Soccer SuperFans

By: Mark Oxer, Winnipeg

Mr. Capello got a lot closer to having the correct players on the field today, but the lineup could still be better.

It was nice to see Defoe get the start with Rooney, and it was even better to see him score in the 23rd min.

Despite the play of Defoe however he was greatly outmatched by the Slovenia defense in size, so again I am forced to ask the question, why is Crouch not getting more playing time?

Now it may sound like I am a Crouch fan, when that is not really the case, I am a tactician and a fan of having England win games.

I understand that they won today, but I think the team could have scored a few more, which would've given them more confidence going into the game vs Germany.

The decision to bring in Heskey in the 86th min baffles me. I know Coach Capello was looking to put on a player that has physical strength, and could hold the ball in the attacking third, but a better option would be Rooney!

Why on earth would you take him off? Rooney is a gamer he comes to play, and plays with passion for the full 90 minutes. I heard people saying he was taken off because he was getting frustrated, and coach didn't want the same outburst as the previous World Cup. Come on?! He has grown as a player, his performance this year with United was spectacular, and he is not going to cost England a game.

The past few days there were media reports about Terry causing problems within the England team.

I say what happens off the field, and in the dressing rooms stays there. Terry made a diving attempt to stop a shot on goal today with his head in the 18yard box. Now granted he missed the ball, but it doesn't change the fact that he threw himself at that ball, and put the team before himself.

This is how I want to see the entire team play. I think a quote from the movie Miracle (Based on a true story about a USA hockey team winning a championship, when no one thought they had a chance. Could be the story of this World Cup as well.....) sums this up well when the coach gets upset with how his team is playing and tells them... "The name on the front of your jersey is a hell of a lot more important than the name on the back!"

Now I mentioned that I consider myself to somewhat of a tactician, so I would like to address the basic principals of width and depth. It seems as though England does not have a proper grasp of how to stretch the game on attack. Draw out the defenders and create space!

There were too many times today where I saw English players too close together and it generally ended up is losing the ball because the space or lanes were clogged. Something else I have noticed from the teams who have been doing well is that their wingers, and/or wingbacks are making overlapping runs. I don't recall seeing one quality-overlapping run from the 3 lions.

For this reason ( and a few others) I am worried about how far the England team will go. The England team is not playing with the 'Total Football' mentality.

They have looked very rigid in their positions, and in how they are playing their positions. I would like to see the team play with more flow.

England plays Germany, and if/when they advance one has to assume that they will likely face Argentina in the next round.

Neither one of these teams will be easy, and England needs to continue to bring the level of their game up to come home World Champions.

I had mentioned in one of my previous reports that I enjoy history, and I am very excited about the history that exists between England and Germany.

I think that when these 2 teams play there is also more than just a result of a soccer game at stake, and that they both play with enormous passion as to represent their country with pride.

I look forward to a great match........ Two World Wars and One World Cup!