England going Green ?

[olddutch]

The burning issue of the day - Green or James ?

Capello says "I think one problem of the keepers – it's a problem with the ball. Sometimes the bounce is higher than normal." But Capello hedges his bets also seeing Rob Greens schoolboy error against the USA as a possible "psychological" issue, also having said he would this was "look into the eyes" of Green to see whether he was a broken man.

Friction is reported between David James and the England coaching staff over the senior keeper's conviction that he should be first in line. “That sense can only have deepened as James watched Green succumb to nerves in the early part of training. Hesitant in his movements and uncertain in his handling of the ball, Green was suffering under scrutiny's white light, where he has shuffled and twitched throughout a taxing week”

The blaming of World Cup technology for what appeared to be an appalling goalkeeping mistake rather than a sadistic act by the Jabulani ball and hedging his bets over the "psychological" issue seems to show how uncertain Capello is on who should wear the jersey tonight.

So - should it be Green or James - when Englands World Cup life could so easily depend on it ?

Sorry to any Hart supporters

[olddutch]

Oh well - not the burning issue then - BBC now saying James likely to get the nod - anyway, hope we do the busy tonight - and do it well.

[R1Geezer]

You have to forget the howler from Green. If he was first choice originally then he should be first choice now. Being the hammers keeper he's had more practice than anyone I'd have thought and the last thing we need is James bedding himself in with a "Calamity" of his own.

[Hopkirk]

Joe Hart against Slovenia then?

[Gromit]

They do not seem to know within the camp who is the 1st choice preferred keeper.

Personally, Joe Hart is better than both of them.

[olddutch]

I think the pressure now on all 3 England goalies after Rob Greens bowls up and the subsequent furore must be tremendous. In this context I think James is the right choice because of his much greater International experience, his arrogance, his confidence and his habit of verbally bossing the outfielders. With Portsmouth he has achieved the best standard of goalkeeping of his career, often looking world class and virtually eliminating his “calamities”

Hope he has a great match and great tournament with no jabulani calamity

Hope I wont be putting my foot in mouth in the next few hours

[olddutch]

james held up whilst the rest of team didnt - we were embarrassing - perhaps the worst WC finals performance ever - abysmal

The players seemed paralysed by fear - has Capello got the answer or is he the problem ?

[Gromit]

Italia 90 England started with two woeful draws in their group matches, and we progressed to just a penalty from reaching the final.

We are guilty of under estimating the opposition and outdated thinking. Some people were totally dismissive of the USA saying they don't play the game, despite them being in the top 15 world rankings. Likewise, some were predicting a cricket score against Algeria, without knowing anything about the team.

The group is still wide open, so no reason why we cannot progress.

[olddutch]

"The group is still wide open, so no reason why we cannot progress"

Very true - and really hope youre right Gromit