We are all former students at Lakenheath High School and other public schools in East Anglia. We were in school in the 70s and 80s and drank deeply from the well of British culture of those decades - the pints, the telly, and of course the footie!
What a treat! Just when it seemed as if the footie had ended for the season, up pops a friendly between England and the U.S....and at Wembley to boot.
posted by gatorbob @ 2:47 PM
We are all former students at Lakenheath High School and other public schools in East Anglia. We were in school in the 70s and 80s and drank deeply from the well of British culture of those decades - the pints, the telly, and of course the footie!
116 Comments:
The team selections are fascinating for tonight's match:
England: James, Brown, Ferdinand, Terry, A, Cole, Beckham, Hargreaves, Lampard, Gerrard, Defoe, Rooney
Subs: Hart, Lewis, Johnson, Bridge, Warnock, Woodgate, Bentley, Jagielka, Wheater, Huddlestone, Barry, J, Cole, Downing, Young, Crouch, Ashton, Walcott, Agbonlahor
USA: Howard, Califf, Cherundolo, Pearce, Bocanegra, Dempsey, Bradley, Clark, Beasley, Johnson, Wolff
Subs: Guzan, Onyewu, Lewis, Jaqua, Adu, Edu, Hejduk
Referee: Kyros Vassaras (Greece)
I've been thinking about this match all day and it strikes me that I'm still leaning England but every year that passes brings me closer to siding with the U.S. in this match-up. How about you lot?
It's disappointing to see Becks in the line-up tonight for England, and don't get me started on Jermaine Defoe. Let's hope that the kids get a run-out in the second half.
JT is captain for the night. Let's hope he's stopped blubbing after the CL final...and has the long studs on tonight, the big goon!
There's the spine of a decent U.S. side on display tonight, with Timmy Howard in goal, Danny Califf anchoring the defense, Clark and Bradley up the middle and Dempsey providing the spark.
I'm still not sure about our front line, though. Eddie Johnson's had a terrible season at Fulham and I'm not sure that Josh Wolff will ever be the player he was before all of his injuries.
And the bench has some scary names on it (Jaqua, Oneywu, Adu) that you really don't want to see in a U.S. jersey any time soon.
Bobby Charlton is greeting the sides and will present an acknowledgment of the ton to Goldenballs. Wembley looks brilliant tonight.
The England bench is stuffed to overflowing tonight. It looks like Dean Ashton missed out on the musical chairs and has half a cheek on a milk crate.
Good contingent of Sam's Army at Wembley tonight. Looks like it's one of those Destiny's Child bints doing the honors with the anthems.
I'm here
Sorry, but England all the way!!
Wembley looks great
JP Dellacamera and John Harkes in the booth for tonight's match - magic!
I don't know about Defoe. I was hoping for Ashton up front with Roon
Yeah, I'm with you, but haven't your sympathies slightly shifted over the past, say, twenty years? Back in 1990, I couldn't give a toss how they did. I remember supporting Brazil against the U.S. in the 1994 WC. Not sure I'd feel the same way today.
Good to have you on board, Dave. I've really been looking forward to this one.
And we're off...!
Don't know about this U.S. kit - is it denim? gray?
I am a US fan against all teams except England
Looks like David James is Fabio's #1 at this point. What do you reckon?
I'm with you on Defoe. I'd have preferred to see Ashton or Agbonlahor.
Stevie G has nobbled Cherundolo. And he's down. And back up again.
Did you see Beckham's goal the other day for the Galaxy against the Wizards in the Superliga? Check it out:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=TmXKvne7fLM
Not quite his effort against Wimbledon but nice nonetheless.
9 of the 11 English players starting play for either Man Utd, Chelsea or Portmouth!!
I didn't think it was much. It was an empty netter like in hockey
Heath Pearce wins a good freekick against Becks.
It's nodded away and now Defoe is on the run...and runs into a wall.
Who'd you like to see as skipper? I like Gerrard for it.
I think he would be a good choice
Does the Greek referee speak English?
Everyone else does
Becks takes it too early. What a shame
Clark brings down Gerrard cynically and now Becks sets up left of goal.
Ah, bugger. Nice ball in to Gerrard who sticks it in off the post. But it's called back because the whistle hadn't been heard. Beckham's retake whistles by the post.
Where's wee Mikey tonight?
He is injured or ill. He has been left out of all the games
The ball finds Becks at the top of the box but it won't come down for him quickly enough. He balloons it over.
Not much happening
Roon sets up Stevie G. He takes forever
Nice move there through Roon on the right but his ball isn't quite right for Stevie G. and he can't get his shot off. But England are slowly building up steam here.
Now a dangerous free kick for Becks. Cute move with Stevie G. coming back around from the back post but his shot strikes Dempsey on the head.
Nice free kick from England. Training ground stuff.
Why would they practice a free kick from there!!
Not much going on up front for the U.S. EJ hasn't had a sniff against Rio and JT. That's my fear about the guy - he really doesn't have the quality at this level.
Okay, we stretched them a bit there, with Cashley unconvincing at the back post.
Good end to end stuff now. This is the way a friendly should be played.
The US getting a few chances.
Wembley not happy
U.S. get a good free kick opportunity after a foul from the Orange.
Bradley to take...
Nothing doing.
Useless by Lamps
How can there be so much difference between playing for the Three Lions or the one Lion?
More pressure from the U.S. than I expected.
I agree. I'd have Gareth Barry in for Lamps in a heartbeat. Or perhaps Hargreaves pushing up into that area.
It looked like Oneywu held Defoe back there. Oneywu is a penalty waiting to happen. Really clumsy. What happened to Califf - Oneywu was on the bench in the lineup I saw.
Beasley to swing a free kick in with his left peg. Too low and it's cleared out.
Nice move by Stevie and Wayne
Jermaine sucks
Oh, bloody hell Jermaine! Defoe misses a sitter. Great ball in from Gerrard. Should be 1-0!
Tell me Crouchie wouldn't have stuck that chance away. Why is he always on the bench?
Good games coming up for the US
Rooney is playing much better than he did in Russia
Another free kick opportunity for Becks. Clark has got to get a grip. He's giving away far too many chances.
Becks to swing another in...
GOAL! JT redeems himself after last week's penalty miss.
Yes, great cross from Becks. Knocked in by Terry
Classic England goal. Great ball in and JT beat his man to the ball and arrowed the header into the corner. Left Howard with no chance.
Harkesy's right - Beckham's had far too many chances to set his sights.
Becks territory
Ooh, dangerous move. Defoe nearly in but chopped down right on the edge of the box. Becks is licking his chops at this one.
Come on, David!
Maybe too close
Maybe Hargreaves
Gerrard?
Gerrard, Lampard, and Hargreaves could also hit one.
I don't care what people say, you included, Becks is still dangerous
Fabio is not happy with Defoe
He is, but the problem is that if he plays everything goes through him. I remember having a conversation with the Gooner after the WC and I was arguing the same thing that you were, that he was involved in the goals that we scored. And Gooner convinced me by saying, "Is it possible that we'd score two or three with another play playing on the right?" I think he's right.
I'm not happy with Defoe but he is causing Cherundolo problems. Yellow card for Steve now.
This is more of a Becks range
This one's a little further out and perfectly set for a Beckham special.
Hits the wall, unfortunately.
I don't know about Becks conversation.
I think he should still be part of the team
The issue is whether you have him on for the delivery of corners and free kicks. I reckon that Hargreaves might be able to do the same job. Then you could have someone on the right like Aaron Lennon who could actually speed the play up and beat men.
Scholsey type tackle there by Roon
Nasty challenge there from Roon. Steady on, Wayne!
Half time.
I am going for a mile run with Kathy.
I'll be back for the second half.
Half time: 1-0. Fabio Capello will basically be satisfied. It will interesting to see what changes will be made. I'd have Defoe off for sure.
Blimey, that'll be a quick mile! See you soon.
Second half starting now...
EJ has an early strike on goal and not too far away.
Second half changes: David Bentley has come on for Becks.
For the U.S.: Brad Guzan has come in for Tim Howard and Frankie Hejduk has gone on for Steve Cherundolo.
I'd like to see Josh Wolff replaced fairly quickly. Why not give Freddie a run out on an occasion like this?
Roon tries an overly ambitious overhead kick and comes nowhere near it. Good start for Bentley though.
Nice ball through for Defoe who shoots straight at Guzan.
Defoe is free in the box after a decent ball from JT. Defoe turns well but shoots at Guzan again. A lot of chances for Jermaine in this match.
Nice move there from the U.S. Dempsey crossed in, Beasley knocked it down and both EJ and Bradley had digs at it.
The set plays have been miserable from both Beasley and Bradley. They've got to work on that. Those slow high balls and meat and drink for any English keeper or defender.
A couple of changes here - Glen Johnson and Gareth Barry on for Lamps and Brown.
GOAL! 2-0 England; Brilliant move from England there. Gareth Barry plays in Gerrard and Stevie G. does what Defoe should have done two or three times tonight. He just neatly slips it by the keeper in the bottom right corner.
Hey, I am back.
I just ran/walked a mile and then walked for a half a mile
Just looked back at the goal.
Nice move
Long ball from Bentley nearly reaches Roon but Guzan did well there.
Welcome back, Roger Bannister!
From the Beeb
No wonder everyone wants this boy. Gareth Barry, with probably his first touch, plays a gorgeous pass into the path of Steven Gerrard and he races through and slots expertly past Brad Guzan into the bottom corner. Super goal.
More from the Beeb... is this fair?
2126: "United States midfield man Michael Bradley is being "monitored" - as they say in the trade - by Premier League clubs including Middlesbrough, Blackburn and Everton. Not doing himself any favours here with a very average performance. In his defence he is playing a holding role here as opposed to the more attacking role he plays with Heerenveen in Holland - but he needs to show a lot more."
BBC Sport's Phil McNulty at Wembley
The goal is more proof that Gareth Barry adds something that you don't get with Lamps. And Stevie G. scores more goals for England than Lamps does. They're a better combination.
More from the Beeb... I think we both agree with this
2128: Do we think a point was just proven about whether Gareth Barry should start ahead of Frank Lampard? I do. I'm a massive fan of Barry, he just fits better with Steven Gerrard than Lampard does. It's not rocket science, is it?
Yeah, I agree. I'm not completely sold on Michael Bradley. There's a big jump between the Dutch Eiredivisie adn the Premier League. I would like to see him get a chance at Boro or Everton but he'll need to learn quickly.
Thanks for Roger Bannister comment
It really made me laugh
Surprised Defoe is still on
Defoe off for Crouch
Here's comes Freddie for Josh Wolff and my man Eddie Lewis on.
And Crouchie on for Defoe finally!
Roon nearly in there.
Great advantage played by the ref.
Roon almost in
I thought the United and Chelsea players weren't going to play much.
Actually, as I typed this I remembered that they aren't going to go to the Trinidad.
Yellow card for Heath Pearce for a foul on Bentley.
England are playing Trinidad? When?
You know that the game's gone off the boil when the Wave goes round.
June 1
Portsmouth had three players on the field at the same time!!
Has that ever happened before?
2138: Oh goody, there's a Mexican wave at Wembley. Someone claw my eyes out immediately.2139: There's no need, because it's quite a good game.
I doubt it. Cashley coming off for Wayne Bridge.
I'm no fan of the Wave, but please don't call it "Mexican." Brits associate it with the 1986 World Cup but it's been done in this country at college football games for donkey's years. It just makes the English seem provincial as in when they mispronounce Maryland, Michigan and Houston.
I agree
Wales are beating Iceland 1-0 in the second half
Decent poke by Freddie there, but James got down well.
You do know that it was the Beeb calling it the Mexican Wave... not me
Nice try by Crouchie
Oh, bloody hell, here comes Nate Jaqua!
Full-time: 2-0 Decent result for Capello's side, although the U.S. were poor, if truth be told.
More evidence that Defoe is not an England striker, that Lamps and Gerrard can't play together, that Barry and Gerrard can and that David James has some really incriminating photographs of Fabio Capello in his safe.
Stick around for the Euro 2008 previews starting at 5 p.m. right here on ESPN Classic.
Nice chatting with you, Davey!
That's it.
Good result for England.
Still not world beating.
When are you moving up to the Northern Tundra?
Take care
2205: "That goal was for all the Chelsea fans for last week. It's been a difficult week since what happened in Moscow, but getting back into the routine has been a massive plus. I'm a big man and I can take what happened."
England captain John Terry
Right! That's why he's been blubbing all week. That's real English courage there.
Spot on with the charcoal kit. Davey knows you never win wearing grey. That's a Nike focus group design if ever there was one. The new white with horizontal pinstripes isn't much better
You know, how much nous can Capello have when he looks out at a back four of Pierce, Boca, Gooch, and Cherundalo and picks a useless midget like Defoe over Crouch? If Nacho-boy had been on from the off, I can just imagine that he'd have owned an oaf like Gooch.
I have no problem giving Beckham his 101st cap and a day out, but Capello has to shift him out now. And with Barry showing how much he's up for it, Frank Lampard should be left in the wilderness until he stops sucking.
But overall, this England side looked exactly like a side who've recently completed a league season and one who are competing in a friendly.
I guess we've just given up trying to find a new keeper. It's going to be James again. Buona fortuna with that decision Don Fabio.
I thought the US was unusually bad tonight. Johnson? Beasley? Wolff? Dempsey? Those four were useless. Clark I generally like but he was horrible, clogging down player after other exposing us to Beckham's remaining weapon, and missing that wet Terry completely for the first England goal.
I disagree with your sentiment about Bradley. I think his game is particularly suited to the Prem and if he did go to Boro or Everton might excel after some seasoning. Nobody was good for the US tonight.
I'd say England walked off the pitch feeling like it was job done and the US walked off wondering where the goals will come from.
Yeah, I completely agree with you on that. Not spectacular for the England side but passable, while it exposed real problems for the US. They could really get mullered by Spain and Argentina next week.
Here are the player ratings from 365:
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8742_3623041,00.html
Wes Brown is the lowest at 5, while Gerrard is highest at 9 and Wayne Rooney inexplicably rates an 8 for not doing much at all.
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