Fallon's great value. I thought he was the talisman of our cup campaign. I was a bit ratty when Ricki pulled him against Paraguiay. Would have liked to have seen him Wood and Smeltz on together...he was still winning plenty ofball in the air, which Wood didn't quite do. Would have liked to see Wood and Smeltz playing off him all that last half. He had the habit of turning up with something. Says mad sh*te, but hey i don't care if he always plays his heart out.
Thought he was actually a bit sh*t at the world cup. Didn't react well to how the other teams dealt with him. He didn't adapt at all. Personally, I thought he spent more time getting pulled up than winning the ball.
I don't really have time for him. In saying that, his work off the field with the kids in S.A was exceptional.
Harsh. He was very good against Bahrain, in the WC lead up games and then against Slovakia. Italy were so fearful of his and Killen's aerial dominance that they adopted the preconceived tactic of screaming and diving whenever either challenged for the high ball. A cooperative ref responded to their theatrics and they were both thereafter rendered ineffective. Paraguay naturally applied the same tactic with the same result.
Quite how Fallon, or Killen for that matter, should've adapted to this I'm not sure. Ricki didn't put them in there for their dribbling skills or speed - their ability in the air was the key to his strategy going forward.