2014 FIFA World Cup

[mrtourette]

Gary Neville please.

Boring how Gerrard's gonna get all the stick for this one despite being one of the best performers out there tonight - not that that's saying much. Uruguay pretty much deserved to win and no single moment tipped it in their favour.

Out of interest, when was the last time we had a poor defence?

[mrtourette]

How about the Man Utd dream team of Neville, Neville, Butt and Scholes. They know how to play the England way and what it means to the fans.

[dentalplan]

I think Gerrard was poor tonight. Over the last couple of years he's been a consistently good performer, but not tonight. But I wouldn't really blame him anyway.

[pink_triangle]

I normally like how they put some of the smaller nations in the 11pm slot, however Greece v Japan has not been a good game. How Japan haven't scored I don't know, funny feeling that Greece may steal this one.

[pink_triangle]

You think? I thought Gerrard and Henderson were alright in the middle. A lot going through them starting some fruitless attempts.

[Andre91]

Why? His had one good season, they have made that mistake before with Keegan and mcClaren.

[pink_triangle]

Because his teams play good football, Swansea did whilst he was there and Liverpool were great to watch last season. He also puts his faith in younger players, something that Roy has done with his WC squad, and England need to continue doing right away.

Out of curiosity, what other British manager(s) do you think would be a good choice for England?

[dentalplan]

I think the central midfield partnership has always been a problem for England, they have tried different combinations but nothing has gelled. I think Gerrard/Henderson is better than Gerrard/ parker, but Im not sure its possible to be much worse!

[thetime]

Because his teams play good football, Swansea did whilst he was there and Liverpool were great to watch last season. He also puts his faith in younger players, something that Roy has done with his WC squad, and England need to continue doing right away.

Out of curiosity, what other British manager(s) do you think would be a good choice for England?

[dentalplan]

I would give Glenn Hoddle another go.

[thetime]

Nah. He's a pundit now paying for the sins of a former career

The 'Head & Shoulders' gag he smuggled in earlier was a highlight of the night though.

[thetime]

Suarez could of shown a bit of class in his interviews after the match, sowing the seeds of a move perhaps.

[Wooderson]

Or perhaps not.

[eFestivals]

So, as I said, the FIFA rankings are pretty accurate and England aren't getting out of the groups.

And Rooney's still shit. A fat Suarez who's been sat on his arse for a month had more energy.

[eFestivals]

I don't think any manager in the world will do much better than hodgson. England had Capello who is up there with one of the best in the last 30 years and he couldn't do Jack shit.

yeah, the best manager ever brings on Emile Heskey as an impact sub, because that's what the smart guys do.

(and I say that as someone who was very happy with Heskey's inclusion in that squad too).

[eFestivals]

I don't see any reason to get rid of Hodgson, so far he has done ok (not better, not worse) and there isn't an obvious successor.

Agreed.

He had more bottle than Sven or Postman Pat, and at least didn't go completely with what everyone knew would fail.

My criticism of him is that he should have been even more adventurous, but I won't be too hard on him because he didn't play everything as safe as I'd thought he would.

[Andre91]

I don't see any reason to get rid of Hodgson, so far he has done ok (not better, not worse) and there isn't an obvious successor.

Edited June 20, 2014 by Andre91

[The Nal]

Gerrard was shit for almost the entire match

[eFestivals]

Rankings are shit

Really? The rankings that said Italy and Uruguay are both better than us, while few in England wanted to believe that Uruguay were? You can find comments in this thread that say Uruguay have got lucky with their rankings.

It's a good job FIFA don't watch too much footie or aren't very expert, eh?

[jump]

So, as I said, the FIFA rankings are pretty accurate and England aren't getting out of the groups.

And Rooney's still shit. A fat Suarez who's been sat on his arse for a month had more energy.

Edited June 20, 2014 by jump

[pink_triangle]

Rooney was crap too wasn't he. Headless.

[eFestivals]

Amazing how hes got away with it up until now. He was absolutely awful. Made yet another mistake.

he had his worst game for a while, and made a mistake like all players do. Unfortunately, it was a very costly mistake.

I though Henderson was worse (and I'm a bit of a hendo fan).

The real problem tho is the defence. Gerrard's mistake shouldn't have cost us a goal.

Rooney was crap too wasn't he. Headless.

Good luck next season.

At half time Rooney should have been off for Lambert, Welbeck should have been off for Lallana, and Milner should have come on for one of Gerrard or Hendo (and perhaps someone else for the other as well).

[eFestivals]

If the FIFA rankings are accurate then why are Spain out dispite being top of the Rankings due to 2 teams outside of the top 10? Imo they are a rough indicator but far from accurate.

Like any rankings that are based only on past performance, they'll be wrong when a team's abilities have changed.

There were plenty of reasons to be able to look at Spain and think their level might have fallen, because of the age of them all - but even then, they haven't fallen as far as their early exit suggests. It's not like Holland or Chile are crap teams.

[eFestivals]

For all his faults England have scored 2 goals and he played a key role in both.

The most key role in the first goal was Sterling's, and a tap-in isn't showing high class.

Plus, what might an alternative player have done in his place? More, or less?

Rooney's not crap, but his playing-by-instinct style isn't sharp enough for the way the game is being played at its best right now.

[lost]

he had his worst game for a while, and made a mistake like all players do. Unfortunately, it was a very costly mistake.

I though Henderson was worse (and I'm a bit of a hendo fan).

The real problem tho is the defence. Gerrard's mistake shouldn't have cost us a goal.