2014 World Cup

[Warspite]

I really don't rate the Gerrard/Henderson midfield pivot, particularly when captain ROY OF TEH ROVERS can't deal with a simple midfield header. I also don't understand what the hell Cahill and Jagielka were doing with Suarez given they know what he can do because he plays in the same league as them.

[Maladict]

Something is up with the pool. All outcomes of the England game are listed as incorrect.

[Sheilbh]

I really don't rate the Gerrard/Henderson midfield pivot, particularly when captain ROY OF TEH ROVERS can't deal with a simple midfield header. I also don't understand what the hell Cahill and Jagielka were doing with Suarez given they know what he can do because he plays in the same league as them.

Join the Milner bandwagon!

After this and the Premiership someone probably should try and lift the gypsy curse on Gerrard at some point.

[Warspite]

A really important part of world-class decision making in midfield is when to go for the simple pass, and when to go for the exciting but risky move. Pirlo, Iniesta, Modric etc have this. Gerrard doesn't. That's his problem.

[Duque de Bragança]

Something is up with the pool. All outcomes of the England game are listed as incorrect.

Something yes, but nor for the England game for me. It shows all outcomes as wrong for Japan-Greece.

[Tamas]

I really don't rate the Gerrard/Henderson midfield pivot, particularly when captain ROY OF TEH ROVERS can't deal with a simple midfield header. I also don't understand what the hell Cahill and Jagielka were doing with Suarez given they know what he can do because he plays in the same league as them.

Join the Milner bandwagon!

After this and the Premiership someone probably should try and lift the gypsy curse on Gerrard at some point.

Or maybe people should realise he isn't that good anymore, and probably was never as good as people thought he was.

Lampard to the team!

[Sheilbh]

Or maybe people should realise he isn't that good anymore, and probably was never as good as people thought he was.

Agreed.

Still, as Samuel Beckett once said, we go again.

[Sheilbh]

I'd say this is one of the more exciting England teams I've seen since Italy 1990 and England 1996.
Sterling is good, Lallana, exciting player, Sturridge, well, he's grown into a very fine player.
Come on, Iiiiiiiingerlaaaand!

Agreed. To that I'd add Barkley, Shaw and Stones.

There's potentially a decent team there.

[Liep]

Something is up with the pool. All outcomes of the England game are listed as incorrect.

Aye, let's string the commissioner up!

[Norgy]

I really don't rate the Gerrard/Henderson midfield pivot, particularly when captain ROY OF TEH ROVERS can't deal with a simple midfield header. I also don't understand what the hell Cahill and Jagielka were doing with Suarez given they know what he can do because he plays in the same league as them.

Join the Milner bandwagon!

After this and the Premiership someone probably should try and lift the gypsy curse on Gerrard at some point.

Gerrard's been a good player for Liverpool, but his shortcomings defensively are a liability for England. Don't know, maybe he just lacks good cover. His passing is vastly over-rated if you ask me, but at least for Liverpool he plays with passion.

Or maybe people should realise he isn't that good anymore, and probably was never as good as people thought he was.

Lampard to the team!

[Maladict]

Something is up with the pool. All outcomes of the England game are listed as incorrect.

Something yes, but nor for the England game for me. It shows all outcomes as wrong for Japan-Greece.

Er, yes, the Japan-Greece game.

[Agelastus]

Something is up with the pool. All outcomes of the England game are listed as incorrect.

Something yes, but nor for the England game for me. It shows all outcomes as wrong for Japan-Greece.

Er, yes, the Japan-Greece game.

It's only counting 22 games as far as I can tell - my pathetic score is 7-15 but we've had 23 games. I didn't think it was counting Japan-Greece at all - which is especially annoying as I correctly predicted the draw!

[Norgy]

1   frunk   14   14    8    63.64%    *
2   Maladict   14   14    8    63.64%    *
3   Viking   14   14    8    63.64%    *
4   Duque de Bragança   13   13    9    59.09%    *
5   Liep   13   13    9    59.09%    *
6   Norgy   13   13    9    59.09%    *
7   funkmonk   12   12    10    54.55%    *
8   Josephus   12   12    10    54.55%    *
9   Pedrito   12   12    10    54.55%    *
10   Dorsey4Heisman   11   11    11    50.00%    *
11   josquius   10   10    12    45.45%    *
12   Syt   10   10    12    45.45%    *
13   dps   9   9    13    40.91%    *
14   Tamas   9   9    13    40.91%    *
15   Agelastus   7   7    15    31.82%    *
16   celedhring   0   0    22    0.00%

Doesn't take much to change these scores dramatically, I think.
frunk's been in the top 3-4 all the way though.

[Josephus]

yeah some peeps should have an extra point for the Japan win which isn't showing. We'll keep that in mind.

[FunkMonk]

A really important part of world-class decision making in midfield is when to go for the simple pass, and when to go for the exciting but risky move. Pirlo, Iniesta, Modric etc have this. Gerrard doesn't. That's his problem.

This +1

Also,

When I was director of football at Real Madrid I had to evaluate the players coming through the youth ranks. We had some who were very good footballers. They had technique, they had athleticism, they had drive, they were hungry. But they lacked what I call knowing-how-to-play-football. They lacked decision making. They lacked positioning. They didn't have the subtle sensitivity of football: how a player should move within the collective. And for many, I wasn't sure they were going to learn.

You see, strength, passion, technique, athleticism, all of these are very important. But they are a means to an end, not an end in itself. They help you reach your goal, which is putting your talent at the service of the team and, by doing this, making both of you and the team greater. In situations like that, I just have to say, Gerrard's a great footballer, but perhaps not a great player.

-Arrigo Sacchi