[Archived] How Far Will England Get

[bob fleming]

but it's given by the Russian fourth official (who wasn't even looking) and Gerrard.

If we can award ourselves goals I forecast a memorable but controversial tournament

I think we'll all be pleasantly surprised at the number of goals Gerrard awards us in this tournament. His influence shouldn't be underestimated.

[Tom Pringle]

Thursday 24 June 20.45 - Spain 1 England 2 - Scholes, Rooney. (UEFA try, but fail, to expel England from the tournament after this game as 1. They realise we have a chance of winning it and 2. There is a disgraceful incident in one of the bars after the game when an England fan drops, and smashes, his pint glass. The fan pays for another pint and pays for the broken glass but it is too late as the pub is surrounded by 300 riot Police. Sven arrives on the scene. He calms the Police down and says in that cool way of his, with a cheeky smile, "Don't be so silly, it's not a big deal" - peace is restored and all is soon forgotten)

Pure class!

[thenodrog]

With Terry looking very doubtful know for Sunday’s game to me it’s a sign of a major blow for us. Terry has played brilliantly alongside Campbell in past England games and has developed a great understanding together. Terry played well against Iceland and showed he can be a threat when attacking too.

With Campbell taking Henry I think Henry will win it for pace against Campbell.

Carragher to replace Terry if he doesn’t make it? Really can’t see him being the dominant player against Trezeguet although I maybe wrong.

Terry running out of time

Henry will win against anybody in the world if pace is the criteria. Terry did well against him in the Champions thingy but Terry's big weakness IS his lack of pace. We must adopt Prem tactics and defend deep enough not to allow any room behind the defence, this negative tactic is the only one that has made Henry struggle this season. If we can get em to cross the ball in the air from deep wide positions then Henry will be as much use as a chocolate teapot! Unfortunately for us, and something that doesn't happen v Arsenal, that 'defending deep' tactic will play right into the hands of Zidane! The performance of Butt / Gerrard or whoever is chosen to shadow ZZ might just be the key to the entire game.

Incidentally am I right in understanding that Di Canio and Cudicini both qualify to play for England? Cudicini might still have hopes of being picked for the azzuri at some stage but Di canio will surely realise that his time has gone. If this is so then not taking Di Canio is a big mistake. He is the perfect player in football today to have on the bench and bring on 20 mins from the end when something needs to be made happen. He would be soooo motivated to show the world how wrong the eyties were to ignore his talents, and a fully motivated Di Canio is a hell of an asset.... just think what options he could have provided in the WC v Brazil instead of Svens bumbling madness in replacing Sinclair with Dire.

[MarkB]

Definite win for England....The Germans are rubbish. So are the Dutch. The French have just lost their manager who was responsible for dragging them from the depths of their World Cup nightmare. The Spaniards never win anything...always bottle it at the last......So its either us or the Italians.

Simple really

[Tom Pringle]

I can't see the Dutch getting out of their group.

Czech Republic for me.

[Tango]

I think (hope) we'll make the semis; we definitely have the players capable of making it that far, however we have to contend with that English tradition...inconsistency. Beat that and who knows?

[Big A]

People are spouting a lot of rubbish on here.

The game vs. France is not the important game, they're the best team in the tournament, by rights we should lose.

The important games are the Swiss and then finally Croatia. People are saying we won't get past the group stages. Has anyone seen Switzerland or Croatia's squad. The best Swiss players have all got injuries or haven't played regularly and Croatia aren't the force they were. In defence they're strong, but when your major attacking force is a one-hit wonder like Prso and not a lot else (no Prosinecki, Boban, Suker or Boksic remember now) you're in trouble.

Hopefully England can build up some momentum and once you're in the quarters anything can happen. However we'll probably go out to Spain or Portugal.

[Roaming Rover]

BlueSq

Well blueSq don't seem to hold out much hope. They will refund bets if England win Euro 2004.

[sumps]

I think if Beckham puts it performances like he did aganist Greece and Gerrad plays like he has done all season, then they will pull England through to the quater finals. England are the most over-rated team in the tournament, with a vastly over-rated manager. I think Sven has to go after Euro 2004, some of his tactics are shocking, Lampard in defensive midfield!?!?! Also if he used Waybe Bridge and Ashley Cole over-lapping on the left wing then surely this would solve the problem on the left.

[rover6]

We'll get to the final and lose to Holland.

Yes, I know the Dutch had a wretched qualifying campaign and have been pants in their friendlies - but they have so much quality in their squad. If it all clicks, they could do the business.

[Lathund]

England will go out in the quarters. If the group had been stronger I would've thought they'd go out right away, but Switzerland and Croatia certainly don't impress me these days. I don't think a different manager would matter either, there simply isn't enough quality to be fighting over a place in the final IMO. Gerrard, Beckham, Campbell and some more are very good, proven players, but the lack of an in-form striker and any wide midfielders can prove fatal.

And judging from what I've seen (very little) and heard from the Iceland games it seemed like they had very strict orders not to risk injuring any England players. And when you can't tackle properly, the goals start coming. Obviously good in the way that it boosted confidence and gave the usual benefits (albeit not as much as a "real" game would) but not really a true measure of the team's quality.

Italy to win, Pauleta to be top scorer.

[SouthAussieRover]

A penalty shoot out loss in the semi finals.

One can dream of course

[Dr Rich]

They could win it if they didn't have a completely incompetent manager, they might do even with Sven doing his best to balls things up.

[MarkB]

Really don't understand why lots of you are so pessimistic about our chances against the French. The whole team is not made up of megastars. They definitely have their short-comings. I mean look at the goalie...he makes calamity james look like captain invincible. The defense are not the players they once were. People are remembering too much the exploits of the team 8 and 6 years ago.

Right fire away....I've my tin hat on

[Anti Euro Smiths Fan]

England will come either third or fourth in the qualifying group.

A nation which has been hanging onto the coat-tails of a World Cup victory some thirty eight years ago (the only competition it has ever won,) will go back into its shell, sulk, and not bother about the rest of the results.

I can understand your views Colin.

On the other hand though, it's also true to say that we did come very close to reaching the World Cup Final in Italia 90. Prior to the missed penalties from Messrs Waddle and Pearce, we struck the crossbar in the 90 minutes of normal time, and should have won the match.

In Euro 96 it was a similar story, going out in the semi-final on penalties to the Gerrys again. Before Southgate's missed pen we should have had the match wrapped up - Gascoigne's outstretched boot coming an inch away from scoring.

It's all "ifs and butts" of course, but I do think if we had got past the Germans in 96, we would have beaten the Czechs in the Wembley final.

As far as Euro 2004 is concerned, I think we'll qualify from the group stages along with France, but I doubt we'll win the tournament.

On the plus side for us, Steven Gerrard has been in fantastic form for Liverpool recently and is starting to develop into one of Europe's best midfielders.

On the negative side, we've still got the perennial problem of a lack of natural width on the left hand side. Gerrard could end up having to play on the left of midfield, which would be a waste of his talents.

Also on the negative side, any injuries to key players such as Owen or Campbell would really hit us hard because we don't have a great deal of strength in depth.

Would anyone for example be confident about having Ledley King in defence against some of Europe's top strikers?

I know you're not a betting man Colin, but for anyone else like Tom Pringle who doesn't fancy our chances of progressing beyond the first stage, I think you can get odds of 2/1 from William Hills that England will fail to qualify from their group.

It's going to be an interesting tournament.

And as Ruud Gullit once said, hopefully we'll see some sexy football....

Edited June 9, 2004 by Anti Euro Smiths Fan

[Big A]

They could win it if they didn't have a completely incompetent manager, they might do even with Sven doing his best to balls things up.

Do I need my eyes testing or did you just say something positive about the English football team?

Edited June 9, 2004 by Big A

[1864roverite]

tp

you should be shot at dawn

just where is your patriotism ?

You must surely wish the best for your Country

England to be the serious dark horses......

CHAMPIONS......

[Tom Pringle]

tp

you should be shot at dawn

just where is your patriotism ?

You must surely wish the best for your Country

England to be the serious dark horses......

CHAMPIONS......

I can't actually remember saying i didn't want us to win.

Please, do show me

[Rover_Shaun]

The England squad will all be departing to their respective summer holiday destinations by June 26th............if not earlier.

Edited June 9, 2004 by Blue and White Army

[Morph]

We will come 2nd in group after losing to France, and then loose in the Quarter Final to Portugal, who will have won Group A.

France to beat Germany in the Final.

Exactly what I reckon will happen as regards England, but I think it's going to be Italy vs Holland in the final.

[Rovermatt]

I can't see them winning it. There are too many sides who are just, well...better.

[Ninjathunder]

I've seen enough flags fluttering from cars to know that we will definately win Euro 2004, with a convincing win over France on Sunday and in the final.

[Dr Rich]

They could win it if they didn't have a completely incompetent manager, they might do even with Sven doing his best to balls things up.

Do I need my eyes testing or did you just say something positive about the English football team?

I did, be even more positive if Sven realised that the diamond is a bad formation even if his players knew how to play it properly; Wayne Bridge is a better all round player than Ashley Cole; Paul Scholes recent form for Man United has been so poor he doesn't deserve a place in the side, never mind his shocking form for England(or the fact that he's not a left-winger) ; and as for Gary Neville

I've nothing against saying positive things about the England football team, some great players in the side, who I enjoy watching play. That being said I hope they don't win Euro2004, but I think the squad could have been the best in the tournament, and even with the Swedish maestro playing it safe, there are enough good players to win a European Championships. Better England than the cheese-eating surrender monkeys anyway.

[Billy Castell]

I have been wrong before, but results suggest Germany will struggle to qualify out of the group stages. Depending on which Holland arrives in Portugal, Germany could find themselves beaten by their auld enemy, and then humped by the Czech Republic. Losing 5-1 to Romania and 2-0 to Hungary suggests that they're on their arse.

[benton]

Quarters definitely, but worried that we'll either play Spain or Portugal

If we can beat France then I reckon we've a chance of going all the way - i've never heard the squad being so confident about winning a tournament ever.

What's everyone's thoughts on who should play if Terry unfit? Personally I'd play chuckle gary at CB and put Carragher at RB.

Best of luck to them anyway.