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Listed below are comments made by Brandyrecovery between Wednesday, 26th August 2009 and Monday, 7th December 2009.

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England's high hopes 2:12pm on 07 Dec 2009 England's chances are reasonable. Yes, the hype does go overboard (and annoys lots of people) but it is to be expected.

To the guy who wrote the following as England's "world class" players:

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19. At 07:44am on 04 Dec 2009, the78sum wrote:

you would have written down:
A. Cole
J. Terry
S. Gerrard
F. Lampard
J. Cole
W. Rooney

Not bad for one team really.
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I'm sorry but only Gerrard, Rooney and Ashley Cole make that list. Maybe Rio Ferdinand though he's currently out of form and fitness.

Perhaps you're a Chelsea supporter, perhaps you're just very optimistic. The fact is that England are not very good at the back and lack technical ability in midfield. We have potential match-winners in Rooney and Gerrard but that's nothing that Germany, Holland, Argentina, Portugal, Ivory Coast, etc. don't have.

If (and nothing should be taken for granted) we get through the group then we will have a chance just like all of these other teams. I think it would be a good performance to get to the QF, fantastic if we reached the SF and out-of-this-world if we made the final!

C'mon England!!!
Ferguson talk must please Man City 12:57pm on 18 Sep 2009 Fergie lacks class. Real shame.
Defoe makes case for England start 1:44pm on 07 Sep 2009 For the 1st time in ages, the England manager is picking the same team that I would pick! So I think he's ace (and that my views r under-appreciated).

It's ridiculous how many people think picking a team is like fantasy football: pick Defoe instead of Heskey and England will score more goals. Erm, sorry to tell you guys but real football doesn't work like that. Not in the opinion of most professional managers.

I remember Peter Beardsley used to be derided for his lack of international goals, yet once he'd retired the Linekar / Beardsley partnership was hailed as being one of the best this country's ever seen. In fact, Bobby Robson was also criticised, but again lauded after he'd been hounded out of the job.

One of England's worst problems is the size and nature of the media and the ignorance of the fans. Remember, the media is a commercial operation and therefore driven solely by profit. The more hype / sensationalism, the better the circulation / viewing figures.

I'm really optimistic that Capello will ignore these pressures and continue to build a settled team that plays to it's strengths, which so far he's doing fantastically. We're probably in the top 10 / 12 teams in world football so QF's is a relative success. Once you get to this stage, there's always the chance that with a bit of luck you can get to the semi's / final but this shouldn't be expected.

On topic: if Heskey comes out the team, it should be for Cole. Of course, Rooney and Defoe "could" play together but "the Team" would be weaker. Defoe is in great form but realistically he would only come in for Rooney, who is the main man. So he'll continue from the bench.

Rooney didn't dive for the pen, he lashed out (a bit) at the defender for blocking him and was probably astonished when the ref gave a pen, but u take whatever u get. Just rememeber these things can even themselves out over time...(i.e. let's not get hysterical if some decisions go against us)

We do lack some quality at the back; no outstanding candidates to play in goal so whoever gets picked is the best of a bad bunch. Terry has no pace. Nor are Lescott / Upson international class. The only 2 of the back 5 that are good enough are Rio and Cashley and we've just got to pick some others around them. My choice would probably be: Kirkland, Richards, Ferdinand, Terry, Cole; with Woodgate for Terry if he ever regains any form and fitness.

Whilst this team is not the best in the world, it is good enough to get us close and hopefully lady luck will do the rest...c'mon England!!!
Cast-iron uncertainties 5:58pm on 01 Sep 2009 Liverpool fans: yes, Johnson has started the season on fire (attacking wise) but surely you must realise that you look lightweight up front. Benitez should have bought someone to give them more options: Ideally he should have gone for Tevez, but even someone like Santa Cruz who would probably be ok to be on the bench for some games, but could still score 10 - 15 goals a season.

Alonso will be a huge loss. The games Liverpool won without Torres / Gerrard was mainly due to Alonso carrying the team. I can't give an opinion on Aqualina but obviously he must be considered something of a gamble because a) his injury record and b) he's never played in the premiership before.
Cast-iron uncertainties 5:35pm on 01 Sep 2009 What Bill. How many friendly matches did Giggs play for Wales during his 10-year international career?
Cast-iron uncertainties 4:02pm on 01 Sep 2009 I understand supporting a team. What I don't understand is why you would let that cloud your opinion to the extent where you claim that black is white.

Of course it was a penalty. I don't think anyone has or would dispute that. We're just trying to analyse it a little deeper, and my personal opinion is that had Almunia somehow pulled his arms back at the last second such that there would have been no contact, then Rooney would still have gone down. Just like Eduardo vs Celtic.

I'm not suggesting that Rooney is any better or worse then the next man. Blueburns is correct to say that if you don't like to see diving in the game then you should boo it, even if it is a player in your own team. Therefore it was ridiculous to hear Man Utd fans booing Eduardo on Sat...where have they been for the past 3 years? Though given the length of the journey to Old Trafford from Oxford / Surrey / wherever else outside Lancashire, they can probably only get there every once in a while.

I'm against the use of TV technology during the course of a match but retrospective bans for players who blatently dive (such as Eboue in the last game) makes perfect sense and would surely start to clamp down on it.
Cast-iron uncertainties 3:17pm on 01 Sep 2009 Blueburns - I wouldn't cite Gerrard as being a diver. Sure, he can go down theatrically - as can most of the top players. It's unfortunate but true that knowing how to fall down properly brings success on the pitch.

It's true that the TV pundits are prety blinkered; when Owen dived in the box to win a penalty for England against Argentina it was completely glossed over but had that happened in reverse there would have been a (xenophobic) outrage.

Ronaldo used to especially wind me up because he was happy to be aggresive and physical when he had control of the ball but as soon as he got tackled he would collapse and demand a free-kick. Unfortunately, due to Fergie's intimidation of referees, he'd usually get it.
Cast-iron uncertainties 3:09pm on 01 Sep 2009 Tommy Onion: bang-on. If Almunia had pulled his hands away Rooney would still have gone down. He started falling before the contact...but in mind that's called good play, he induced the contact and won a penalty.
Cast-iron uncertainties 1:00pm on 01 Sep 2009 As a neutral (Swindon Fan, watch Fulham cos that's now my local team) I must agree that Man Utd had a very "jammy" win on Sat. Some of the Utd fans on here are so blinkered it's unreal! The lino made a great call but on another day might have missed the offside at the end, and 2-2 would have been a much fairer reflection on the game. Utd's chances came at the end when Arsenal were chasing the game. I think if refs can be brave enough to give free-kicks / Pens when a player stays on his feet this can help to eradicate diving. As such, I thought Van Persie should've had a pen shortly before Fletcher dived in on Arshavin - cannot believe that the ref didn't give that. Fergie defo has an effect on the refs.

For those earlier posts that castigate Wenger's signings, surely you must realise that Utd and Chelsea have effectively bought their titles in the past 5 years. Rooney £30m, Berbatov £25m, Carrick £18m, Hargreaves £20m, Ferdinand £25m. Yes, Essien is a fantastic player but that's what I'd expect for £25m. This isn't necessarily a criticism, more an observation. It's the world we live in. Selling Toure and Adebayor is the reality for Arsenal, who spend on a similar level to Villa / Spurs and should therefore achieve a similar placing each year.

The top teams have always spent the most, even back in the 80's when Liverpool were on top. Even then, before Utd had won any recent titles, they still spent (relatively) big on players like Mark Hughes, Brian McClair, Ince, Pallister (£2.3m was a record for a defender back then), Keane, etc. They also produced that fantstic youth team (Beckham, Scholes, Nevilles, etc) that went on to become the basis of their success. But it's wrong to imply that Fergie built a team on a shoestring - you utillise all the means that you have and Utd have always had more then most others. That's why I welcome the millionnaire owners of Chelsea / Man City...I can't see any other way of bridging the gap.

Still, it's great to see Utd vs Arsenal - matches between these 2 are usually fantastic, where as Liverpool and to a slightly lesser extent Chelsea, often play very negatively in the big games which doesn't make for great viewing. But can be effective, especially in 1-off matches such as Champs league.

What Liverpool fans here have failed to address is not that Torres / Gerrard are the only match-winners in the team (along with Johnson on recent form!) but that the next most important player there was Alonso. His departure is the main reason why Liverpool won't do as well as last year.

Utd are weaker, Liverpool are weaker, Arsenal still lack the strength in depth, so it's Chelsea for the league. Unless...come on Man City!!!
Richards' reputation hits new low 09:54am on 26 Aug 2009 Just glad to see that everyone now knows that Rugby players cheat as much as - in fact probably more than - football players, and their "tie and blazer brigade" supporters can now stop acting like they're morally superior...

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