*Official* English Football Season 2006-07

[Pup Clarke]

Or maybe Lampard & Hargreaves can form the same mid-field partnership that Lamps & Makele has had, it could finally bring out the best in Lampard.

What about Gerrard?...

 

[Scaly piscine]

What about Gerrard?...

Gerrard should be warming the bench for England when Hargreaves is back. Gerrard is massively overrated, partly because of the Liverpool bias of the BBC. I'm not interested in how good he's supposed to be for Liverpool (I've not seen any evidence of it myself when he's played on terrestrial TV) as he's played long enough to be judged solely on his England performances which haven't been good enough. Lampard hasn't been great lately but he's been better than Gerrard overall.

But we all know McClaren is soft and panders to the press, so Gerrard is untouchable because for some reason they love him but not Lampard because he plays for Chelsea.

 

[Pup Clarke]

Gerrard should be warming the bench for England when Hargreaves is back. Gerrard is massively overrated, partly because of the Liverpool bias of the BBC. I'm not interested in how good he's supposed to be for Liverpool (I've not seen any evidence of it myself when he's played on terrestrial TV) as he's played long enough to be judged solely on his England performances which haven't been good enough. Lampard hasn't been great lately but he's been better than Gerrard overall.

But we all know McClaren is soft and panders to the press, so Gerrard is untouchable because for some reason they love him but not Lampard because he plays for Chelsea.

Gerrard is defenitley not overrated IMO.When played in the central midfield position he makes a massive impact for Liverpool and England IMO.Lampard has also not been better than Gerrard recently.That truly is a baffling statement you just made IMO.Hargreaves and Gerrard in central midfield would be the best compination for England.

 

[Matteh]

I personally favour the Lampard + Hargreaves combination. Gerrard can fit in on the right, and there's not like there's anyone better there except potentially someone like Lennon but he's clearly just an impact player to bring on after an hour or so.

 

[Tom Halsey]

I personally favour the Lampard + Hargreaves combination. Gerrard can fit in on the right, and there's not like there's anyone better there except potentially someone like Lennon but he's clearly just an impact player to bring on after an hour or so.

Gerrard just doesn't work on the right IMO.

Would prefer Beckham, but, as McLaren opened his trap too soon, Lennon it has to be IMO.

 

[Matteh]

Beckham's injured as well tbf and Lennon is surely best off in the impact role i mentioned?

 

[marc71178]

He is, yes.

I'd start Gerrard on the right to be honest with Beckham injured.

Not sure who I'd want on the left though - nobody is screaming out and saying "pick me" in the absence of Joe Cole.

 

[Matteh]

Gareth Barry deserves a start on the left as he's had a good season and Downing hasn't set the world alight.

 

[marc71178]

Hasn't he been playing in the middle for Villa though?

Besides he's better off being classed as a central player, less chance of barton playing then.

The name that just has sprung to mind but may involve a bit of tinkering with the formation is Dyer - he's been in fine form for a while now - maybe with Crouch out and nobody else crying out to partner Rooney it's better to involve him somehow?

 

[roseboy64]

I don't keep check of the names of players that dive, but I do know that I've seen dozens of British players do it on many occasions. Maybe "in the old days" it never happened, but when the foreign players allegedly "brought it over" I can say that well over half of the England national football team seem to have embraced the 'simulation' process with open arms. That includes the likes of Gerrard, Cole (both of 'em), Lampard, Rooney, Beckham, Owen, Defoe, Johnson, Lennon, all of whih I've seen dive once or twice at least. I've once even been suspicious of a certain Gary Neville, but I found it too hard to believe and figured he just lost his footing... never seen that happen more than once with him, though, admittedly. Never seen Rio, Terry or Carragher dive but I imagine that central defenders would have a rough time doing so.

Likewise, there are a lot of foreign players who I've never seen dive despite watching them play a fair amount of games.

EDIT: The only people to blame for diving, as far as I'm concerned, would be the FA who don't do enough to bring in technology and delayed punishments (ie, if it's found a player dived after the game is over, they get given a yellow card for it - much like a crime can still be punished in the real world if it's discovered five years later).

Never really seen the first three dive and you must be smoking something to even consider Neville. I won't grace that comment with anything else. Apart from that game against Arsenal you mentioned I've not seen Rooney dive. Johnson has rarely if ever dived IMO and has won his penalties fairly. Haven't seen Beckham dive but haven't wathced him as much as the others.

 

[marc71178]

Hmm, Andy Johnson doesn't dive.

If he were a Man United player I could understand the blinkered defence of him.

 

[Pup Clarke]

Hmm, Andy Johnson doesn't dive.

.

Is that sarcasm?.Because IMO he doesn't.

 

[TT Boy]

Never really seen the first three dive and you must be smoking something to even consider Neville. I won't grace that comment with anything else. Apart from that game against Arsenal you mentioned I've not seen Rooney dive. Johnson has rarely if ever dived IMO and has won his penalties fairly. Haven't seen Beckham dive but haven't wathced him as much as the others.

That's quite indicative of the amount of football you watch then because Steven Gerrard has 'earned' two penalties this season by diving. Also anyone care to remember the England game against Hungary (I believe), where his dive was so bad that all the stick he got from the likes of Terry Butcher was fully deserved. If you going dive at least copy the likes of Joe Cole and Andy Johnson, who have the art form down to a tee, so much so that Roseboy has never seen them dive.

 

[Pup Clarke]

That's quite indicative of the amount of football you watch then because Steven Gerrard has 'earned' two penalties this season by diving. Also anyone care to remember the England game against Hungary (I believe), where his dive was so bad that all the stick he got from the likes of Terry Butcher was fully deserved. If you going dive at least copy the likes of Joe Cole and Andy Johnson, who have the art form down to a tee, so much so that Roseboy has never seen them dive.

I'm sorry but I really would like a video from people to prove Andy Johnson is a diver.I agree with roseboy,whenever I've seen him win a penalty he's been blatently tripped.Gerrard however does dive quite often but Joe Cole not as much.When you're running at pace in the penalty area the tiniest nudge will send you of balance and you will go down.It doesn't matter if he over dramatised the fall.If there's sufficiant contact it's a penalty IMO.Also why would anyone's believe what Jose says about Johnson.IMO you can't believe anything that comes out of Mourinho's mouth.Wasn't he the first one to say in public that Johnson was a diver.

 

[Loony BoB]

Of course, Ronaldo is arguably the fastest player in the Premiership, yet I imagine you would call him the "world's biggest cheat" or something similar, yes?

 

[Barney Rubble]

My contribution to this debate is merely to state that Andy Johnson dives more than any single footballer I have ever seen. Disgraceful.

 

[simmy]

That accolade would definitely go to an Italian me thinks.

 

[Pup Clarke]

My contribution to this debate is merely to state that Andy Johnson dives more than any single footballer I have ever seen. Disgraceful.

Most ridicilous comment ever TBH.Have you ever actually watched a game of football or seen the penalties that are given to Andy Johnson?.Deco IMO is the worst by a mile.Jose starts saying it and now everyone believes Andy Johnson's a cheat.Disgraceful...

 

[Tom Halsey]

Most ridicilous comment ever TBH.Have you ever actually watched a game of football or seen the penalties that are given to Andy Johnson?.Deco IMO is the worst by a mile.Jose starts saying it and now everyone believes Andy Johnson's a cheat.Disgraceful...

Johnson obviously dives, but due to his reputation this is more than cancelled out by stone-wallers not given, tbf.

 

[marc71178]

Jose starts saying it and now everyone believes Andy Johnson's a cheat.Disgraceful...

Hmmm, I hardly think that it started with what Mourinho said...