Weekend Internationals

I think Maarten Stekelenburg is a solid keeper, strong reflexes, sound basics and handling.

But, going through the Ajax GK school, I find his footskills on the ball rather poor. His distribution is only average at best, and fluffs frequently at backpasses too.

From the UEFA Cup games I have seen of him, he has been rather shaky, and his positioning and presence in the box was questionable as well.

Perhaps a legitiamte successor to VDS, but I am sure Holland has better to offer.

I think the future of Dutch keeping is looking like Stekelenberg or Boy Waterman. I dont get to see much of Eredvise as i would like, but it seems like alot of the keepers in their are around 30 or over.

On the other hand i think German has got the best strength in depth when it comes to goalkeeping. Lehmann, Hildebrand, Wiese, Wiedenfellen, Enke, Neuer and the kid from   Bayer Lev who's name escapes me. Auer or something? You stick any 3 of them in a squad and it would be as good as most countries could offer with their first choice.

Although the French pool of keepers is also strong. Coupet, Landreau, Frey, Carasso, Pele

Is it just me or does it seem that International goalkeepers are picked out of routine?  And not down to form, especially with back ups. For example how does Reina get in the Spain squad ahead of Valdes and Palop?

As for England, less said the better i guess. I think Stuart Peace or Aidy Boothroyd are future managers, but until they are ready, we should of got the best man for the job, which was either Phil Scolari or Gus Hiddink. They messed up by naming the manager before the world up, which scared off the best managers at the time, because they were already in posts. Thus we ended up with Second Place Steve Mc Clown.

So far, Tim Krul of Newcastle has impressed me the most, I find he has greater potential than Stekelenburg. He needs regular first team action and some buffing up though.

Germany does indeed have a luxury problem in the GK department. Lehmann, Enke, Hildebrand are easily my 3 choices for the Nat. Team. With Jentzsch, Weidenfeller and Wiese waiting for their chances. Rene Adler and Manuel Neuer have been brilliant in the games they've played so far, and if they continue to do so over the next few seasons, than they'll be pushing for a spot as well.

I do not get to see Reina play often, but I love the way Palop plays, he's ultra dynamic and commands his area well. Sound handling, does his job with ease and unspectacularly. It's a puzzle how he's not in the Nat. Team.

But knowing the Spanish coach, I am pretty convinced that players are not nominated according to their playing form.

Concerning England, it's like one of my British friends said when talking about the game:

"If you have Peyton Manning and Tom Brady on the same team, you're not going to start one at QB and the other  at RB or WR. You're going to only play one at a time."

I could not agree more with this. Yes from top to bottom they may have the most talented XI in the world, but when players are playing out of position, or playing with guys they have no chemistry with, then it's completely pointless.

Oh, what about Rensing for DFB?

I have absolutely no problem agreeing with Chewie on the fact that Landon Donovan is less than stellar. He seems to be lacking the key element that all men have that defines us as men. His sad excuse for cojones are obvious when we try to think of who in the world passes up opportunities to play abroad to come home to mommy and the MLS. Strap a pair on, for the love of Allah.

I agree with Chewie and electrickeeper, you can't play Lampard and Gerrard at the same time, they end up getting in each others way. But who do you play?

I also don't think Crouch and Rooney work that well together either. But I don't think Andy Johnson is the solution either.

I just don't think England have found the right combination of players in the right formation with the right manager yet. Will they ever? We'll see.

I also think that Donovan plays great when he's not under pressure, hence the stellar performances in unimportant games. He will never live up to his potential by staying in CA and I hate to say it, but he will never be able to truly lead the US team in major international competitions.

The "real" US players are bettering themselves abroad and that experience will show when the World Cup comes around. I love the MLS but like ALOT of other countries in the world, the best players have to go to Europe and prove themselves there. That is the only way to truly prove themselves.

I have quite a different take on England, one I hope will not be offensive to our English friends: some of the players, even big-name ones, just aren't that good. Specifically, Lampard.

At club level he's a success, because Makelele does all the hard running and defending, allowing him to go forward and shoot at will. He scores his fair share of goals (and a fair share of them are deflected), Chelsea won two league titles, so he finishes runner-up in the European Player of the Year. This is patently ridiculous, as he is nowhere near that good.

Ashley Cole is fast, strong, athletic, and good going forward, but is not really much of a defender. There is not a natural left-sided midfielder, and Joe Cole is essentialy the only flair player in the side. I wouldn't want to criticise Paul Robinson in a goalkeeping forum, suffice to say he is a very good keeper, but far from the best in his own league, let alone the world. There is simply no way they are the world's most talented XI. They are one of the world's most FAMOUS XIs, but that, as the World Cup showed, is a very different thing.