jips 18 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/the-rio-report/six-reasons-why-belgium-better-england-011924505.htmlthoughts?BELGIUM V ENGLAND – HEAD TO HEADGoalkeeper – Thibaut Courtois v Joe HartCourtois, only 20, is Petr Cech’s long-term successor at Chelsea andhas impressed in two seasons on loan at Atletico Madrid. With limitlesspotential, he is an agile shot-stopper but can improve his command ofthe area. Hart, however, is a title-winner and has plenty of experienceand – at just 25 – is regarded as one of the best keepers in the world.Eurosport view – Hart of gold: BELGIUM 0-1 ENGLANDRight-back – Toby Alderweireld v Glen JohnsonAjax defender Alderweireld, 24, is equally adept as a centre-half,but for his country usually trots out as a full-back. Solid defensivelybut less of a threat going forward than Liverpool’s Johnson, who – whileprone to going walkabout – is one of the more exciting attackingfull-backs in the game.Eurosport view – Let’s call it a draw: BELGIUM 0-1 ENGLANDLeft-back – Jan Vertonghen v Ashley ColeVertonghen, like Alderweireld, is more of a centre back but will playon the left for his country. Solid positionally, excellent in thetackle and imperious in the air, he would ordinarily take the points butis up against one of the best left-backs in the world. Cole may havegone off the boil recently but he always turns up for England.Eurosport view – Old King Cole: BELGIUM 0-2 ENGLANDCentre back – Vincent Kompany v Gary CahillCahill is a fine ball-playing defender, but Kompany is a fantasticleader and arguably the best in his position in Europe. Captain of cluband country, the former Hamburg man speaks several languages, is asupreme organiser and rarely makes a mistake. Cahill is good, but notthat good.Eurosport view – In good Kompany: BELGIUM 1-2 ENGLANDCentre back – Thomas Vermaelen v Phil JonesAs far as stoppers go, Vermaelen looked the real deal when he came toArsenal. He has been shaky recently though, a long-term downturn thatcould just be a result of Arsenal’s travails, but equally can be blamedon a series of injuries. Jones, while also suffering fitness problems,is younger, quicker, stronger and simply better. The Manchester Unitedyoungster could well be one of the all-time greats.Eurosport view – Keeping up with the Joneses: BELGIUM 1-3 ENGLANDRight midfield – Kevin Mirallas v James MilnerTwo very different players who operate in similar parts of the pitch,Mirallas is a livewire winger/forward while Milner a hard-working widemidfielder. An argument could be made that Mirallas would be bestcompared to Theo Walcott or Aaron Lennon, but as it stands Roy Hodgsonprefers Milner, who gets through a shift but is less likely to stretch adefence than Mirallas.Eurosport view – Mirallas magic: BELGIUM 2-3 ENGLANDLeft midfield – Mousa Dembele v Alex Oxlade-ChamberlainBelgium have a more settled midfield than England, but Dembele is notguaranteed a place with the likes of Dries Martens knocking about. TheOx, similarly, is no shoo-in, and while he is immensely gifted, he isinconsistent and young. Dembele is a more proven pro, and plays moregames.Eurosport view – Moose slays Ox: BELGIUM 3-3 ENGLANDCentral midfield – Marouane Fellaini v Steven GerrardA proper head-to-head as they turn out for local rivals Everton andLiverpool, and are likely to quite literally come face-to-face asGerrard increasingly operates in a deeper role for England. There is nodoubt that Gerrard has been a world-class player, and that he is in goodform this season. But Fellaini is approaching his peak while, despitesome standout performances in recent times, Gerrard is getting towardsthe end of his career and is physically less capable of dominatingmatches as he did five years ago.Eurosport view – Everton claim derby spoils: BELGIUM 4-3 ENGLANDCentral midfield – Axel Witsel v Michael CarrickWitsel is a divisive character but one thing you cannot say about himis that he lacks dynamism and quality. The Zenit St Petersburgplaymaker is quick, strong, aggressive and an excellent distributor ofthe ball. While Carrick is a very good deep-lying playmaker, he lacksmobility and has a tendency to drift out of matches.Eurosport view – Witsel wins: BELGIUM 5-3 ENGLANDSecond striker – Eden Hazard v Wayne RooneyA lot of hype is surrounding Hazard, who has bounced back from hisballboy kicking shame with some magical performances for Chelsea.Meanwhile, Rooney appears surrounded by a terminal cloud of negativepublicity, an emotional weight that comes with the job of England’shighest-profile player. But you can never write off Roo, who is one ofthe few English players capable of creating something out of nothing.Eurosport view – Dead heat: BELGIUM 5-3 ENGLANDCentre forward – Christian Benteke/Romelu Lukaku v Jermain Defoe/Danny WelbeckBelgium have two incredible young talents up front so, even thoughDefoe has the benefit of experience, Belgium easily win this heat. BothBelgium youngsters are big, fast, powerful target men, with Benteke abigger physical presence and Lukaku more technically astute. Whetherit’s arch poacher Defoe or lively wide forward Welbeck, Belgium have theedge in terms of power and ability.Eurosport view – Made in Congo: BELGIUM 6-3 ENGLAND Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mundaka 243 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Why head to head? I like to think of us as england 2 Anyways on topic:I would only pick their backs over ours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korea 734 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 now or Potential future? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zolayes 14,489 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 No contest England have The TWO R's Rio and Rooney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slam Dunk 1,442 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Some of those pairings are just ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korea 734 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Gk: Hart CB: Kompany, Vertoghen RB: Johnson LB: Cole MF: Dememble, Gerrard and Witsel Winger: Walcott/Lennon SS: Rooney CF: Welback Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mundaka 243 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Winger: Walcott/LennonWalcott/Lennon over Hazard/DeBruyne/Mirallas/Mertens? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ollie 4,400 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Jones better than Vermaelen? Belgium lack a finished article up front but they have players who will get there. The comparisons are stupid. As much as i dislike Jack Wilshere, he's probably better than any CM in both teams. Let me see... HartJohnson - Kompany - Cahill - ColeDembele - Fellaini - WilshereWallcott - Defoe - Hazard. That's my preference tbh. Cahill because i think he's defensively better than Vertongen and Wallcott simply because of his pace. Rooney will never be what he was 3 or 4 years ago. Something has died on him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harneth 15 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Courtois is better than Hart. No doubt about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korea 734 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Do we need both Jack and Demeble on the same thing?Winger: Walcott/Lennon Walcott/Lennon over Hazard/DeBruyne/Mirallas/Mertens?Never seen KDB play... Also, I want speed and width as my wings.. Walcott and Lennon are probably the fastest guys in the BPL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korea 734 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Courtois is better than Hart. No doubt about that.Probably in the future, but now, I don't know how you can say courtois is better.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mundaka 243 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Probably in the future, but now, I don't know how you can say courtois is better..Prolly because he has the most clean sheets in the primera division (at the age of 20 which is very young for a goalie...) or he has the clubs record of longest clean sheet? Is a decent reason to think he's better, i'm not claiming he already is for the record. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korea 734 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Prolly because he has the most clean sheets in the primera division (at the age of 20 which is very young for a goalie...) or he has the clubs record of longest clean sheet?Clean sheets has a lot to do with the back four... Kompany been injured all season, which has contributed to the many goals Man City has conceeded. Hart was number one in Clean sheets for 2 years as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ollie 4,400 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Aaron Lennon is absolute shit, he has pace but nothing else. Hazard is so much better than him, it's almost like they play different sports. Lennon is like SWP, Jerome Thomas etc. Can run but can't score and can't cross. Pace is good but only if you can do something with it. Hazard is the only genuine world class winger in both squads combined. He is that good. Every England - Belgium mixed team should have Hazard. I chose Hart because of his experience although Courtois really is playing better than him this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mundaka 243 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Clean sheets has a lot to do with the back four... Kompany been injured all season, which has contributed to the many goals Man City has conceeded. Hart was number one in Clean sheets for 2 years as well...Yeh ok , i'm also quite fond of Hart, but i do understand if harneth already thinks hes better, stats will prove they are pretty close anyways Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korea 734 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Yeh ok , i'm also quite fond of Hart, but i do understand if harneth already thinks hes better, stats will prove they are pretty close anywaysAlso, bpl goalkeeper of the year for 2 years..... Anyways, regarding Hazard, I thought we were comparing him to rooney? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDY 1,290 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 4-2-3-1 CourtoisJohnson - Kompany - Vert - ColeDembele - WitselDe Bruyne - Wilshere - HazardRooney/Benteke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ollie 4,400 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 You are actually saying the 2013 Rooney is better than the 2013 Hazard? Anyway forget who the first post compares, do your own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korea 734 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 You are actually saying the 2013 Rooney is better than the 2013 Hazard? Anyway forget who the first post compares, do your own.As ss I put Rooney in ...However, i would put Hazard in the wings over Lennon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mundaka 243 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 You are actually saying the 2013 Rooney is better than the 2013 Hazard? Anyway forget who the first post compares, do your own. Then on this very moment:CourtoisFerdinand-Kompany-VertonghenGerrard-WitselMirallas-KDB-HazardRooney-Benteke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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