Macedonia v England - pre-match,live and post-match comments

After such a 'comfortable' victory over Andorra, and a thrilling 1st half v Greece, can we expect more of the same? I certainly hope so.

I expect Macca to play the same team and formation with the same objective. Get the ball wide.

If Lampard plays, I hope he can find some sort of form. It's honestly painful when I see him being so ineffective, especially when I think back to some of his performances in the 04-05 season.

Will Crouch continue his great scoring record? He seems to be the man with confidence at the moment.

I don't expect Macedonia to trouble us like they did at OT in the Euro 04 qualifier (remember the Seaman corner? ), so I'm hoping for a 2 or 3-0 comfortable victory, with some excellent build up play.

I expect the team to be following:

----------------Robinson--------------
Phil Neville--Brown--Terry--Ash Cole
Gerrard--Hargreaves--Lampard--Downing
-------------Defoe--Crouch-------------

No offense, do you actually care about matches against semi amateur squads?

a wins a win.

You're naive if you don't think Macedonia will trouble you. At the risk of bringing out every cliché in the book - the atmosphere will be intense in Skopje and I expect them to be well organised. Sakiri was the best midfielder on show the last time you met, so it's obvious that he can play at this level.

Goran Pandev is just something else entirely, but, the likelyhood is that there just won't be enough quality around him, and there could be an over-reliance on him.

If he gets one on one with Terry though, Terry is ending up on his arse.

He is, afterall, The Macedonian Maradona

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR0WownFJYw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5iwQK1R1Bk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTnc9qfYLGE

@ obi... this is the first real test for england... if they continue to play the high energy game they have been then i don't think they'll have any trouble at all... most of erikkson's flaws seem to have been erased from the team... i expect it to be fairly comfortable


but if it isn't .....

Obispo wrote:
If he gets one on one with Terry though, Terry is ending up on his arse.

I think Brown is the one who'll need to be careful. He looked the least convincing (Phil Neville aside ) of all the defenders.

I don't consider Macedonia an easy match, but we're full of goals and confidence (something that never happened under Eriksson) coming into this game. I think 2-0 might be more realistic.

@ sheva

It's a qualifying match. It's gotta be taken seriously mate

S4P wrote:

Obispo wrote:
If he gets one on one with Terry though, Terry is ending up on his arse.

@ sheva

It's a qualifying match. It's gotta be taken seriously mate

I think it´s boring anyway...

Don't get me wrong, England should win. Macedonia in general are poor opposition. The problem is that they do have a player who could turn out to be world class - I'm not saying that as someone who is fond of Lazio - Anyone who's seen Goran Pandev over the past season will say the same thing.

With the possible exception of Gerrard, he's going to be the most naturally talented player on the pitch on Wednesday. He can't do it all on his own though.

Okay If McClaren does what he is saying England could carry on there positive start.............

McCLAREN LAYS DOWN THE LAW
By Matt Barlow, PA Sport Chief Football Writer



Steve McClaren has warned his high-flying England players that no-one is guaranteed a place in his team.

McClaren is determined to create a competitive atmosphere inside the camp after enjoying a five-star start to his Euro 2008 campaign.

England shot to the top of Group E after hammering little Andorra 5-0 at Old Trafford without five regular first-teamers.

Michael Owen, Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville and Joe Cole were all missing through injury and Wayne Rooney was banned.

The new boss stressed that no-one can expect to walk straight back into the team - and no-one can assume they will stay in.

McClaren said: "Nobody is a permanent fixture and no-one can count on having a shirt all the time.

"They have to work hard for their clubs in between and show form and then, when they come to England, they have to perform well for the team.

"They must be available when they are asked to make an impact, which the subs have done.

"We're building a squad and I've said to these players they are in the squad at the moment but it's up to them whether they stay in or not."

Only Ferdinand, who missed the Andorra game with a toe injury, has a chance of returning in time for Wednesday's game in Macedonia.

Rooney serves the second game of his two-match ban and will be available for the home game against Macedonia on October 7.

Strikers Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe each scored twice against Andorra and Andrew Johnson impressed McClaren when he came on as a substitute for the last 20 minutes.

It is implausible McClaren will keep Rooney on the sidelines simply because Defoe and Crouch cashed in against one of the world's worst teams.

The Manchester United striker will return to the starting line-up as soon as he is able but the manager is anxious not to puncture the confidence of Crouch and Defoe.

Crouch's double against Andorra took his international tally to 10 in 13 games, which McClaren hailed as "phenomenal".

The Liverpool hitman has even sparked far-fetched suggestions that he could be on course for Sir Bobby Charlton's all-time England record of 49 goals.

Defoe desperately needed his two goals to restore his self-belief after two barren years on the international scene and to help him overcome Sven-Goran Eriksson's flawed decision to dump him from the World Cup squad.

McClaren said: "The competition in that area is very good and the more of these players scoring then the better it is for me.

"The pleasing thing for me is that Andy Johnson came on and did well, we've got Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch scoring and we've still got Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen to come back."

McClaren has already proved he will not pick his team on reputation by omitting David Beckham and he has another big decision looming with Joe Cole close to fitness.

Cole was one of England's better players in the World Cup finals but he has missed the start of McClaren's reign with a knee injury picked up in pre-season.

The England manager has made a big deal of his desire to play with width and pace and Stewart Downing has given his team great balance on the left.

Cole is not naturally left sided but he was shoe-horned into that role by Eriksson and has made a decent fist of it over the last 18 months.

If McClaren wants a player to hug the touchline, offer directness and deliver early crosses, however, then it is not Cole's style.

One player unlikely to pose McClaren a selection problem in the near future is Owen, who dropped in for lunch with the squad at their team hotel in Manchester, on Friday.

The Newcastle striker is about to have an operation on the knee ligaments he damaged against Sweden in the World Cup finals and will miss most of the season.

McClaren said: "Our thoughts are with Michael. He remains one of England's key players and he is certainly not forgotten. I wish him a speedy recovery.

"He most definitely has a role to play for England in the future and I am looking forward to welcoming him back into the fold."

McClaren now turns his attention to Macedonia, who drew 2-2 with England in Southampton, four years ago.

The England boss said: "We have come across Macedonia before and we know that it will be a tough game in Skopje but my belief is that it will be down to us not the opposition.

"People are certainly not getting carried away just yet but I think the optimism is there once again both from the people within the game and from the public."

(re-opens) McClaren is thrilled with the competition which is already developing inside the squad.

Crouch and Defoe are doing the business up front and young wingers Aaron Lennon and Kieran Richardson have showed promise when they have come off the bench against Greece and Andorra.

McClaren said: "I pick players on performance not on reputation. It is performance ultimately that counts. The players know they have to perform.

"What I like is that we're building a squad and it's not just the established players but some youngsters like Aaron Lennon and Kieran Richardson.

"There's competition and it's great to look back if things aren't going well and see Aaron Lennon, Kieran Richardson, Andy Johnson and Darren Bent who can come on and change a game."

The manager is keen to prove that England have the depth to challenge for honours, even if they lose one of their star players like Rooney.

McClaren said: "You can't rely on 11 players you need a squad.

"Wayne Rooney is a world-class player and a massive influence on our team.

"That has been proven and he's very valuable to this team but he needs competition.

"People are coming to the fore and proving they can compete."

England will train tomorrow before boarding the plane for Macedonia and Ferdinand will not travel unless he has a chance of playing on Wednesday.

McClaren said: "Hopefully he will train on Monday and be right but it depends how he does."
http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/06/09/03/SOCCER_England_Nightlead.html&TEAMHD=soccer

I've never seen somone overhype someone as much as Obipso does Goran Pandev - if )God help us!) Pandev manages to score on Wednesday, this board will become a place that NO-ONE would want to visit - the CIA may even get involved.

Regarding the game - I agian hope that Lampard has a shocker, hopefully Defoe too so that these two waste-of-spaces can be dropped. I'm still a tad unsure on Carricks merits though - England isn't reallt blessed with a Paul Scholes any more - someone with technique, flair and vision - not unless we play Rooney there, but that just wouldn'ty work IMO

Nice to see Aaron Lennon helping to dispel the accusation of "no end product".

Okay, it was against Andorra, but to come on and set up a goal with almost his first touch is just another reminder of the potential England now have on the bench for the right wing position.

Furthermore, compare his performance with Richardson's and we can see the 19 year old has a big future.

Best thing about this new look England is the width the team now play with. Mclaren clearly wants England to play in a Brian Clough type mould of simple quick penetrative football. And its coming along quite nicely.

There are still problems though *cough*Lampard*cough* that need to be addressed - the width is great but we still haven't been tested agaisnt a decent side. Whilst I am confident of Hargreaves doing a good job, I am less confident of Lampard - because he is a luxury player at Chelsea, he has lost the art of putting some effort in and he just seems to drift aimlessly around midfield without his efforts ever culminating in something worth writing home about

Tweedledum wrote:There are still problems though *cough*Lampard*cough* that need to be addressed - the width is great but we still haven't been tested agaisnt a decent side. Whilst I am confident of Hargreaves doing a good job, I am less confident of Lampard - because he is a luxury player at Chelsea, he has lost the art of putting some effort in and he just seems to drift aimlessly around midfield without his efforts ever culminating in something worth writing home about

I agree- he lacks the mobility to play Mclaren's type of style- note how long he seems to take to look up and pass the ball when England are trying to pick up the pace. He fits Chelsea's style better.

Bring Carrick in I say, he is made for the passing game Mclaren is setting out to create- especially as he is far better at picking out the wingers with passes than Lampard, who was sloppy again on Sat with his crossfield balls

Carrick for the time being, there are still a few question marks over his dynamism though, although Hargreaves can compensate for this to a degree

it depends IF Joe Cole regains his place on what i´d do, if he does as many believe he should then drop lampard for lennon moving gerrard in field, if he keeps downing in then i´d play carrick, we need width, and gerrard needs some flexibility to be able to come in field at times so with joe cole on one flank and gerrard on the other, we may lack width at times

How about replacing Lampard with Joe cole?

possibly tweeds, there is also another issue regardless of who it is Rooney must be told to play as a striker and not drop off too much as otherwise Gerrard/Lampard/Cole would all find themsleves in similar positions and getting in each others way and only have crouch up front

Tweedledum wrote:How about replacing Lampard with Joe cole?

Would be an interesting move. But because Joe cole doesnt play central mid at chelsea, dont think Macca will even look at this. Personally, if Joe cole had developed at a club, say abroad, where he was able to play in a central position with more freedom, perhaps behind the strikers, we would have seen him develop into a natural a number 10 playmaker

Tweedledum wrote:I've never seen somone overhype someone as much as Obipso does Goran Pandev - if )God help us!) Pandev manages to score on Wednesday, this board will become a place that NO-ONE would want to visit - the CIA may even get involved.

Maybe you should actually watch him a few times this season then, not just one off's. Might make a change for you salvating over Cesc Sideways Pass Fabregas

England coach Steve McClaren says the best is yet to come from Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard.
The 26-year-old - set for his 50th cap in Wednesday's Euro 2008 qualifier in Macedonia - has been outstanding since McClaren moved him to the right wing.

McClaren said: "He can get better. He has been a fantastic influence in some of the games he has won for Liverpool.

"We want to transfer that to England and he has started to do that over the last couple of games."

Under previous boss Sven-Goran Eriksson, Gerrard struggled to reproduce his club form for England in a central midfield partnership with Chelsea's Frank Lampard.

But since taking over as coach McClaren has opted to use Gerrard on the right - and was a huge influence in the friendly against Greece and in Saturday's Euro 2008 qualifier with Andorra.

He scored the 10th goal of his England career against Andorra and made another for Jermain Defoe as England won 5-0.

McClaren added: "I've always looked at him on that right-hand side and he scored goals from there, so it's got to be a decent position for him.

"You should want the ball all the time and express yourself. When you do that, you enjoy it.

I think the attacking midfielders in the England side appreciate having Owen in there as well

John Terry on Owen Hargreaves

"When it comes off, you enjoy it more and Steven Gerrard has given us that on the right-hand side.

"He has been influential for Liverpool over the years and has changed games and won European Cups by himself.

"Now he's doing that for England so it's great for us. The best is still to come from him and all the players."

Much of the credit for England's new fluency in midfield has gone to Owen Hargreaves, with the Bayern Munich player now seemingly settled in the holding role.

England skipper John Terry compared Hargreaves' performances with those of Claude Makelele for Chelsea.

Terry said: "I think Owen Hargreaves has slotted in perfectly. You can compare Owen to 'Maka' at Chelsea. Like Maka he breaks the play up brilliantly.

"If anyone gets past him, then they still have us to beat in the defence but he is certainly not easy to get past

For a striker it's a phenomenal amount of work he is getting through

Steve McClaren on Peter Crouch
"I think the attacking midfielders in the England side appreciate having Owen in there as well, knowing he will sit back if we are on the attack."

Despite their emphatic win over European minnows Andorra, McClaren has warned his side not to get too comfortable.

With Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen all missing through injury or suspension, several players took their opportunity to shine.

But McClaren said: "Nobody is a permanent fixture and no-one can count on having a shirt all the time.

"They have to work hard for their clubs in between and show form and then, when they come to England, they have to perform well for the team.

"We are building a squad and I've said to these players they are in the squad at the moment but it's up to them whether they stay in or not."

One player now looking established in the England side is Liverpool forward Peter Crouch, whose double strike on Saturday took his tally to 10 in 13 international games.

McClaren called Crouch's record "phenomenal" but stressed that he is more than just a goalscorer for England.

The coach said: "He's a team player and, when we do the stats and look at the fitness, he runs more than any other player in a game.

"For a striker it's a phenomenal amount of work he is getting through.

"He runs about 13km, maybe more sometimes, and the average is 12km and a half for a midfielder. He is consistently above. I've seen him do 14km before."

I must admit, Gerrard has looked awesome in his new role. He and Hargreaves have been far and away our best players under the new system

I am guessing that Lampard is being given the chance to play himself back into form and get some confidence. That's fine in the two games so far, but if he continues to underperform, the obvious solution is to switch Gerrard to the centre and bring on Lennon on the wing.

However I suspect that at some point Lamps will find his shooting boots and the Sun will be raving about him again.

Hargreaves should definitely be our first-choice free-kick taker now. He was so unlucky on Saturday, his shot was a peach.

I'm still dubious about Gerrard in the centre though - he seems to have been given a new lease of life out on the wing and has been Englands best performer.

Whilst I agree that Lennon deserves a chance, I don't think Gerrard should be moved, I'd rather play Carrick in the centre if anything, that way better use can be made of gerrards dynamism.

Gerrard is tactically indisciplined - if he plays its either on the right or in the centre of a 5 man midfield IMO

After 2 games of Macca regime, I still feel he aint been tested yet, we havnt produced that much of a impressive performance to shout about.

He erradicated the technical flaws, well done to him, we have more width, balanced midfield and cordination between player's...

However, most of our goals has come from wide area's and we still lacking that that fluidity and dynicism in the middle, due to Lumps.

Lampard isnt that Technically gifted enough to play the key playmaker role in the mddle of the park. All he does, is come deep, to collect the ball and passes its sideway's and makes a run foward, thats it. He works hard, although he works harder for Chelsea than England...and has a somewhat fierce shot on him ( with god on his side, with the amount of deflection this guy's gets)...

Solution still, Carrick in the middle...he has the creative spark and quick one touches balls to make chances....although the one thing against him is his lack of movement or should I say lack of running to the box, i.e scoring from Midfield...

Another Solution for that, as said by some, Cole in the middle with Hargreaves, ONLY when Rooney is in the team...

Rooney coming deep, will give Cole little bit more luxary in trying to make things happen, i.e running with the ball and he doesn't need to have that defense spliting balls, which he lacks, with Rooney in the team and coming deep....

@ zack

Agree with all you say, Lampard still deserves a chance though - when he first broke through to the England squad he was amazing, I feel we need to see how he does against better opposition though, he seems like hes still only in second gear.

The preferable option against good teams for me is Carrick in the centre - I'm really hoping that he has a good season at Man Utd so that he effectively plays himself into the England squad

Like I've said before, it honestly pains me to watch some of Lampard's performances at the moment.

I honestly believe he over-performed in 04-05, and (deservedly, if you base it on that season) was awarded European and World Footballer of the Year runner-up. The only problem is that now people expect him to continue that sort of form, and although he is a great player, imo he won't produce the same sort of form again, which is what people tend to compare him with.

Sad but true I'm afraid. For one season he was genuinley world class, but now I believe that he'll only be class in stages, with a superb game followed by 3 or 4 average games

Tweedledum wrote:@ zack

Agree with all you say, Lampard still deserves a chance though - when he first broke through to the England squad he was amazing, I feel we need to see how he does against better opposition though, he seems like hes still only in second gear.

The preferable option against good teams for me is Carrick in the centre - I'm really hoping that he has a good season at Man Utd so that he effectively plays himself into the England squad

True, but he played utter Garbage in the World Cup, even having a 5 man midfield with Hargreaves...just dont do it for me...but like you say, will see how he does against the better teams....he did play quite well against poland, with near enough the same team, last year....but I wouldnt call Poland one of the "better teams"...

@ Tweedle

on current form, Gerrard would be more effective than Lampard in the middle. See my comment above about when Lampard starts playing better though.

Carrick in the centre - would you push Hargreaves further forward then? Or Carrick? I think the latter tends to sit back, do you think this might slow the tempo of the passing game?

Roger_Hunt wrote:
Carrick in the centre - would you push Hargreaves further forward then? Or Carrick? I think the latter tends to sit back, do you think this might slow the tempo of the passing game?

Yes it would slow it down, however against the top sides that can only be a good thing compared to how we have played in recent years against top sides.

100 mph and creating nothing and giving the ball away.