Don't give up on us, we can still do it!
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England captain Steven Gerrard: Don't give up on us
Steven Gerrard, captain of an England side on the brink of ignominy, looked visibly shaken as he offered a possible escape from the ever-deepening World Cup hole he and his team-mates have dug themselves into.
Gerrard, the man who wore the armband and therefore shouldered his share of responsibility for Friday night's abject 0-0 draw with Algeria, wisely offered no excuses for a desperate result that leaves England on the brink of elimination with just two points to their name from two winnable fixtures.
But after failing to see off either the United States or Algeria, this deflated group are left with no option but to beat Slovenia in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday night to reach the last 16.
Rally the troops: Steven Gerrard needs to ensure his team mates are up for the Slovenia clash
Remember the euphoria of last December when England were pitched into the same group as three perceived lightweights in USA, Algeria and Slovenia.
They were even hailed by the bookmakers as third favourites for the greatest prize in the game behind Spain and Brazil and informed they were effectively being handed a bye into the knockout stage.
How the landscape has changed. Gerrard's withering post-mortem into Friday night made you wonder where it has all gone so dismally wrong.
'We weren't aggressive enough against Algeria,' said the Liverpool midfielder. 'We never pressed the ball and won it back quickly enough. We never showed enough urgency. We certainly weren't clinical enough around the box.'
Hardly the attributes of the competition's third favourites. England now have four days to rediscover those basic skills or they face a terrible humiliation.
Blame game: Wayne Rooney looked disinterested on Friday night
'We need to find something quick for Wednesday night,' said Gerrard. 'We need to improve and improve quickly. We need to find more spirit. This is the last chance. What's done is done. There's no looking back. We can't change that.
'As captain, I've got to make sure we don't feel sorry for ourselves and we've got to go out on Wednesday night and perform a lot better.'
In complete contrast to Wayne Rooney's angry condemnation of the fans who booed the players off the pitch in Cape Town, Gerrard joined with England team-mates John Terry and Frank Lampard in offering hope and optimism that their journey halfway around the world has not been wasted.
'The fans pay good money,' he added. 'They have been terrific in the two games, getting behind us and showing us support and we need to produce more for them.
'Hopefully on Wednesday we can send them away smiling rather than the way they are feeling now.'
So what did go wrong against Algeria, when England produced one of the most laboured and disjointed performances for many years?
Gerrard himself was at a loss to put his finger on it. 'I thought the first game would get the cobwebs out of the system and I'm very surprised with the result against Algeria,' he said.
'I thought we prepared really well for this game, going into the game we felt good and, unfortunately, we haven't delivered the result we wanted.
'It puts a lot more pressure on ourselves for Wednesday, but as a player you've got to thrive on that pressure and look forward to it and hope we can get the result we want.
'There's a lot of pressure on the guys, there's no lying about that. There's a lot of tension because we want to stay in this tournament for a long time.
'But we knew that coming into it, that there was always going to be big pressure and as players you've got to accept that. You've got to play under that pressure and play well. As players, we don't want to go home. We want to stay with the supporters and have a successful tournament. But we will only do that if we improve on our performance against Algeria.'
Shambles: England goalkeeper David James claims the ball against Algeria
Terry acknowledged the disappointment of England followers, but urged them to get behind the team, declaring: 'The players are feeling exactly the same way as the fans - frustrated.
'At the same time, we need to win our last game. It's as simple as that.
'There's one game left and we just need everyone behind us. There's no point everyone criticising. We haven't done it up to now. We need to do it in the next game. If we do it in the next game, we go through.
'If we don't win the next game, then is the time to be worried. We still have a chance of going through in the group and still topping it. It's in our hands. If we win, we could be top of the group and we move on.
Frustrated Fabio: Capello has demanded his side show more spirit
'But first and foremost is getting through the group. We have made it difficult for ourselves but nothing should change.
'We shouldn't be changing the way we play and we shouldn't be worried about other sides because, after what I've seen so far, other teams don't worry me at all. But it's a must to get through the group if we want to go on.'
He added: 'I'm urging everyone not to criticise us too much. We understand the frustration of you guys [the media] and the fans. We've got one game left. It's in our own hands.'
Frustrated: Wayne Rooney makes his feeling about being booed known
Jamie Carragher's suspension after two yellow cards means Terry will have either Matthew Upson or Michael Dawson as his central defensive partner against Slovenia.
'Whoever comes in alongside me will be fine,' the Chelsea captain said. 'I've got four or five days to the next game so there will be enough preparation on the training field.'
His Stamford Bridge team-mate Lampard was equally upbeat, insisting: 'We've gone into one-off games before and come through, and if you'd said before the tournament, "You have to beat Slovenia to go through", we'd have fancied it.'
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With the kind of football they play, they are better off going home
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soon soon.... 1 more match to decide.. haha..
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i already give up on them liao
see the way they play... even if they qualify, they wont make it vs argentina or brazil
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me has nvr pinned any hope on u.
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Originally posted by nature-ones:
i already give up on them liao
see the way they play... even if they qualify, they wont make it vs argentina or brazil
Same here.. This World Cup they did worse than the last WC. Seems they are getting bad to worse. They never fail to disappoint. -
I have given up hope on england winning either the European championships or the World Cup long time ago.
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i forget who is the idiot that say Roony is going to shine in the world cup ......??????
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if i am capello, i would give them a wake up call.
just ask " who has pride playing for the three lions, raise up your Fxxxking hands". gerrard, lampard, rooney is taking their place for granted.
If winston churchill is still alive he would have say to them in the dressing room:
" if i can have my way, i would line you all up in front of the firing squad, because you are such a disgrace to the pride of the brits, even my xxx infantry regiment football team has more heart and soul than you spoilt brats".
hehe
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if i am capello, i would give them a wake up call.
just ask " who has pride playing for the three lions, raise up your Fxxxking hands". gerrard, lampard, rooney is taking their place for granted.
If winston churchill is still alive he would have say to them in the dressing room:
" if i can have my way, i would line you all up in front of the firing squad, because you are such a disgrace to the pride of the brits, even my xxx infantry regiment football team has more heart and soul than you spoilt brats".
hehe
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England out in 1st round is the best thing that could happen in 2010 !!!!!!
S'pore may be former British colony but no need to support England mah ! i always hate them one !
the only British team i support is Scotland.
England's best chances to win WC were back in 1986 and 1990............now they got no chance liao.........in fact no chance in future also !
i'm praying hard for Slovenia to steal a 1-0 win !!!!
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you are bookie ah?
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Originally posted by reyes:
" if i can have my way, i would line you all up in front of the firing squad, because you are such a disgrace to the pride of the brits, even my xxx infantry regiment football team has more heart and soul than you spoilt brats".
i like this
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its not over until its over.
england just need to win the next game.
all is not lost.
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let's give england a last chance, shall we? stay up, cheer for the three lions!
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Originally posted by Poignant:
let's give england a last chance, shall we? stay up, cheer for the three lions!
no way.
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Just like france.... just that france is more worse
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think must change their icon to "the 3 kittens" they play like kittens
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The over-paid primadonnas probably will squeeze through to the last 16 - their group is so weak!
but they will go no further........
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Survivor: South Africa Season 2010.
Overpaid. Overhyped. Overrated
Tribe - England
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Originally posted by Poignant:
let's give england a last chance, shall we? stay up, cheer for the three lions!
i think usa vs algeria match gonna be more exciting...
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Originally posted by omgukilledkenny:
no way.
come on! lets do it man! haha.
im gear up for spain tonight! next, im gonna cheer for england!