England

[simongarnerisgod]

On 15/09/2023 at 09:31, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

That is the best England time I’ve seen. As you say - better than the winners in 1966.

1982 spain side was very good,we should have done much better than coming home without losing!!!!!!!greenwood,like southgate was allergic to taking risks,if clough had been in charge of that side we could have been potential finalists,especially as italy literally kicked the greatest brazil side since 1970 out in the group stages

spain 1982 best world cup ever imo

[joey_big_nose]

On 13/09/2023 at 19:45, roverandout said:

We had a good first 11 during 04 to 06 but our bench options were aaran lennon, vassell, crouch, milner etc. This is definitely are far stronger squad 

Also would say the players are much better balanced now. We had an excellent set of attacking mids/forwards in 04 to 06 but they all wanted to play central in the number 10 area of the pitch (Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard, Scholes, Joe Cole). Even Beckam was quite a narrow right sided player. 

We use the width of the pitch in the final third a lot better now. But.... we lack good defenders and goal keeper which was never really a problem till the last 10 years or so.

If an English keeper and a pair of centrebacks can show real authority over the season then I think we might have a real Euros winning team. Great full backs, centre mids, wide mids, and - as long as Kane is fit - goals up top.

[roverandout]

47 minutes ago, joey_big_nose said:

Also would say the players are much better balanced now. We had an excellent set of attacking mids/forwards in 04 to 06 but they all wanted to play central in the number 10 area of the pitch (Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard, Scholes, Joe Cole). Even Beckam was quite a narrow right sided player. 

We use the width of the pitch in the final third a lot better now. But.... we lack good defenders and goal keeper which was never really a problem till the last 10 years or so.

If an English keeper and a pair of centrebacks can show real authority over the season then I think we might have a real Euros winning team. Great full backs, centre mids, wide mids, and - as long as Kane is fit - goals up top.

Colwill and stones 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

43 minutes ago, roverandout said:

Colwill and stones 

Sounds like a firm of estate agents.

[speeeeeeedie]

53 minutes ago, joey_big_nose said:

Also would say the players are much better balanced now. We had an excellent set of attacking mids/forwards in 04 to 06 but they all wanted to play central in the number 10 area of the pitch (Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard, Scholes, Joe Cole). Even Beckam was quite a narrow right sided player. 

We use the width of the pitch in the final third a lot better now. But.... we lack good defenders and goal keeper which was never really a problem till the last 10 years or so.

If an English keeper and a pair of centrebacks can show real authority over the season then I think we might have a real Euros winning team. Great full backs, centre mids, wide mids, and - as long as Kane is fit - goals up top.

Pickford has not put a foot wrong. He's not Dino Zoff but he's better that what England have had in a long time.

I mentioned this before but I don't think England have had good keepers in my era. I saw the back end of Shilton, who was past his best but played due to a lack of alternatives. After him has been a succession of mediocrity. Chris Woods. David Seaman, David James Joe Hart, and Paul Robinson all had a decent amount of caps but I doubt anyone would stick them in an elite group. Then the barrel scraping really starts. Rob Green. Nigel Martyn. Richard Wright. Chris Kirland. All bang average.

6 minutes ago, roverandout said:

Colwill and stones 

I like Colwill but if Maguire moves in January he'll be playing. If he stays at Man U to be 4th choice Southgate may not have a choice but to drop him. 

[roversfan99]

Im not sure the Italy game is too important, lose and we will still easily qualify. The Australia game is a waste of time.

Some of the selections are predictable yet ridiculous. Southgate will not get the best from this crop of players. Maguire is a joke selection even amidst an average pool of centre backs. Phillips doesnt get a sniff at City even with Rodri out. Henderson is playing in Saudi Arabia. None should be near the squad, all will play minutes.

In an ideal world, we would be able to put Stones in midfield next to Rice and try that behind Bellingham. 

And we still have to suffer yet another international break in a few weeks.

Edited October 11, 2023 by roversfan99

[DeeCee]

We have got a few "flair" players ATM but I'm struggling to get enthused about the current England team, whether that's old age or a symptom of the overall set up?

[Norbert Rassragr]

Southgate has all those fancy players, but is too cautious and picks a few favourite players regardless of form and whether they actually play.

[speeeeeeedie]

On 11/10/2023 at 14:45, roversfan99 said:

Im not sure the Italy game is too important, lose and we will still easily qualify. The Australia game is a waste of time.

Some of the selections are predictable yet ridiculous. Southgate will not get the best from this crop of players. Maguire is a joke selection even amidst an average pool of centre backs. Phillips doesnt get a sniff at City even with Rodri out. Henderson is playing in Saudi Arabia. None should be near the squad, all will play minutes.

In an ideal world, we would be able to put Stones in midfield next to Rice and try that behind Bellingham. 

And we still have to suffer yet another international break in a few weeks.

I know what you are saying but I think Italy is important for a few reasons. England rarely beat Italy, doing so in a competitive match is a worthy achievement. A win will give England top spot which, after the Nations League relegation, will help with group seeding. 

We'll see what side Southgate puts out today. I understand the grief Maguire gets but Southgate will play him. Phillips needs a new club. His move to City was puzzling, it's looking worse now. If he'd have signed for Liverpool he'd be much better off. 

Henderson should be banished.  

[simongarnerisgod]

21 hours ago, Norbert Rassragr said:

Southgate has all those fancy players, but is too cautious and picks a few favourite players regardless of form and whether they actually play.

he was a bang average player,a poor club manager and he`s a national manager who got the job because he`s a yes man,keeps picking players who don`t play for their clubs because he`s to scared to pick all his attacking players,with the ammunition we have i make us favourites for next years euros and possibly the next world cup,with southgate in charge it definately will not happen

[Waggy76]

England v Australia, a complete waste of time ..

A nonsense game , international friendlies, should be banished...

There are enough half hearted games in the group stages of the Euros and the World Cup !

[rigger]

13 minutes ago, Waggy76 said:

England v Australia, a complete waste of time ..

A nonsense game , international friendlies, should be banished...

There are enough half hearted games in the group stages of the Euros and the World Cup !

Maybe, because the money from the crowd will go into the Wembley coffers.

[simongarnerisgod]

4 minutes ago, rigger said:

Maybe, because the money from the crowd will go into the Wembley coffers.

hard to believe there is a credit crunch when you see wembley and twickenham full,definately not cheap to watch the football or rugby and thats not just tickets

[Giant]

The only plus point about these international breaks is that we don’t need to worry about Rovers losing.

[rigger]

Tonight I will be..........

 

 

 

 

Watching Coronation street.

[simongarnerisgod]

7 minutes ago, rigger said:

Tonight I will be..........

 

 

 

 

Watching Coronation street.

stephen about to be captured and banged up🙂

[Oldgregg86]

I’ve never watched a game of football that’s been worse than watching soaps and I was at both dingle games last year

support the lads 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[rigger]

3 minutes ago, Oldgregg86 said:

I’ve never watched a game of football that’s been worse than watching soaps and I was at both dingle games last year

support the lads 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

You don't watch many England friendlies then. Fuck the lads, they aren't my lads.

Edited October 13, 2023 by rigger

[AllRoverAsia]

There are some highlights though.

Henderson trying to run.

Maddison shooting.

Wondering if Bowen will get a kick of the ball.

Grealish showboating ... Badly

The distinct possibility that the Aussies could win.

Insomnia has a lot to answer for.

*On good chances it should be Aussies leading 2-10 at HT. It is meaningless game for the England reserves most of whom will not get a sniff at the first team starting eleven but for the Aussies it's a big game and they really should be in the lead. The lady ref is doing ok.

Edited October 13, 2023 by AllRoverAsia

[jny]

Southgate not the man for the job, but who is?

[philipl]

A big thank you to England for an excellent night's sleep.

Did Henderson make a forward pass eventually?

If he did I was already in the land of nod.

[rigger]

Coronation street was exciting.

Todays fare is rugby.

Edited October 14, 2023 by rigger

[wilsdenrover]

Southgate says he can’t understand people booing Henderson.

Disagreeing with the booing is one thing, not understanding why people would boo him - well that’s just ridiculous.

[rigger]

12 minutes ago, wilsdenrover said:

Southgate says he can’t understand people booing Henderson.

Disagreeing with the booing is one thing, not understanding why people would boo him - well that’s just ridiculous.

Although his statement is probably untrue. He may have thought, it is the most PC and non-commital statement he could get away with.

Edited October 14, 2023 by rigger

[Mattyblue]

Just play internationals in a big block so we can stop this 💤 fest three times in three months.