Gallowgate Toon Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 When you listen to the England players it's all about working hard, leave everything on the pitch, putting in a good shift, etc. We just don't out think teams. There doesn't seem to be much on the field intelligence. Working out how to pull a team around to create space in difficult areas. We're not a cerebral bunch when it comes to football That's where Wilshere would've been useful. While he may not be as attractive a player as someone like Barkley, he's quite good at knowing when to hold on to the ball and when to try and make something happen. Our downfall has really been our soft centre, Gerrard and Henderson have been poor at protecting the defence and dictating the tempo, which isn't really a surprise to anyone. We really need to produce a top, top class central midfielder in the Vidal mould. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
triggs Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Is there a reason why England don't have any real defensive midfielders? I think it would've worked better if they had a competent defensive midfielder and then Wilshere alongside him rather than playing Gerrard and Henderson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayson Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 http://i59.tinypic.com/2rxw3l1.png Hi-tech tactical analysis of the game. Basically. Stayed the same till Barkley started drifting in from the wing, suddenly Johnson/Baines get more space. Hodgson left a failing system for way to long. We created nowt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Roger Kint Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Is there a reason why England don't have any real defensive midfielders? I think it would've worked better if they had a competent defensive midfielder and then Wilshere alongside him rather than playing Gerrard and Henderson We were crying out for Wilshere(or Barkley on earlier) last night. That static often invisible midfield was shocking. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dokko Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 I think last night was down to lack of intelligence and too many runners. I was worried against Italy about having too many runners on the pitch at once, but it worked, probably due to the Italians stand off and slower pace allowing the running to work more effectively. Last night we were chased, closed down and bullied out of the game, and this is where a little bit of intelligence comes in. Without Rio (even Terry & Cole) we lack it at the back, without Lampard and certainly Scholes we lack it in midfield and you'd have to go as far back as Shearer to find it upfront. Gerrard is supposed to be that man but for me is nowhere near what we need and with his legs gone and confidence shaky due to his blunder end of season he's come in to this nowhere near the player we needed as a captain. Problem is his successor naturally is Wilshere, which is even more concerning. With so many runners on the pitch it left the middle soft and vulnerable, no protection for the back 4 while leaving big gaps throughout because there wasn't enough bodies in there. The parallels with us certainly ring true, no one on the pitch good enough to lead a team, no one good enough to mentally win the battle against other players and their tactics (game playing) and imo its that what led us to look clueless last night as much as anything else. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unbelievable Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Blaming the media is the easy way out, we just don't have good enough players for the big stage. Nonsense. Your squad is easily top 10 in the world in terms of quality of the players. Media is however an easy way out;the media in other countries is not altogether different. Maybe the English football mindset isn't really cut out for competing as a team though; the whole never seems to be the sum of its parts, let alone more. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanshithispantz Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Blaming the media is the easy way out, we just don't have good enough players for the big stage. I think we do tbh, not to win it but certainly to do far better than we ever do. We just never look like a World Cup side and always flatter to deceive. We're really lacking in certain areas, namely right back and left wing, but we've again approached a major tournament without any sort of plan. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyeDubbleYoo Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Trying not to draw too many conclusion from a couple of narrow defeats against one on the best defences in the world and one of the most dangerous forwards. Depressing obviously, but I don't think it's time to trot out all the same old England disappointment headlines. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest neesy111 Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 It is same old England though, that's the point isn't it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest reefatoon Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Henderson and Gerrard as a two is so slow and weak. Neither wanted to grip the game and neither is dynamic enough to make it happen. Gerrard won't be dropped but he should be Totally agree. Gerrard looks finished and has been awful and Henderson just seems to want to hide behind him the whole time. Midfield is crap. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmojorisin75 Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Trying not to draw too many conclusion from a couple of narrow defeats against one on the best defences in the world and one of the most dangerous forwards. Depressing obviously, but I don't think it's time to trot out all the same old England disappointment headlines. well i for one am shocked at this middle of the road opinion Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest reefatoon Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Trying not to draw too many conclusion from a couple of narrow defeats against one on the best defences in the world and one of the most dangerous forwards. Depressing obviously, but I don't think it's time to trot out all the same old England disappointment headlines. well i for one am shocked at this middle of the road opinion Ian "Safety" W Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmojorisin75 Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Henderson and Gerrard as a two is so slow and weak. Neither wanted to grip the game and neither is dynamic enough to make it happen. Gerrard won't be dropped but he should be Totally agree. Gerrard looks finished and has been awful and Henderson just seems to want to hide behind him the whole time. Midfield is crap. henderson should never have been on the pitch midfield should have been ox (if fit), wilshere, barkley, lallana & sterling backing up sturridge...if oz unfit then play rooney in midfield or start milner wide to protect the full back on one side think it's ronaldo who has been saying there's no need for a static/immobile CM/DM for ages and he's right...might as well have had pace and movement in there in the hope we'd outscore teams, once again caution was the order of the day and we went out anyway henderson man Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanshithispantz Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Ian What else are we supposed to judge our team on, other than, you know, the fucking World Cup? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyeDubbleYoo Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Oh sorry, let's go mental after two games. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanshithispantz Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 2 World Cup games, which we've been preparing for for 2 years. We're all mental, lads. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmojorisin75 Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Oh sorry, let's go mental after two games. aye it's only 2 games ian, football started less than 2 weeks ago Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest reefatoon Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Sometimes you get knocked out early but then 4 years later you are back in the tournament quite unpredictably. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Oh sorry, let's go mental after two games. If you can't judge a team on a tournament we've been preparing for for years, then when can you judge them? It's not hyperbole or knee-jerking to make a judgement on the significant evidence we have. You're allowed to make a bold judgement/decision/comment and it not be an over-reaction. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
r0cafella Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Oh sorry, let's go mental after two games. Two games which have led to the embarrassment of being knocked out at the group stages. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyeDubbleYoo Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Oh sorry, let's go mental after two games. Two games which have led to the embarrassment of being knocked out at the group stages. Obviously, but we knew before it was a tough group and we wanted to give young players a chance. I'm not saying it's not a bad result, I just hate the way people trot out the same old criticisms regardless of the actual circumstances. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest neesy111 Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 You have 3 games to get out of the group stage, we've played 66.66% (recurring) of them. I think a judgement can be made tbh. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 I think getting Wilshere sorted is key for us. Mainly due to injuries, he hasn't progressed in the last couple of years but he clearly has a lot of talent and I think, if fit, could be pivotal for England for the next 5-10 years. Certainly an improvement on Henderson who does next to fuck all, while Gerrard has again demonstrated his best times are long behind him. Welbeck, man. Just why? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
r0cafella Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Oh sorry, let's go mental after two games. Two games which have led to the embarrassment of being knocked out at the group stages. Obviously, but we knew before it was a tough group and we wanted to give young players a chance. I'm not saying it's not a bad result, I just hate the way people trot out the same old criticisms regardless of the actual circumstances. Its a group we should be getting out of for me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanshithispantz Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 We haven't given young players a chance though. We gave Sterling a chance because we haven't got any other wingers. Barkley was effectively used as a typical "we're losing, sling an attacker on" sub. Shaw has about as much WC experience as Flip. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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