21 November 2007
England 2 - 3 Croatia; Ratings
Player and manager ratings for the England - Croatia match.
Scott Carson - 4/10
Had Paul Robinson been in goal like he should have been (as is so easy to say now), the ball would have bounced off his chest into the air, then punched it away or caught it and highlighted as yet another “flap”. Notice the difference though; the score stays 0-0. Every less-than-perfect moment since the last Croatia match has been magnified and repeated by the press and has consistently undermined his confidence. Carson’s horrendous error (in only his second appearance) is a direct result of the perpetual confidence-assassination of England’s number 1 who spent this match in the stands.
It could be that the decision to play Scott Carson has ruined this 22 year old’s career. His point blank save will be noted however he could not have got out of the way of it if he had tried.
Wayne Bridge - 3/10
Positioning was crucial in negating the England offside trap for the second goal. Was clearly asked to attack and did so showed none of his normal quality with the ball at his feet and consistently looked scared to receive it. Made mistakes all game long.
Micah Richards - 7/10
Active and steady as he has been for his short international career, made a brilliant tackle to release Beckham for England’s equaliser.
Joleon Lescott - 6/10
Like Campbell was generally stable but the problems for England were further up the pitch.
Sol Campbell - 6/10
Steady, typical display from Campbell; strength and speed however he was nutmegged for the second goal.
Joe Cole - 5/10
Reverted to his more common, trick-laden, product-bereft performance. Will lose his place to Ashley Young before long.
Shaun Wright-Phillips - 5/10
Finally tried to take on his full back and failed in looked very lightweight in being repeatedly shrugged off the ball. Replaced at half time.
Gareth Barry - 4/10
His brand of calm, passing authority was undermined by a terrible pitch and his toes being trodden on by Lampard and Gerrard. Replaced at half time when either Lampard or Gerrard should have been sacrificed.
Steven Gerrard - 4/10
Captain for the day did as little as we have come to expect of him as a player and Terry as a captain.
Frank Lampard- 4/10
Nerves of titanium to take the ball for the penalty and averted the enduring wrath of a nation by scoring. Other than that, gave the ball away and offered so little to the team.
Peter Crouch - 6/10
Croatia seemed to have figured out how to handle him; let him with the ball in the air because he almost never knows what to do with it. The contrast between Crouch’s knock downs and those of Emile Heskey is like the difference between qualification and failure… what Heskey cannot do however is chest the ball down while moving and volley it into the corner of the net. In this instance, it was that which was the difference between qualification and failure.
David Beckham - 6/10
Was the first half’s most determined Englishman as a buzzing, bundle of nervous energy on the bench. Half time substitution to a monstrous roar of the crowd. When the country needed a hero, it was not the over rated Gerrard or Lampard, it was the man who everyone loves to criticise and everyone thinks should never play for his country again; cometh the hour, cometh the man yet again. If only the others of this generation of England players learned somthing from David Beckham, not least his golden ability to enforce his will on the game. Still it was not enough.
Jermain Defoe - 5/10
Half time substitute, had his shirt pulled for the penalty and had the service to do almost nothing else.
Steve McClaren - 4/10
Goodbye.
after listening to the crowd booing a national anthem of another country like a pack of monkeys they deserved to go out and deserve everything that happens in the aftermath of the drunk louts roaming the streets recking there own country good enough for the backward monkey land
lol, I didn’t expect the first comment to be about monkeys! I despise the booing of national anthems as well although the television said it was well respected (I also heard boos) and it is not like England are the only perpetrators in this regard.
Regardless of the fans, England got what they deserved from how their players performed.
wow. boooing the national anthem is major. never thought i’d hear about that in Wembley.
I thought Richards was shocking, a lot worse than 7 and arguably the worst player on the pitch. The amount of times he gave away needless free kicks all over the place was unbelievable. And defensively he was shit, caught out of position more times than i care to remember.
Looking at it now a seven is certainly too much - Beckham and Crouch deserved more than Richards but I should probably leave it now.
Personally I though he played fairly well, at least as well as he has done in the last few games and was instrumental in the second goal. If you are looking for a genuinely bad performance outside the midfield then look no further than Wayne Bridge. I was truly shocked by how badly he played.
Looking at it now a seven is certainly too much - Beckham and Crouch deserved more than Richards but I should probably leave it now.
Personally I though he played fairly well, at least as well as he has done in the last few games and was instrumental in the second goal.
Yes indeed CWoff - he played well in previous games - crucially NOT in this one. And he didn’t have a hand in the second goal - it was all down to Defoe battling like crazy to get the ball back and Defoe it was who passed it to Beckham - if you can’t see what’s happening, don’t bother commenting.
Also what really pisses me off - and I could see it coming - is the way Gerrard’s performance always gets lumped in with Lampard’s. “Gerrard ran his socks off” - Martin Keown, Radio 5 Live. First half, when all around him were shite, Gerrard was winning the ball, playing good passes and pushing the team forward. By midway through the second he was knackered, he’d given his all - because the lazy, fatarse alongside him in midfield was going through the motions as usual - Fatso never defends so, once the thick ginger twat had removed Barry, Gerrard was stuck covering in front of the back four. McLaren deserves nothing. He stumbled on a good midfield pairing when Fal Lump was injured but foolishly reverted back for Austria and then Croatia, due to Fatty rediscovering his good form for Chelsea. How many times does he have to see that Gerrard and Lampard doesn’t work as a partnership? And the reason: as above, Lampard is a stroller - Gareth Barry is a workhorse. Gerrard is a terrific attacking central midfielder but with Fatboy, this role is stifled. I hope the next hapless stooge can see it and ignore the ridiculous calls from the blind London-based, Liverpool-unfriendly media, who never give an accurate assessment of performances, just as you have on this blog. Open your eyes stupid Ing-er-lund fans.
He he he! Looks like we’re both right and both wrong; http://profile.imeem.com/5qUuXn6/video/rf0gZJ5k/england_22_croatia_sports_video/
Defoe’s tackle, Richards’ pass
I posted this about 5 minutes after the match finished so I’ll go right ahead and give myself a little leeway
I’m sorry though I’m not going to give you any leeway on Gerrard. It is my opinion that he has had even more chances to perform than Lampard. What is more, when Barry started playing, it was Gerrard who got the chance to play the attacking role beside him yet still he did what he always does in an England shirt; give the ball away.
If you play the attacking midfield role - if the team is build to have one (which with Barry or Hargreaves it is) I don’t want a player who tracks back or makes last ditch tackles. I don’t want a player to pick up the ball and hit it long or play the ‘quarterback role’ or hit ‘raking balls’. I want Kaka. I want Riquelme, Hoddle, Zidane, Xavi, Fabregas, Deco etc. and, (I cannot believe I am about to write this) Lampard.
Fat Frank never got the opportunity to play his position like Gerrard did. Gerrard has been give the chance to play right back, defensive central midfield, right midfield and attacking midfield. Each time he plays the same role - safety valve. For years he has been the most guilty of all the midfielders in giving the ball away and for what? When was the last time he won a game for England? He makes or scores a goal once in three or four games. He has ‘energy’ and ‘dynamism’ or ’sticks the boot in’.
Seriously Bill, when was the last time he commanded an England game? So many opportunities and I don’t think he EVER has. Lampard at least deserves to play with a DMF and be given the chance to fail with the same luxury Gerrard has had.
Given that, I’d rather a midfield of Cole, Hargreaves, Barry and Lennon any day.
Quoted “if you play the attacking midfield role - if the team is build to have one (which with Barry or Hargreaves it is) I don’t want a player who tracks back or makes last ditch tackles. I don’t want a player to pick up the ball and hit it long or play the ‘quarterback role’ or hit ‘raking balls’. I want Kaka. I want Riquelme, Hoddle, Zidane, Xavi, Fabregas, Deco etc. and, (I cannot believe I am about to write this) Lampard.”
I do believe there is an attacking midfield, e.g. Riquelme who never tracks back, a defensive midfield player e.g. Mascherano, and a central midfield e.g. Gerrard who can attack and also defend depends on the scenario. Sooo .. i guess Mclaren chose not to play with an attacking midfielder and told Gerrard to help England’s poor, nervous, unorganized defense, which I think Barry is not a good defensive midfielder, if he is one.
“i guess Mclaren chose not to play with an attacking midfielder and told Gerrard to help England’s poor, nervous, unorganized defense, which I think Barry is not a good defensive midfielder, if he is one.”
This assumes that the players trusted McClaren implicitly and followed his directions to the letter - which results suggest is far from the case. As such, when in trouble (Russia after they scored, Croatia both times) the players reverted to type and Gerrard played to the template that he thought was needed (rather than fulfilling a role) and consequently England were unable to reverse the momentum against them.
Barry is not a great defensive midfielder but he is good and more to the point, as a new player to the team was beholden to McClaren for his place (rather than the implicitness of Gerrard’s place) and obeyed his orders to the letter - hence why he and the team generally benefited from him playing.
England are so poor. I love it. The nation who invented football!!!! Ha ha ha. Trying to blame the top Premier League Clubs for not blooding enough England players is a great excuse. English just aren’t good enough - from the players to the coaching staff. Curtis Davies £10m, Rio Ferdinand £28m…………Vidic £6m, Toure £250,000. Hargreaves £25m, Jenas £10m, not to mention Wallcott!!!!!!! Overpriced, over-rated crap. Laughed my face off last night. Thank you Croatia.
Scottish, Drew?
There are some - admittedly few - examples of good value English players… Lampard 11m, Aaron Lennon 1m, Paul Robinson 1.5m, Jermain Defoe 6m though I admit they are few and all bar Lennon are open to criticism (not at the price though).
Still, I’m not really a fan of fans who characterise their support by their hatred of their rivals or who revel in the failure and pain of others.
Each to their own though.
Hey ‘the drew’ , are you from one of the other parts of Britain that also failed to qualify ??
Oh, and I’m almost positive Vidic and Toure aren’t English … MUPPET !!
He was comparing their prices to foriegn players of the same quality I think you’ll find… RETARD !!