These are qualifiers, and you need to qualify in order to play in said tournament. You choose your best players for that, in this case Parker. There's no point lambasting Capello over past selections, that has been and gone. We need to look to the future, and we can do that by blending youth and experience.

 

[Joss]

Compare this to Johnson's pass today and tell me it isn't similar:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvqwhDUhkPA

via Guardian blog

 

[Mike.]

Wales v England: Five things we learned
Fabio Capello showed he can be flexible but England should not get carried away by victory against a poor Wales side

Guardian Link

Darren Bent celebrates scoring England's second goal against Wales in Cardiff. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images​

1) Time for a sense of perspective

As this mismatch played out it was easy to become carried away with England's superiority in a contest that had been billed as "awkward" by players and management alike. The one-touch football that purred at times, whether delivered through central midfield or from full-back, might have left observers drooling. But England had not needed to conjure a world-class display to dismantle these opponents. The gameplan was basic, not revelatory. They reacted to the furious atmosphere by pressing just as frenziedly all over the pitch, particularly in central midfield where Scott Parker, on a first international start since October 2006, was a blur of energy. There was combination play to admire down the flanks, and an onus on the full-backs to contribute as attacking forces. These are the type of tactics that prosper every week in the Premier League. Wales, a side coaxed into believing they might glean reward here, simply could not cope and had no answer.

2) Fabio can be flexible after all

After the depressingly rigid 4-4-2 that contributed to restricting England at the World Cup, here at last was evidence that the national side can adapt their tactics under Fabio Capello's management. The friendly in Copenhagen last month had suggested that Jack Wilshere and Frank Lampard, as an orthodox midfield pairing, could be rendered vulnerable. So Capello utilised a busy tackler in Parker, rather than the sitter and distributor that is Gareth Barry, to offer the pair protection and England felt comfortable. Ashley Young relished the space between Ashley Williams and Danny Collins, with Wayne Rooney exploiting gaps on the opposite flank, and the full-backs were invited to overlap when the midfield and attacking trios squeezed narrower. This might have been 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-2-1 at times, but it was essentially a 4-3-3 which, according to Rio Ferdinand on Twitter, allowed the visitors "to press high up the pitch and give Wales no time to get playing". It certainly ensured England imposed themselves on the occasion.

3) Lampard's international career is far from over

The change in formation suited Wilshere, but it was Lampard who arguably benefited most of all. The 32-year-old had endured a week of suggestions that his days at this level were numbered, born largely of Capello's apparent reluctance to tweak his favoured system and the injury problems the veteran has suffered this term. Yet this was the set-up employed by Chelsea, in which Lampard prospers more often than not, and he revelled in the familiarity of it all, even as the right-sided of the central three. There were galloping runs forward through gaps in the Welsh rearguard, and clever inter-plays with team-mates to keep possession ticking over in the centre. He gained an 85th cap here, with the penalty rolled into the corner seven minutes in providing a first international goal in 18 months. England had needed his calm head early on. Thereafter this proved all too easy, but it appears there is life in Lampard yet.

4) Darren Bent can thrive at this level

The Aston Villa striker's conversion of Young's centre 15 minutes in meant that he had scored with his last three shots on target for England. Capello would like to play Andy Carroll as his front-line pivot, but Bent offers more fluid movement which can drag markers out of position and, potentially, allow team-mates space in which to inflict damage. Gérard Houllier might note the understanding that the striker demonstrated with his club-mate Young. This was a first competitive start for the forward – he had previously mustered only 30 minutes of competitive action, against Croatia and Switzerland under Steve McClaren and Capello, as a substitute – but he can no longer go ignored, even if Carroll represents the future. The booking picked up by Rooney here means he will miss the next qualifier of the campaign, against the Swiss at Wembley in June, which technically leaves Bent as this team's first-choice striker. That status is well deserved.

5) Gary Speed may have taken on the impossible job

For all the criticisms flung at Capello, only one of these managers appears to be on a true hiding to nothing. Gary Speed left a relegation battle at Sheffield United to take up the reins with his national team, but Wales remain pointless at the bottom of the qualification section and this performance did not suggest a radical change of direction from the John Toshack era. This was supposed to be a derby-like occasion akin to a Premier League fixture. That quickly proved unrealistic. After all, the Welsh boasted only five Premier League players in their starting line-up, though even that was deceptive: James Collins and Wayne Hennessey are embroiled in a relegation battle at the foot, Aaron Ramsey is only recently returned from long-term injury and spells on loan, while Craig Bellamy is currently loaned to Cardiff City in the Championship. They wilted early here, unable to deal with England's pressing and movement. Only when the visitors were lulled in a period towards the end did they threaten, belatedly, to build up a head of steam. Yet even that did not yield reward. The crowd may have whipped up an intimidating atmosphere in the stands, but the English had nothing to fear out on the pitch.

 

[Joel`]

oO)

....no. I am confused by his general management. He picks Parker, at 31(33 when euros start) NOW, when he could have picked him over the last two years. It is pointless to do so imo. Will he go to the euros? it's doubtful. Barry and SWP probably will though.

Cappello deserves all the criticism he has gotten too.

Well our holding midfielders are few and far between. I'm fairly sure you'd be angry at Capello if we never tried this system out because "there's no point playing Parker at his age". Then we go to the Euro's, Capello tries the system and it fails. Whereas now, we've tried the system, it has had success. If Parker is there or not is irrelevant. It means we can call someone liked Rodwell up and have confidence in the playing system.

Also, why are you okay with Lampard playing?

 

[Redrup]

The first half was a professional, good display but the second reminded me why we didn't get far in the World Cup. For periods of the half were were being controlled by Wales for christ sake, it's like our players lost all concentration just because of the 15 minute break. That has to stop if we're going to have any success, though it's easier said than done.

 

[Scott]

I can see where he is coming from regarding parker, what is the point in trying out a player to when he wont be able to play in the next major tournament...I can see why you would say to check the system out, but the system might not work with whoever replaces parker in it... So then we would have had 18 months looking and forming this new system, and then find out we cant play this system. I would much rather of played rodwell in the parker role today and maybe laboured to a 1-0 win, knowing this system didnt suit our futue players.

 

[Mike.]

I can see where he is coming from regarding parker, what is the point in trying out a player to when he wont be able to play in the next major tournament...I can see why you would say to check the system out, but the system might not work with whoever replaces parker in it... So then we would have had 18 months looking and forming this new system, and then find out we cant play this system. I would much rather of played rodwell in the parker role today and maybe laboured to a 1-0 win, knowing this system didnt suit our futue players.

Rodwell is injured

 

[Calum]

good read Mike

 

[fuelledbypassion]

Why can't Parker play in the next tournament? He's 30, and one of the fittest players in the premiership with the drive, determination and never say die attitude that will help prolong his career. He'll still be playing at the top level by the World Cup in Brazil

 

[Mike.]

The first half was a professional, good display but the second reminded me why we didn't get far in the World Cup. For periods of the half were were being controlled by Wales for christ sake, it's like our players lost all concentration just because of the 15 minute break. That has to stop if we're going to have any success, though it's easier said than done.

ssecond half wales went 4-3-3, this where rooney should be moved into the hole, he would have pressed from the front and kept the intensity up by preventing ball distribution

 

[Scott]

Rodwell is injured

OKay a young player like rodwell then...

Why can't Parker play in the next tournament? He's 30, and one of the fittest players in the premiership with the drive, determination and never say die attitude that will help prolong his career. He'll still be playing at the top level by the World Cup in Brazil

That is his biggest stregthen but will ultimatel be his biggest flaw... With this drive, dtermination and never say die attitdude, He covers a lot of ground, which means when it all catches up with him, He will decline rather quickly as a player... At 34 is he still going to be able to cover as much ground as he does now..? And lets be honest, he isnt getting in the team because of his superior technical ability,

 

[kjg1995]

Given up on the Welsh national team now, well done to england - as much as i hate to say it lol - the gulf in class was apparant

 

[fuelledbypassion]

OKay a young player like rodwell then...



That is his biggest stregthen but will ultimatel be his biggest flaw... With this drive, dtermination and never say die attitdude, He covers a lot of ground, which means when it all catches up with him, He will decline rather quickly as a player... At 34 is he still going to be able to cover as much ground as he does now..? And lets be honest, he isnt getting in the team because of his superior technical ability,

I think he'll still be able to play the holding role that he did today. He won't be able to perform with the box to box dynamism that he does for West Ham, but he is still the best player England have for the next few years for the role. He'll be capable for at least the next tournament. Also, I think you're underestimating his technical ability. He, along with Gerrard (& maybe Rooney), is probably the most all round gifted English player at this moment in time.