Mark and Ted's excellent adventure
- 20 Jun 06, 07:20 PM
COLOGNE - This city is a 70,000 strong throng of England fans, but two friendly faces caught my eye in the England fans area today - Mark Perry and Ted Burke.
Last time I saw these two, they were preparing their to drive round Germany in Vanessa the Camper Van, spreading fan friendship.
So how have they got on since Wigan waved them off at the JJB two weeks ago?
Mark puts It: 鈥淲e were coming up the big hill to the Pennines on the M62 and she overheated. I looked out the window and could see the white rose of Yorkshire sign.
"As a Lancashire lad, it broke my heart.鈥
Overheated has been a theme: 鈥淲e tried to get her up a one-in-six hill in Germany but she鈥檚 19 years old,鈥 despairs Ted.
They are down 300 Euros on a new starter motor and Mark has also come out in a mystery rash, but they are full of praise for the German welcome. 鈥淧eople see the van and they want to help.鈥
They say the England fans good will events they have been taking part in play a valuable role in neutralising the fall out from the minor trouble seen in Cologne last night, where 14 fans were arrested
鈥淚t鈥檚 important when you see things like the trouble last night,鈥 said Mark. 鈥淲hen you do something for the kids here as well, they see that there are people who are just passionate about the game.鈥
These two are still friends, still laughing. They look a bit dishevelled but the van is still on the road 鈥 until England in the final on 9 July, they tell me.
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I hope they make the final (along with England of course!).
Though with Sven suggesting that the Swedes will be trembling at the sight of young Wayne I worry that we may not have the leadership we need....
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Is crouch really the 3rd best striker in all of England?
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crouch sucks!!!! Can he really be the 3rd best forward in England!
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Can a 17 year old be the fourth best striker in England?
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england throw away yet another win
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england have one more game to play then its home
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Good that Owen Hargreaves had a decent game, hopefully people will see why he is in the England squad now. Maybe Ian Wright will realise it is not because Hargreaves has something 'on Sven's family', but because he is a good footballer.
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I thought Crouch did ok. He didn't suck, not at all. What about Beckam? Did you see any attacking play from right flank? Did Beckam crossed balls in open play? Compare him with Cole's performance. If we had more attacking threat from right, we'd won.
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Beckham seems to be playing at a quarter of what he is capable of.
Weird, esp with him being captain, what odds on an international retirement at the end of the tournament?
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Crouch did great!!!. He was great at getting tangled with his legs. What a waste of space.
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Well done team England on topping your group and progressing into the next round unbeaton.
After the disappointment of Owens' unfortuneate injury you recovered well to maintain your composure and once again achieved the required result to reach your desired objective, however Sweden pushed you all the way and they must be given due credit too.
I really thought that after Gerrard scored you had dealt the winning blow,however it was not to be - just don't make a habit of the example of "comedy defending" for the rest of the tournament, my nerves can't cope with it!
I am really devastated about Owens' injury I was hoping that his renewed partnership with Rooney was going to be the catalyst for a dramatic improvement in the teams form for the rest of the tournament.
Don't be disheartened , you can still get to the final, as you all know there is enough quality and talent in this squad to overcome this setback.
In my opinion the stength of the squad is in the midfield players that we have so I would like the team-sheet to reflect this and probably change to a 1-5-4 formation. The defence more or less picks itself of A.Cole-Terry-Ferdinand-Carragher and Robinson in goal.
My midfield five would be J.Cole-Gerrard-Hargreaves-Beckham-Lennon and obviously Rooney up front.
My reasons as follows:-
Hargreaves played well against Sweden and gives a more natural balance and shape to the team.(I hope his recent critics will now be silenced by the way)
Gerrard and Beckham will add the midfield "power and drive" with their pinpoint passing ,both long and short and their inter-play and understanding with Rooney will add another dimension to Englands' play.
Cole and Lennon on either flank will terrify any opposition as well as giving England more width, (especially if Cole can be disciplined and vary his play by not cuting inside at every opportunity-give the opposing defence an impossible task by not giving them an opportunity to read his game).However, you can't argue against his stunning goal against Sweden can you?, and on top of that he has been England's most consistant player so far.
As for Rooney,although not a traditional centre-forward he can find space anywhere on the pitch and I am sure with support from either Beckham or Gerrard and the right service from Lennon and Cole he can adhapt his play to any kind of system.
For me this system would enable England to play "total football" with skill and inteligent interplay what do you think Sven?
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