A m8 of mine says"England have the best defence in the world!"

[Luis Ah-Hoy]

I would take the duo:
Carvalho + Jorge Andrade

over any english CB duo... sadly, J. Andrade won't be there...

 

[Dan the monkey]

WHY WON'T SVEN PLAY CARRICK!

imagine that back four with the support of Carrick jus infront, which will also improve the attack as it gives Gerrard much more freedom to produce the magic he does for liverpool.

 

[jackie4]

If you wrote this as a serious post, you're an idiot.

gr8 stuff. that's the level of debate we're looking for here

 

[Daz]

well i've personally always rated our defence as top quality. Two world-class CBs in Rio and Terry, a world-class LB in Ash Cole, and even though he's not as good as a few years ago, Gaz Neville is still a top class RB who uses his immense experience to our advantage.

 

[Andreas]

gr8 stuff. that's the level of debate we're looking for here

Ok, so you were serious. Since you want a serious debate, can you at least back your claims up, and explain to me _why_ the teams you mention have so much better defences than England?

Edit: and Gary Neville's a better player now than he's been before. His offensive skills have improved majorly.

 

[::shinji::]

England's defence is definitely one of the best, but at this level of football you really can't clearly say who's on top. There are like 5 or 6 countries along with England who's defences are all equally great, they may have certain aspects that are better or worse but it's not so black and white. It's not a situation like saying Ronaldinho is the world's best, where he really is head and shoulders above the rest...

 

[Andreas]

England's defence is definitely one of the best, but at this level of football you really can't clearly say who's on top. There are like 5 or 6 countries along with England who's defences are all equally great, they may have certain aspects that are better or worse but it's not so black and white. It's not a situation like saying Ronaldinho is the world's best, where he really is head and shoulders above the rest...

And he isn't. There's other players too who's up there with him. Thierry Henry for instance.

 

[SlowSilver]

You think our defense is better than England's without hesitation? You mean you didn't think, right? Our defense is decent at best; very unreliable at times, especially against fast counters.

He's scottish, I'm sure he thinks Irans defence is better than Englands.

 

[klear]

WHY WON'T SVEN PLAY CARRICK!

imagine that back four with the support of Carrick jus infront, which will also improve the attack as it gives Gerrard much more freedom to produce the magic he does for liverpool.

If he plays Carrick, he'd have to drop Lampard. No chance. Even if Lampard loses a leg in training or something, he will still play him as long as he can kick a ball. Sven has never been the type of manager to drop his big players when they're playing ****e. It's one of his major flaws.

Although, he did mastermind a 5-1 victory over Germany so I will forgive him I suppose.

 

[::shinji::]

Sven has never been the type of manager to drop his big players when they're playing ****e. It's one of his major flaws.

...and England were trying to get Scolari. You'd be dealing with the same x10.

 

[TOON ARMY]

WHY WON'T SVEN PLAY CARRICK!

imagine that back four with the support of Carrick jus infront, which will also improve the attack as it gives Gerrard much more freedom to produce the magic he does for liverpool.

A holding player is only necessary against the better opposition.

 

[jackie4]

He's scottish, I'm sure he thinks Irans defence is better than Englands.

no i don't. if i thought england had a great defence i would say so. for example, their world cup winning captain bobby moore was an absolute genius at defending!

 

[garlei]

England has a good defence. Look at their Euro 2004 record and you'll see they played pretty well. in 04 Campbell and Neville were one of the better England players.


Speaking of defence, another team that you should look out for is Serbia and Montenegro with a certain Vidic in it. The only let in one goal during their qualifying campaign.


http://soccernet.espn.go.com/team/qualify?id=446&cc=5739

 

[Rob]

Italy, Spain, Argentina, Czech Republic, Denmark, Holland & France.

And that's just the ones I can think of without hesitation.

Although I should point out that the defence I set out for England isn't necessarily the one I would pick if I was Eriksson. I'd have Ledley King instead of Ferdinand. And b4 someone says it, I know King is injured right now.

Now that just proves your hate has blinded you.

I mean we see similar posts in regards to Rangers, and now England.

I mean, the Czechs condeeded what?
12 goals?
As did Denmark.

And if you look at other teams
Italy 8
Netherlands 3
France 2
Spain 3

And England conceeded 5. That makes them look pretty favourable in the context of their group, esp. considering they finished on top of theres, as opposed to Spain, Czechs, and Denmark didnt even qualify.

 

[jackie4]

Now that just proves your hate has blinded you.

I mean we see similar posts in regards to Rangers, and now England.

where are these "I hate Rangers" posts then? There is a thread from November called "Let's all laugh at Rangers" but that was supposed to be a joke!

I hate nobody and i CERTAINLY don't hate England or the English football team. the original points stands. England don't have the best defence in the world. One guy posted the best point. On paper, they look top-class but when it comers to key international matches they don't turn it on. France in 2004, 1 up, 90th minute, result: 2-1 to France. A loss to Northern Ireland in the WC qualifying group. It's also interesting that England hardly ever lose a goal to a header (Helder Postiga's equaliser in Euro 2004 is the only recent one I can think of). It's almost always shots which suggests to me they are average over the ground; and I include John Terry in that.

 

[TOON ARMY]

where are these "I hate Rangers" posts then? There is a thread from November called "Let's all laugh at Rangers" but that was supposed to be a joke!

France in 2004, 1 up, 90th minute, result: 2-1 to France. A loss to Northern Ireland in the WC qualifying group. It's also interesting that England hardly ever lose a goal to a header (Helder Postiga's equaliser in Euro 2004 is the only recent one I can think of). It's almost always shots which suggests to me they are average over the ground; and I include John Terry in that.

Well during the France game it was Gerrards back pass which resulted in the penalty and Emile Heskey was at fault for the free-kick so you can't blame the center halfs for that.

 

[Lean]

our midfield is the best in the world. Our defence isnt, and our attack isnt if Rooney doesnt play.

Better than Emerson, Juninho Pernambucano, Kaká and Gaúcho?

Aight, Gerrard would find himself a place there tho.

 

[pede54]

England conceed more goals from set plays than from open play. Penalties are usually a foregone conclusion especially against the likes of Zidane. Very few goals against England are due to defensive errors. Also you need a referee who wants to give the penalties or free kicks, so to a certain degree the situation that results in a goal, does not give a fair indication of whether a defence has been owned or not. When you play against teams who incorporate playing for penalties within their tactics, the conclusions reached regarding the defence, can be misleading. Also its about the goalkeeper of course. Calamity James never did much to help keep Englands goals against tally down. Reckless, unpredictable and crap.

 

[pede54]

Better than Emerson, Juninho Pernambucano, Kaká and Gaúcho?

Aight, Gerrard would find himself a place there tho.

Kaka MIGHT possibly just about make the England team. The rest?....be serious............ :funny:

 

[Tom]

have to (for once) agree with Pete here, the England midfield (as a whole) pretty much outweighs any other in the world.

It isnt far better, but in terms of quality across the board, it has to be top in my opinion.