(UEFA) Football Thread - Football not Soccer

Discussion in 'Sports and Fitness' started by Jax, Apr 1, 2008.

  1. Tomalak

    Tomalak Vice Admiral Admiral

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    :lol:

    To be fair, Croatia are a much better team. People have to get used to the fact that England are on the same level of Scotland in terms of international ability. You still see the media talk about Croatia as a team England "should" beat (the "It's only Croatia" mentality, as if football is related to GDP), although given their form, especially at home, it might as well be Argentina or Spain.

    England should consider themselves lucky to get a point out of Croatia. Though Scotland got six points off France last year, so there is a chance they can punch above their weight. ;)
     
  2. Jax

    Jax Admiral Admiral

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    I have no doubt ENG would be capable of getting a draw if Hargreaves, Gerrard, Rochards & Owen were in the squad but there not and I feel Capello will play 4-4-2 when 4-5-1 is the better option and get stuffed.

    Tonight it may only have been against Andorra but Walcott did look very good when he got the ball but surly Downing has proved to Capello that he cannot cut it at international level so Ashley Young can come back into the fold.

    Also J.Cole once again proved that he is ENGLAND's most consistance performer when it comes to our attacking options. Nice to see Rooney actually stay up front but we never got him the ball and really only Gerrard can link well with him.

    Barry's tackling over past 2 games has been just plain awful and Lampard still cannot influence an England game even against Andorra and is again one who should be dropped when we are at full strength hopefully next month.
     
  3. Angel4576

    Angel4576 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Only one place apart in the latest FIFA rankings.

    England continue to be woeful.

    It's difficult to know where to start TBH.

    GK - James/Robinson/Carson - What a fcuking choice that is, it's like trying to pick one of the three stooges....

    Defence - Used to be our strong point. Now, due in part to the goalkeeping situation, along with other deficiencies, they play like they're constantly on the verge of doing something ridiculous. Terry and Ferdinand are decent players individually, but together, just doesn't really work. The fullbacks can either go forward or hold back, but seem incapable of doing both in the same game.

    Midfield - On paper we should have one of the best midfields in the world; Joe Cole, Gerrard, Lampard, Hargreaves, Beckham etc. Yet, again, put them together and they lack even a basic modicum of creativity on the international stage. Lampard and Gerrard in particular just can't bring their club form to the big stage. Beckham's career is winding down. Cole is played out of position on the left wing (which he does well enough), and really only Hargreaves plays to potential (most of the time).

    In attack - Why do England managers continue to play him as an out-and-out striker. He's not, his best position is playing off the front man, or better still, behind a front pair. It's a sad indictment to say, that Rooney aside, our next best option in attack is the Owen/Heskey combination.

    Seriously hope that Fabio's the man to do it, but someone really needs to sort England out, otherwise they'll be wandering around in the international wildneress for as long as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have......
     
  4. Jax

    Jax Admiral Admiral

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    I think the future after 2010 is looking more brighter with some good talents coming out of the U21's. We don't need world class players to win just a team, which works well together and has good partnerships like the U21 team.

    ^ I dis-agree about J.Cole being played out of the postion on the left wing because he has played the majorty of his career on the left for West Ham, Chelsea & England despite being right footed. J.Cole biggest strength is his ability to come inside quickly and link up with the forwards, which works best when your coming from the opposite flank to your prefered foot.

    Our keeper choices for now are limited but there is still hope...

    Hart is wonderful for a 21 year old and Foster has shown good potential but if he does NOT start next season as UTD number 1 then he shoud leave. Chris Kirkland is our best keeper if were talking about technical ability but injuries have wrecked his chance of becoming one of the finest keepers for England. I think while Paul Robinson, Robert Green and Scott Carson can make it into future ENG squads, they will never hold down the number 1 spot for a lengthy period of time.

    Watch out for Joe Lewis from U21 team to make an impact in next few years.

    For me our defending has struggled from lack of good cover ever since Carragher decided to retire in the middle of Euro 2008 Q/F and King's injury problems. I will stay by my comments before that when fully fit and games under his belt, Ledley King is a better defender than John Terry but we can't expect him to ever fully get over his knee issues. David Wheater and Steven Taylor are a wonderful partnership but for me both need to leave there clubs in the next 2 years but especially David Wheater who can become ENGLAND's version of Vidic.

    Micah Richards is crazy if he thinks that centre back is a better position for him than right back and Wayne Bridge needs to leave for games and not stay for money though Shorey & Baines can cover for Ashley Cole. Our biggest issue is cover for right back especially if Micah continues to play centre back for Man City.

    I'll get round to rest later :lol:...Good god I do ramble on when it comes to ENGLAND
     
  5. HappyDayRiot

    HappyDayRiot Commodore Commodore

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    Does England really need to be written ENGLAND?
     
  6. Jax

    Jax Admiral Admiral

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    Just something I do out of habit, I don't normally realise I do it.
     
  7. dragunzng

    dragunzng Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Ahem, for anyone else interested, an under strength Nigeria (barely) managed to beat South Africa 1-0 in our world cup qualifier, we're currently sitting pretty atop our goup with 15 points, haven't even conceded a goal yet.

    To be fair though the other two teams in the group are Sierra Leone and Equitorial Guinea

    Based on our performance in the Olympics and the fact that we actually have a somewhat disciplined squad this time around I've got modest hopes for us.
     
  8. Tomalak

    Tomalak Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I think it's because both players are hugely overrated, which isn't surprising considering they are English. They are certainly decent players, but their reputations are built on the partnerships they have forged with Vidic and Carvalho, who tend to cover up their mistakes and deficiencies at club level. Terry is prone to rash tackles and has very poor positional sense, but Carvalho's pace and ability to read the game usually covers for this. For a tall guy, Ferdinand isn't great in the air, and is prone to laziness and concentration lapses. He is still probably the best option England have a centre half, but he needs someone who isn't Terry alongside him. When he played with Sol Campbell he used to play the ball out of defence well, but he seems to have stopped bothering these days.

    Everyone knows it should be spelt "Ingerlund".
     
  9. TheArsenal

    TheArsenal Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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  10. Tomalak

    Tomalak Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Clearly some kind of organised group. I reckon Bradley Wright-Phillips is behind it.

    On a similar note, Sergei Rebrov has got some advice for Roman Pavlyuchenko. :eek:
     
  11. trekkiebaggio

    trekkiebaggio Vice Admiral Admiral

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    ^Well our financial problems hopefully he'll give it to the club :D
     
  12. Jax

    Jax Admiral Admiral

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    So England predictions people ?

    2-0 Croatia (Luka Modric & Ollic)
     
  13. Hermiod

    Hermiod Admiral Admiral

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    England 1 Croatia 3
     
  14. Jax

    Jax Admiral Admiral

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    For anyone who can't watch the game live, Setanta has just announced that they will be showing free highlights later tonight. Good PR but it won't solve the problem that most people DO not want it having exclusive rights to ENG since its an Irish broadcaster.

    Also apparantly not everyone is switching over to them in the numbers they were hoping for.
     
  15. TheArsenal

    TheArsenal Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    My guess? England 1 Croatia 2.

    Only giving England a goal because I'm feeling charitable.
     
  16. HappyDayRiot

    HappyDayRiot Commodore Commodore

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    WALES lost 2-1 to Russia earlier. They put up a hell of a fight from what I saw. I doubt they can qualify but they're certainly not going to the pushovers I often expect them to be...

    I'm vaguely excited for this ENGLAND game. 5 Live will bring the joy the hell with Setanta.
     
  17. Tomalak

    Tomalak Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Why is it a question of nationality? It's not Sultana's fault that they outbid the BBC.

    Walcott's just scored. No, I can't believe it, and nor can Alan Green.
     
  18. TheArsenal

    TheArsenal Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Croats down to 10.
     
  19. Roger Wilco

    Roger Wilco Admiral Admiral

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    Solid game by Ingullund imo, maybe they can get to South Africa after all.
     
  20. TheArsenal

    TheArsenal Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Theo scores again.