S.S.R. Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 I give it a day before that VIP ad is banned. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnes23 Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 Lallana was ok, but I'd prefer to have the likes of Sturridge or Wellbeck playing, also prefer to keep the same group together that had been gaining a bit of a understanding over the last few games. Would have Lallana over Welbeck every time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 Lallana was ok, but I'd prefer to have the likes of Sturridge or Wellbeck playing, also prefer to keep the same group together that had been gaining a bit of a understanding over the last few games. Would have Lallana over Welbeck every time. Lallana over Townsend or Walcott maybe. Welbeck needs to be in the side, as tonight again proved. Absolutely fuck all ball retention in the final third - something Welbeck is absolutely paramount to. That being said, England were absolutely wank altogether this evening. Completely schooled by the opposition. Neither team really got out of second gear, which is typical of a friendly at this point in the season. Awful game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deuce Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 I agree. Absolutely. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 What a load of absolute fucking shit. I can see the excuses already. It was an experimental side. It was a friendly. Guess what, it was a friendly for Chile too and they were missing arguably their 2 best players after Sanchez in Vidal and Valdivia. And they wiped the fucking floor with us, good and proper. Not that it was actually surprising, I guess. We know fine well Chile are going to be far superior on the ball - hell, 30 countries or more in the world are better on the ball than us. The sheer confusion and panic at coming up against a side who are like this is frightening. I'm actually wondering whether we'd have actually played better against someone like Brazil or Argentina, sat back knowing that the opposition are the ones who'll make most of the running. I'm thinking that's going to be our only hope next summer to get anywhere near the latter stages, because tonight against a side who will be nowhere near the favourites for the World Cup (and yes, I know they have talented players), we got shown up for what we are. A mediocre European country. Of course, nothing is going to change for the foreseeable future until actual grass-roots action is taken. Proper change for me is not building an expensive academy. Change for me is a change in attitudes, right down to school level where the biggest, the quickest, the strongest players will invariably be picked and given preferential treatment with little thought given to talented kids who are great with the ball but lack the immediate physically dominating appearance. Sometimes I wonder, until some actual change is achieved, if we're actually just best off playing the "English" way, 4-4-2, get into them, all the cliches. Because seeing us try to match sophisticated international outfits with some form of 4-2-3-1 crap is at times embarrassing. One slight positive is that at least we're seeing a few more players given a chance at this level (e.g. the Southampton players) but that will only get somewhere if they're given a chance beyond a friendly or 2. Picking them for one friendly then telling them to bugger off achieves absolutely nothing. Limping through qualification in a mediocre group is now seen as a real achievement which is indicative of the level we're at. Why haven't we taken a couple of tournaments as a "free hit", properly tried to resolve our deep-rooted problems and slowly rebuilt? Sheer arrogance perhaps? Whatever it is, we'll not be winning anything anytime soon unless we look at the wider problem. I'm not apathetic about the national team. I want us to win, I really do. The usual excuse given is "well, they don't represent us. What a bunch of wankers" (increasingly I find that to be an odd rationale, given top-level football is, seemingly, riddled with wankers, so I'm unsure how, say, Newcastle or Everton, would be separate from this criticism.) I also think there are also plenty of them playing for England who desperately want to succeed with England and contribute. What a mess. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest icemanblue Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 Bit much. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest neesy111 Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 Didn't watch it, was the 2-0 scoreline a deserved one for Chile? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 Didn't watch it, was the 2-0 scoreline a deserved one for Chile? Yup. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinmk Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 How did Forster do for yous? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 Fucking hell, Neil. Get a grip, man. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiresias Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 on football focus suggested Pardew join England setup Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 Who suggested that? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenham Mag Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 Keown. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 Shearer probably suggested it to him on MoTD the other week. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenham Mag Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 What was suggested that they should get a few English managers to go to the World Cup to support Hodgson. Pardew's name was mentioned. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylorJ_01 Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 That would set us back a good 20 years. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mole_Toonfan Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 I must say I've always liked Keown. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimbo Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 How did Forster do for yous? I haven't seen him play much, but his reputation for bad kicking and being slow off his line looks accurate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakie Doke Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 anyone see it when Sanchez's low shot Forster save from Fraser? Forster = "forced a" It's a pun Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tooj Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 Shearer probably suggested it to him on MoTD the other week. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 Neil makes a good point re grassroots, but I don't think last night's game was indicative of how we'll perform next summer. It was a badly-timed friendly where players, who were shoe-horned into a slapdash formation, purely for the sake of 'minutes', didn't try that hard and were shown up for it as a result. Chile are undoubtedly a decent and cultured side, but I'd fancy us against them if we faced them at the World Cup. Just a pointless run-out that served only to highlight how pointless it was. Why we insist on having two at a time is beyond me. Germany will be a better match cos we'll at least be up for it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 Bit much. Wouldn't really say so. It's sad to see how much our expectations have been justifiably lowered and how teams who are nowhere near the main favourites for next summer completely outplaying us. It's a deep-rooted issue which isn't going to be solved through expensive facilities or debating over whether 4-2-3-1 will suit us better. Fucking hell, Neil. Get a grip, man. Err, right? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 You could be right, Neil, but I think you're going way over-the-top if you thought last night was evidence of everything wrong with the English team. I think Hodgson has built a solid set-up with the 4231, Sturridge, Welbeck, Rooney and one from 'the fast lads' is a good front four. Wilshere and one fromm Gerrard/Lampard as the two. Defense picks itself Imo. Last night was nothing. Should have been his first team or a like-for-like 'B' team, not a mix of the two. Told us absolutely nothing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 It's one game, Neil. Before last night we'd lost once game in 90 minutes under Hodgson due to an absolute wonder performance from one of the best players in the world. We'll never pass teams off the park but if we can play at a good tempo with our best Xl we'll do fine. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 Last night on its own wasn't a sole, comprehensive summary but it just once again emphasised the problems we had. Swapping a few players can't be used as an excuse for being outplayed by a "lesser" South American team who were missing 2 of their most influential players. It told us a lot. It told us we are apparently unable to swap and rotate a few players without getting soundly defeated by an also weakened Chile at home. To skip over it and pretend it told us nothing it is a really dangerous attitude IMO. We need to learn from last night, and fast. I actually think we'll do better against Germany purely because no-one expects much and we'll let them have more of the ball and let them come to us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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