England's defence...

England's defence...

...tonight will include future England and Tottenham legend Ledley

all bow to the King :worship:

Was wondering when Mr Benson would raise this…
I like King, not my own choice, but I’d like to see him do well

Re: England's defence...

:spangled:

He doesnt even play centre half for Spurs. He has got his chance because about 6 centre half are unable to play.

When he grows up he will "do a SOL"

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Surely the legend of Southgate will make an appearence... possibly the steadiest defender England have...

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He should be in the squad for Euro2004

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Agreed

Had a couple of off games this season but is still playing some great football... the game against united showed that experience is essential. I rate him far higher than Rio, Sol et al.

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Think he's playing with King. A lot of injuries but there must be better people than King out there

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he doesn't play centre-hal for us cos the "kerb-crawler" is still in charge and is convinced he is a midfielder

Ledley performs very well in midfield as well as defence. He's versatile and an extremely good footballer. He has everything to become the country's best footballing centre-half. He has a concentration problem - same as Rio. If he sorts that (age will help), he will become a star

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Southgate is a good leader and performs to the best of his abilities. His lack of pace sometimes gets shown up at international level. He is an excellent partner to help King in his first start

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I think we will stick Rio,Sol,Terry,Southgate & a fit Woodgate (IF THERE IS SUCH A THING) but thanks 4 the offer.

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who is better :spangled:

Gooner reject Upson I don't think so!

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i think they will be the picks for euro 2004. if one picks up an injury then king will be next in line if he does the biz tonight

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Pretty much got it down to a T there... his reading of the game usually makes up for lack pace... plus big ehiogu can cover him... ehiogu would surely be in or around the squad if he was fit...

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maybe...the problem with Ehiogu is I don't think he is particularly comfortable on the ball, which again at the highest level you need to be. Somehow this fact has been overlooked as rSol keeps getting picked

People like Terry, Rio, Woodgate and yes King and Gardener at Spurs are the future at centre-half as they are all comfortable with the ball at their feet.

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I agree you need players to be comfortable on the ball, especially against teams like Italy and Argentina who can pass the ball and counter attack with pace... ehiogu is a fantastic defender, yet is underrated by many other fans... he is an excellent addition as a squad player for england tho.

I do like the look of terry... I will reserve judgement on the others tho, not that I don't rate them but I am not fully convinced as yet!

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as above!!

Nice goal from Ledley and some excellent defending and use of the ball. Nice to see Sven recognised this as well

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Not too bad. Did well in a make shift defence against a Portugese team that grew in confidence as the game progressed.

Goal looked scrappy to me (soz Johnny B) but who can fault his positioning! I’d like to see more of him for England.

Generally though the game proved nothing I felt. Everyone else looked knackered and unfocused with the ball rarely released to the front 2.

The boy did well, but then it should be easy to be a good defender in a defensive team like England. Our attacking players are suffering under Sven & his most not lose tactics.

Spot on mate. Seems to be nothing coming from midfield with the fullbacks reluctant to join in an attack. Did you see the gaps between the attack and midfield? When Rooney cut that ball back in the 2nd hlf to edge of 18yrd box: where was Lampard? Where the fuck was Nicky Butt even?

Ball retention is a major major problem for England. I lost count of the number of times we made 3 or 4 passes before losing the ball and then spent 10 mins chasing around to try and win it back. Do we never learn

The Portugese were far superior technically and if they had a natural goalscorer up front we'd have lost. I can't believe Beckham and the pundits said we played well

We need people comfortable on the ball everywhere in the team. And sticking Lampard on the left wing doesn't help