Sunday, June 13, 2010

Headlines

Before the England vs. USA game, some irreverent limey friends of mine on the Bolton message board were having a laugh at this cover from The Sun:



Now I try my best to argue that there are discerning American soccer/football fans who understand the offside law and know that the guy between the sticks is a "keeper" and not a "goalie." But my cause isn't helped by things like this:



Oh dear. Well, regardless of the ignorance shown here, the USA deserved the draw. You can say it was a horrendous error from Green for Dempsey's goal, but the truth is that Capello was justly punished for poor team selection. Aaron Lennon can run fast in a straight line but there's little else in his locker. Heskey set up Gerrard well but is always going to fluff his shots. Jamie Carragher is a big, slow, dumb Scouse ox. And what can you say about Robert Green? He gives Bolton six points every season. For all the talk of Capello picking players on form rather than reputation, he's still putting in weak West Ham and Tottenham players.

Onyewu was heroic for the USA, and Howard and Bradley also did very well. The front pairing of Findley and Altidore didn't work as far as I'm concerned; for the next game I'd bring in Bealsey if fit on the left and put Donovan up front with Altidore. On that performance, I think we'll be able to handle Slovenia and Algeria with ease.

1 comment:

  1. Our Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid is funnier than their Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid.

    The English have never beaten us in the World Cup. Thanks to the Daily News, it is now accurate to say we have beaten them twice.

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