Richard Lennox

This is my first post regarding this years World Cup. I should first point out that while I live in Edinburgh, I am English and and a full on supporter of my national side. Unlike, many fans though I like to think of myself as an honest pundit although at time I can be a little biased.

We are 10 days into Germany 2006 and half way through the second round of group matches. England sit on top of Group 2 ahead of Sweded, Trinidad & Tobago and Paraguay and have already qualified for the group stages by winning their opening two games.

On the whole this has been one of the better tournaments for football fans. The quality of the games has been high for the most part. However it seems as if some of the big teams are yet to fire on all cylinders, the French being a prime example of this. The biggest exception to this being Argentina, who are looking so good at the minute I would consider a little flutter on them if the odds hadn't been slashed.

Having watched both England games in the midst of Scottish supporters* it would be safe to say that while the results went our way, they were not ideal games and I was getting plenty of stick. England were not at their best by a long way. However, there are some people including myself, who say that the result must come first. All that will be recorded for prosperity is the result, it doesn't matter how well you play, it is the result that counts. You only have to look to the Rugby Union World Cup in 2003, England didn't play pretty or quality rugby, they ground out the results and that is what counts. In 2006, we have all forgotten this and recognise that England won the WOrld Cup, all be it with a last minute drop goal. I admit that we have to improve our game if we are going to have any chance of winning the World Cup otherwise we will fall down when we come up against the better teams. But for now, we have to sit back and say after two games it is job done. We have qualified for the knockout stages and that is what matters.

I can't count the number of times I have been told in the last few days "England were lucky!". I find this amusing. Yes we didn't walk over these teams [no team in the world cup should be considered a walk over] but for the most part the England team did a professional job. Against Paraguay, we dominiated the first half and defended well in the second without really being troubled. Against Trinidad & Tobago we controlled the game from start to finish. Much is being made of how many of T&T's players play for lower league sides and how they stifled Englands top stars. Hold on lets just look at the F.A. Cup for the last few years. It is exactly the same. It was their chance to raise their game and try and beat one of the favourites at the start of the tournament. They had their chances to score a goal, notably John Terry's goal saving clearence just before half time but England were the ones in control of the game. We created chance after chance and should have scored several times before and after each game. I was pretty annoyed with Peter Crouch. While he has improved this season and probably deserves his chance, at times I felt he wasn't playing for the team. He should have bagged a hat-trick against T&T, but I felt he went for the glory amd played for the cameras. His miss just before half time is one example and another was in the second half where he got the ball in the box with his back to goal and instead of playing it simple and laying off a pass, he tried to flick it up and score with an overhead kick. Great if it comes off, but not when we are struggling to find the back of the net. It was the finishing that let us down against T&T nothing else.

Looking forward to the Sweden game, I think we cannot worry about who we will meet in the next round and try to avoid the Germans, the Ecaudorians would be as much of a challenge. We should go out there to win. There is talk of resting the players that have been booked or at least one of them. That is a good plan, but we must win the game. To win all three group games would be a massive lift. I would play Rooney and Owen to give them ninety minutes and would probably play Carrick to give Gerrard a rest. Perhaps even give Lennon a run out on the right but we must ensure that we win the game. I also think Paul Robinson needs a good game. He has been a supporter for much of the two games and has lost his concentration on occasion which has led to some mistakes. A big game against Sweden will give him the confidence going into the knockout stages. Defensively England have been strong. We haven't conceded a goal and you cannot get any stronger than that. A good midfield means the weakest area of the England team has been in the last 3rd of the pitch: getting quality ball to the strikers and scoring goals.

* For those of you who are not aware of this, the term "Scottish Supporter" is defined as: "someone who supports Scotland and whichever team is playing the Auld Enemy"