Posts Tagged ‘Top Scorer’
Where do we stand on Ferguson’s ‘pressure’ claim?
It has been a while since England’s abysmal World Cup campaign came to an end. This doesn’t mean people are going to stop talking about it though and the latest to have his say is Sir Alex Ferguson.
The Manchester United boss focused his comments mainly on the performances (or lack of them) from Wayne Rooney. The England man was way below par in South Africa and Ferguson believes that the “expectation on him” contributed to this. The best betting site odds made him one of the favourites to be top scorer in the competition, but he failed to find the net.
Ferguson mentioned how many had suggested that Rooney could be the “player of the tournament” and outshine the heavyweights of world football like Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Lionel Messi.
Admittedly, this is a lot of pressure on someone like Rooney. He would have thought to himself “it is all down to me” and, in a sense, it was. Rooney was poor in the four games and so were England - that is no coincidence.
Rooney should have used the “it’s down to me” role in a more positive way. He should have come out fighting for his country. He should have thought: “If I don’t perform here, we aren’t going too far, so let’s do this.”
Perhaps after a long season for Manchester United, this was too much to ask. However, I was as shocked as anyone with regard to Rooney’s performances. Whether it was the pressure or not though, I’m not sure. Perhaps he did just handle it in the wrong way. Regardless, anyone who placed a free online bet on England would have been upset by the outcome of things.
Ferguson is convinced that the 24-year-old will come back fighting though. He says that in four years time “you’ll see a different player” at the World Cup.
Who is piling on the pressure now, Fergie?
Tags: Alex Ferguson, Betting Site, Coincidence, Cristiano Ronaldo, Expectation, Favourites, Four Games, Free Bet, Heavyweights, Kaka, Lionel, Manchester United, Online Bet, Ronaldo, Sir Alex Ferguson, Top Scorer, Wayne Rooney, World Cup Campaign, World Football, Wrong Way
Liverpool midfielder tips England for success
With the World Cup closing in, many fans, pundits and players are having their say on who they think will win the tournament. This includes Liverpool midfielder Yossi Benayoun who has put England down as his World Cup favourites.
The Israel international, who has played in the Premier League for West Ham and Liverpool, is of the opinion that England have always had the players to be victorious, but now they also have the ideal manager in Fabio Capello.
He says that he has England as favourites, not just because it is where he plays his football, but because “they have very good players” who are performing at their best under Capello.
This does seem to be the general opinion. If the current crop of England players are to win the World Cup, it is going to be with a manager as good as Capello. Basically, all the ingredients are there for this team to do it and the World Cup odds make them third favourites for glory.
However, this has been the case on many occasions before. England have always possessed some of the best players in the world, but have still come up short. Fans will just have to hope the Capello factor plays its part. Can he get this team performing to their best under the pressure of the world stage?
After all, you don’t get too many better central defence partnerships than John Terry and Rio Ferdinand and you don’t get too many better left backs than Ashley Cole. There aren’t too many midfielders in the world with more talent and success than Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.
Finally, there isn’t a striker in the world more in form than Wayne Rooney, look in any betting guide and he’ll be one of the strongest tips for top scorer this time around.
Then there are a few of the emerging players that could step up their game to help the more established players. Glen Johnson, James Milner and Jermaine Defoe have all excelled in the Premier League, but can they shine on the biggest stage of all?
England fans everywhere, as well as Benayoun for the sake of his prediction, will be hoping a bit of Italian magic can turn England’s nearly men into champions of the world.
Tags: Ashley Cole, Betting Guide, Central Defence, England Fans, England Players, Fabio Capello, Glen Johnson, Israel International, James Milner, Jermaine Defoe, John Terry, Midfielders, Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard, Top Scorer, Wayne Rooney, West Ham, World Cup Favourites, World Cup Odds, Yossi Benayoun