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England keeper David James blames tight marking for Wayne Rooney's inability to sparkle at World Cup 2010
United man was well contained...
29 Jun 2010 08:32:00
By Zack Wilson
England goalkeeper David James feels that the opposition prevented Manchester United star Wayne Rooney from showing his full ability at the World Cup this summer.
Many observers had seemed to feel that Rooney's problems with his form might be down to a lack of sharpness due to his carrying an injury, but James maintains that fitness was not an issue.
"I didn't notice a lack of fitness. We did some shooting the day before the game and he was smashing them past me. I was hoping that would be replicated in the game," the Portsmouth keeper told reporters.
"The trouble for Wayne in this tournament was that all the opposition expected him to be the danger man and they did what they could to nullify his offensive capabilities.
"You have to give credit to the opposition. Teams know how good he is. They did all they could to stop him from playing. He wasn't given freedom and against Germany there were times when he had to come deep to pick the ball up.
"If he has to do that, then he's not getting the joy up front. That has to be credit to the opposition and the way they nullify him."
James also pinpointed Frank Lampard's disallowed goal as the turning point in the defeat by Germany on Sunday in Bloemfontein.
"Given that we were putting them under a lot of pressure at the time it would have put us on parity. We would have gone in at half-time in much more positive mood," he explained.
"This has obviously changed the game. At 2-2 of course we are on the up. It would have been a much different story in the second half.
"There were possibly two people on that pitch who didn't see that ball go over the line - the referee and the linesman. You do not need technology for that.
"The frustration is that we defended well and they have scored three goals on counter-attacks which has killed the game."
The 40-year-old also confirmed that there had been little recrimination in the England camp after their exit from the tournament, just a lot of disappointment and unhappiness.
"There is not a lot he [Capello] can say. You can start having a go at people or whatever but we are going home. He was not happy - just not happy," he added.
"No-one is going to start venting anger at anyone because as a squad we've got knocked out at a stage we didn't want to get knocked out at.
"A couple of vital moments like the goal that was not allowed and Germany's brilliance at counter-attacking football made the difference."
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Many observers had seemed to feel that Rooney's problems with his form might be down to a lack of sharpness due to his carrying an injury, but James maintains that fitness was not an issue.
"I didn't notice a lack of fitness. We did some shooting the day before the game and he was smashing them past me. I was hoping that would be replicated in the game," the Portsmouth keeper told reporters.
"The trouble for Wayne in this tournament was that all the opposition expected him to be the danger man and they did what they could to nullify his offensive capabilities.
"You have to give credit to the opposition. Teams know how good he is. They did all they could to stop him from playing. He wasn't given freedom and against Germany there were times when he had to come deep to pick the ball up.
"If he has to do that, then he's not getting the joy up front. That has to be credit to the opposition and the way they nullify him."
James also pinpointed Frank Lampard's disallowed goal as the turning point in the defeat by Germany on Sunday in Bloemfontein.
"Given that we were putting them under a lot of pressure at the time it would have put us on parity. We would have gone in at half-time in much more positive mood," he explained.
"This has obviously changed the game. At 2-2 of course we are on the up. It would have been a much different story in the second half.
"There were possibly two people on that pitch who didn't see that ball go over the line - the referee and the linesman. You do not need technology for that.
"The frustration is that we defended well and they have scored three goals on counter-attacks which has killed the game."
The 40-year-old also confirmed that there had been little recrimination in the England camp after their exit from the tournament, just a lot of disappointment and unhappiness.
"There is not a lot he [Capello] can say. You can start having a go at people or whatever but we are going home. He was not happy - just not happy," he added.
"No-one is going to start venting anger at anyone because as a squad we've got knocked out at a stage we didn't want to get knocked out at.
"A couple of vital moments like the goal that was not allowed and Germany's brilliance at counter-attacking football made the difference."
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