Re: Football Chat Thread - Euro 2012 edition : Sun Jun 24, 2012 10:19 pm  

Saddened! wrote:

Milner again spends far too long on the field and didn't do anything positive at all, not one thing. I would love to see the stats on him. Pass completion was nearly zero, never beat a man, didn't make a tackle. He's the worst player in the Euros by a distance, technically awful, tactically awful. He spent his entire game jogging around between Italian passes as if it were a training session. He contributes nothing. This myth that he protects Johnson is ridiculous, he puts him under so much more pressure.




Plenty to change ahead of the WC. Terry has to go, Cole as well, lauded as the best left back in the world, but did absolutely nothing in an attacking sense, as ever. Parker, Gerrard, Milner and Young must surely have played their last games for England. The future doesn't exactly look bright though when the likes of Henderson seem to be the next in line.

First of all, Milner may not be the most talented international winger in the world, and there are probably other options. At least Milner is always showing for the ball, something which cannot be said of most of the England players after the first 15 minutes. How the hell we expect to win a 1/4 final when our midfield has no interest in making themselves available for a pass, I do not know. We back our own players into a corner because the have no options, and then said player ends up giving the ball away.

Say what you like about Terry, he's been immense this tournament, and had he been German people would have been raving about him. I don't want to choose individuals, because the whole mentality of the team was so negatibve and scared to even receive possession it became a bit embarrasing. Wilshere is a must if he can get fit, someone with the bottle to take the ball to feet, use it and then go looking for it again. Carroll enhanced his rep. big time tonight IMO, Lescott looks good in there. Parker had a great first half an hour, but faded out due to our inability to keep the ball. Ditto Gerrard, he spent the majority of the game chaing Montilvio around, tired and then couldn't get on the ball. You MUST be able to retain possession of the football.

Sorry for the rant but the inability of that set of players to do the fundamentals of football and make themselves available to pass to is infuriating.

Re: Football Chat Thread - Euro 2012 edition : Sun Jun 24, 2012 10:29 pm  

England will always struggle against teams like Italy because they simply don't have the quality or patience to beat them. We've done well in some ways and hopefully we can build on the organisation and heart we've shown and add some reall class to the team. Parker will run his blood to water every time but you need more from your midfielders, with hindsight the decsion to try and get Paul Scholes out of retirement wasn't a bad one. Hopefully Jack Wilshire can stay fit because if you does we should be trying to build a team around him. Not sure who else is coming through who can partner him in midfield though.

I thought Hodgson made his first poor substitution when he took Welbeck off instead of Young, who frankly is complete gash. He's meant to have pace but he never beats a man, has no left foot and gives the ball away as much as anyone I've ever seen for England. Adam Johnson should be given a go.

Re: Football Chat Thread - Euro 2012 edition : Sun Jun 24, 2012 10:36 pm  

Roddy B wrote:

Penalties are decided by the flip of a coin, can't really knock them for going out to penalties but the match itself was disappointing.

A flip of the coin that england keep losing again and again?

England just can't handle the pressure of penalties. That's what it comes down to. We always have 2 or 3 players that can do it, but always a few who fluff the penalties, if you only score 2 or 3 the likelehood is you will lose. That's what happened to england.

Young's penalty was fine, he just had to hit the target. Cole's was a little too tame and not far enough in the croner (see balotelli's for a pretty tame, but unsaveable penalty)

England deserved to lose, it would have been a travesty if they had gone though over the italy the way the game panned out.

But where england is concerned, let's not kid ourselves that penalties is a lottery for us, (a lottery we keep losing). We are just too weak mentally when it comes to penalties.

I don't think theres a nation with a worse record.

Re: Football Chat Thread - Euro 2012 edition : Sun Jun 24, 2012 10:44 pm  

Saddened! wrote:

Seeing how quickly he was committing to it, Italy just added a stutter to their run, which made it very easy.

It takes mental strength to do that though. It's easier just to have it in your head you're going right (or left, whichever), running up hitting it hard in that direction and hoping for the best.

Re: Football Chat Thread - Euro 2012 edition : Sun Jun 24, 2012 10:45 pm  

Wilbred T Pricklepop wrote:

I don't think theres a nation with a worse record.

Holland?

Re: Football Chat Thread - Euro 2012 edition : Sun Jun 24, 2012 10:58 pm  

I soon has I heard Woy say about penalties ... ''we will cross that bridge when we come to it.'' I knew we were doomed.
Similarly England managers of the past who have said ... ''you can't practice penalties.''
Fooking losers!
Be prepared.
Why wasn't Gerrard an early penalty taker?

My mind goes back to Batty.
And as he squared up to take a penalty for England the commentator said something to the effect that ''this was the first penalty he had ever taken.''
Mental!
And all because at the time he said to the boss ''I am up for taking one!''
There should be a plan!

Re: Football Chat Thread - Euro 2012 edition : Sun Jun 24, 2012 11:03 pm  

Charlie Sheen wrote:

Holland?

what's their record?

Re: Football Chat Thread - Euro 2012 edition : Sun Jun 24, 2012 11:05 pm  

Wilbred T Pricklepop wrote:

what's their record?

Tulips from Amsterdam.

Re: Football Chat Thread - Euro 2012 edition : Sun Jun 24, 2012 11:06 pm  

Stand-Offish wrote:

I soon has I heard Woy say about penalties ... ''we will cross that bridge when we come to it.'' I knew we were doomed.
Similarly England managers of the past who have said ... ''you can't practice penalties.''
Fooking losers!
Be prepared.
Why wasn't Gerrard an early penalty taker?

he was our first penalty taker

You can practice penalties as much as you want but it still doesn't prevent you from fluffing it when your physically and mentally battered after 120 minutes and you lose your nerve.

That's what people mean when they say ''you can't practice penalties''. It's not that they don't take them in training, it's that you can't re-create that situation and moment.

Re: Football Chat Thread - Euro 2012 edition : Sun Jun 24, 2012 11:06 pm  

England's problems are far deeper than the mental pressure in penalties. As Rory Smith has just said on Twitter, people accept pride and determination as qualities that make a side good. They should be a given, they should turn up to every game like you turn up in your kit. As I said after the France game, England never tried to play football and I thought it was poor. I was told it was the type of performance we've been waiting decades for, but it was another papering over the cracks, an attempt to hide the obvious inabilities of a squad largely lacking in crucial areas. England will keep Roy until the next world cup (assuming they qualify) and will expect more of the same, whilst a national side like Germany will reap the rewards from investing in a great manager and a great youth set up.

Why do so many other nations get it right yet we can't? Do people really believe it's psychological? Is it educational? Is the training wrong? Are we oblivious to some magic form of training? Why can't English managers come up with anything remotely decent in terms of tactics and personnel? Jogi Low dropped his first choice attacking three in Germany's biggest game where they'd be facing a defensive wall, yet they came out, determined, settled and played with a tempo and consistency England could only dream of. People think that things will change once Roy gets time but they're kidding themselves. It never changed at Liverpool, it never changed at Fulham or West Brom. He plays one way and England played that way throughout the tournament. It's not Roy's fault, but the FA have to do something different, it's time to think outside of the box and change, instead of hoping one man can come in and change it all.