It shouldnt come as a disappointment anymore for England supporters. A.J. Derby Jersey . They are used to this. Losing. It isnt underachieving when the team isnt good enough. This is as good as it gets. Whenever Englands Brazilian journey comes to an end (they havent been eliminated, yet) the diehard support and those responsible for overseeing English football will hold on to the positive moments. Flashes of ability and promise are what constitute hope. "They werent that bad" is excused as progress. The play of the likes of Sturridge and Sterling, and the futures of Barkley and Shaw will be used as evidence brighter days ahead. Yawn. Weve heard this before. Weve done this song and dance. The days of a semi-final shoot-out loss in Italia 90 are long gone. Lets not go back to 1966. The failures have piled on, one less painful than the next. Success would be a surprise. Losses to more intelligent and superior football nations are the expectation. The English should be immune from the feeling of devastation or outrage. From a Golden Generation not good enough, to the likes of Rooney, Lampard and Gerrard who have failed to capture the imagination. Its a vicious cycle of mediocrity. A 2-1 loss to Uruguay is just the latest chapter. England was poor. Nothing new. The how it happened is what drives home the obvious. Too weak in too many areas and lacking true top talent to break down their competition. Out-managed. Out-witted. Out-classed. Uruguay only completed a pathetic 64 per cent of passes. The South Americans struggled in build up and were content to sit back. It was an astute page out of Italys book from Englands opening match; sit-back and force England to break you down. Dont get beat for speed. And counter-attack. Thats what Uruguay did, and credit for executing. They got stuck in and remained organized. Forget basic statistics telling you England dominated possession with Uruguay on the back-foot. It was calculated. It worked to perfection. A basic approach against a basic team. Simple. The game winning goal incredibly came directly from the Uruguayan goalkeeper Fernando Muslera. A ball put on the ground and a long ball played out. Simple to defend, right? Apparently not. Edinson Cavani dropped deep all match to expose long-in-the-tooth Steven Gerrard sitting on top of the England backline. For what the England captain has in experience, he lacks in legs because of the kilometers accumulated. Cavanis aerial challenge of Gerrard forced a wayward header backwards from the England midfielder. Luis Suarez, as proper poachers do, tucked in behind the backline looking for an advantage. He gambled and he won, as Gary Cahill got caught. Suarez was clinical in finish and again showed his special talent. A game breaker and match winner, something England doesnt have. Likewise on Suarez opener, he exposed Englands backline. The Uruguayan number nine did well to create the needed space on the far post behind Phil Jagielka. The ball played to Suarez by Cavani was all-world. But it was two Uruguayan players on six England defenders. Nobody put pressure on the ball. And to leave Suarez lurking on the far post wasnt good enough. Not to mention is was a missed tackle by Gerrard in the midfield, leading to the attack. Two England centre-backs and two mistakes leading to goals conceded. Cahill and Jagielka are experienced at the position, at least at the club level. They are the best in the country at the position and they were exposed. The best England has at an all-important position and not good enough. Its the same story at the other end of the field. Not good enough. Wayne Rooney and Daniel Sturridge are more than fine players. They are very good. But they are not at the same levels of other top forwards in this tournament, let alone not the top forwards on their own club teams. Therein is the difference. The likes of Rooney and Sturridge require real substance around them to be at their best, and thats fine. They are better the complimentary piece rather than the focus at this level. When played appropriately, they can shine. In this England team, their play often times is representative of the whole. These are the best England has and they are not good enough. The midfield, a make-shift, comprised of decent parts with no direction on how its supposed to work. Jordan Henderson had a fine season on a good attacking Liverpool team. Yet something suggests he has the makings of becoming the next Sinclair, Wright-Phillips, Mills, or Parker – take your pick of the long list of players youll ask, "Did he really play for England?" Is he really the best England really has? The rest of the midfield is all over the place. The left-side exposed defensively and the movement in attack not creative or consistent. Passing the ball around without purpose wont break down a back line. Its no surprise this area of the field is stagnant and lacks influence. And the manager, oh the manager. Roy Hodgson saw fit to keep Englands double-pivot of Gerrard and Henderson on the field in a game begging for attacking players to breakdown the Uruguayan defensive wall. Comically, two holding players were preferable to keeping on Sterling or Welbeck, or even throwing on a Rickie Lambert until after England went down. The options at Hodgson arent flattering. But neither were the tactics. The very least Hodgson could have done was shuffle the deck. Bring off a defensive midfielder or ineffective wing-back in preference of another attacking player. Change the shape. Instead, the end result of a cautious approach was not good enough. Some will suggest Ashley Cole and Jermain Defoe should have been in the England set-up. Leighton Baines has struggled and another forward option off the bench could have proved decisive. Arguments can be made but how much of a difference they would have made most likely would have been negligible. It made more sense to include Michael Carrick in the squad as a holding midfielder able to provide distribution. But then again, this is a country deeming Paul Scholes not a proper fit to be an England regular over the course of his career. The best England had, but not good enough? Theres a pattern here. Selection issues are nothing new. But no matter who dons the England kit, are they ever good enough? There have been phenomenal performances over the course of the first week of the World Cup, both by individuals and team. Honest assessment would tell the standard of football played by the true top football nations is a step beyond England. Its all very disturbing considering important players for the likes of Chile and Colombia (etc…) are buried in the League Championship, or in some cases not deemed good enough for even that. This should trouble the English to the core. But it wont. Overrating their own talent has become a past-time and feeds the beast. Criticism and finding scapegoats has become a past time. In reality, these are the best players they have. And they are not good enough. The Premier League is the most entertaining league in the world and the most popular. It is not the best. Englands best players are not even the top talent in their own domestic league. Taking a look in the mirror doesnt always cast a pretty reflection. But the look in the mirror is necessary. Acceptance is needed. This was a day England will never have a better context to beat a Uruguay team as such on a stage made for a statement performance. The weather was an ideal 14 degrees Celsius for the hardened English. The opponent was missing two of their preferred back-four. The star player was not 100 per cent. And Uruguays confidence was shaky coming off a shock 3-1 loss. England didnt let it slip away. They were incapable of seizing the moment. It is possible England can still advance from the group stage, even though a team losing their first two games at a World Cup has never done so. Italy must beat Costa Rica then Uruguay, and England will need a comprehensive victory over the Ticos to have superior goal differential. But really, would that constitute success? Squeaking by would be as good as it gets for a team not good enough. Shelby Harris Jersey . Miralem Pjanic dribbled through the defence to score an extraordinary goal in the 43rd minute at the Stadio Olimpico and Gervinho added another from a rebound in the 65th for Romas ninth straight victory — ending Milans five-match winning streak. Emmanuel Sanders Jersey . 1. CAVALIERS: At 19-20, theyre a mess. Watched the game Tuesday night vs. Phoenix and their defence was poor (107 points and 52 per cent for Suns). Where is the high level play from Kyrie Irving and LeBron James (13 turnovers!)? Kevin Love looks like a man thats wondering what he got himself into.INDIANAPOLIS - Klay Thompson seized the moment twice Tuesday night. With a victory seemingly slipping away late in the third quarter, his quick scoring flurry helped Golden State regain control early in the fourth. Then, when it seemed the Warriors wouldnt be able to hold off Indianas late charge, he knocked down a 12-foot turnaround jumper with 0.6 seconds to go, giving the Warriors a rare 98-96 victory in Indianapolis. "Well take any win we can get in this building," Thompson said. "This team is real good here. Theyre the best in the NBA (at home). To come here and get a win, its huge, especially on this road trip." Thompson was terrific in his dramatic closing act. He started the quarter by making his first three shots and finished with 16 of his 25 points over the final 12 minutes — none bigger than the baseline fadeaway he hit over George Hill. For the Warriors (37-24), it was a monumental victory. They have won five of six and are 6-2 since the All-Star break. They have matched last seasons road victory total (19), the first time theyve achieved the feat in back-to-back seasons since 1970-71 and 1971-72, and they snapped a six-game losing streak in Indy that dated to Feb. 5, 2007. The victory also gives Golden State the distinction of being the only team in the league this season with wins at Miami, the two-time defending league champion, and at Indiana, which owns the leagues best record and best home record (29-4). The Warriors can thank Thompson for bailing them out after blowing a 13-point lead with less than 6 1/2 minutes to go. "He was great," Golden State coach Mark Jackson said. "Hes durable and you take him for granted. Hes a guy whos never missed a game. He was big-time." It was a stinging loss for the Pacers (46-14), who had won five straight and could have clinched a playoff spot in front of a sellout crowd. Paul George had 12 points and eight rebounds in the first quarter. He finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds, missing a potential go-ahead 3-pointer with 23.9 seconds left and the 29-foot buzzer beater that would have won it as he fell into the scorers table. David West had 27 points and seven rebounds. Yet the leagues top-ranked defence allowed Golden State to shoot 44 per ceent from the field and make 10 of 20 3s — the latest uncharacteristic showing against the NBAs third-best team in defending the arc. Justin Simmons Jersey. The only good thing was that the Pacers didnt lose any ground in the chase for the top seed in the East. Theyre still two games ahead of Miami after the Heat lost at Houston. But West knows the Pacers cant continue to rely on beating up bad teams and cranking up the intensity when necessary. "Mentally, weve got to be way tougher than we are because its time, you know, its just time," West said. "Its just not something that you can just say a week before the playoffs, say, OK. Youve got to work your way into it. But as a group, its time. Weve got a tough three-game trip coming up and its just time." The Warriors sure made things tough on the Pacers. They took a 10-8 first-quarter lead and didnt give it up until Lance Stephenson scored on a layup that made it 56-54 with 7:29 left in the third. Golden State started pulling away again with an 8-0 run late in the third, then fended off another Indiana spurt that got the Pacers to 73-70 after three. Thats when Thompson got involved. After making two free throws, he hit an 18-footer, a 3 and a 16-footer to give Golden State an 84-74 lead. When he hit his third 3 with 6:23 to go, the lead was 92-79 and the Pacers appeared to be doomed. "They caused us to protect the basket, which was a chain reaction to kick the ball out and shoot open 3s," George said. Indiana came right back. West, George and Roy Hibbert accounted for all the points in a 12-0 run that suddenly tied the score at 94 with 2:13 to go. But the Warriors regained the lead on David Lees layup and, after George tied it at 96 with 1:06 left, he missed an open 3. Thompson then hit the go-ahead basket and the Warriors celebrated as Georges potential winner was short. "It felt great. To hit that shot, Im not going to lie, it felt great," Thompson said. "I proved to people I can make that shot and I wanted that shot." NOTES: Stephen Curry had 19 points for the Warriors but did not score in the fourth quarter. ... Stephenson had 12 points, nine rebounds and three assists for Indiana. ... Golden State was 14 of 21 from the free throw line. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL T-shirts From China Cheap NFL Black JerseysWholesale Black NFL Jerseys China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys ' ' '