The T&T Match: First Reactions

June 15th, 2006 | by: Shawn |

England are far more shite than I could have imagined.

Yes, there are six points next to the team’s name and they’re through to the next round.

But can anyone truly argue that they look as good as, oh, Spain or Italy or Germany or Ecuador? Do they look as good as Holland or Argentina? What about Mexico? And what — and I save them for last — about Brazil?

I’ll get to the bad points in a minute.

Let’s concentrate first on what’s positive.

1) No goals allowed. In two matches, Paul Robinson has yet to be tested. Terry and Rio have been superb — Terry was my man of the match today — and the midfield has offered stout support in the back.

2) JoCo continues to provide meaningful possessions — so of course he was taken off.

3) Owen looked livelier today.

4) Aaron Lennon was lively.

5) We’re through to the next round.

And…er…that’s it.

Now the bad:

1) The attack is ragged. The Paraguay own goal and Crouch’s goal today came off long service from the midfield. No build up. And Gerrard’s rocket shot was, likewise, from distance. We have no success on deep crosses, no build-up off the dribble, no worthwhile passing in the box. Our corners aren’t threatening anybody. And Crouch didn’t redeem himself by hitting one ball well after looking like a donkey for 170 minutes, not in my book.

2) Lampard missed two sitters and hasn’t really been close on the 8 or so blasts he’s tried. He and Gerrard aren’t stepping on each other’s toes, but they’re not complimenting each other, either.

3) Beckham looked awful today save for two touches: a spinning shot in the box and the almost-free kick that created Crouch’s goal. Most of his free kicks today went right into the wall. He disappears offensively for long stretches, and he provides no defense.

4) The substitution pattern is cryptic. Lennon for Carragher? Consider England very lucky that that bit of tomfoolery didn’t backfire. If the other first-line striker for T&T hadn’t been disqualified for his two yellows against Sweden, they might have been able to exploit a rickety right flank. And what is Downing doing in there? At all, I mean? Jermaine Defoe is missed.

5) Rooney was inspiring to see but was beaten to the ball a lot. There’s a difference between healthy and match fit. I would start him against Sweden at this point and save Crouch for later, but we basically have three forwards who aren’t 100% (Crouch’s 100% is, frankly, about 80% for the rest) and a kid who still probably can’t believe he’s there.

I know that England’s only supposed to win the matches in front of them, and that they’ve accomplished that. But if they had faced proper opposition thus far, they would be reeling. As it is, they’re dull, and — save for the central defense — sloppy. Lucky thing they’re in a weak group. If they were in the USA’s group or Holland’s, they’d be three and out.

By the way, all credit to the Soca Warriors. They went 170 minutes against two European sides without letting in a goal, and they nearly pulled off a critical score late in this one. I like ‘em, and I hope they can whip Paraguay and get through.

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Andy

Stop being so bloody English and whinging even when we win. Who cares, we have six points and are in the next round. If we play like crap and win, then what can we do if we play well? Yes they looked pretty ordinary, but so what the best teams can always pull off a result when they are out of form.
http://england.worldcupblog.org Shawn

So are you saying that the fact that we look ordinary means that we’re actually good? These results have been against Paraguay and Trinidad. We look better than France, I’ll grant that, and the US and Ukraine, but I’ve seen every match of this World Cup and I don’t rank England in the top half right now.
Joe

You can’t dismiss England just after a few uneasy matches, in both of whitch we kept a clean sheet and got 3 goals. I shudder to think how much criticism we would have got if we have lost either of these matches or conceded a goal.
Joe

We didn’t play anywhere near what we are capable of mind, I’m not denying alot of the criticisms.
Joe

I can’t believe I spelt ‘which’ like that… OK I’m done.
kent

England have had the easiest two games I have ever seen in a world cup. No excuses they should be well well rested for the quarters and pretty much get a free pass to the semis. Take a look at groups like E & F. Brazil (#1) could be taking on the Czechs (#2) with games against Italy, Croatia, USA, Socceroos etc. England has it good. Lets see what they can do with their free pass.
http://england.worldcupblog.org Shawn

There’s no doubt that the squad can potentially improve, but the twin problem facing them is 1) Sven is the manager/motivator and 2) Sven chose the squad and it’s filled with gaps.

I fear quarter-finals is our limit.

Hope I’m wrong, but I’m not counting on it.
Binarybloke

I’m happy.

Happy that England are through, happy that Rooney wasn’t injured, happy that T&T were stuffed for playing such dismal “ooh, if we draw it’s like…we’re heroes” tactics, happy that Gerrard scored such a sweet goal, and happy cos I’m drunk!

So screw all you unqualified, group stage whingers!
D

I reckon we will continue to improve. I also reckon we will step up to the plate and adapt or game to the level of the opponents we face. Not based merely on preceeding evidence, I know, but on gut feeling – and belief.

My two pence,
owen

first, all credit to t&t – they deserve to go through second – a MUCH tougher chalelnge than paraguay was – seriously.

Second – yes england needs sharper play in finishing. But the rest of the game – pretty much 100% – 24 shots! domination of midfield.
goose

he yall,
as a non englishman, can any of you guys tell me whe England dont play the passing game as they do for their clubs every week??,
i know youve got Crouch but its just to predictable and a waste of the talent of the team in my opinion, realy believed in this england side as a potential wc winner(still do) but you’ve got to change tactics,
congrets

maybe well see eachother, always nice games Eng-Hol

greetz
Rorschach

German TV-Broadcaster ZDF showed a video of Crouch pulling the hair of the T+T defender while scoring the first goal (he is jumping up for the header while holding the dreadlocks of the T+T defender in his right hand, to prevent him from jumping). Has anyone in the UK (or even US) showed these video?
Roland

You guys will be fine and should win the group, despite your dismal record against the Swedes. But I can see Ecuador giving you problems in the second round.
Jodido

Crouch was terrible. Even though he got a goal, he had several easy chances that he flubbed somehow. He’s a big target, so he’s useful, but he sucked bad today.

I think T&T played admirably. The only reason they lost was because they were winded. They had the closest chance (England still had better chances were it not for Crouch’s crapass finishing). Beenie played his cards right – up against a squad with superior skills, play defense and use a quick counterattack, especially in the 2nd half when England’s defenders are winded (putting Glen in near half during both games was a stroke of genius).

I hope the US uses this strategy against the obviously superior Italy squad. Somehow, though I just don’t count on Arena to do it.
http://england.worldcupblog.org Shawn

RE: Crouch pulling hair.

It took me some doing, but you can clearly see at 83:38-83:40 of the ESPN2 broadcast Crouch grabbing Brent Sancho by the braids with his right (trailing) hand and pulling him toward the ground, away from the ball, to create leaping space.

(Where’s moralizing little Michael Owen now?)

Moral: It’s a man’s game: leave the fancy haircuts at home.
owen

The most impressive thing about England today was actually fitness – they were all able to keep going hard the full 90 – and yeas, that made a lot of difference. Despite losing I think Beenhalter proved once again that this crop of Dutch coaches who grew up with Total Football are all the best in the world. They are repeatedly making the most of limited squads. They aren’t alone – I think Wenger and Mourinho (hate him but have to respect his coaching) are in the same class. Sven may not have been at quite that level but despite the meedia’s hatred he isn’t far off.

It is fantastic that young players like lennon and downing are getting to play – that;s how to make sure they are up for it in four years.

It is kind of nice supporting England form outside – I get to ignore the english media – you’d think england went out from the comments in the english press – all so that if they do go out they can say ‘i told you so’.
Hand of God/Hair

England has now recieved full payment back for the Hand of God slight. Crouch’s goal should have been disallowed and he should have recieved at least yellow (maybe red, it was quite a head snap – although the guy did walk away from it, it was still pretty dangerous play.) It took 20 years, but the account is now settled and England gets to move on to the next round.
Kim

The first English goal was scored off the back of a Trinidadian player! Good going England! I know you guys will be decimated in this World Cup!
http://www.aresthetics.ch/trav elAdi

Continue to improve? I’d try with ’starting to improve’! Why are the players not playing the neat passing game from the Premier League? Because it’s the Dutch and French and Italians and Germans and Spanish who do that in the PL…the English are just running with them (with a few exceptioins like Lampart).

I said it before the WC and am gladly repeating myself: England is the most overestimated team at the WC.

I only watched the first half and was then too bored and decided to grab some sleep (you know…Perth, Australia). Talking about 100% control and shots. As far as I’ve seen, T&T had two very good chances in the first half and was very close to scoring – while the two ‘chances’ England had (one was that mishap of the T&T goalie) were just simply dealt with in a pathetic way (Owen and I still chuckle when I think of the Crouch chance).

As for a possible meeting of Englans with Germany. A few weeks ago, I’d have thought that Germany would have a very hard time. Now I actually think that England won’t stand a chance. Not because Germany is so strong, but because England simply sucks.

The most boring 135 minutes I’ve watched so far…
Frank

Maybe all the hype about the english players and how great they are made them a bit nervous. It’s hard to live up to such expectations. Like the overhyped Rooney, there must be a bulldozer of pressure on him.

And I’m not sure if it’s an advantage to have relatively weaker teams in the qualifying…England might be in for a shock in the 2nd round.
LARD

Regardless of how Englad have played so far people will always take an opportunity to stick a knife in.

Win or Lose we are Screwed because we are always the team that everyone loves to hate.

The games have not been pretty i agree but they have been wins and thats all that matters.

Come on England…
John

Take away the bad Crouch goal where he pulled the defender’s hair to create space, and that 2nd goal likely does not happen. TNT clearly lost their wind after the dirty goal. England was the better team, but TNT played them to a draw if the refs had made the right call. Anyway, I like England’s chances now that they’ve gotten their blah games out of the way. They’ll step it up in Round 2, even if they have to cheat again.
CTL

England have qualified for the next round. The big question is how England would play Sweden, on 20 June if Ecuador wins Group A?

Will England throw their match against Sweden in order to avoid Germany in the next round?
mc

well maybe if T&T hadn’t had all 11 men in the box when England were attempting to score the outcome would have been a bit different. I mean, i would think it would be quite difficult to score when there are 11 red shirts in the 18
http://www.aresthetics.ch/trav elAdi

And why is England everybody’s favorite team to hate? Ever asked that yourself. Over the years England has progressed to the top of the hate-team-list – even atop of the Germans and Italians. Why – because I’ve attempted to have discussions about football with England fan. An absolut useless past-time, let me just tell you. Now I just want England to loose, to switch them from bragging to whinging (they will sooner or later anyway, why not right from the start).
alan

bragging and whinging from an aussie? pot, kettle black comes to mind.
reem

hey..u gyz r being so harsh on them..i think England played amzingly good n u r just JEALOUS!! to all te gurls here..david backham looked sooooooooooo HOT !!
Yourhavingalaugh

England are through to the final 16 .

game 1 needed the other team to score the winning goal as they could not.

game 2 A single handfull of hair changed the game and the outcome .

England to win the World Cup they can’t even win without cheating at the moment ,but of course they never cheat and only WHINGE when they get caught ,wait till they player higher ranked teams.

what a joke and disgrace
Binarybloke

Call me controversial, but I’d take Germany over Ecuador.
Stu

England have a proven track record of playing badly against weaker oposition. In all honesty i’m amazed we won both matches. The performances have been disapointing but I’m not willing to write them off until I see them play some quality oposition.
dila

oh well, id still say that england did their best and our Stevie G definitely proved that.
GO LIVERPOOL!!
lol

YNWA
Shaun

It’s not how you start it’s how you finish that counts (Remember Italy in Spain 82). England probably will not win the cup but will play well against the better teams in the knock out phase. We are consistently one of the top 8 teams in the world so we can finish anywhere from 1/4 finalists to winners given our fair share of luck.
nick

England do usually pleay poorly at the start of a tournament, but people treat it like a surprise when they do.

Plus, I’ve never met a single person who brags about England’s chances. They whine when they win, they whine when they lose, the only time England fans stop whining is when they beat the Germans.
Dave

Dismal. Lets stop living in the past. England couldnt put 5 passes together without losing the ball. I’ve seen better 4th division matches. No excuses. I was in tears….laughing..at Englands inability to pass a ball of more than 10 yards to another England player. I am English..and was embarrassed by that …’performance’. I could go on and on, but whats the point…
Suraj

i think every1 is being VERY harsh on crouch (especially the blogger). He had a total of 3 clear cut chances, of which 1 he put away…How on earth can u critiscise him?

Lampard was utter bollocks, and to be honest owen wasnt much better either. So get of crouch’s back, he’s doin a job nd hes doin it well…

I think lampard needs to go. Hes stifling gerrard, and people who say that they can switch and gerrard can go forward sometimes ARE WRONG!!! When have u ever seen lampard do any defending? its always gerrard.

In 10, 20 years time, we are gna regret wot we did to gerrard at international level, as he is sheer class when played properly. McClaren – take note!
Suraj

and im not from the US..born and bred in the UK
dila

true..why cant he played the way he did to liverpool?
i reckon he’ll scored more after this=)
Suraj

erikksons problem is he picks his team based on the names of the player…he should pick the best attacking player – which is gerrard – and the best defensive player – i actually think its parker, but considering hes not here, i reckon its hargreaves.

look at the argies…they play defensive players in the form of mascherano and cambiasso, leaving the likes of messi and tevez on the bench. eriksson needs to get his head out the likes of lampard, beckham and nevilles @$$, and justify his £4m a year salary
Debs

Hey, It does no good now to bash the Englishmen. Its done, gone and in the past…no going back. In fact folks here in T&T know that we need to beat Paraguay AND we need England to win against Sweden on the 20th as this is our only chance of going on to the next rounds in the WC.
mek

Englishmen will always whinge until we win every match 6-0 playing liquid football.

hahahahha… it’s all good… 2 games, 2 wins… let’s make it 3 against the Swedes!

I mean we could have played great and won the first match 3-0 and then lost the second a la Czech Republic… 2 wins is 2 wins… BRING IT ON!!!
LLC

elAdi, you are an Australian, all of a sudden you have an opinion on Football, sorry SOCCER? You haven’t been in the world cup for 32 years!!! You just have a chip on your shoulder like every other Aussie when it comes to the English. Most boring 135 minutes so far was it?.. hahahahahahaha look at the Socceroos that was painful and the most boring match of the tournament, until they got very very lucky in the last 8 minutes, and now you think that you know it all and that you can win.. hahahhahahahaha even funnier..
RJ

Let’s examine the knowns:
- Sancho was fouled
- Sancho acted professionally by relying on other professionals to do their job and declare a foul
- had it been the other way around, we would have been subject to an eternal barrage of “lock of hair” reporting a la “hand of god”
- come next year, they will still be broadcasting England’s only world cup victory in 1966 at every possible opportunity.

Life goes on…
LJ

elAdi,

I’m with you. You’ve not been in the World Cup for 32 years and soccer is not remotely your country’s main sport so it’s great that you are in a position to have an opinion with your team doing so well.

Well done Australia I say, I wouldn’t want us to meet you any time soon! Hope this doesn’t sound too patronising but come the next World Cup I think you’ll do what Australia does best in many sports and run away with the competition. And you’re still a much friendlier, less arrogant country than us!

Still, as they say…

those that can, do…and those that can’t, talk about it!
http://www.davidbackhamespnstrsports.com anchal

hai backham i am anchal from india(hp) i love your game & your style
i am very impressed with your hair style so i say goood luck for wc 2006 . i hope you are the best player of wc 2006.

bye
anchal malwal