The World Cup Thread

[John B]

I thought he was excellent for Liverpool.

Way better than lingard for example

 

Lingard does not play for Liverpool but according to my son in law who follows Man U Linguard has played pretty well for them this season but yes AOC is a decent player but nothing else

[S-Clarke]

They look on a different level to us.

[Micky]

Looking at this, it's probably for the best that France never got hold of us in the final.

 

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[shurlock]

Unlucky. Good buildup.

[John B]

They look on a different level to us.

 

We you not expecting them to be on a different level by just looking at the team sheet

 

Doubt many English players would get into a combined Belgium/England team.

 

What do you think possibly Maguire and Kane

[angelman]

Wish the commentators (esp ex Spud Hoddle) would say it as it is. Rose is crap.

[Jonnyboy]

Is Martinez still a shyte manager?

[obelisk]

Bertrand must be looking at the England left wing backs and wonder what Southgate was thinking.

[Batman]

Is Martinez still a shyte manager?

 

I wonder if Belgium will keep him on?

[Batman]

Bertrand must be looking at the England left wing backs and wonder what Southgate was thinking.

 

Can see the lad at Fulham coming into that position.

[S-Clarke]

I wish we had a midfield. Any sort of competent central midfielder would do.

[Batman]

Lingard does not play for Liverpool but according to my son in law who follows Man U Linguard has played pretty well for them this season but yes AOC is a decent player but nothing else

 

I know lingard does not play for Liverpool.

[Jonnyboy]

I wonder if Belgium will keep him on?

 

Is Conte a shyte manager?

[John B]

Can see the lad at Fulham coming into that position.

 

Or perhaps in midfield I have been told Ryan likes to attack rather than do defensive duties.

 

That is why him and Targett were a good combination

[S-Clarke]

Can see the lad at Fulham coming into that position.

 

Yeah, if we continue to play this way Sessegeon is a shoe in for that role for many years.

[Saint Albert]

We’re basically defending without a LWB in all of these breaks by Belgium.

[Batman]

Sterling still poor

[Plastic]

It really is like watching saints under MoPe. Sideways football, nobody getting into a position to shoot.

[hackedoff]

This is blunt,boring,******. World beaters in the future,my arse.

[S-Clarke]

This is blunt,boring,******. World beaters in the future,my arse.

 

No world beaters here, never really have been. The World Cup has been great fun but there’s no denying that the draw has really flattered us and the media are typically going a bit ott about it all.

[obelisk]

England have at least beaten the teams that they should expect to beat in this World Cup. Trouble is they've lost to the teams that they needed to compete with. All pretty average really but I suppose that's an improvement on losing to Iceland.

[Batman]

England been pretty good 2nd half

[Jonnyboy]

Our Golden Boot has a goal drought.

[S-Clarke]

Jones is utterly horrific

[Micky]

Jones is utterly horrific

He kept a horrible 'line' for that goal. Awful.

 

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[OttawaSaint]

England are pretty average really. In the end wins vs 2 pub teams, a skills contest win and a win vs a very blunt Sweden team.

[hackedoff]

Jones is utterly horrific

 

One of a number of players who would get nowhere near this team if he played for the likes of Saints etc. Looks like a rugby league player and performs like one.

[East Kent Saint]

England do not have world class players in the squad , no Hazard , Modric , Griesman , etc but they could kick on , unless Southgate is Puel in disguise !

[OttawaSaint]

One of a number of players who would get nowhere near this team if he played for the likes of Saints etc. Looks like a rugby league player and performs like one.

 

So despite what England say they are trying to do, the big club bias is still rife.

[Batman]

4th in the World Cup. Pretty good in all honesty. More so when you look back at 2014/2016.

No more cretins, decent young players.

 

Just need the young players who sit on their respective benches to force moves away.........no chance I am afraid

[saint77]

Jones is utterly horrific

 

Yep certainly is and really struggle to see how on earth he is picked

[Jonnyboy]

England been pretty good 2nd half

 

[angelman]

See its over now - volunteered to go to the supermarket. I don't like watching England at the best of times, although patriotic fervour does take over but not in friendlies. This to me was a waste of time akin to a friendly. We are a very average side, who due to UEFA/FIFA's continued expansionism, do well in qualifying, which papers over the cracks.

[Ade]

Bertrand must be looking at the England left wing backs and wonder what Southgate was thinking.

 

I'm bloody wondering what Southgate was thinking. I mean I like Southgate but imo he's made some errors, like taking Young and not Bertrand. Like playing Sterling in every match when he's been absolute pants and Deli Ali who clearly is not on form.

[striker]

No goals in over 2 matches (including extra time versus Croatia). That will do it.

[S-Clarke]

Oh well, still been a fun world cup but I just hope the media and the pundits don't go OTT about this side.

 

The bare stats are out there:

 

- Only Iran created fewer oppertunities

- One of the lowest scoring sides in open play

- Only beaten Tunisa, Sweden and Panama.

 

The luck of the draw and how the other sides fell away opened it up for us and certainly flattered our final position. If you look at Germany's and Argentina's group, we'd have probably struggled just as much as they did.

 

I hope that's the end of Phil Jones international career, probably one of the worst CB's I've ever seen make a living. All he does is chase after attackers after they've beaten him and pull weirdo faces.

 

This hasn't been the sort of build up to us becoming a mega-side as some of the media are making it out to be, but there is talent beyond this first team which should hopefully start to get in and around the side over the next 12 months. Sessengon, Cook, Maddison, Gray, Gomez, Holding etc.

 

But we're still light years behind your Spains, Belgiums, French, Brazil's and probably even Germany. Lots of work to do and not really a huge difference to previous world cups really.

[Lord Duckhunter]

If you take penalties as a drawn game ( as I believe FIFA do), Southgate , who the press are fawning over , has now lost as many competitive games in one tournament as Sven did over 3 including qualifying games. Puts this campaign into a bit of context

 

 

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[Ohio Saint]

When we gifted 3rd place to Italy, I understood it. They were the hosts. The only reason for losing this one was inferiority.

[CB Fry]

Of course, if we'd have beaten Belgium reserves, then Japan, then a noble but iconic loss to Brazil would have meant getting on the plane home with one defeat at the tournament not three.

 

Hey ho.

[Useful Idiot]

Of course, if we'd have beaten Belgium reserves, then Japan, then a noble but iconic loss to Brazil would have meant getting on the plane home with one defeat at the tournament not three.

 

Hey ho.

 

And a win against Belgium's reserves followed by a crushing defeat against a Japanese team that could have easily out played us (as they did Belgium until Fellaini battered them down) would have been equally good as well!

[qwertyell]

Personally don't think Southgate has much of a clue tactically. His obsession with 3-5-2, having qualified comfortably playing a back four, hasn't improved us at all.

 

In qualifying we conceded 3 in 10 games. We've conceded 8 in 7 at this WC (one clean sheet). Defensively, the formation change has made us worse.

 

So, to justify the change in approach, surely it must have improved our attacking play - right? Only Iran, of all the teams at the WC had less shots on target from open play. We managed to nullify our star striker, Kane, who likes to play up on his own, and our best winger, Sterling, who is not a number 10.

 

Our success in reaching the semis was almost exclusively down to set pieces. Much like Indiana Jones was completely irrelevant to the plot of Raiders of the Lost Ark (the Nazis would've still found the Ark, opened it, and had their faces melted off if Indy had just stayed home and watched the snooker), our formation really had no bearing on our set piece strength.

 

The best young players coming through are all wide attackers: Sterling, Rashford, Sancho, Foden, Lookman, Nelson, Hudson-Odoi. Yet the manager has seemingly convinced himself that wide attackers have no part of his England vision.

 

Even 2-0 down, he couldn't bring himself to take off a defender for one last push to get something from the game. We finished with five defenders and a holding midfielder, FFS.

 

This Word Cup will be won by a team playing a variant on 4-3-3. Just like the last World Cup was. And the one before that. And every Champions League winner as far back as I can remember.

 

And all the England age groups who have been beating everyone across the board.

 

I've enjoyed our run through the tournament, but not the way we've played. Watching five defenders, a holding midfielder and the keeper slowly pass the ball between themselves for long periods until someone puts them under pressure and they lump it 60 yards back to the opposition is pretty turgid stuff.

 

I certainly hope it's not the future.

 

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[qwertyell]

Oh, and Sessegnon. I knew I forgot one of our future star wide attackers.

 

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[CB Fry]

And a win against Belgium's reserves followed by a crushing defeat against a Japanese team that could have easily out played us (as they did Belgium until Fellaini battered them down) would have been equally good as well!

No it would have been a disaster on an Iceland scale. Hope that helps.

[benjii]

They look on a different level to us.

 

Well, they are. I'm not sure a single one of our players would get in a combined eleven. Maybe Trippier.

[benjii]

Personally don't think Southgate has much of a clue tactically. His obsession with 3-5-2, having qualified comfortably playing a back four, hasn't improved us at all.

 

In qualifying we conceded 3 in 10 games. We've conceded 8 in 7 at this WC (one clean sheet). Defensively, the formation change has made us worse.

 

So, to justify the change in approach, surely it must have improved our attacking play - right? Only Iran, of all the teams at the WC had less shots on target from open play. We managed to nullify our star striker, Kane, who likes to play up on his own, and our best winger, Sterling, who is not a number 10.

 

Our success in reaching the semis was almost exclusively down to set pieces. Much like Indiana Jones was completely irrelevant to the plot of Raiders of the Lost Ark (the Nazis would've still found the Ark, opened it, and had their faces melted off if Indy had just stayed home and watched the snooker), our formation really had no bearing on our set piece strength.

 

The best young players coming through are all wide attackers: Sterling, Rashford, Sancho, Foden, Lookman, Nelson, Hudson-Odoi. Yet the manager has seemingly convinced himself that wide attackers have no part of his England vision.

 

Even 2-0 down, he couldn't bring himself to take off a defender for one last push to get something from the game. We finished with five defenders and a holding midfielder, FFS.

 

This Word Cup will be won by a team playing a variant on 4-3-3. Just like the last World Cup was. And the one before that. And every Champions League winner as far back as I can remember.

 

And all the England age groups who have been beating everyone across the board.

 

I've enjoyed our run through the tournament, but not the way we've played. Watching five defenders, a holding midfielder and the keeper slowly pass the ball between themselves for long periods until someone puts them under pressure and they lump it 60 yards back to the opposition is pretty turgid stuff.

 

I certainly hope it's not the future.

 

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Good post.

[S-Clarke]

Personally don't think Southgate has much of a clue tactically. His obsession with 3-5-2, having qualified comfortably playing a back four, hasn't improved us at all.

 

In qualifying we conceded 3 in 10 games. We've conceded 8 in 7 at this WC (one clean sheet). Defensively, the formation change has made us worse.

 

So, to justify the change in approach, surely it must have improved our attacking play - right? Only Iran, of all the teams at the WC had less shots on target from open play. We managed to nullify our star striker, Kane, who likes to play up on his own, and our best winger, Sterling, who is not a number 10.

 

Our success in reaching the semis was almost exclusively down to set pieces. Much like Indiana Jones was completely irrelevant to the plot of Raiders of the Lost Ark (the Nazis would've still found the Ark, opened it, and had their faces melted off if Indy had just stayed home and watched the snooker), our formation really had no bearing on our set piece strength.

 

The best young players coming through are all wide attackers: Sterling, Rashford, Sancho, Foden, Lookman, Nelson, Hudson-Odoi. Yet the manager has seemingly convinced himself that wide attackers have no part of his England vision.

 

Even 2-0 down, he couldn't bring himself to take off a defender for one last push to get something from the game. We finished with five defenders and a holding midfielder, FFS.

 

This Word Cup will be won by a team playing a variant on 4-3-3. Just like the last World Cup was. And the one before that. And every Champions League winner as far back as I can remember.

 

And all the England age groups who have been beating everyone across the board.

 

I've enjoyed our run through the tournament, but not the way we've played. Watching five defenders, a holding midfielder and the keeper slowly pass the ball between themselves for long periods until someone puts them under pressure and they lump it 60 yards back to the opposition is pretty turgid stuff.

 

I certainly hope it's not the future.

 

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That’s a good post. Let’s remember that this is the Gareth Southgate who was derided by boro fans and relegated them. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a decent guy and has at least tried to approach it differently, but he’s not some sort of tactical genius.

[Useful Idiot]

No it would have been a disaster on an Iceland scale. Hope that helps.

 

And I think you're being terribly arrogant to dismiss Japan and suggest we'd have sailed past them to play Brazil.

 

Given that Belgium barely scraped past Japan (with the help of a dodgy linesman's decision over a non-existent foul on Kompany that would otherwise have probably led to Japan scoring a third when 2-0 up) yet handily beat England without much effort, I think that Japan would have had a better than even chance of beating us.

[Ade]

Bertrand must be looking at the England left wing backs and wonder what Southgate was thinking.

 

I'm bloody wondering what Southgate was thinking. I mean I like Southgate but imo he's made some errors, like taking Young and not Bertrand. Like playing Sterling in every match when he's been absolute pants and Deli Ali who clearly is not on form.

[S-Clarke]

I'm bloody wondering what Southgate was thinking. I mean I like Southgate but imo he's made some errors, like taking Young and not Bertrand. Like playing Sterling in every match when he's been absolute pants and Deli Ali who clearly is not on form.

 

Taking 5 game season rose was the bigger error. Young should have been backup to a better lb.

[Ade]

Taking 5 game season rose was the bigger error. Young should have been backup to a better lb.

 

Yeah, that makes the decision to leave Bertrand behind even more mind boggling! Southgate must learn from this WC for the Europeans. Especially as the semis and final will be in London with home advantage.