England v Ghana-some observations

 Gary Cahill is a very very good centre half. I rated him before this game, but seeing him here against a good side convinced me more. I'd love him at Liverpool, but he is going to cost an absolute kings ransom. I think Bolton will be looking for 20 million plus, and I think they'll get it.

 Leighton Baines is a decent player, but at the reported 10 million quid we are paying absolutely top dollar for him. A good left foot, gets up and down and knocks a decent ball in, but not IMHO one of the best around.

 Ashley Young is a better player than I gave him credit for, and is going to be an asset to whichever big club signs him. Providing Villa have to take a hit due to his reduced contract, he would be a good buy.

 Jack Wilshere is going to be the best young player of his generation. Arsenal will sell Fabregas and this kid will ensure they will still be a very good team. A superb player.

 Stewart Downing wouldn't be a daft buy and is a good pro.

 Lastly but not leastly, although we have correctly been criticised for hitting Andy Carroll too long and too early, you HAVE to do it sometimes in order to make him effective. Last night England NEVER did, and our man struggled to get into the game. He is still very raw, but I remain concinced that he will make a top player. I am equally certain though that we are going to have to be very patient with him, as he has a mile of development left to go through. What we must avoid is the Kevin Davies scenario, where be buy him for big money, bomb him out and watch him become an excellent player somewhere else. At times Carroll may become worse before he gets better, but eventually he will be a real player IMHO.

 Glen Johnson is playing the best right now that he has since the first few weeks after we bought him.

I'd be more than happy to see Cahill and Young at the club and agree, Downing wouldn't be a bad buy even though I know a lot of people have their doubts about him. The first two will probably cost a fortune though and we'll face stiff competition.

You don't need to hit Carroll from long at all, in certain instances it might be a good idea to try it for 5-10 minutes when all else fails, but for the rest of the time it is better to get it into him from wider areas so he can attack the ball.

The less we see of Carroll on the ball the better. He is there to finish the chances off. If we see a lot of Carroll, it means we will be relying/abusing his height to much.

One thing I notice is there were many left footed players

Carroll, Downing, Baines, Barry and Wilshere.

You don't need to hit Carroll from long at all , in certain instances it might be a good idea to try it for 5-10 minutes when all else fails, but for the rest of the time it is better to get it into him from wider areas so he can attack the ball.

The less we see of Carroll on the ball the better. He is there to finish the chances off. If we see a lot of Carroll, it means we will be relying/abusing his height to much.

 I disagree on this bit mate, but agree on the rest. I think you DO need to occasionally hit Carroll from long, simply to keep the opposition defence honest. If they know you are never going to try and hit him from the full back slots, they can get in a bit tighter on him and Suarez and stop you dropping it into their feet. If they think you might occasionally hit it long for Carroll to flick on, they must defend with a bit more leeway so as not to get caught out.

 For me it's all about mixing it up. I'm not suggesting for a second you continually bombard Carroll like we did against Braga, but to not occasionally do it seems like a waste to me. A bit like when you've got a Cisse and deciding to never try the ball over the top so he can use his pace. Not everytime, but sometimes makes sense.

I'd be more than happy to see Cahill and Young at the club and agree, Downing wouldn't be a bad buy even though I know a lot of people have their doubts about him. The first two will probably cost a fortune though and we'll face stiff competition.

Young might actually not be that cheap as he wont sign a contract extension at Villa, so they will have to take what they can get for him or let him eventually go on a free! United are apparently after him for around the 15 mil mark!

England fans are F***ing boring shitehawks and were shown what a proper support is by the Ghanians.

In my opinion their fans made that friendly last night.

Very few people actually wanted Cahill, after one game suddenly everybody does, but obviously they 'already rated him'.

If there's one thing I'll never do is overreact cause of 1 game, Downing has been average his whole life, I won't change my opinion after one FRIENDLY

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 Jack Wilshere is going to be the best young player of his generation. Arsenal will sell Fabregas and this kid will ensure they will still be a very good team. A superb player.

He did nothing in the game, people need to calm down about this lad. Adiyah easily outplayed him throughout the match. He's not that great and if he was from any other country he wouldn't be as highly rated.

Very few people actually wanted Cahill, after one game suddenly everybody does, but obviously they 'already rated him'.

If there's one thing I'll never do is overreact cause of 1 game, Downing has been average his whole life, I won't change my opinion after one FRIENDLY

He did nothing in the game, people need to calm down about this lad. Adiyah easily outplayed him throughout the match. He's not that great and if he was from any other country he wouldn't be as highly rated.

Pretty much spot on comments there and my dad said the same watching Wilshere.

 Cahill I've mentioned quite a few times before, along with the likes of Roger Johnson, Scott Dann etc etc. It's hardly a secret that he's been a good player for a while, there have been persistent rumours about kenny being interested in him. I have "rated" him for a while, but far from trying to appear right after the event, I'm actually saying I was WRONG because he is obviously a better player than I thought. It's not over-reacting when a player does things which you didn't think he was capable of and you admit as much.

 As for Jack Wilshire, calm down about him? I'm pretty calm about him, but anyone who can't see that this lad is something a bit special doesn't know what they are looking at. Sure I take the point that last night he wasn't at his most dominant, but to say he's "not that great" and that Adiyah "easily outplayed him throughout the match" is completely off the wall. I know football's all about opinions, and likes ar******* we've all got one etc etc etc etc, but anyone who can't see it with this kid, well suffice to say and to avoid being rude, I don't agree with them.   

In my honest opinion Pacheco is better and yet he's not as heralded in the british media. Yea he plays for Arsenal and has the opportunity to show what he's got. But what he's got isn't something extra special to anyone else on a talent level. One thing that is quite admirable about him is his mental fortitude and maturity, he doesn't seem to be phased by big games and players. Definitely cannot compare him to Fabregas at the moment. 1+2 does not equal 4.

One thing that is quite admirable about him is his mental fortitude and maturity, he doesn't seem to be phased by big games and players.

I think is an excellent point on Wilshere as it sets him apart from a lot of the young players coming through. He looked like he had played 40 times for England when watching him last night and not 4.

I think he is an excellent player myself and do think he will be one of the best young players over the next few years.

In my honest opinion Pacheco is better and yet he's not as heralded in the british media. Yea he plays for Arsenal and has the opportunity to show what he's got. But what he's got isn't something extra special to anyone else on a talent level. One thing that is quite admirable about him is his mental fortitude and maturity, he doesn't seem to be phased by big games and players. Definitely cannot compare him to Fabregas at the moment. 1+2 does not equal 4.

 Pacheco better than Wilshire? Are you being serious mate?

In my honest opinion Pacheco is better and yet he's not as heralded in the british media. Yea he plays for Arsenal and has the opportunity to show what he's got. But what he's got isn't something extra special to anyone else on a talent level. One thing that is quite admirable about him is his mental fortitude and maturity, he doesn't seem to be phased by big games and players. Definitely cannot compare him to Fabregas at the moment. 1+2 does not equal 4.

Pacheco has never played well for Liverpool in the first team in the very few chances he has been given, nor was he chosen by Rafa, Woy or at all for KK. If he was as good as Jack Wilshere he would be in the team mate. No doubt.

Jack Wilshere will go on to make over 100 caps for England IMO. One of the best footballing midfielders already, and will only get better.

I think we England fans seem to over tilt the balance on "English players eing overrated". If Wilshere were Spannish, playing for Barca people would be drooling over him, wishing he were English and playing for Liverpool.

Would walk into our midfield for certain.

Wilshire is decent, but hardly the world beater some make him out to be. It's a typical case of a young lad with a bit of flair playing in a top four club at his age. And he plays in the south, which means the media go F***ing over the top on him anyway.

Rodwell, playing just as well and being just as important for Everton, doesn't get half the attention because he's a simple old fashioned central midfielder playing for a small club like Everton.

Wilshire is talented and will be part of the England set up for years to come, but people - especially the media - need to calm down about him. If the fella spits on the floor, the media are going over board on how they've never seen a British player spit like that before.

You don't need to hit Carroll from long at all, in certain instances it might be a good idea to try it for 5-10 minutes when all else fails, but for the rest of the time it is better to get it into him from wider areas so he can attack the ball.

I watched us trying to hit it long to Carroll for 90 minutes against Braga.  It was an unmitigated disaster.

Interesting how he scored his goal, I would imagine Suarez will peel a lot of players away from him and he will get some goals that way. And vice versa.

We need two wingers - capable of getting to the touchline by going past people and swinging the ball in.  And Meireles needs to take the corners instead of Gerrard.

When Carroll's got a few more games under his belt - or maybe next season - I think we'll see him driving forward more with the ball - like he did when he scored against us earlier this season.

I watched us trying to hit it long to Carroll for 90 minutes against Braga.  It was an unmitigated disaster.

Interesting how he scored his goal, I would imagine Suarez will peel a lot of players away from him and he will get some goals that way. And vice versa.

Part of an interview with Gerrard by BBC :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/9432796.stm

Gerrard also said the Reds' new-look front pairing of Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez could prove decisive.

"We believe now that we've got the most feared strikeforce in the league," he said.

"One thing that's important to remember with Andy is that he's superb on the floor.

"If we are in a difficult game or we are chasing a game we can be more direct but the good thing is, because we can mix it up, we can play either way now.

"We can play in behind, we can play long and with Suarez running off him. It gives us a whole new dimension."

Maybe the Braga game would have been different had Suarez been on the pitch but I still question why Kenny let them persist with hoofing balls to Carroll. I hope we never see that again or we'd have been as well saving £34.9m and getting Heskey back!

Part of an interview with Gerrard by BBC :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/9432796.stm

Gerrard also said the Reds' new-look front pairing of Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez could prove decisive.

"We believe now that we've got the most feared strikeforce in the league," he said.

"One thing that's important to remember with Andy is that he's superb on the floor.

"If we are in a difficult game or we are chasing a game we can be more direct but the good thing is, because we can mix it up, we can play either way now.

"We can play in behind, we can play long and with Suarez running off him. It gives us a whole new dimension."

Maybe the Braga game would have been different had Suarez been on the pitch but I still question why Kenny let them persist with hoofing balls to Carroll. I hope we never see that again or we'd have been as well saving £34.9m and getting Heskey back!

F**k Heskey! we could have signed Exodus Geohaghon and stuck him upfront!!

You are both right though, that 90 minutes against Braga was grim. Suarez definitely shows for the ball on the ground and runs with it so when he plays, we don't Carra it up the pitch nearly as much.

Like I've said before - hoofing it to Carroll for 90 minutes is crazy.

I don't expect Carroll to chase 50 yard balls, control it, run with the ball whatsoever. I'd prefer it if we keep it on the ground, play it wide then put a cross in for him to attack the ball.

Alternatively, we can also play it on the ground to Suarez because he's extremely dangerous when the ball is at his feet!

I think for some reason, Carra was the main instigator for the hoofing in the Braga game, and others then followed suit.  Clearly does not work.

Wilshire could become a top player, but he may get bullied in some games and will have to learn to deal with that.  Baines I don't rate especially highly.  Hot and cold for me.

I do like the thought of Young and Downing on the flanks for us.  Downing I think has a maturity about him now, instead of just punting it into the box, he'll pick his moment.