Euro 2012

[kaosmark2]

I don't think anyone has said he hasn't played well apart from the first goal, I was just guessing our managers tactics as I thought we may have more luck with walcott on the right

[strummer77]

Reply clearly shows he meant it... No need for mind reading, tea leafs or fortune tellers... Just some eyes

Edited June 15, 2012 by strummer77

[kaosmark2]

Good going forward... Terrible ball retention and defence..

Caroll probably our best player overall...

[pink_triangle]

An intriguing game more than a great one, the quality of the football was amongst the worst I have seen in the tournament. Both sides were useless at keeping the ball which made for a lot of chances for both, Glad to see Melberg getting a couple, defintely one of footballs good guys. Some great finishes from the England players as well. I think its fair to say neither England or Ukraine will be terrified about what they have seen from each other today and that should be a good game. Both and France should go into the next games not just focused on qualification but with an eye on avoiding spain. I think Roy made some good decisons today, Im not as convinced that Englands defence are as good as some make out or the amount of protection they are getting from Parker.

[pink_triangle]

Need to outdo France's result to avoid Spain in the quarters, but I don't think we'd have much chance against either Italy or Croatia either.

[kaosmark2]

Not convinced about Italy, they dont seem to have many goals in the team.

[pink_triangle]

They're not going to concede the type of goals England have scored though. They haven't looked fantastic, but we'll see how many they get against Ireland. They've got to get 3 to ensure they're not relying on Spain beating Croatia, and if they can do that against Ireland, I'm sure they can get 1 against England, which would probably be enough.

[kaosmark2]

I think Balotelli has 1 goal in 10, Cassano is harldly prolific, I would say it would be a close game. England in the past have had a bit of a mental barrier against big teams in knockouts but then again they have had a mental barrier against Sweden as well, so maybe things have changed. As someone who is certainly no England fan, it annoys me to say I was right that Roy was the man for the job. He is making all the right decisions and Englands flaws which may stop them progrerssing much further were there long before he came.

[Ed209]

Well I'm not going to get carried away, because Sweden are one of the weakest teams in the tournament, but two things:

It was very nice to see England play in an exciting game, and actually win it

It was very nice to see England score three goals (and all from open play!!) in a major tournament. 8 years since that last happened.

Edited June 15, 2012 by Ed209

[strummer77]

Savage's ratings, and I (surprisingly) agree really with them, give or take the odd one.

Hart 6 Johnson 7 Terry 5 Lescott 6 Cole 6 Milner 6 Parker 7 Gerrard 8 Young 5 Carroll 9 Welbeck 8 sub Walcott 9

Opinion is widely split on Johnson as always though. Savage, Lawrenson and some journalists praising him up and Piers Morgan laying into him elsewhere. Personally I always think I trust Capello, Benitez, Redknapp and Mourinho: he's good, very good.

Edited June 15, 2012 by strummer77

[kaosmark2]

Savage's ratings, and I (surprisingly) agree really with them, give or take the odd one.

Hart 6 Johnson 7 Terry 5 Lescott 6 Cole 6 Milner 6 Parker 7 Gerrard 8 Young 5 Carroll 9 Welbeck 8 sub Walcott 9

[strummer77]

I wouldn't, mine would be:

Edited June 16, 2012 by strummer77

[kaosmark2]

Probably should have made myself clearer, I meant by the odd point not the odd player. Only said that just because normally there's always a player massively over or underrated in ratings I see and there, everything was just about relatively correct in my opinion.

Edit: Except looking back at them actually he has overrated Parker, I thought he was poor.

[rug568]

I think we are all agreed that the midfield is shit.

The only issue is the alternatives.

[strummer77]

Oh our midfield is shit. Think we should be going with 3 in the middle in a 4-3-3/4-5-1 style because we get overrun so easily. not in the 4-5-1 manner from the first game.

Today's set up doesn't get the best out of Gerrard who is too deep to do what he does best. He just isn't a plain old CM. A 3 with Milner (who has been wasted out wide) more central, or even Henderson alongside the two of them might create a more solid unit that wont get overrun as easily!

Hart

Johnson Terry Lescott Cole

Parker Milner/Henderson

Gerrard

Walcott (?) Young

Rooney

Perhaps that? A midfield 3 would certainly allow them all to work at a higher intensity...

Edited June 16, 2012 by strummer77

[kaosmark2]

Milner. And I think you could use Rooney flanking Welbeck against Ukraine. And IMO Young deserves to be dropped for that performance.

[thetime]

How about keeping the same winning team? Bit of a novelty granted.

[pink_triangle]

I think some of the England players are a little overrated in terms of the rankings given. I thought neither the defence or midfield offered enough protection and Sweden were able to get through down the flanks and middle.

I'm was starting to think I was the only one noticing parkers ineffectiveness, I'm not sure what he does to earn the credit he gets. Nice guy and hard working but rarely impresses me. He also doesn't look fully fit.

As for gerrard he also seemed to get tired very quick and wonder if his body can cope with many more games chasing the ball. As for rooney you probably have to risk playing him as Ukraine are a challenge and England also need to have half an eye on avoiding Spain. However I do think sometimes he can bring other players down when he has a bad day.

[The Nal]

How about keeping the same winning team? Bit of a novelty granted.

[kaosmark2]

How about keeping the same winning team? Bit of a novelty granted.

[strummer77]

How about keeping the same winning team? Bit of a novelty granted.

[pink_triangle]

Its funny listening to the radio in the car just now, a lot of people seem to be impressed with the Gerrard/Parker combination, I just dont see it as a great partnership. Behind Ireland, Sweden are probably the most "English type team in the tournament and if they dont convince against them, Im not sure they will convince against better teams who play a less familiar style. Also am yet to be convinced about the fitness of both, if the midfield cant protect the aging pedestrian JT then there could be trouble.

Some people have said that England are the best set up of any side to play spain because they can put in a chelsea type perfomance. I think the midfield of Chelsea and England is hugely different and am not sure that England are capable of shutting up shot in this way. I think if they do play spain in the qf spain would see Englands slow midfield as a dream to pass around and will love the fact they dont keep the ball well. I wonder if there is a place for Henderson and Phil Jones in this tournament, I think in the euros sometimes you have to sacrafice a bit of quality for some extra fitness.

I have been impressed with Milner so far this tournament, does an effective job with little fuss. I think he is doing a good job protecting Johnson who I feel can be a bit wasteful with the ball at times.

[strummer77]

Saw highlights and forgot about that save from Terry's header from the Johnson cross than the Swedish Keeper made. What a fantastic save that was!

[kaosmark2]

Its funny listening to the radio in the car just now, a lot of people seem to be impressed with the Gerrard/Parker combination, I just dont see it as a great partnership. Behind Ireland, Sweden are probably the most "English type team in the tournament and if they dont convince against them, Im not sure they will convince against better teams who play a less familiar style. Also am yet to be convinced about the fitness of both, if the midfield cant protect the aging pedestrian JT then there could be trouble.

Some people have said that England are the best set up of any side to play spain because they can put in a chelsea type perfomance. I think the midfield of Chelsea and England is hugely different and am not sure that England are capable of shutting up shot in this way. I think if they do play spain in the qf spain would see Englands slow midfield as a dream to pass around and will love the fact they dont keep the ball well. I wonder if there is a place for Henderson and Phil Jones in this tournament, I think in the euros sometimes you have to sacrafice a bit of quality for some extra fitness.

I have been impressed with Milner so far this tournament, does an effective job with little fuss. I think he is doing a good job protecting Johnson who I feel can be a bit wasteful with the ball at times.

[strummer77]

On the ball retention though just quick observation.

In a training game I heard Hodgson shout "I'm not interested in keep ball"

On a montage about him before the France game he shouted something like "5 passes then forward!".

Now to me this suggests our philosophy isn't quite right. Be prepared to play without the ball a lot, but when we get it we should be looking to fucking keep it. He got his subs very much right last night so credit there, but I feel we are riding our luck with our overall approach. Although saying that, we could well ride our luck throughout. It's a short format over a few days and a bit of flukey form can carry you through more than in normal cups.

Edited June 16, 2012 by strummer77