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Croatia 1 - 4 England

midds

by midds
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mattypnufc

mattypnufc

Posted
Posted

4-1 intresting stuff. Watched the action up until the third goal, for me this has been a very flattering result which will do nothing more than paper over the cracks.

 

First thing's first congratulations to Theo Walcott, nice to see a new lad break into what has become a very stale set-up and ruffle some feathers.

 

Now for me the red card ended the game as any kind of contest. England were able to exploit the space it created and it was evident from the second and third goals Croatia were unable to adapt at the back. However I'm not convinced it was a sending off. Either way it was a very poor decision, the ref clearly reacted to the injury rather than the challange. For me the lad lead with his arm and therefore deserved a card, but I didn't think it was malicious which made it a rather harsh dismissal.

 

Before the incident, particularly in the first half England looked very shakey. They made a host of errors at the back including losing posession in key areas and giving away plenty of silly freekicks. Croatia failed to take advantage of this and looked very blunt as an attacking force. For me they still miss Eduardo, but they didn't exactly help themselves with their poor delivery from set pieces. A more potent attack force may just have capitalised.

 

Bloody good result all the same, but I'm not getting carried away just yet. Thus far I'm yet to see any signs that suggest as an international outfit we're any better than we were under Mr. Eriksson.

 

 

Agree with the most for sure, I thought it was very Croatia sided up until the 25minute mark.  We then came into a bit more, with both sides not creating an awful lot.

 

As for the sending off, I dont believe it was a sending off from 3 out of the 4 angles I saw on Shitanta...but the 4th angle shows him belting cole in the heed.  Regardless the other twat should have been sent off for his second blatant block of the game.  Evened it out.

 

We should have capitalised on a poor croatia performance, but the way I look at it they had two phases tonight,

 

1.  Bully boy tactics - lets chop the fuckers down, add sly digs and generally try and niggle away at England.  

 

After the sending off, resorted to

 

2. Continental tactics of rolling around like they had been shot.

 

After all the hype and 'bigging' themselves up throughout the week by Modric/Billic, I personally could see England pulling one out of the bag tonight and giving them a whipping.  

 

Lets not forget, the second half performance, albeit, against weakened opposition, we played some fantastic football and some brilliant ball possetion.

 

Best team performance since Germany away?  I'd probally say yes.  

 

Think we can produce this consitantly without being cocky?  No.

 

 

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The College Dropout

The College Dropout

Posted
Posted

Heskey = Englands Most Under-rated Player

 

He has something like 5 goals in 50 caps. It's hard to be under-rated with stats like that. Good team player no doubt.

 

I think he provides something good to the team.....considering he is by far inferior in ability to the likes of Rooney. He basically ran the front line tonight for England, and ran his socks off. He gave his all and did well as a target man, causing a good Croatia a lot of problems. I personally feel he is made a scapegoat and is similar to the likes of Ameobi as far as stick is concerned. He gets a lot more grief than he actually deserves, and does a decent enough job "causing problems" even if he isn't very prolific at all.

 

Oh no doubt I agree that he played well tonight and has often played well in an England shirt. And i agree when the chips are down he is made a scapegoat out of.

 

But when Darius Vassell has scored more goals for England you can hardly call him under-rated as I doubt many strikers have 48 caps and counting with 5 goals.

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Heron

Heron

Posted
Posted

Heskey = Englands Most Under-rated Player

 

He has something like 5 goals in 50 caps. It's hard to be under-rated with stats like that. Good team player no doubt.

 

I think he provides something good to the team.....considering he is by far inferior in ability to the likes of Rooney. He basically ran the front line tonight for England, and ran his socks off. He gave his all and did well as a target man, causing a good Croatia a lot of problems. I personally feel he is made a scapegoat and is similar to the likes of Ameobi as far as stick is concerned. He gets a lot more grief than he actually deserves, and does a decent enough job "causing problems" even if he isn't very prolific at all.

 

Oh no doubt I agree that he played well tonight and has often played well in an England shirt. And i agree when the chips are down he is made a scapegoat out of.

 

But when Darius Vassell has scored more goals for England you can hardly call him under-rated as I doubt many strikers have 48 caps and counting with 5 goals.

 

Fair point I guess.....I'm not sure, but just out of curiosity how many has Owen got along side Heskey for England? Do you know?

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Neil

Neil

Posted
Posted

I seriously can't believe some people on here.

 

Lose/draw, and we're all over the place. Win, and it's "a flattering result, it doesn't prove anything". No, it doesn't but for f***s sake enjoy it for what it is. We just beat one of the best teams in Europe (Yep, they are) 4-1 on their own patch, where they were previously undefeated. Have some pissing pride man.

 

Whilst this hardly secures our qualification, its a bloomin huge step towards it. Croatia I bet will be thinking "Christ, we underestimated this English team".

 

And true, Heskey should be given a large slice of the credit. If not remarkable, the linkup play that went through him was completely pivotal to a large number of attacks.

 

Well done England. I just hope we keep up the good work.

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Alberto2005

Alberto2005

Posted
Posted

I seriously can't believe some people on here.

 

Lose/draw, and we're all over the place. Win, and it's "a flattering result, it doesn't prove anything". No, it doesn't but for f***s sake enjoy it for what it is. We just beat one of the best teams in Europe (Yep, they are) 4-1 on their own patch, where they were previously undefeated. Have some pissing pride man.

 

Whilst this hardly secures our qualification, its a bloomin huge step towards it. Croatia I bet will be thinking "Christ, we underestimated this English team".

 

And true, Heskey should be given a large slice of the credit. If not remarkable, the linkup play that went through him was completely pivotal to a large number of attacks.

 

Well done England. I just hope we keep up the good work.

The problem is that because of the constant England failures this looks brilliant, it's an excellent result but with the squad of players we have we should be performing on this scale almost every game, I won't hold my breath to what happens next.

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Neil

Neil

Posted
Posted

I seriously can't believe some people on here.

 

Lose/draw, and we're all over the place. Win, and it's "a flattering result, it doesn't prove anything". No, it doesn't but for f***s sake enjoy it for what it is. We just beat one of the best teams in Europe (Yep, they are) 4-1 on their own patch, where they were previously undefeated. Have some pissing pride man.

 

Whilst this hardly secures our qualification, its a bloomin huge step towards it. Croatia I bet will be thinking "Christ, we underestimated this English team".

 

And true, Heskey should be given a large slice of the credit. If not remarkable, the linkup play that went through him was completely pivotal to a large number of attacks.

 

Well done England. I just hope we keep up the good work.

The problem is that because of the constant England failures this looks brilliant, it's an excellent result but with the squad of players we have we should be performing on this scale almost every game, I won't hold my breath to what happens next.

 

You've said it yourself. With the squad of players we have. Not a team, though. Should we be performing at this level? No, coz a set of good players most definitely doesn't make a team.

 

And in terms of general performance, look at other big European teams. They often struggle in certain games during qualification. Yet the English media pick up on any weakness the England side may have, blow it out of all proportion and give the impression we're completely f****d.

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Guest Toon Argy

Guest Toon Argy

Posted
Posted

I seriously can't believe some people on here.

 

Lose/draw, and we're all over the place. Win, and it's "a flattering result, it doesn't prove anything". No, it doesn't but for f***s sake enjoy it for what it is. We just beat one of the best teams in Europe (Yep, they are) 4-1 on their own patch, where they were previously undefeated. Have some pissing pride man.

 

Whilst this hardly secures our qualification, its a bloomin huge step towards it. Croatia I bet will be thinking "Christ, we underestimated this English team".

 

And true, Heskey should be given a large slice of the credit. If not remarkable, the linkup play that went through him was completely pivotal to a large number of attacks.

 

Well done England. I just hope we keep up the good work.

The problem is that because of the constant England failures this looks brilliant, it's an excellent result but with the squad of players we have we should be performing on this scale almost every game, I won't hold my breath to what happens next.

 

You've said it yourself. With the squad of players we have. Not a team, though. Should we be performing at this level? No, coz a set of good players most definitely doesn't make a team.

 

And in terms of general performance, look at other big European teams. They often struggle in certain games during qualification. Yet the English media pick up on any weakness the England side may have, blow it out of all proportion and give the impression we're completely f****d.

 

Like when we didn't qualify for the euros?

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Neil

Neil

Posted
Posted

I seriously can't believe some people on here.

 

Lose/draw, and we're all over the place. Win, and it's "a flattering result, it doesn't prove anything". No, it doesn't but for f***s sake enjoy it for what it is. We just beat one of the best teams in Europe (Yep, they are) 4-1 on their own patch, where they were previously undefeated. Have some pissing pride man.

 

Whilst this hardly secures our qualification, its a bloomin huge step towards it. Croatia I bet will be thinking "Christ, we underestimated this English team".

 

And true, Heskey should be given a large slice of the credit. If not remarkable, the linkup play that went through him was completely pivotal to a large number of attacks.

 

Well done England. I just hope we keep up the good work.

The problem is that because of the constant England failures this looks brilliant, it's an excellent result but with the squad of players we have we should be performing on this scale almost every game, I won't hold my breath to what happens next.

 

You've said it yourself. With the squad of players we have. Not a team, though. Should we be performing at this level? No, coz a set of good players most definitely doesn't make a team.

 

And in terms of general performance, look at other big European teams. They often struggle in certain games during qualification. Yet the English media pick up on any weakness the England side may have, blow it out of all proportion and give the impression we're completely f****d.

 

Like when we didn't qualify for the euros?

 

Are you suggesting I'm defending the England team for not qualifying? It was a disgrace, anyone in their right mind would know that. What I'm saying is this country's media are far too ready to point the finger and try and criticise them, whether there's substance to it or not.

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Guest Toon Argy

Guest Toon Argy

Posted
Posted

I seriously can't believe some people on here.

 

Lose/draw, and we're all over the place. Win, and it's "a flattering result, it doesn't prove anything". No, it doesn't but for f***s sake enjoy it for what it is. We just beat one of the best teams in Europe (Yep, they are) 4-1 on their own patch, where they were previously undefeated. Have some pissing pride man.

 

Whilst this hardly secures our qualification, its a bloomin huge step towards it. Croatia I bet will be thinking "Christ, we underestimated this English team".

 

And true, Heskey should be given a large slice of the credit. If not remarkable, the linkup play that went through him was completely pivotal to a large number of attacks.

 

Well done England. I just hope we keep up the good work.

The problem is that because of the constant England failures this looks brilliant, it's an excellent result but with the squad of players we have we should be performing on this scale almost every game, I won't hold my breath to what happens next.

 

You've said it yourself. With the squad of players we have. Not a team, though. Should we be performing at this level? No, coz a set of good players most definitely doesn't make a team.

 

And in terms of general performance, look at other big European teams. They often struggle in certain games during qualification. Yet the English media pick up on any weakness the England side may have, blow it out of all proportion and give the impression we're completely f****d.

 

Like when we didn't qualify for the euros?

 

Are you suggesting I'm defending the England team for not qualifying? It was a disgrace, anyone in their right mind would know that. What I'm saying is this country's media are far too ready to point the finger and try and criticise them, whether there's substance to it or not.

 

They deserve every bit of criticism they get when they aren't performing. The majority of these players are supposed to be world class players but they have never performed for England. I'm sure if they wern't greedy bastards and were more bothered about playing football than the money i don't think they would recieve as much criticism. I also think they recieve alot of criticism because the players are disliked by alot of people; e.g. lampard, terry, ass chole.

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Guest optimistic nit

Guest optimistic nit

Posted
Posted

I seriously can't believe some people on here.

 

Lose/draw, and we're all over the place. Win, and it's "a flattering result, it doesn't prove anything". No, it doesn't but for f***s sake enjoy it for what it is. We just beat one of the best teams in Europe (Yep, they are) 4-1 on their own patch, where they were previously undefeated. Have some pissing pride man.

 

Whilst this hardly secures our qualification, its a bloomin huge step towards it. Croatia I bet will be thinking "Christ, we underestimated this English team".

 

And true, Heskey should be given a large slice of the credit. If not remarkable, the linkup play that went through him was completely pivotal to a large number of attacks.

 

Well done England. I just hope we keep up the good work.

The problem is that because of the constant England failures this looks brilliant, it's an excellent result but with the squad of players we have we should be performing on this scale almost every game, I won't hold my breath to what happens next.

 

You've said it yourself. With the squad of players we have. Not a team, though. Should we be performing at this level? No, coz a set of good players most definitely doesn't make a team.

 

And in terms of general performance, look at other big European teams. They often struggle in certain games during qualification. Yet the English media pick up on any weakness the England side may have, blow it out of all proportion and give the impression we're completely f****d.

 

its not just the english media that do that though. the french media have been really bad after austria.

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Cronky

Cronky

Posted
Posted

I seriously can't believe some people on here.

 

Lose/draw, and we're all over the place. Win, and it's "a flattering result, it doesn't prove anything". No, it doesn't but for f***s sake enjoy it for what it is. We just beat one of the best teams in Europe (Yep, they are) 4-1 on their own patch, where they were previously undefeated. Have some pissing pride man.

 

Whilst this hardly secures our qualification, its a bloomin huge step towards it. Croatia I bet will be thinking "Christ, we underestimated this English team".

 

And true, Heskey should be given a large slice of the credit. If not remarkable, the linkup play that went through him was completely pivotal to a large number of attacks.

 

Well done England. I just hope we keep up the good work.

 

It's just a question of keeping your feet on the ground. It's very striking that the media respond very much to the result rather than the performance, but it's the performance that is the better indication of how the team is progressing. Until they went down to 10 men, we didn't look that good in possession.

 

There were some definite positives to take forward. I think in Heskey and Rooney, we now have a strikeforce that we see can working. Ashton might be a better bet than Heskey, but at least we now have a basic strategy. Walcott looked a bit raw at times, but he showed the value of a really mobile player in that position, who could get behind a defence and get on the end of chances. Persisting with Beckham has seemed to me to be a negative choice.

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Teasy

Teasy

Posted
Posted

The problem is that because of the constant England failures this looks brilliant, it's an excellent result but with the squad of players we have we should be performing on this scale almost every game, I won't hold my breath to what happens next.

 

Croatia haven't lost at home in something like 38 odd games, 78% of there games under Billic have been wins.  Any team on the planet would consider this a brilliant result FFS!!

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Guest Chubby Jason

Guest Chubby Jason

Posted
Posted

The problem is that because of the constant England failures this looks brilliant, it's an excellent result but with the squad of players we have we should be performing on this scale almost every game, I won't hold my breath to what happens next.

 

Croatia haven't lost at home in something like 38 odd games, 78% of there games under Billic have been wins.  Any team on the planet would consider this a brilliant result FFS!!

Can only agree with that. Some of the negativity in this thread has been quite pathetic.
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KaKa

KaKa

Posted
Posted

Keep Beckham and Gerrard out and the team will be so much better for it.

 

No one was playing those stupid crossfield long balls last night, veven with Heskey up there to aim for.

 

It was patient passing and the ball was kept on the ground. Lampard and Barry especially set the tone for this type of game.

 

You watch what happens as soon as Gerrard is re-introduced though. he'll start launching those ridiculous passes which are only succesful 1 out of 10 times. Always wants to do the more complicated thing Gerrard does. Always wants to be some sort of super hero.

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