World Cup 2018

[47er]

13 hours ago, islander200 said:

Croatia played poorly against Denmark but if they play to their potential  then they have every chance of beating England. Might have to start both Henderson and Dier in that game can't afford Rakitic and Modric to dominate the ball and control the game 

I fancy Croatia to make the final.

[Mike E]

Looks like quite a number of posters on this site may be proven right:

We should've taken Shelvey.

[RevidgeBlue]

9 hours ago, speeeeeeedie said:

You've done nothing but moan and groan about England. You need to give it a rest. We are through to the last 8. Enjoy it.  

I wish people would take off their England tinted specs and give it a rest telling me to give it a rest. We were poor last night, didn't muster a shot on target in 120 mins and were the width of a crossbar in the penalties away from a tame exit.

Still we got away with it and I'm as pleased as the next man.

Kane and Maguire were awesome last night, proper players and real men as opposed to a lot of the others who look like silly little lads running about at times.

Surely we have to lose Sterling out of the starting line up, he's atrocious.

 

[roversfan99]

16 hours ago, AdamRochina said:

Alli is abysmal..he seriously needs to come off!

 

17 hours ago, roverandout said:

Sterling been pathetic as usual

 

17 hours ago, roverandout said:

Its a red effin card..more decisions go against us

 

15 hours ago, AdamRochina said:

Lingard Alli and sterling should never ever put on an England shirt again .. some players just can't handle international stage and those three can't.. awful tonight ..we've looked awful up top and created nothing   scored from a penalty and sat back and tbh did well to contain them as they were awful.

 

Cant believe we might go out to these cheating dirty buggers 

 

15 hours ago, roverandout said:

We had them on the f/%^n ropes..they lost their heads and instead of going for the kill we let them back into it we defended..we cant defend well enough for 90 mins..southgates tactics has cost us. We have lost this now

 

15 hours ago, AdamRochina said:

Think we should just go home tbh been pathetic most of this game now . Attacking sense that it as defensively we were actually decent until there goal 

 

15 hours ago, AdamRochina said:

In 120 minutes we created nothing ..

Japan battered a better Belgium side and scored twice 

We just haven't got a clue up top

 

15 hours ago, AdamRochina said:

Robbed .. that's all I can say 

Some of my favourite retrospective overractions.

[RevidgeBlue]

50 minutes ago, 47er said:

I fancy Croatia to make the final.

Surely not sir. Don't be so treasonous. To the Tower with you and off with your head!!

[47er]

Just now, RevidgeBlue said:

Surely not sir. Don't be so treasonous. To the Tower with you and off with your head!!

BIT HARSH?!!!

Anyway I can see how supporting Russia could be regarded as treasonable but why Croatia? They haven't poisoned anyone have they?

Edited July 4, 2018 by 47er

[OJRovers]

England defended well last night, and Henderson and Kane kept it solid down the middle.

We're still carrying Ali, Sterling, Walker and Lingard (to a lesser extent) who aren't performing to their potential.

Sterling was picked by Guardiola 30 odd times last year and played in the best team in the country, yet he has been abysmal. Hopefully they will turn it on in the next round because we can't rely on penalties and set pieces.

[DE.]

Southgate has tried to be loyal to Sterling but it just isn't working. He's not clicking with his team mates and the amount of times he loses possession is a serious problem. We've got Rashford, Loftus-Cheek or Dier who could come in and replace Sterling, depending on how we want to play, so he's far from irreplaceable. Time to admit it isn't working and try something else. Sweden are a very compact team so I don't see Sterling being able to do much against them. 

[RevidgeBlue]

Just now, 47er said:

BIT HARSH?!!!

Anyway I can see how supporting Russia could be regarded as treasonable but why Croatia? They haven't poisoned anyone have they?

Sorry, it was a joke. It seems to be a hanging offence to say anything vaguely critical of England on here at the moment. You should know that we're going to bring the trophy home under the sage auspices of soon to be canonized Sir Gareth of Southgate.

[K-Hod]

Just now, DE. said:

Southgate has tried to be loyal to Sterling but it just isn't working. He's not clicking with his team mates and the amount of times he loses possession is a serious problem. We've got Rashford, Loftus-Cheek or Dier who could come in and replace Sterling, depending on how we want to play, so he's far from irreplaceable. Time to admit it isn't working and try something else. Sweden are a very compact team so I don't see Sterling being able to do much against them. 

I agree he's been poor 100%. He isn't the same player for England as he is for City.

However, at this tournament, Rashford hasn't been any better really. I don't know what to suggest, but I just hope our woeful lack of creativity in the middle of the park doesn't come back to bite us...

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Just now, K-Hod said:

I agree he's been poor 100%. He isn't the same player for England as he is for City.

However, at this tournament, Rashford hasn't been any better really. I don't know what to suggest, but I just hope our woeful lack of creativity in the middle of the park doesn't come back to bite us...

Hey, you can't say that. You need to get with the happy clappers or it'll be the Tower for you matey.

[K-Hod]

Just now, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Hey, you can't say that. You need to get with the happy clappers or it'll be the Tower for you matey.

Now I think folk are just being melodramatic with that! There's been loads of criticism of England! Some justified, some not. It seems very tough for many to give praise on here. 

I couldn't have enjoyed us winning last night any more and long may that winning feeling continue!

[DE.]

14 minutes ago, K-Hod said:

I agree he's been poor 100%. He isn't the same player for England as he is for City.

However, at this tournament, Rashford hasn't been any better really. I don't know what to suggest, but I just hope our woeful lack of creativity in the middle of the park doesn't come back to bite us...

I think it might be more the attempt to link the three behind Kane that's the problem. It's a lot to ask for any of the four of them to become a cohesive unit in a fairly fluid, passing system within the space of a few weeks. It might explain why we've only seen glimpses of potential compared to the consistency those players show for their clubs.

I still think Rashford (or even Vardy) keep the ball better than Sterling. One of the worst things you can do is needlessly give away possession whilst on the attack and Sterling has been doing it repeatedly. He either needs to make better decisions or be dropped. 

[jim mk2]

I'd still play Sterling because at his best he's one of the few with the ability beat a man and create chances. Ali for me is contributing little - he's clearly not fit and wasn't in great form for Spuds at the end of last season. With those 2 not firing and not much better on the bench (Delph, why?) it's little surprise England have looked so bereft of creativity. It was a serious mistake to leave Shelvey behind.

[DE.]

Ali doesn't appear to have been fully fit since he got injured against Tunisia and was then needlessly kept on the pitch for practically the entire match. 

Our creativity issue is more to do with shape than personnel. It's hard to be creative when you're leaving the middle of the park empty, negating the ability to slot in through balls. Instead we're constantly trying to cross the ball into the area because everybody is high up the pitch. It's little wonder almost all of our goals have been from set pieces. 

We've been lucky so far in that we have played teams with limited ability - with the exception of Belgium, and that match was basically an exhibition. If Sterling loses the ball against Croatia (assuming they beat Russia and we beat Sweden) and we've left a huge gap in midfield we will get punished. If Rodriguez was playing last night we would have been punished. 

I can see our match against Sweden being a pretty torrid affair in all honestly. One team who are still struggling to adapt their system and another whose entire style is essentially built on being rigid and defensive. Another 1-0 win from a set-piece could be on the cards. Or a loss in reverse. 

[Audax]

Sweden, 3rd place in the World Cup 2 times, when they hosted in 1958 and in USA 1994... in 1994, because of the way they had the brackets set up, Sweden played Brazil two times, in the group stage (1-1) and in the knockout rounds (semifinals, Brazil wins 1-0) . Shouldn't happen but did.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_FIFA_World_Cup

Competitive matches (no friendlies)

Euro 2012, England 3-2  Sweden

World Cup 2006, England 2-2 Sweden

World Cup 2002, England 1-1 Sweden

1998 Euro Cup qualifier, Sweden 2-1 England  (match report: https://us.soccerway.com/matches/1998/09/05/europe/european-championship-qualification/sweden/england/629144/?ICID=PL_MS_01 )

Euro 1992, hosted by Sweden,  Sweden 2-1 England   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_1992

Historically, they match up pretty well.  But I think Southgate proves his salt again. Honestly, I think we are in a new era....Gareth has a modern approach.

New era in the World Cup too, they'll be back, Italy and Netherlands but they aren't there this time.  You have quite a few teams you don't generally see in the final 8 while Portugal, Germany, Spain, Argentina, all knocked out.

In no way would I take Sweden lightly.  Historic record compares favourably.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 4, 2018 by Audax

[DaveyB]

13 hours ago, Mike E said:

I'm pleased particular that Kane is showing himself to be so much more than a mere 'striker'. Tonight he dropped deep to help dictate the play to Sterling, Vardy, and Rashford showing just what a real, proper footballer he is. Strong with a cool head too. Proper captain.

 

 

11 hours ago, philipl said:

I thought Kane dropping deep during extra time was magnificently disruptive particularly in the first half of ET when the Colombians had some momentum.

 

 

2 hours ago, OJRovers said:

Sterling was picked by Guardiola 30 odd times last year and played in the best team in the country, yet he has been abysmal. Hopefully they will turn it on in the next round because we can't rely on penalties and set pieces.

 

Strange how we can see things differently. Personally, I thought that Kane was playing far too deep and that that was at least part of the reason why we looked so disjointed and unthreatening. On a number of occasions we broke down the wings, or the side of the penalty area, and there was no one in the area for a cross - Kane was ambling around in the centre of the pitch instead for some unknown reason.

Yes, it meant that it looked like he personally had a decent game, with some nice touches and a couple of decent through balls, but I think it massively affected the team performance as a whole, in particular Sterling who often looked like he was playing up front on his own, having to try and play with his back to goal, backing into defenders, which definitely isn't his natural game and, when he did get hold of the ball, he had no one to pass to as the rest of the team were too deep. I don't know if it's an intentional tactical decision, but I think we'd look a lot better as a team if Kane was told to stick up front and try and bully the centre backs, and Sterling was allowed to drop a little bit and play just off him, getting the ball facing goal and able to run at defenders. 

[USABlue]

Sterling? Pfft, cocked up everything, could not beat a man final, ball, shot, pass always a fail.  Rather see Rashford.  I thought we did well till after the penalty then the Colombian players got in our heads.  Surprised they did not single out Alli given his history if being petulant.  Once we got to pens I figured that's it we are toast, then when Henderson missed I knew we were out.

How about that ref, no balls, bottler, wimp, pussy.  Should have been 2 red cards stemming from the penalty fracas.  A joke.

   We are in the quarters with a fair chance if semis so I'll take it.

[roverandout]

4 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Hey, you can't say that. You need to get with the happy clappers or it'll be the Tower for you matey.

Or the negative nellys who find giving any credit to england too much for them

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I'm just objective. I want us to win but I know what my eyes are telling me. Why fool yourself ? There are better teams out there that are still in it.

[DE.]

I think we're somewhere between the mega hype and the more negative viewpoints. We're a team who has a lot of potential, works hard and clearly has a strong team spirit. We've got an intelligent, young manager who seems to understand how to manage at international level, and in Harry Kane a genuine leader who scores goals (yes, penalties count) and scares opposition defenders. 

On the other hand we do have issues with our style of play being a work-in-progress, our defensive play is often lacking and as a result we can't seem to help but concede at least one goal per match. We also have the problem of our creative trio (Ali/Lingard/Sterling) not really producing against anybody except Panama so far. 

Getting to the semi finals with this team would be a very, very good achievement imo. Granted we've had the luck of the draw but a lot of big teams have crumbled against technically weaker opposition in this tournament. So far, we haven't. 

[AAK]

Makes me laugh, bet all the posters who are 'positive' about England, were part of the vast majority that jumped on the 'worst team weve ever had' bandwagon. Now we have got to a quarter their all over it, but yet people who have criticised even when the team has won are all fools. One extreme to the other with this country, lowest of the lowest confidence straight upto the we are going to win it, within 3 games won (one scraped, one againsta primary school team and one on a pennys) its disaster to euphoria. And thats allowed, but realists are negative and have spoken out of term and are idiots. 

[RevidgeBlue]

1 hour ago, DaveyB said:

 

 

 

Strange how we can see things differently. Personally, I thought that Kane was playing far too deep and that that was at least part of the reason why we looked so disjointed and unthreatening. On a number of occasions we broke down the wings, or the side of the penalty area, and there was no one in the area for a cross - Kane was ambling around in the centre of the pitch instead for some unknown reason.

Yes, it meant that it looked like he personally had a decent game, with some nice touches and a couple of decent through balls, but I think it massively affected the team performance as a whole, in particular Sterling who often looked like he was playing up front on his own, having to try and play with his back to goal, backing into defenders, which definitely isn't his natural game and, when he did get hold of the ball, he had no one to pass to as the rest of the team were too deep. I don't know if it's an intentional tactical decision, but I think we'd look a lot better as a team if Kane was told to stick up front and try and bully the centre backs, and Sterling was allowed to drop a little bit and play just off him, getting the ball facing goal and able to run at defenders. 

You're right, football is a wonderful game and it is odd how we often see the game completely differently.

For me Kane had to try and drop deeper last night to try and pick up the ball because no-one behind him was doing their job and he did a sterling (pun intended) job of holding the ball up and drawing the odd foul with no support around him to take the pressure off us a bit.

I see You're also bending over backwards to justify Sterling's contribution to the team. Whenever I'm watching him I'm thinking "He wasted that" or "gave that away" or 'no end product there" and one of the commentators on TV goes "Great piece of play by Sterling there!" 

For me if he was a woman you'd describe him as extremely high maintenance. He's always doing silly things off the pitch which draws the media spotlight onto him. No -one would give two hoots about that if he were our outstanding performer but he then backs that up with being arguably our worst performer whereas none of the other players seem to get themselves in situations off the pitch and most of them manage to perform far better than him in an England shirt on it.

I feel It's got to the stage whereby Southgate feels he has to pick him to show the media and the world at large the player retains his public support which in my view is wrong.

Not sure what the answer is as Rashford didn't exactly impress against Belgium when given his chance but I still feel we have to try something different.

[Silas]

28 minutes ago, AAK said:

Makes me laugh, bet all the posters who are 'positive' about England, 

I genuinely fail to see how anyone can not be "positive" about England.  That's what makes me laugh.

2 years ago after the Iceland debacle no-one had any hope for the future of England in tournament football.

I guarantee you that if you asked at the time pretty much everyone in the country would have predicted that we wouldn't even get out of the group in the next World Cup. 

Well here we are in the quarter finals with, I would say,  a 50/50 shot of hitting the semis.

Anyone feel free to tell me how that can be anything other than good progress. All with the 3rd youngest team in the tournament too.

Are we world beaters? No. Do we play awesome flowing, attacking football? No. Does our defence look rock solid? No.

Regardless, the team still looks better than it has in decades.

I don't think anyone has a problem with people critiquing the flaws with this squad. They are certainly plentiful. 

But the folk pouring negativety on this current campaign are speaking volumes about there general character IMO.

Let's just say when I'm at a house party, and you guys are in the living room, you'll find me in the kitchen. And visa versa.

Life is full of enough bullshit and misery as it is, so I tend not to associate myself with folk who somehow manage to unearth gloom from what is a rare glimpse of positivity on the sporting front for this country. 

[roverandout]

1 hour ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I'm just objective. I want us to win but I know what my eyes are telling me. Why fool yourself ? There are better teams out there that are still in it.

Never said there wasnt..france, brazil and belgium are all better..we can more than match uruguay and croatia..just happy to be still in with a chance..we have better players than some would like to give credit for..we havent played to our potential yet