Coming World Cup is driving me crazy! There are...

[Karl]

...the usual suspects - Germany, Brazil and Spain - then there is Belgium and Yaya Toure's squad or will that/his squad be a TEAM??? ...the young England squad????????????

[Stonigut]

Going to be ridiculous Karl. I think it is going to be the most competitive, the talent is really spreading out across the countries, love Ivory Coast but their defense is suspect, if that is not addressed they are going nowhere, but their top line is off the chart, Bonny, kalou, gervinho, yaya, tiote, aurier and many more tiote and aurier play very good defense but .they must solidify the back, kolo Toure is not the best under pressure and the rest of defense players are not top shelf quality. Let's see what they do.

England is very interesting but they have already messed up by including lampard worse if they try to play him.

Here is my England team playing a wicked counter attack formation 4-5-1

Johnson-jagielka-smalling-Baines

Shaw-Gerard
Sterling-Rooney-lallana
Sturridge

The surprise there is putting the youngster shaw at dm, he is fast, strong, energetic and is a natural disruptor, can win the ball and immediately start the counter, let him just create havoc and protect Gerard as the other dm and holding mid.
Then Sterling and Llalana on the flanks, both are fast, skillful and can switch out and create havoc for any team. Rooney can definitely play he attacking mid position and in my mind is even better suited to play that role than being the lone striker, he needs to have a little cover to maximize his set of tools, Sturridge at top is perfect, he can do it all create on his own dribble, carry and hold, pass, head, strike the ball in every type of way.

If they play that 4-5-1 with focus on defensive solidity and rapid counters with those players they can go far in the tournament.

By the way that is four jamaican origin in that eleven.

Hodgson! - unleash the fourth Lion, i doubt he will come near this type of formation, plus guys like Sturridge and Sterling need a manager that can understand and are able to release their real potential, hodgson and english selectors are in love with the idea that Gerrard and Rooney are the best things since sliced bread and they cannot see them for what they actually are, very good players with definitive limitations, he must protect their limitations and set them up to play within their skill set and to maximize just that.

[Karl]

Very, very interesting.
...certainly not ridiculous!

[Jangle]

Smalling can't start over Cahill in defense. Luke Shaw is not a defensive midfielder, and playing him there in the World Cup would be foolhardy. I would maybe start Barry if I was going for a defensive mid and give Gerrard more freedom to go forward. However, Gerrard can play that position well enough as we have seen this season. I would probably put Henderson with Gerrard. I would start Baines over Luke Shaw because Baines have a more cultured left foot. The rest of the team is ok with Hart starting in goal.

[myYout]

Ah believe it ah guh bi di bes one in ah while, di competitiveness, enterprise an creativity which di odahs di lack.

[wbvs]

...the usual suspects - Germany, Brazil and Spain - then there is Belgium and Yaya Toure's squad or will that/his squad be a TEAM??? ...the young England squad????????????

england mi pik but am worried about di group . Uruguay across from montevedeo ,Italy and CR which finished 2nd in North american WCQ's.

[Tilla]

but their top line is off the chart, Bonny, kalou, gervinho, yaya, tiote, aurier and many more

Remember Drogba. He still may have something in the tank.

[Karl]

Think I shall go back to making predictions.

My format has been -> preliminary rounds ->then after knowing who advances to the next round...the used formula was making predictions for subsequent set of matches after knowing who has advanced...through to -> selecting who wins the Championship match.

Here are my past picks:

2010 - No predictions [I think? ...cannot find such a link. If there is (are) such link(s) please post. Thanks!]

2006 - http://reggaeboyzsc.com/searchresult...omponent=views

http://reggaeboyzsc.com/searchresult...omponent=views

2002 - http://reggaeboyzsc.com/searchresult...omponent=views

[Cannot find anything on the later rounds. If there is (are) such link(s) please post. Thanks!]

1998 - We were not up and running then.

Enjoy!

[Stonigut]

Some Luke Shaw stats. This is where the big managers and coaches play making what seems like unconventional moves out of what is clearly an opportunity to maximize the use of the freshest, youngest talent, letting hi step up in a new role which allows a little more of everything that he can do with greater freedom to do it in that role. Too bad Hodgson does not have that kind of unconventional thinking.

Defending



Defensively, Luke Shaw holds the best tackle success rate in the Premier League for the left-back position (of those who played at least 1700 minutes over the course of the season) by achieving a 84.72% success rate compared to Evra’s 68.35%. Shaw made 307 50-50 tackles this season, 70 more than Evra, suggesting the 18 year old is not afraid to get himself stuck in against opponents.

Evra has the upper hand on interceptions made during the season with Shaw making 40 to the Frenchman’s 56 but this could be put down to Southampton’s high defensive line and their way of building from the back instead of breaking quickly on the counter.

Passing



Shaw compliments Southampton’s passing style and it is not surprising to see how his passing stats look for the season. A total of 1405 passes with a 79% pass rate for the season, Shaw shows he is more than capable of creating from the back and is comfortable playing the ball out of his own half. Of those passes, 43% were passed into the centre, a stat United will be pleased to see with their wide array of talent through the centre.

Evra’s strength was always his ability to maraud down the wing and deliver a cross, and in Luke Shaw United may have found an ideal replacement. With 141 crosses this season compared to Evra’s 129, the Southampton left back will be sure to create problems down the wing. Coupled with his crossing stats, Shaw’s dribbling stats are marginally better than Evra’s with the Manchester United player succeeding dribbles 54% of the time compared to Shaw’s 57%. The stats reflect what Shaw has shown over the last few seasons at Southampton; that he is a confident player who has not only the bravado to take on a player but also the ability to do so.

Possession



At first glance, Shaw’s possession stats may not look good. 593 times he lost possession this season averaging a loss every 5 minutes. Compared to Evra’s 427 losses every 7 minutes, Shaw looks to be prone to error. However, Shaw lacks the experience of Evra and has that young arrogance about him that is both his trump card and his downfall. Despite being dispossessed 48 times, Shaw has managed to get away without making a defensive error this season which could be more down to his teams pressing ability to cut down a move before it materialises than individual talent.

What is promising for United is where the majority of Shaw’s possession is won. Shaw wins possession every 17 minutes for Southampton and the majority of those have come in the defensive third – vital to starting the counter attack

All that detail suggests this youth is fast strong and energetic, England needs a live wire addition in the defense. He is a top rate tackler, high production, fearless with the highest 50-50 ball tackle rate at his position, also an excellent passer with 1400 passes and a 79 percent pass rate with 43 percent being passes into the middle, not just back and side or flank passes as would be typically expected. Excellent material for a dm, he is 18 and with right encouragement could be the big England surprise and be the new spark for Sterling, Rooney and lallana with quick counter attacks upon breaking up the oppositions attack, his history shows us that he is comfortable tacking, running hard, passing and creating.

[Karl]

Smalling can't start over Cahill in defense. Luke Shaw is not a defensive midfielder, and playing him there in the World Cup would be foolhardy. I would maybe start Barry if I was going for a defensive mid and give Gerrard more freedom to go forward. However, Gerrard can play that position well enough as we have seen this season. I would probably put Henderson with Gerrard. I would start Baines over Luke Shaw because Baines have a more cultured left foot. The rest of the team is ok with Hart starting in goal.

Smalling v Cahill?

Who attacks the ball most often? Who is able to 'live' with the tremendous pace (across ground) and 'quickest of feet' found at the highest levels?

Speed of mind (making correct decisions and acting on them...ooooh so quickly)?