England Vs Brazil

[Jamesthomson]

Usually my patriotism knows no bounds... but with the extensive injuries we have can anyone really see a victory for us? A great opportunity for the fringe players but the experience and flair of the Brazilian team will tell.
Lovejoy is carrying the torch and thinks we can do it, so call me a traitor but I have challenged a few mates to a beer that the Samba boys will win on The Good, The Bad & The Lovejoy
, but I won't be too upset if I am buying the rounds tomorrow night!

[Dancubus]

Darren Bent is starting upfront with Rooney.....?!?!?!?!?
Also Jenas starts in Midfield...interesting.

[aewallace81]

I'm sure it will be better than having Ashley Cole and Lampard going through the motions. Shame Carrick isn't fit, I always enjoy watching him play but I wish Jenas all the best.

[Dancubus]

Team:
Foster, Brown, Lescott, Upson, Bridge, Wright-Phillips, Jenas, Barry, Milner, Rooney, Bent.

I think it can be a good thing that so many regulars are missing, gives us a chance to look at other options. Milner on the left could be a good shout. In all fairness to Bent, I really hope he strikes up an an awesome partnership with Rooney...I just dont think it'll happen. Too one-dimentional for international level.
I really hope that Defoe gets a hefty chuck of playing time.

[woody]

england have been chasing shadows, brasil are pishing on them, jenas or kaka??? hmm, bent has also done f*ck all, there trying to pick out his runs with hoof passes, for gods sake bring JD on he's miles better than that tube

[stroud_jm]

milner was motm for you in my opinion. most of the rest looked like they couldn't be bothered. I wouldn't read too much into this- you had a very depleted team against a pretty well-stocked Brazil side.

[Luke0405]

Thought Jenas had a very strong game. Holding up the ball, 99% of his passes meeting their targets.

[Pitseleh]

friendlys are always a waste of time for my money, never was that more apparent than today..

[basskadet]

I actually thought JJ did not get enough credit for his performance. He was up against Kaka & pretty much kept the Madrid man quiet all game. Yes Kaka got around him on a couple occasions but JJ did not give up & was nibbling at his heels & almost every time forced him into a mistake. Gareth Barry, on the other hand, was run ragged by Elano & he continuously gave the ball away. JJ was about the only 1 of the England midfield NOT giving the ball away (I counted 2 misplaced passes all game: the terrible free-kick & a disapponiting back pass to nobody in particular after he had made a half decent surge forward). I actually think that JJ genuinely suffered from the players around him as he regularly got forward only to have NOBODY make themselves available for him & he would have to stop & play the ball back. I think someone might have told SWP he was playing for Brazil tonight he gave the ball away so much.

This is where I actually get p*ssed off now. Why is everybody got to defend that complete waste of space Darren Bent so much? Virtually EVERY report I read whines about his lack of service & how he did not get much of a chance to impress but, excuse me, he was on the pitch wasn't he? He got just as much of a chance to impress as anyone else did & more of a chance than JD, who once again showed himself to be chosen ahead of his old teammate. Bent was THE MAIN CULPRIT for not giving people like JJ any options going forwards. His runs, as they were at Tottenham, are RIDICULOUS. He constantly goes on runs that end up putting 2 or 3 of the opposition between him & the ball, making it virtually impossible for his teammates to pass it to him. Its why he works OKish with teams that hoof it over the top but he will never work in any team that likes to try & pass it. I think Bent touched the ball 2, maybe 3 times in his 55 minutes on the pitch. He hardly closed down anybody & just wondered around like he was daydreaming half the time. JD was operating on exactly the same level of service &, granted, he did not get near Brazil's goal but he was FAR more involved in the general play & we looked much better after he came on.

I'm actually kind of disappointed in Capello for putting up with Bent for so long. And if he did so because he wanted to check out some newer players then why did we have to suffer Barry & SWP for even longer? Its starting to sound like I'm being biased here but Hudd, who only got 10 min at the end coming on for Barry, actually did pretty well & it was only in that final 10 min, with all 4 Spurs boys on the pitch along with Ashley Young, that England actually looked any good.

Maybe it is because they all know each other & play with each other every week, the players beforehand certainly looked as tho they had never even met each other, let alone played together! I only hope Capello has more sense than these idiotic reporters writing about the game & that he can see that JJ worked his socks off & chased everything & pretty much kept one of the world's best players quiet for most of the game, made some excellent tackles & tracked back very well & he was the only midfielder on the pitch who even tried to get forward or run with the ball. I'm no Jenas fan, but I think he deserved more credit than he got tonight. I also feel that if Capello had made changes much earlier & we had played with the team we finished with for longer, we might've actually got something out the game.

In terms of minutes on the pitch, Huddlestone was possibly the best England player out there & he did more in his 10 minutes than some of the others did in 90!

Matty Upson was probably our best player on the night tho, despite a couple slip ups. I just cannot understand why the rest of England has to constantly make excuses or Darren Bent's failure to impose himself at this level & yet they are happy to criticise virtually everybody else, most of whom played far better than him.

[EliteKiller]

Hey basskadet I think you put more effort into your report than some of the players tonight. Just a statistic about Bent - according to the stats he touched the ball only 11 times on 10 occasions he lost possession, says it all.

I watched the game and thought our back five were simple dreadful, Ben Foster suddenly lost the ability to kick / throw the ball ... Wes Brown may have played his worst game ever can't believe he is considered international class, Wayne Bridge didn't defend or support the attack, Upson and Lescott may be good defenders and indeed a couple of good tackles were made but their positioning all night was terrible, they didn't mark space or individuals just wandered about often just a few feet apart.

SWP what a waste of space, won't take on his man can't pass and can't cross, all good news for Lennon. The other three in midfield JJ, Barry and Milner did as well as they could, constantly overun with a terrible defence behind and only one front player (Bent might as well not have been on the pitch) as an outlet, I thought they worked hard.

Rooney was good, worked his socks off must have found playing alongside Bent a nightmare. When JD came on he looked sharp but the rest of the team were already tired so he made little impact.

Good to see Hudd get a cap ...

[basskadet]

lol, Elite, not too much effort really, more just venting myself. I got a bit fed up after reading the 5th write up in a row in the English press that completely failed to comment on JJ's display, except for his wasted free-kick, (which basically made him out to be useless) & that moaned that Bent "did not get a chance to show what he can do because of no supply from midfield" (which again, subliminally, points the finger at JJ - unfairly).

Those 10 occasions you mention, at least half of them were when he jumped to head a cross only for the ball to bounce of his bonce in some random direction. He wasn't getting the supply - so why did not try and change what he was doing & drop short a bit & make himself available? That's what JD had to do & JD popped up everywhere, on the wing, in his own half, just so he could get involved & make a difference.

I was fed up with having to watch Bent strolling back and forth between Brazil's CBs as it is but to then read endless reports that suggest it was everybody else's fault just takes the biscuit. It is fast becoming Darren's mantra "It wasn't my fault! Everyone else made me crap!"