Aceshowbiz : Soccer fan Noel Gallagher has lashed out at England's star players for the team's lackluster performance in the World Cup.
The former Oasis star admits he was disappointed by his national team, who were sent home from South Africa following a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Germany and he's picking on the players he feels let the side down.
Speaking to the BBC ahead of Sunday's final between Spain and the Netherlands, which the rocker attended, he fired off about Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard, Jr.
He said, "He (Rooney) played like he's been hypnotized in the tunnel before and somebody had whispered in his ear, 'See the round thing, when you get out there, you'll never have seen one of them before and you won't know what to do with it'."
"At the end of the day, they (England) are not good enough. Next season, when I'm watching TV, I don't want to hear about Wayne Rooney or Frank Lampard being world class. World class means coming to a tournament like this and pulling it off on the world stage and they've never done it. Are there many English world-class players? I don't think so."
And Gallagher's soccer remarks should be heard - he correctly tipped Spain to win the World Cup at the beginning of 2010.
Former Oasis star Noel Gallagher has tipped favourites Spain to win Sunday's World Cup final against the Netherlands.
The 43-year-old Manchester City fan is attending Sunday's final at Soccer City in Johannesburg.
Gallagher told BBC Radio 5 live he believes "the Spanish are the best team in the world.
"Since the year leading up to the European Championships and subsequently from that they have been amazing."
Gallagher highlighted midfield as the area in which the game will be won for Spain, who will have the world class Barcelona pairing of Xavi and Andres Iniesta up against Holland's largely defensive duo of Nigel de Jong and Mark van Bommel.
"The key part of the pitch is can De Jong and Van Bommel stop Iniesta and and Xavi doing the business," said Gallagher. "De Jong plays at Man City and he's a stopper. Van Bommel, he's just destruction on legs. But the Spanish players face that a lot in the Champions League. I think it will be won and lost in the midfield."
Gallagher also believes that although it is right for Fabio Capello to continue as England boss in the short term following the national side's lacklustre showing in South Africa, there should be a change at the top soon.
"I think England desperately need an English manager," explained Gallagher. "They have to get Harry Redknapp sooner or later. He seems to be the only person who could inspire the players to play."
Gallagher was particularly unimpressed with the performance of Wayne Rooney, who failed to score a single goal in South Africa as England were eliminated in the second round courtesy of a 4-1 defeat by Germany.
"He played like he'd been hypnotised in the tunnel before and somebody had whispered in his ear, 'see the round thing, when you get out there you'll never have seen one of them before and you won't know what to do with it'," said Gallagher.
606: DEBATE
My heart really wants Netherlands to win, the head says Spain will win
What_Would_Clough_do
"At the end of the day they are not good enough. Next season when I'm watching TV I don't want to hear about Wayne Rooney or Frank Lampard being world class - because you can be world class against Wigan or Sunderland or Tottenham.
"World class means coming to a tournament like this and pulling it off on the world stage and they've never done it. Are there many English world class players? I don't think so."
It is the second time in a row Gallagher has attended the World Cup final.
Four years ago, in Japan and South Korea, he became a lucky mascot for the Italian side after he became friends with striker Alessandro Del Piero.
Gallagher quit the rock band Oasis, which he formed in 1991 with brother Liam, in August 2009 claiming he could no longer work with his sibling, with whom he has shared a fractious relationship.
They had eight UK number one singles and amassed 15 NME Awards, five Brit Awards, nine Q Awards and four MTV Europe Music Awards.
In February 2007, Oasis received the Brit Award for outstanding contribution to music
Oasis have scored the UK album chart's 900th number one this week with their Time Flies... singles collection LP.
The band, who split up last year, were given their eighth album triumph in their illustrious career, selling almost four times as many copies as Glee's Journey To Regionals, which was also a new entry in second place
1 Time Flies 1994 2009 - Oasis Oasis Time Flies 1994 2009 new entry | 1 weeks in chart | Big Brother
2 Glee The Music Journey To Regionals - Glee Cast Glee Cast Glee The Music Journey To Regionals new entry | 1 weeks in chart | Epic
3 Crazy Love - Michael Buble Michael Buble Crazy Love non-mover | 35 weeks in chart | Reprise
4 The Very Best Of - Glenn Miller Glenn Miller The Very Best Of up 4 | 3 weeks in chart | Sony Music
5 In The Mood - Raf Squadronaires Raf Squadronaires In The Mood up 2 | 3 weeks in chart | Decca
MTV Claims Not All Oasis Hits Created Equal - Huh?
Oasis' Time Flies Proves Not All Hits Are Created Equal
On Tuesday (June 15), the most definitive set of hits from now-defunct English stadium-fillers Oasis hits stores. The two-disc Time Flies ... 1994-2009 brings together 27 tracks, all of which could theoretically be referred to as "hits." If there's anything that this particular compilation drives home, it's that Oasis were one of the most bipolar acts in recent rock history. They seemed to either be creating era-defining epics or sub-filler terribleness, with scarcely a point in between. Truly in the world of Oasis, not all hits are created equal.
That's why we've taken those 27 tracks, ranked them and broken them up into tiers, so when you pick up your copy of Time Flies, you know exactly which songs to keep and which songs to trash.
Tier One
"Supersonic"
"Wonderwall"
"Some Might Say"
"Live Forever"
"Don't Look Back in Anger"
For all of their bluster, Noel and Liam Gallagher occasionally lived up to the hype they often created for themselves. These five tracks absolutely belong on the list of the greatest rock songs ever to come out of the United Kingdom. Note that all of these come from the band's first two albums (1994's Definitely Maybe and 1995's (What's the Story) Morning Glory?), and "Don't Look Back in Anger" is ranked lowest because, although most of their best songs cribbed from the Beatles (among other sources), it borrows a bit too heavily from John Lennon's "Imagine."
Tier Two
"Roll With It"
"Whatever"
"Cigarettes and Alcohol"
"Shakermaker"
"Go Let It Out"
These five tunes aren't as legendary as "Supersonic" or "Wonderwall," but they are most certainly among the group's best songs and can proudly stand next to the legends with their metaphorical heads held high. This time, the majority of the songs come from the first two albums, though the lead single from 2000's Standing on the Shoulders of Giants makes a strong play to be considered among the greats.
Tier Three
"Stand By Me"
"D'You Know What I Mean?"
"Lyla"
"Champagne Supernova"
"Little By Little"
The third tier songs are all strong songs with at least one key flaw in each: "Stand By Me" is lovely but over-produced (as is most of 1997's Be Here Now, the album it comes from); "D'You Know What I Mean?" is a tough-sounding track that gets a bit too noisy at the end; "Lyla" is the band's best impression of a Kinks tune undone only by its repetitiveness; "Champagne Supernova" is a nice little psychedelic tune that unfortunately overstays its welcome by about four minutes; and "Little by Little" is nice but so anonymous that it blends in with a lot of the band's latter-day singles. Nobody minds when these songs pop up during live sets, but there can't be very many people who go to see Oasis play specifically for these tracks.
Tier Four
"All Around the World"
"Stop Crying Your Heart Out"
"Let There Be Love"
"Who Feels Love?"
"The Shock of the Lightning"
The fourth tier is full of songs that can be considered generally inoffensive. These are the sort of songs that you don't skip when you're listening to their respective albums, but only because the deep cuts aren't nearly as good.
Tier Five
"The Hindu Times"
"Lord Don't Slow Me Down"
"The Importance of Being Idle"
"She Is Love"
"I'm Outta Time"
"Falling Down"
"Songbird"
Most of these tunes are from late period Oasis, a period that saw the band cycle through group members and chase its tail in an effort to stay afloat. If you're a casual fan, there's a good chance you've never heard these tunes, and while none of them are truly terrible, they definitely could have been left off of Time Flies.
Tier Six
"Rock 'n' Roll Star"
"Slide Away"
"Talk Tonight"
"Force of Nature"
"Where Did It All Go Wrong?"
"Part of the Queue"
These are all the top-shelf Oasis songs not included on Time Flies. Not all of them were singles, but there seems to be no excuse to ignore "Rock 'n' Roll Star." Also, "Talk Tonight" was a b-side to "Wonderwall" and was included on the 1998 compilation The Masterplan — itself a stunning album even though it's made up entirely of (theoretically) throwaways.
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