England will go only as far as they let Sterling take them

The Three Lions weren't very good tonight and were lucky to get the win.  The first half was forgettable at best with England putting on a clinic on how not to win a match.  Tactically, Hodgson further showed he is oblivious to, well, tactics, football, reality, etc.  Starting Sterling in the middle doesn't work if you don't have any players on the pitch who can play wide and create space for him.  In fact, the two goals were both products of our 31 on the flanks, while he seemed lost most of the time in the middle.  Not to mention he had Wilshere, Hendo, and Delph crowding him.

In the second half, England seemed more composed.  They absorbed the attempts on attack from Switzerland well, were more relaxed on the ball in general, and let the match come to them.  By the way, nearly every single legitimate goal chance for the Swiss were offside, though I believe they were only called once.  It was a decent display of defence, especially for Cahill, and even Phil Jones was adequate, though he still did his normal bonehead moves like clearing the ball and conceding a corner despite no opposition players near.

The home side dominated possession at 56% to 44% and were the better passers with a completion rate of 90.6% to England's 88.5% while completing nearly a hundred more passes overall.  Fabian Delph, who put in a solid performance, came up a pass short of perfection, going 38 for 39.  Rickie Lambert posted the highest attacking efficiency rating ever of 1.50 getting an assist on his only official touch of the match.  I am a bit baffled at why people thought Rooney had a good match, his attacking efficiency score was 0.651, while his overall was 0.635.  He was most hurt with his 17 give-aways.

In the end, it was all about Sterling being allowed to do what he does best, even if it was only for a few possessions.  If Hodgson starts Sterling in the middle again, he has to start Milner and Oxalade-Chamberlain on the wings with Sturridge up front when healthy, either Welbeck or Rooney when he isn't.  I know it's sacrilegious not to start the captain, but honestly, he doesn't deserve it anyhow.

Suspicious character seen leaving England training following Sturridge injury

There's been an alert issued for the individual who resembles this photo:

Officials are baffled who this person could be.  He has been labeled as 'legged and useless', but please heed all caution.  He is apparently unstable and thinks he's worth more than he actually is.  He has yet to be charged with any crime, but considered a dangerous individual except in front of goal.  If you see him, please alert local officials, but if you feel threatened, it is advised to produce a net of some sort which appears to 'freeze' him.

England officials are not confident of a conspiracy, but Rickie Lambert has been taken into questioning.  Once again, this individual has apparently learned to use all his assets, including his teeth from a certain former LFC player, and should be considered 'mouthed and dangerous'.  Take extra precaution if he appears with a female who is clearly out of his league.  Thank you for your cooperation.

'Special' accommodations & menu items of Giggsy and Gazzo's Hotel Football uncovered

Sterling stole the show, but Hendo was the Lone Ranger

I could really care less about international football at the moment.  With Gerrard no longer carrying England, it's lost a lot of it's luster, and let's face it, Norway isn't exactly a glamorous opponent. Sterling did make it quite an exhibition though.  Our diminutive winger/attacking midfielder/second forward had 67 touches in which he completed 43 0f 50 passes, 2 take-ons, 4 fouls won, 2 tackles, and a ridiculous 7 chances created, 3 more than his entire fellow countrymen combined. He also won the pen that unfortunately was the match's only goal.

Some of that was due to Sturridge's inability to get a decent shot off.  I don't want to say he's in a slump, but... he's in a slump.  It should be flattering to him that three goalless matches, one which matters not, is worrisome.  Villa come to town next, so he should get a few good shots in.  His 12 losses of possession only added to a forgettable night.

Henderson put in a valiant effort as well.  He lead the side with a 117 touches, 110 pass attempts, and 101 completions, giving him a pass completion percentage rate of 91.8%.  He was so awesome, his heat map looked the Lone Ranger:

I guess that makes Wayne Rooney, 'Tonto'. 

The next Liverpool 'superstar'?

Sheyi Ojo shows a lot of promise, but the 17-year-old English teen of Nigerian descent has yet to play a minute for the first team.  Among his peers though, he's quite impressive, more so than our own Welsh wizard, Harry Wilson.  He's got excellent pace, a keen eye for passing, and is a deadly finisher.  His demeanor is what impresses me the most, he seems so relaxed and natural on the pitch and sometimes it appears things just go his way.

He's been at Liverpool for three years since signing from MK Dons for around £2m.  He has also featured for the EnglandU17 squad.  Earlier today he scored a brace in a U20 friendly against Club Brugges in Holland. Here's an impressive video of him: 



Ojo is a man-beast who makes his opponents look like pub squaders.  His pace is ridiculous.  I would love to see him loaned out to a League One side, just to see what he can do.  Save injury, the future is bright.

Is Micah Richards an upgrade of Glen Johnson?

Two seasons ago, Micah Richards was on top of the world.  He had helped City win their first Premiership and had worked his way back into England national team consideration.  Then injury devastated his career path and he has seen the pitch just a total of 18 times in all competitions since.

It's tragic since the 26-year-old is actually a pretty remarkable footballer.  In the last 5 seasons, he has made only 79 league appearances for 5866 minutes, equivalent to 65.2 matches, less than two full seasons.  Glen Johnson, on the other hand, has made 141 league appearances for 12267 minutes. Here's how they size up in the last five years combined:

	npg90	gc90	cc90	ap90	pass%	sacc%	shot%
Johnson	0.06	0.14	1.21	0.08	82.3	25.5	5.4
Richards	0.08	0.18	0.46	0.11	82.7	35	8.3
	intp90	clrp90	drbp90	bs90	t90	adw90	adw%
Johnson	1.89	2.41	0.73	0.26	2.51	1.32	58.6
Richards	1.64	4.71	0.52	0.51	1.92	2.90	71.1
	ccv	TTI90	gsp90	gap90	gop90	tgop	gopd
Johnson	6.7	11.6	1.94	1.09	0.95	0.66	0.29
Richards	23.3	8.05	2.02	1.03	0.99	1.42	-0.43

Micah Richards is three years younger and is in the prime of his career, so it should not be surprising that he takes 17 of 21 categories.  Glen Johnson is 29 and in decline, but the elder still seems to be a more important factor to his sides' results.

Richards will definitely have to improve on his chances created per 90 minutes if he wants to stay hold of a starting spot on Rodgers' side.  He may make up for it in nearly every other stat, but a -0.43 goals on pitch difference is a yellow flag in the least.

Richards would be an excellent addition to our club, if he could stay healthy and right now that's an unsurety.  He would probably cost at least £10m, which is a bargain if he can give us at least three productive seasons. At the right price and passing a thorough medical, Richards is the ideal signing, certainly a better choice than Bertrand.

There is only one reason Gerrard should ever play for England again

To knock Beckham off his perch and become the top capped outfield player in Three Lions history. That's it, two more matches and he should hang up those boots.  Gerrard is 34 and we need him to put his England days behind him and  focus on LFC.

After the World Cup embarassment, he should probably go ahead and retire, but with my disdain for 'pretty foot', I don't mind if he suits up a couple more matches.  I don't think it'll do England any good though, they've clearly got to give Barkley, Henderson, and Wilshere more playing time, if they want to improve.  They also need to get a better manager.

I've heard Gerrard called a failure on the International level and that's why he isn't 'world class'.  Rubbish, one man does not make a team, though there were times when Gerrard carried his country.  His statistical output for England has been impressive so far, especially when you consider he's played nearly every outfield position.

npgp90	gcp90	ccp90	ap90	ccv
0.22	0.46	1.97	0.24	12.3
pass%	bp%	sacc%	shot%	TTI90
80.2	25.9*	46.7	15.3	12.7
gap90	gsp90	gop90	tgop	gopd90
0.81	1.99	1.18	0.99	0.19
tp90	tack%	intp90	clrp90	bsp90
2.52	71.8	1.92	1.3	0.45

Those are solid numbers all around save his turnover rate.  His goals on pitch difference per 90 of 0.19 means he has been worth nearly an extra goal every five matches, +21.66 for his career.  Which isn't surprising when he was actually played a part in a quarter of his side's goals when he plays.

I don't really care if others don't think he's world class, but saying it is because he doesn't perform on the international stage is not valid.  In reality, he's played quite well and if it's because he's never won a Euro or a World Cup, I guess Messi, Ronaldo, Bale, Rooney, Robben, Van Persie, and anybody else who hasn't played for Germany, Spain, Italy, or Brazil in the past 12 years isn't 'world class' either.

Ben Davies is the Welsh Jon Flanagan

Apparently plan C to sign a left back is Ben Davies, 21-year-old Welsh International who plays for the Swans.  His stats from last season are eerily similar to those of our Jon Flanagan.

	Davies	Flanagan
age	21	21
app(subs)	32(2)	23
mins	2874	1890
p90	31.9	21
goals	2	1
assist	1	1
chances	31	13
npgp90	0.06	0.05
gcp90	0.09	0.1
ccp90	0.97	0.62
ap90	0.03	0.05
ccv	3.1	8.1
pass%	84.3	83.7
bp%	35.9	42.6
sacc%	33.3	42.9
shot%	22.2	14.3
TTI90	9.7	9.2
gap90	1.47	1.81
gsp90	1.45	3
gop90	-0.02	1.19
tgop	0	1.32
tp90	2.38	3.8
tack %	42.1	45.7
intp90	1.97	1.9
clrp90	3.51	3.6
dribpp90	1.69	1.9
bsp90	0.34	0.2

Here are stats definitions, if so needed.

So why would we want to bring in Flanagan's statistical doppleganger? Well, Davies  does play for Swansea and though they are respectable, they did not finish second in the league.  Davies would probably benefit from having more skilled teammates and playing in a more attack-minded side.

I think it all comes down to cost.  He is only 21 and having both he and Flanagan cover the left back position for the next 8 or so years certainly is appealing.  They could even play together with one playing the wing and possibly interchanging during a match, but as I said prior, it's all about the quid.

Funny enough, Davies is valued at around £5m while Flanagan is only worth £1m.  Strange how the transfer market works, I guess it is believed that the Welshman has a bigger upside.  I can't see anybody paying more than £8m for Davies and even that is probably too much.  I don't know, I think I'd rather see us splash the cash for a sexier pick or just hold off until one falls into our hands.

Paul Scholes: clandestine Liverpool fan

The Ginger Prince appears obsessed with the Reds these days, sounding off on our players whenever he can.  I would say he's a wind-up muppet, but he's not, most of the time he actually talks sense.

He most recently chimed in on the Luis Suarez transfer saga, questioning whether 'El Conejo Loco' and Messi will be able to play together. “If Luis Suarez does sign for Barcelona from Liverpool, will Lionel Messi ‘accept’ him? Suarez is a centre forward and he won’t want to play out wide. I can’t see Suarez and Messi linking well together,” Scholes wrote on his Paddy Power blog.

He's not afraid to criticize his former club either.  On the Shaw transfer, he wrote, 'For a left-back to be worth £34m shows how silly the game has gone. For that money I want a centre-forward who’s going to score 30 goals a season.'  Preaching to the choir, my frienemy.

Before the World Cup, he praised 'the Liverpool way' of playing football and challenged the English to emulate it in Brazil.  On the subject he wrote, 'It would be refreshing for England to adopt Liverpool’s attacking mentality in Brazil. Really go for it. That means certainly four, and possibly five, Liverpool players in the England starting XI against Italy on June 14' and 'I’d love to see Roy be brave enough to play like Liverpool (or Man United teams of the past).'  Glad to see he realizes the glory years of his former club are in the past.

When it comes to Gerrard, he's had nothing but love, stating in the same post, 'Gerrard (a good leader who will have quickly moved on from that slip) has adjusted his game superbly, very much like I did' and 'That’s the big difference between Steven (Gerrard) and Lampard, for example. I’m not sure Lampard has the ability to control a game. He’s always someone who’s up trying to score goals.'  You know now he's expecting a nice Christmas present for the Gerrard household.

The best part is he gets a joke in here and there, for instance, 'Defensively Liverpool were poor – conceding 50 goals – but they can be contenders again next year IF they can get two world-class centre halves and a left-back. I’m talking about players of the standard of Jaap Stam and Rio Ferdinand.' Rio Ferdinand, world class!?!? Oh the wit.

It's too bad Scholesy wasted his career on the dark side.  He should have went to Italy or Spain, where he's actually more appreciated and wouldn't have played in the shadows of bigger personalities.  No matter what, I've never desired him to play for Liverpool and he has never been better than Gerrard.

Suarez was not even the best LFC player on the pitch for England vs Uruguay

In fact, I would argue he was the worst.  It's amazing how a little luck and a lot of skill can cloak such a poor performance.  Not to take anything away from his brilliant finishing, but if it wasn't for a great pass from Cavani and an errant header from Gerrard, Suarez would probably be ridiculed for his erroneous-filled effort. A look at the stats is even more damning:

	Suarez	Johnson	Sturridge	Sterling	Gerrard	Henderson
mins	88	90	90	64	90	87
goals	2	0	0	0	0	0
assists	0	1	0	0	0	0
chances	1	3	0	0	1	1
gcp90	2.05	1	0	0	0	0
ccp90	1.02	3	0	0	1	1.03
pass%	67	83	73	86	74	89
bp%	65.2	32.2	34.6	50	29.3	21.7
cross att	11	3	1	1	7	1
succ cross	0	0	0	0	2	0
cross %	0	0	0	0	28.6	0
sacc%	50	0	60	0	0	100
shot%	50	0	0	0	0	0
take on	0/1	1/2	3/5	5/6	1/1	1/2
take %	0	50	60	83.3	100	50
dispo	3	2	1	5	0	1
offside	2	0	1	0	0	0
fouled	1	1	3	1	0	0
fouls	3	0	1	3	1	0
tack	1	2	0	0	3	1
tack %	50	67	0	0	60	50
int	0	0	0	0	1	1
off won	0	0	0	0	0	0
clear	2	3	0	0	4	3
clear %	100	100	0	0	100	100
shot blk	0	0	0	0	1	0
adwon	2	2	1	2	2	1
adwon%	50	40	50	66	100	100
TTI	17	13	16	10	12	8

Suarez was the inferior passer by a mile, completing only 67% of his passes despite 65.2% were towards his own goal.  He also attempted and failed 11 crosses, that's the same amount of all the other LFC players combined considering Gerrard had two successful.  He also had the highest TTI and that doesn't even account for crosses that changed possession.

If I had to pick the best player, statistically speaking, it would be Jordan Henderson.  His passing was outstanding, especially considering his incredibly low back pass rate and the fact that he lead all players with 60 attempts.  If he had only scored on his lone attempt, we would be talking about him today as the MotM instead of Suarez.

The only player who gave Suarez a run for his money was Sterling.  Had he not been subbed out in the 64th minute, he very well could have had a higher TTI, but his passing and take-on numbers were both superior.

Glen Johnson vs Kyle Walker

A recent comment stirred my interest.  I'm actually a big fan of Kyle Walker, but I'm not sure if he's more effective than Glen Johnson.  Let's take a look at the stats.

	G. Johnson	K. Walker
apps (sub)	29	26
tackles/pm	2.2	2
interceptions/pm	1.7	2.2
offsides won pm	0.1	0.3
clearances pm	2.4	2.6
dribbled past pm	0.8	1
blocked shots pm	0.3	0.2
aerial duels won pm	1.4	1.8
own goals	1	0
goals	0	1
assists	2	2
chances created	28	31
shots pm	0.7	0.7
passing %	84.1	82.2
passes pm	50.2	53.7
back pass %	45.6	34.9
crosses pm	0.2	0.7
cross %	9.8	20.2
long balls pm (total)	2 (57)	3.8 (100)
long ball %	54.3	60.2
key passes pm (total)	1 (28)	1.2 (31)
successful dribbles pm (total)	1.6 (46)	0.8 (22)
fouls drawn pm (total)	1.3	1.2
dispossessed pm (total)	1.2	1.3
turnovers pm (total)	1.1	0.6
TTI	11.9	12.7

Well, I was wrong.  Walker is more effective and the overall better right back.  He is just as turnover prone as Johnson, but he at least makes it up more on the defensive end.  The stats that stand out most for me are his 34.9 back pass percentage, 20.2 successful cross percentage, and especially his 60.2 long ball success percentage with 100 attempts.  The latter is just ridiculous when you consider he only played in 26 matches.

How is Kyle Walker not in the England side for the WC?  Apparently Phil Jones is second choice and that's just laughable.  Might as well put a cardboard cut-out of a donkey out there, it will do the same as 'El Terminator'.