2010 World Cup: England v Slovenia

It says much for the dearth of excitement that England have offered at this World Cup that even their implosion has been overshadowed by a French effort that has been truly magnificent.

To get one over on Domenech, Anelka, Evra et al John Terry would have had to repeatedly stick the heid on Ray Clemence whilst hollering "and yer ma" at Fabio Capello. It says much about Terry that such a scenario doesn't seem impossible.

Alas not. Instead he gave a press conference that, rather than rallying the troops, seems to have got little more than an embarrassed silence and some feet shuffling from his comrades in arms.

It was enough to get Capello irked but that seems to be all. If a clear the air session was needed then Terry's intervention didn't deliver the desired result.

England reached this sorry mess thanks to a mind blowingly bad performance against Algeria. It was awful. For a team with England's ambitions to perform in their second World Cup match like a group of reluctant strangers cajoled into a kickabout by an over eager Butlins redcoat suggests there is a problem somewhere.

Whatever friction may exist in the squad they should all be aware that more of the same will mean an early trip home. It's unlikely that the welcoming committee will be in a party mood.

So they must improve. But can they?

England should beat Slovenia. They should also have beaten Algeria.

The problem for the players is how to deliver a performance that is a more fitting reflection of their talent. And I don't say that as someone who subscribes to the view that this England team is full of world class players who ply their trade in the greatest league on earth. That is clearly a nonsense.

But they should still be capable of offering more than they did against Algeria. Even if they were at their wits end with the manager by last Friday they should have done more. Professional pride should kick in. National pride should kick in. What do they think they are? French?

It was the media's chosen angle that this England squad carried the weight of 44 years of hurt on their shoulders, all the way back to that rarely mentioned day in 1966.

Somehow the players now find themselves fighting 52 years of history.1958 was the last time an English team went to the World Cup and crashed out in Round 1.

Obviously this predicament had caused no little celebration north of the border.

Fair enough.

But I'm genuinely perplexed at how a good manager and a solid, if not world beating, squad have managed to be so poor. Theories abound, of course, but if England lose today might people come to the conclusion that player power in the English Premier League makes the national team all but unmanageable?

Maybe we're all too influenced by the hysterical, contradictory, schizophrenic English media. Lest we forget England have been here before. In 1990 when another manager was being written off, stories of unrest were spreading like the winter vomiting bug and all seemed doomed.

That squad reached the semi finals and Bobby Robson became a national treasure.

So, whether Scotland likes it or not, England are not yet dead and buried. I think they'll secure the win they need today and go through to the last 16.

I expect them to have improved, to at least give a display of some strength and defiance against the World Cup's smallest nation.

England expects. Too much as it turns out. But, today at least, they should deliver.

USA v Algeria

Group C's other game today. I suspect the United States will be able to get past Algeria to ensure qualification. The Bleacher Report slideshow has details on what each country needs to do. Basically a win will make England's life a lot easier in a number of different ways. England and USA to go through I think.

Revolting

Some things get funnier with the passage of time.

Seems he can't even lead a mutiny of an underperforming football team.

Best brand for England's brave John Terry to represent? Answers on a postcard please.

The love of the Irish

People do strange things during a World Cup. I got sent this last night:

Ireland, although not in the World Cup have a World Cup song! - Corrigan Brothers, the band who had the International hit "There’s no one as IRISH as Barack Obama" have teamed up with Shay Healy writer of Johnny Logan’s Eurovision winner "What's another Year" to Bring you “WAYNE ROONEY IS OUR HERO”- the song urges Wayne Rooney to Kick Thierry Henry "up the derriere."

2010 World Cup: Anybody but Bougherra?

England v Algeria offers some SPL interest tonight in the shape of Madjid Bougherra.

He certainly shouldn't be feeling the strain of a long season after his less than strenuous efforts for Rangers over the course of the last campaign. Good player, apparently much coveted, and he'll be anxious to impress against players that he'll be hoping to face next season.

I don't like the guy though. I don't like the fact that he plays for Rangers, don't like his attitude on the pitch, don't like his attitude off the pitch with the extended international breaks and pathetic excuses.

I mention this because it brings the Anyone But England stuff into focus for me. As regular readers will know I'm an ABE neutral. Not supporting them, not supporting their opponents.

Last week for England v USA almost everyone in the pub was a Hibs fan. When Dempsey shot and Green blundered there was much cheering and clapping.

Will that happen if Madjid Bougherra scores tonight? And, if we must pick sides, would it not be more natural for me to pick the team that doesn't contain a player that I actively dislike and who plays for a rival of my club?

Should I not support the team that contains a succession of players that I have no affinity for, a couple who I dislike because of what I have read about them in the papers and a few I admire?

Is the truer footballing instinct for me, and - without wanting to speak for anyone else - all non-Rangers fans in Scotland, not be to cheering against Bougherra's Algeria tonight?

Possibly. On the other hand the Scotland v England rivalry is, as we're always reminded, about more than just football.

It's historical.

It would have to be as we've not played them for a decade.

In which case I should probably reserve judgement until I have the relevant genealogical information on which of the England players ancestors fought for Bonnie Prince Charlie.

And, by extension, I should really be clued up as to which of Craig Levein's players are drawn from the Scottish stock that marched with Cumberland at Culloden so that I can roundly boo them during Scotland's next game.

And, yes, I know it's all supposed to be a bit of fun. And that's fine. But I fear the conceit of the joke wears ever thinner with every tournament we fail to qualify for. As I've said before 12 years is a long, long time. Watching England, watching anyone, is becoming more about a gnawing sense of jealousy and despair than about "fun."

On the whole I think I'll stick with the position of interested neutrality. I'll greet all events with my best attempt at an enigmatic smile.

I'm sure there will be plenty of others to get excited if Magic rises above the England defence to nod home the winner.

> Actually that enigmatic smile was replaced with bewildered confusion when the USA scored. I wasn't looking at the screen at the time. As with all major tournaments you know there's about to be a goal when you see that I've diverted my attention away from the TV.

2010 World Cup: England v Algeria

Craning my neck over the garden fence again.

Seems them next door had a spot of bother last week with some of their former tenants turning up and doing their best to spoil the party.

The problem with high expectations is that the pain is so much greater when things don't quite go to plan. A 1-1 draw with the United States was not a disaster for England. It was hardly a 3-1 defeat to Peru.

But anything short of a five or six goal win was never going to be enough for the media. Given their World Cup record it amazes me that the press still think England should be winning every tournament. I keep thinking that one day they will realise that the weight of evidence suggests 1966 was a golden one off rather than a magnificent confirmation of England's status in this competition.

But no, they never do.

England were mediocre - and certain individual performances were unlikely to make anyone Green with envy - but they remain where they were before a ball was kicked: in amongst that group of nations that might be considered in the second tier of favourites for the title.

They are better than America but they weren't the only team to be sucked into a dull opening game where deficiencies were more evident than skill. And they avoided defeat, they remain alive and kicking in a weak group.

The Robert Green situation is interesting but I'm convinced Capello will have decided to keep him in the team. One mistake doesn't make him a bad goalkeeper. And what are the options if he's dropped?

Play David James. Fine, but he's shown before that he can throw in the odd gaffe of his own. If he did that tonight then where would Capello go next?

Throw in the rookie Joe Hart for a potentially decisive final game against Slovenia? That's not a gamble he's likely to take.

And, oddly enough, the press hysteria at the mistake is likely to have done more damage to Green's confidence than the mistake itself. With friends like these... (See update at the bottom of the post.)

Gareth Barry's return will give England a better shape and more of a platform to bring Wayne Rooney into the game, an imperative of any English game plan but one that seemed beyond them on Saturday. It says much about England's midfield superstars that it's the relatively unsung Barry who has become the key figure in coaxing performances of sustained cohesion.

Is Capello bracketing Jermain Defoe with the new World Cup ball as a diversionary tactic to focus the press away from his real thoughts?

Possibly. But maybe he also has a concern over Rooney. The Manchester United striker spoke earlier in the week of being a bit knackered after a long season. For a man who tends to revel in perpetual motion that would have been worrying for the coaching staff.

If Capello has the slightest concern about Rooney's ability to perform tirelessly for 90 minutes then Defoe might be an attractive option. Emile Heskey is many things but he's hardly a goalscorer. Defoe could be better placed to share that burden with Rooney while also providing a bit more finesse for the Algerian defence to deal with.

I don't know. The only thing I'm convinced of is that Fabio Capello won't be panicking. And, I suspect, that will probably be enough for England to get past Algeria tonight.

So, what do I know? Absolutely nothing. The Guardian reports at 09:44 that:

David James is set to be handed a shock recall to England's starting line-up for this evening's critical Group C fixture against Algeria after Fabio Capello decided against selecting Robert Green following his costly error against the United States.

The veteran Portsmouth goalkeeper is to replace Green at the Green Point stadium after the England manager opted for experience in a fixture that the national team can ill afford not to win. Capello had been impressed by the manner in which Green recovered his poise following his handling mistake against the US, which presented Clint Dempsey with an equalising goal, but he remained concerned that his defenders' faith in the goalkeeper had been significantly eroded.

Furthermore, Green appeared nervous in front of the media at open training at the ground yesterday, fumbling two shots from Ray Clemence in one of the early drills.

I think that's a mistake. And it kind of shafts my theory that Capello won't be panicking. England will still win though.