Peter Crouch scores against a side whose merits in world football are akin to Accrington Stanley. Beckham can get MOTM for growing a beard, and Ingerlund move to third favourite for the World Cup behind Brasil and Spain.

Ahh next summer will be amusing.

Third favourites ?













I didn't know North Korea had qualified...that'll be fun.

For someone who continually cried about Chelsea ruining football with Abramovich's spending, you're very sensitive about Citeh being pulled up for it.

Argentina are fourth favourites

Don't the bookies get to see the South American qualifiers?
Considering Holland qualified with a 100% record 14/1 seems generous and 7/1 that they make the final looks very nice.

It's the Dutch. It's a major championships.

Give it until two weeks before the start and none of the squad will be talking to each other as usual.

Had also crossed my mind.

If you repeat something ad infinitum, it does become incredibly boring. Especially when it is incorrect.

Can you please provide evidence of me even a hinting of explicitly stating that Chelsea are ruining / have ruined football. Otherwise, shut up, you tart.

I have never said anyone is 'ruining football'. It's a term that has been coined by bitter Everton, Villa and Spurs fans.

I think this is because Argentina have won the competition twice and Holland haven't won it. Argentina are somewhat like Germany where they can win the competition even when they shouldn't, while Holland will manage to screw it up even when everything's in their favour.

and City fans until not so long ago

Fair enough, you might not have stated that Chelsea were ruining football. I CBA checking TBH.

But the "ruining football" jibe is just a jibe. And you were just as rabid with your jibes against Chelsea's position as the Everton and Villa fans. I certainly remember you stating that Citeh's magnificent nurturing of talent was more significant than Chelsea winning the league.

Obsessed



Are we the new Spurs?

As for the shirt I don't know that much about who gets what and i'm sure you don't either.

After last night I would hesitate to say that he is just a head. Awful, awful player.

Was interesting when they read put his international scoring achievements. Not scored against one "big" name - all minnows.

I've said it before - he'd never have got a sniff of international football if he'd never signed for Liverpool (and now Spurs). If we'd needed to win last night he wouldn't have been in either. Hope to god Capello wakes up and smells the coffee and leaves him at home next summer.

We need a world class striker like Heskey - a proven goalscorer.

Emile Heskey wouldn't even score goals in Sunday league football.

So, even after winning 9 out of 10 qualifying games, people still worry that England don't possess a goalscorer.

'Twas ever thus

Michael Owen is the answer if he gets fit and start scoring even if it is for Man Utd



IMO of course and hes better than Heskey, Agbonlahore and Cole anyway

Hull City were promoted to the Premier League with a GD of +18. In their first season in the Premier League they had a goal difference of -25. Hull City's strike force was good enough to gain promotion from the Championship, but it wasn't good enough for the Premier League.

England face a similar problem. The strike force is good enough to get out of a group including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Andorra, Croatia and the Ukraine, but it will probably struggle against Brazil, Germany and Spain that it will be facing if England are to win the WC.

Rooney's excellent, but he carries the vast majority of our attacking threat. Without him, we are probably screwed. With him we have a chance, but we're definitely light when it comes to attacking in a WC.

But we won in Germany, a year or so ago, 2-1, and drew away to the Netherlands, 2-2 not so long ago.

Admittedly, we lost and failed to score against Spain and we haven't yet played Brazil but there is certainly no proof to say we cannot score against the decent teams.

My biggest problem with England is the current midfield. I don't think we've got enough ability to play 4-4-2 against the big sides, all over the field to be honest. I believe our midfield is too slow and I wouldn't call it defensively solid. Barry and Lampard both work hard enough, but I'd like to see the Canadian in there if he's ever gonna get fit.

For me, I dunno how to explain it, I don't believe our midfield has a specialist defensive player, something I feel is massively required at international level, sometimes even two. Hargreaves could be the one, but Lampard/Barry will easily be outplayed against top sides, for me.

why not have gerrard upfront or just behind rooney

better then having waste of space heskey there

The last two games have accentuated just exactly how far off the pace the likes of Carrick and Barry are, even against second-rate opposition. Lost count of the number of times Barry gave the ball away, not even with ambitious through balls but just misplaced ten yard passes.

Milner should have got himself in front of Wright-Phillips in the pecking order now hopefully. Playing SWP on the left because he isn't good enough to get into the team on the right isn't the answer - Wednesday's game should have been used to give someone like Ashley Young or Adam Johnson a run at that level.

Iinghateinternationals

Fair play to you if you come away with a win.

if we had a group like spain, portugal, germany in it then we would of been out of the world cup imo

we need to sort a strike partner for rooney