|
Post by Macmoish on Jun 13, 2010 6:40:32 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Macmoish on Jun 13, 2010 10:01:50 GMT
Rodney Marsh writing columns on the World Cup Tampa Tribune Americans thoroughly deserved tie with England By RODNEY MARSH Tribune correspondentPublished: June 13, 2010 LONDON - For starters, I think England will look at the results of this match as two points lost while America will view it as one point gained. From the English standpoint, that's because of the blunder by their goalkeeper, Rob Green. It was amateur soccer, wasn't it? If Green was playing for the St. Pete Kickers, they'd bench him the next game. Here in England, immediately after the game, the bookmakers started changing the odds on everything, including who will start in goal for England their next game. Right now, Green is 5-1 against and backup goalkeeper David James is 11-10 to start. For the U.S., I think their tactics were spot-on. I can't believe how hard the American players worked. They pressed the game all over the field and they put England under so much pressure on the ball. I thought it was a thoroughly deserved point for the U.S. squad and a fantastic result for the Americans. I really believe England coach Fabio Capello made a mistake in playing the 4-4-2 system. I don't think it suits England and I've never liked it with England. I think they should play with five in midfield with one striker, that being Wayne Rooney. I think the coach got that wrong. If I'm U.S. coach Bob Bradley, I don't change much. I think Clint Dempsey was terrific, I thought Landon Donovan was terrific and, in the second half, Jozy Altidore nearly put one in that could have won the game for America. And apart from the opening goal the U.S. allowed to England, I thought central defender Oguchi Onyewu was absolutely brilliant. For me, however, goalkeeper Tim Howard was the man of the match for America. He made three or four very important saves — like everyone knew he would — and played hurt after the collision with Emile Heskey. For England, I guess the man of the match was Steven Gerrard. But nobody for England looked particularly great, did they? Not even Gerrard or Rooney. All in all, I thought it was a pretty lackluster performance by England. I have to be honest. A rather odd thing happened to me while watching Saturday's match. I found myself cheering for America. I still hope England makes it to the next round, but as the game went on I was cheering more and more for the United States. I'm not exactly sure why — it just sort of came over me. I think it's because my heart is in America now. Rodney Marsh, 65, is a former England international who played for several English clubs and went on to captain the Tampa Bay Rowdies during their heyday in the North American Soccer League. He has worked as a commentator for British television and radio and is providing The Tampa Tribune an exclusive column in the U.S. www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jun/13/americans-thoroughly-deserved-tie-england/sports/
|
|
|
Post by Macmoish on Jun 13, 2010 10:03:41 GMT
And Pre-Game World Cup/USA Preview by Rodney Marsh Tampa Tribune - U.S.-England match should be close World Cup Insider: Rodney MarshPublished: June 12, 2010 I think you can throw all the forms out the window when the World Cup comes around. We've seen over the years so many shocks and so many teams get turned over because it's one thing to play a 38-game league schedule and it's another thing to play a one-off soccer match, isn't it? As U.S. midfielder Landon Donovan said recently, on any given day, the American team can hold their own with anybody in the world. I think the prime example of that was when the USA was leading Brazil 2-0 in the Confederations Cup championship game last year (Brazil came back to win 3-2). With that said, I never go against the book makers because they're all rich. I think they have England 7-1 favorites to win. But I think this USA-England game will be a lot, lot closer than most people are predicting it to be. Remember, everyone expected England to beat the USA in 1950, when America won 1-0 in one of the most celebrated sporting upsets ever. When I spoke with (U.S. coach) Bob Bradley about how they were going to play this match, he pretty much said they can only play one way – a full-court press all the time. The Americans certainly have the athletes that can play that way, including Bradley's son, Michael, who can run all day. I just worry that if you that pressing game for 90 minutes, you do run the risk of running out of gas the final 10 or 15 minutes. That's when a team like England can do a lot of damage. As far as the pressure England will be under to win, if you follow the blogs in the United Kingdom, England has already won the match 4-0. They say the Americans are are no-hopes, they have no chance. They keep talking about (forward) Wayne Rooney as one of the greatest players in the world and (midfielders) Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard and the great run of results they've had the last 17 or so games. I think it's fair to say that as far as the English supporters go, losing this game is not an option in their minds. That is pressure. What England have going for them is that so many players can score goals from so many positions. Gerrard and Lampard in midfield, little Jermain Defoe up front is in form right now and even Peter Crouch, the 6-foot-5 monster, if he gets on the field, America has very few players who can match him. With all that said, I think the only way America don't get a hammering in this game is to give a total team effort and they'll have to defend for their lives. And of they do that, I think America have a chance. I think this game is a much bigger game for England than it is for the USA. I think America can beat Slovenia and I think they will beat Algeria, whom I think will be the whipping boys of this group. So I think the bigger game for America is the Slovenia match. Everyone is talking about the USA-England game. Eeryone wants to watch it. And for good reason. It's the opener, it's historical. But I think the most crucial game for America is their next game, against Slovenia. If they win that game, I think the Americans go through to the next stage – regardless of what happens against England. www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jun/12/us-england-match-should-be-close/
|
|
|
Post by Lonegunmen on Jun 13, 2010 12:56:12 GMT
Once again, Rodney is spot on with his assessment.
|
|