I was beaten by Azrael in the Draft and so it logically follows that he knows more about football than I do, especially since he did not resort to cheating (of which I am guilty, as has been demonstrated)
I was beaten by Azrael in the Draft and so it logically follows that he knows more about football than I do, especially since he did not resort to cheating (of which I am guilty, as has been demonstrated)
Join Date: May 2004
Location: LSK, Zed <--> T.O. <--> ATL <--> ATX
Posts: 3,817
how embarrassing ... even the Greeks would have been blushing ...
Oh you people are too kind to England, to be perfectly ****ing honest with you.
To me, there is one glaring problem with their philosophy. Their last 4 managers (including the current one) have failed to instill a Premier League approach in the national team. The pace of the best teams in the EPL does not seem to be anywhere near the English NT. Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham or Man City do not run around for 120 minutes waiting for penalties instead of creating chances. That's pathetic!!!
With the current generation of players, as I have said before (on here), there must be 2 players - Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard - that control the game from the center of the midfield. They must be utilized in the positions they play for their clubs. If that were done, you would see a more EPL type of game from England. None of the last 4 England managers have come close to making it work with those 2 guys.....there in lies the problem. Spain has Iniesta and Xavi, Italy has Pirlo and previously Totti, Germany has Ozil and Schweinsteiger (previously Ballack), France has Nasri. Those are a few examples. Who does England have to control the game from the center of the fieldÉ No one! ALL their CMs are defensive minded - Garreth Barry, Milner, Parker......none of them are capable of creating goal scoring chances! NONE! Italy, just like any other half decent team not named France, forced Gerrard to defend all game long. He couldnèt attack at all. Sickening, really.
Lampard is injured at the moment but over the past 6 years, he has not been utilized correctly with Gerrard. It is as simple as that. They are both world class but you cannot stick (for example) Gerrard on the RW and expect him to cross the ball in to the box!!!!! I remember when I saw him with that cross against France, I actually wanted to laugh. That is not his position. What the hell was he doing that far out of the wingÉ He has got to be playing a more central role. If England wanted a world class crosser of the ball, who would do nothing else besides provie crosses, they should have called up David Beckham.
Sorry but, until England establishes a central midfield presence they are not going to be a threat to win anything.
Lampard and Gerrard are never gonna play well together. I think part of the reason England was better than expected is because Gerrard and Lampard were not in the same team. England's midfield went on the decline ever since Scholes left the English NT.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nimreitz
Pogba, IMO, is the absolute worst pick so far. No one has any idea how good he is. I've seen more of Bebe than Pogba. Sorry for tipping!
I thought England were fine. Injuries are part of it, but the other part of it is just that they aren't one of the 4 best nations in Europe. It really does seem like the 4 best teams are in the Semis now which is great. I think England, at this stage where they are forced to use Jordan Henderson as a CM, can't pretend to be in that upper league.
I thought England were fine. Injuries are part of it, but the other part of it is just that they aren't one of the 4 best nations in Europe. It really does seem like the 4 best teams are in the Semis now which is great. I think England, at this stage where they are forced to use Jordan Henderson as a CM, can't pretend to be in that upper league.
I think man for man (and without so many injuries) we should be a better team than Italy, and clearly we are not, so there is something wrong.
you guys need a major revamp. box to box midfielders that can only pass and run the whole game will only get you so far. I was looking at your squad yesterday and bar Young (who was sh*t) there was no player I could remotely call skilled. same goes for your wingers in the past years, they bring nothing other than pace (Downing, Walcott, Lennon to some extent, etc.). also, ditch the 4-4-2, it's not 2004 anymore. seriously, you've been having the best league in Europe for the past years, and the richest too I think, and only now can you see some gifted players of your own emerge - Welbeck, Wilshere, Ox, etc. you should be at least at Spain's level.
I was beaten by Azrael in the Draft and so it logically follows that he knows more about football than I do, especially since he did not resort to cheating (of which I am guilty, as has been demonstrated)
Join Date: May 2004
Location: LSK, Zed <--> T.O. <--> ATL <--> ATX
Posts: 3,817
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sir Calumn
I think man for man (and without so many injuries) we should be a better team than Italy, and clearly we are not, so there is something wrong.
bahahaha ... "should" ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nimreitz
I thought Oxlaide-Chamberlain could have given a lot more than Theo, but in the end Italy was a lot better. Can't really complain about the result. Just sucked in the Three Lions Pub as the one gay ass Italian family with grandmas and **** celebrated today while all of us in England jerseys (everyone except me being an ex pat) were like NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. But in the end, all the English people I talked to were like "yeah, we knew it was gonna happen".
And it's true. There was so much confidence and singing for 2+ hours, and then when it officially went to penalties the entire ex pat crowd around me got terrified.
how? English football fans never cease to amaze me ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by theo
you guys need a major revamp. box to box midfielders that can only pass and run the whole game will only get you so far. I was looking at your squad yesterday and bar Young (who was sh*t) there was no player I could remotely call skilled. same goes for your wingers in the past years, they bring nothing other than pace (Downing, Walcott, Lennon to some extent, etc.). also, ditch the 4-4-2, it's not 2004 anymore. seriously, you've been having the best league in Europe for the past years, and the richest too I think, and only now can you see some gifted players of your own emerge - Welbeck, Wilshere, Ox, etc. you should be at least at Spain's level.
should they though?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Xifio
I just revisited the "Can England Win the Next World Cup" documentary from a couple of years ago
England's dismissal of technique and flair as critical qualities for a player is a defining trait of their footballing culture -- the main reason why I show such distaste for them ... comparing them to Spain is also folly for that very reason ...
England's dismissal of technique and flair as critical qualities for a player is a defining trait of their footballing culture -- the main reason why I show such distaste for them ... comparing them to Spain is also folly for that very reason ...
But the Premiership has been taken over by foreigners. The up tempo game is still around, but just about everything else is continental. Best of both worlds.
I wanted England to win and thought it would have been hilarious if we could have won on penalties, but Xifio is actually correct about English football culture. It is the case right the way down to youth and amatuer teams, run by blokes standing around shouting 'get stuck in', and telling the players to shout more. The 'man of the match' awards invariably go to the kid who has shown the most 'passion' and won the most headers, regardless of whether he can actually control the ball.
If we could win with this method I wouldn't mind quite so much, despite it hardly being 'the beautiful game', but the fact is it makes us worse. If you have a whole team of technical players then they will beat a whole team of big/strong/fast guys with poor ball skill running around diving in. Even at semi-pro level you tend have a team with all the players based around discipline, strength and fitness, and are allowed one 'luxury' player on each team. If you have 3 in your squad (i.e. your 3 best football players), you bench 2 of them and use them as impact subs. It's appalling.
Having said that there are exceptions to this and hopefully we can gradually change our footballing culture in response to these continued defeats against big footballing nations. It should happen eventually, especially with the foreign impact on the top leagues, but the current culture is very deeply ingrained at a grass roots level which limits the production of these types of players.
... even the Greeks would have been blushing ...
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