England Review (vs France)

There are a few simple works to describe England’s performance against France, words rarely attributed to England, disciplined, professional, solid etc… England did not create much or have much possession but contrary to what the likes of Barcelona and Spain will have you believe, that doesn’t win you matches. It can help but at the end of the day it’s about scoring goals. Barcelona are one of the least clinical sides I’ve seen for a while.

England against France were relatively clinical. England had two real chances (and the odd pop shot from distance). Milner’s weak attempt after taking the ball past the keeper and the header Lescott scored from 6 yards out. France on the other hand had one, a point plank header which Hart saved. Defensively France created almost nothing due to the excellent performance from England in defence, one slip from midfield duo of Gerrard and Parker cost them as they left their men (Ribery & Nasir) to create a goal from outside the box. If England keep this up they will be hard to beat. It’s very rare a team wins anything without a good defence. Spain averaged only one goal a game while winning the last world cup and conceded only two.

The big surprises at the back were Hart and Glen Johnson. Johnson had one of his best games a long time but Hart looked nervous in his first tournament game for England. Lescott played a lot better than I expected though Jegielka would still be my choice in along side Terry. The midfield was probably the biggest disappointment. Parker through his body in the way of everything but left Ribery along to set up the France goal and was poor in possession. The creativity needs to start with the centre of midfield and it can’t all rest on Gerrard’s shoulders. They are the link up play to the wingers and forwards but it never really happened. Milner saw more of the ball, should have at least hit the target or squared the ball when past the keeper and provided only one decent cross in the game but was England’s main outlet in the game. He has been criticised by many fans after the game but without him England would have been even less toothless and wouldn’t have had the free kick he won for the goal.

Oxlaide-Chamberlin looked out of his depth; he’s young and will get better and showed some quick feet but struggled to get into the game and find his team mates with ball. I can’t recall a single cross from him which from a winger is woeful. Young saw more of the ball out wide when he switched. There is certainly a case for switching them over but Rooney will take the position behind the striker when he returns from suspension. Welbeck and Young received almost no service, with Gerrard the main distributor of the ball it was easy for France to cut off potential passes leaving Parker free to collect the ball and then give it away.

England will need to create more if they are going to win games as they won’t keep up this clinical finishing as the tournament progresses but they will be hard to beat at the back.

With Sweden tonight it appears Carroll will start in place of Chamberlain. Not a bad call, Young should see more of the ball out wide where he can run at defenders. Carroll can hold up the ball and offers something different to Welbeck. The lack of height upfront against France restricted the options with crosses and Carroll will be an easier target to find on counter attacks. He also offers that extra height defensively against a Sweden side strong in the air.

I would still like to see a little more in the way of changes. Parker isn’t full fit and his distribution was poor and Milner isn’t really a winger, moving Milner inside for Parker and placing the pace of Walcott on the wing would aid England’s attacking options and creativity. Chamberlin could be an impact substitute later in the game. England may also want to take a look at the Italy team. Packing the midfield with five which staying strong at the back with three centre backs. It also allows you to keep more striking options on the pitch. Italy have already shown how good it can be against the Spanish.

Euro 2012 – Week 1 Review

As expected, when big teams face each other in tournament football it is very rarely worth watching. It’s no surprise that most of the goals came in the weakest group at the tournament. Big question will also will be asked of Mr Wenger after Arshavin produced a performance that Arsenal haven’t seem in a long time. Many teams under performed in week 1 most notably the Netherlands in front on goal, with 30 goal man Van Persie unrecognisable. The Irish were uncharacteristically sloppy at the back, Spain’s failure to create chances with 6 midfielders on the pitch showed how big a miss Villa is, Sweden in general were poor and the failure of Portugal to have a go until 15 minutes from time was truly frustrating.

Away from the negativity there were some nice surprises, Italy coming off the back of poor form and another scandal look very capable again in a game against Spain they really should have won. Denmark showed why they topped their group in qualifying (which included Portugal) but had Netherlands brought their shooting boots it could have ended differently. When Portugal did get going they showed why they could still make it out of the group of death. Ukraine started slowly but managed to provided us with a very entertaining second half can could yet pull a surprise on both France and England.

If there was one thing to come out of week one it is that the top sides do not have the best defences. Germany, Holland, Spain, France etc.. all showed that teams can get at them and they will give away chances to score goals.

My run down team by team:

Excellent
Italy – The looked strong at the back until Torres came on and created enough very good chances to have won against the world champions and current holders. If they can be a little more clinical they could win it. What they have shown is you can take the game to the Spanish and get some joy. 9/10
Russia – Took apart a Czech side that was poor, but you can only beat what is in front of you. They must surely progress through the group but with the group of death awaiting them that may be as far they go. 9/10

Good
Denmark – They took their chance when it came and through bodies in the way when it matter and came away with a great result but on another day Holland would have won comfortably. Their defence was exposed at times and better shooting would have punished them. Denmark grew into the game and showed there is more to them. They will have a big say in their group and weren’t far off their best. 7/10
Ukraine – Conceding was the best thing to happen to them but they did rely heavily on the great movement of Shevchenko. They sat back deeper and deeper and better finishing would have given Sweden a draw. The crowd give them a lit but you have to wonder if they’ll offer much if Shevchenko gets injured. 7/10

Okay
England – They were as good as we could really have hoped, strong defensively and made sure their only shot on target counted. Playing one of the favourites minus the likes of Lampard, Barry, Cahill, Rooney etc… a draw was a very good result. The heat didn’t help them but England look hard to beat. The fear is they will draw games and not win them but its a solid base for a new management team to build on only 6 weeks into the job. 7/10
Croatia – Ireland were poor and Croatia were able to show they were a class about them but a lot of big things went their way. The third goal was cruel on Given, the second could have been flagged offside and the Iriish should have had a penalty. They also gifted them too many free headers in the box. The likes of Modric had their moments but they will need to up their game to get out of the group. 6/10

Average
Poland – If they’d taken their chances then Greece would have lost the game even if Greece had rightly be allowed to play with 11 men but like Greece they only turned up for 45 minutes. With the help of the home support more would have been expected but being so lowly ranked a draw against Greece was a good result. 6/10
Greece – They were poor first half and those yellow cards were ridiculous but they probably sparked a bit of life into them. Against the odds they got back into it and should have won it in the end. They don’t score many goals and more of their defence is expected. They will fear what Russia can do to it. 6/10

Disappointing
Portugal – The most frustrating team of the tournament. They played very negatively and still hit the bar, had that gone in the game could have been very different. When they went behind they went for it and showed they could have beaten Germany had they been more positive. The failure to get Ronaldo on the ball more hurt them as well. Germany didn’t create much as Portugal weren’t bad at the back but they always find a way. 6/10
Holland – Far too casual, they turned up expecting to win and ended up over playing, failing to hit the target and have shown they do not have the greatest of defences. If they created those sort of chances again then they must surely put something away. 6/10
Germany – They won their first match which what they wanted but they could have lost it. They created little and have the bar to thank for their clean sheet. They never really troubled Portugal at the back but capitalised well on just about their only notable chance. In they end they scrapped a win over the lowest ranked team in their group. As one of the favourites a lot more was expected of them. 5/10
Spain – If they’d had the build up play of Holland they could have cruised to victory but playing without a striker they created so little. Italy exposed their defence and should have won. Had Torres started he would surely have got a goal with the number of chances he had in his short space of time on the pitch. Barcelona have Messi and Villa to fall back on and even they struggled against a good defence, Spain have neither and showed why they lost to England in the last 12 months. 5/10
France – A team who were 21 games unbeaten struggled to create much of note against an under strength England, with the talent they have they should have done a lot more. Some people’s favourites to win look like they will struggle against any half decent defence. 5/10

Poor
Ireland – Their strong defence departed them against Croatia but they will rightly feel that despite their poor showing other officials would have allowed them to come away with a draw. The second goal could have been awarded offside in the same way the French were flagged offside against England and Keane should have had a penalty. They had no luck on the night but they lacked imagination the midfield, Andrews missed too many chances and the Irish will be questioning why Hoolahan wasn’t called up. 2/10
Sweden – showed glimpses at the end that might be able to score but it was more down to Ukraine letting them back in. This isn’t the Sweden we expected to turn up. 2/10
Czech Republic – They might still make it out of their group but the way Russia pulled them apart will be a worry. They’re not the team they were but they were simply woeful. 0/10

To clarify my scoring:
Did Greece play better than Spain? No, but they performed to a level far closer to their capabilities which is why I scored Spain, Germany, France etc.. so lowly.