England National football team thread

[Lee1981]

Another England match

Same old crap, can't pass, don't look like scoring, Gerrard spraying long balls everywhere, Wilshire fouling everyone.

Can't believe how bad we are, no doubt we will nick a goal and scrape a 1-0, then it will be the same old "we worked our socks off" "a win is a win",, yeah yeah whatever you cant paper over the cracks with this team

 

[MasterBlaster76]

This is the type of game where you have to try and grind out a result - it was never going to be pretty. A draw from this game would be a good result and that's what we're heading for.

Top of the group and it's in our own hands. Can't really ask for more than that at this stage.

 

[barmyarmy]

I think we could have asked for them to get a single shot on goal in 90 minutes that wasn't a Gerrard long-ranger.
Zero attacking threat + giving the ball away too easily = same old England

 

[Lee1981]

This is the type of game where you have to try and grind out a result - it was never going to be pretty. A draw from this game would be a good result and that's what we're heading for.

Top of the group and it's in our own hands. Can't really ask for more than that at this stage.

This post represents everything wrong with our national game.

We were awful, worse than I've seen in the past 2 years, were playing Ukraine, not Spain or Germany

Scraping our way through to another World Cup, yeah great well done.

We didn't play for a draw we are just not good enough to beat average teams like Ukraine,

 

[War]

Hodgson missed a great chance as i mentioned before to back a young talent like Townsend or Sterling in this atmosphere instead of predictably and frustratingly playing Milner.

Ukraine as most pundits noted was always going to start at 100 miles an hour, but there was enough evidence that if ENG had pace on both flanks instead of only Walcott - Ukraine would have been pushed back.

But this game doesn't deserve any serious analysis - ENG play like this most of the time. However Wilshire wasn't as dynamic in the middle - lack of match fitnesss could be problem since he hasn't been him 100% usual self for Arsenal this season to date either.

ENG just need better luck with injuries to key players. It always is our achillies heel - since unfortunately don't have the depth to cover for certain players missing.

Once Rooney, Sturridge, Welbeck, Lennon are fit next month, i'm confident ENG will take care of Poland & Montenegro @ Wembley. A front 4 of Sturridge/Rooney/Welbeck/Walcott is an attack that has serious potential if they can be unleashed soon together.


However i'm not sure how long this Cahill/Jaigelka defensive pairing will last. Phil Jones playing central defence has to be seriously considered now, along with picking Michael Dawson more often.

 

[puddleduck]

My logic centre is expoding...

We have one of the best left backs in world football. Defensively he's kept the likes of Ronaldo quiet for 90 mins. So, in front of him we stick a defensive minded winger?

We have a defensively fallible right winger who has pace to burn. So we play a defensive liability with pace to burn behind him.

We have midfielders who excel in using the ball quickly and simply and feeding players who like to drift into space. So instead we play three midfielders who like to drift into space and use the ball in the final third.

We have a striker who is good at getting on the end of good crosses from the byline, so we play a left-winger who is right-footed and a right winger who doesn't really cross.


*boom*

As I said on facebook.

Not seen football look that ugly since Iain Dowie.

 

[barmyarmy]

I called it before the game; 0-0 with 1 shot on goal. Should have put money on it...

 

[puddleduck]

As a Scot, you've probably had a fairly enjoyable evening

 

[barmyarmy]

I support England at football. Brought up in London after all...

 

[puddleduck]

I suppose it could be worse. You could support Scotland?

 

[MasterBlaster76]

This post represents everything wrong with our national game.

We were awful, worse than I've seen in the past 2 years, were playing Ukraine, not Spain or Germany

Scraping our way through to another World Cup, yeah great well done.

We didn't play for a draw we are just not good enough to beat average teams like Ukraine,

Look - we're not suddenly going to improve in a great leap. Tonight, the result was all that mattered, and the one we got put us on top of the group, and put our fate back in our hands. What do you expect, Lee? We've been average at best for ages and we were average again tonight; in no way, shape or form am I saying that we played well tonight. But we got the result we needed. And no one said we played for a draw.

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I think we could have asked for them to get a single shot on goal in 90 minutes that wasn't a Gerrard long-ranger.
Zero attacking threat + giving the ball away too easily = same old England

Again, what did you expect? It'll be 'same old England' until something is done at grass roots level with coaching, and something is done about the dwindling supply of English players in the Premiership due to all the academies signing foreign kids!

My point is that tonight, with the team we have right now, we got a favourable result. We'll probably be humiliated again in Brazil if we get there, but not qualifying for a World Cup is simply not acceptable.

 

[War]

We have a defensively fallible right winger who has pace to burn. So we play a defensive liability with pace to burn behind him.

I'm actually surprised at how vulnerable Walker was defensively. At Spurs although he is obviously very solid going forward, he generally holds his own when defending, so i wasn't worried this would be a problem area.

I guess it shows how solid Glenn Johnson has become, because it was just a few years ago at the 2010 W/Cup that many people were lambasting Johnson for his defensive vulnerability. Since then Glenn has improved immensely for club & country in that area.

The more experience Walker gets playing full-back at international level, they better he will become like Johnson did, since he has all the basics you need in a modern full-back.

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Look - we're not suddenly going to improve in a great leap. Tonight, the result was all that mattered, and the one we got put us on top of the group, and put our fate back in our hands. What do you expect, Lee? We've been average at best for ages and we were average again tonight; in no way, shape or form am I saying that we played well tonight. But we got the result we needed. And no one said we played for a draw.

Unfortunately MB Sir Lee is a bit boring. He comes into this thread and posts as if we all are delusional ENG supporters who aren't well aware of our problems and limitations that has been happening for the last 43 years.

 

[War]

Roy Hodgson forced to defend 'woeful' England after Ukraine stalemate | Football | The Guardian

This time the former England international renewed his complaints on Twitter, asking: "What happens to some of these players when they pull on an England shirt? When you see England pass it like they've never been introduced to each other, it does make you wonder why [Michael] Carrick doesn't feature."

I see Mr Lineker & a few other stating in post game debate that Carrick should have started & going as far as suggested he would have made the mid-field tick better last night.

While i probably would have started him personally, Carrick in qualifiers vs Poland & Montenegro looked just as insipid as Gerrard/Lamps/Wilshire did tonight - that shouldn't be forgotten.

 

[Lee1981]

Unfortunately MB Sir Lee is a bit boring. He comes into this thread and posts as if we all are delusional ENG supporters who aren't well aware of our problems and limitations that has been happening for the last 43 years.

So your aware of our limitations but yet refuse to ever be truthful and criticise our pathetic performances

I don't dispute the result in fairness was a "good result" given the current group standings

However performance wise there was nothing to praise except Cahill, i thought he defended great,

We were awful absolutely shocking, now as normal you can blame injuries, now that is "boring" as you like say, if we had Sturridge, Rooney, playing does that mean all of a sudden the rest of team are gonna be able to pass the ball to each other, not spray long balls everywhere,

It's been proven the past 7 years or so we cannot keep the ball, the very basic skill, that my friend is not me being a "bore" that is the truth

 

[War]

So your aware of our limitations but yet refuse to ever be truthful and criticise our pathetic performances

I don't dispute the result in fairness was a "good result" given the current group standings

However performance wise there was nothing to praise except Cahill, i thought he defended great,

We were awful absolutely shocking, now as normal you can blame injuries, now that is "boring" as you like say, if we had Sturridge, Rooney, playing does that mean all of a sudden the rest of team are gonna be able to pass the ball to each other, not spray long balls everywhere,

It's been proven the past 7 years or so we cannot keep the ball, the very basic skill, that my friend is not me being a "bore" that is the truth

Well please tell me at which period in the history of three lions have we ever had tremendous depth like the current Spain team, France of 98-2000, many great Brazil teams, the current German team, Germany of 72-76 etc etc - that ENG can lose a certain amount of key players & yet find a way to win?

I'll save you the research and let you know it has never been the case. ENG have always had very few top players mixed among a few decent ones & if big stars goes missing - we can't handle it. That has been the case since 1970 & its certainly worse now with less than 35% of the players in the premiership English.

Everyone with a brain knew losing all the aforementioned players before the Ukraine was always going to mean ENG were going to play a typical cagey game where we would struggle to pass the ball. If you have been watching ENG long enough you would have seen this movie before - so what is the use regurgitating the same criticism of the team over & over whenever ENG plays predictably badly Mr Lee?

These problems ENG have wont go away in these qualifiers nor if we get to Brazil. Its going to go away when a complete overhaul as everyone know of English football happens from the grassroots up.

Just do as i do, watch the game & don't get your hopes up when ENG play. Unless you totally fed up & want to renounce your citizenship & support another country, ENG is the only national team you me & others here on this forum can support. So ease down the rhetoric will ya...