Well done Israel (never thought there would be a day when I would utter those words!).
Well if we don't make it now then surely McClown deserves to get the sack. It'll be a tough match against Croatia to be sure, and we're missing Owen and Rooney but then that may be a blessing; those two can be hit and miss , so maybe the workhorse (Crouch) can get a spawny one off one of the angles of his head.
And don't you freakin' dare McClown try and play Lampard and Gerrard together! Get Barry and Gerrard to try and prevent a talented Croatian midfield from stringing too many together, Wright-Phillips and Richards down the right, consign Downing to the fucking John Pontins piss-ant league where he deserves to be and I think we'll be okay. Crouch and Defoe will do alright upfront, but I think Gerrard could be our match winner, we seriously need him to be in top form.
And just to vent my spleen about yesterdays debacle. I know the FA will never read this but Why o' f**king why did we play a f**king friendly match 5 days before a potential final championship qualifying match? You bunch of fu***ng imbeciles. You do not deserve to be running the show. Never mind sack the manager, he's just a muppet employed as a yes man to you f***ing idiots. Get the hell out of Soho Square and employ people with footballing brains who can make sensible decisions and have got the bollox to put a man in charge of my (yes MY) national team who has the balls to make decisions that will make my country a footballing heavyweight. No, I don't buy into the crap that we're not good enough, we are, but the people who make the decisions aren't!
Phew!
My heart goes out to Scotland. As a true Englishman I've never bought into this feel sorry/support Scotland as they're hard-up mentality. I've always thought "screw 'em, hope you lose - badly", and in recent years they have. But it has to be said they have done magnicficently in a group that I thought they would be lucky to be still in after the first three of four matches never mind the final group game. It's no mean feat to beat France home and away and all in all they probably are more deserving of a finals place than France.
I agree with you wholeheartedly Vampyre. Gerrard and Lampard cannot play together and cancel each other out. I would play Beckham though, we'll need his experience and if we get a free kick in the last minute and need a goal...
if we get a free kick in the last minute and need a goal...
Yes, but only if it's in the bit I've quoted, there should be enough experience on the pitch without carrying Beckham. Apparently he's not played a full 90 minutes since August so there's no way he can be fit enough to last that match from the start. But if we need what you say... I remember that match against Greece... Bring him on for the last ten minutes. Or play him for the first half. If it doesn't work Wright Phillips when he's on song will terrify any defender and doubly so with the equally lightening and gifted Richards just behind him. I think we'll do it, part of me hopes not as McClown should get the sack, but the FA have said they won;t so we might as well :-)
If we do qualify, what do you reckon our chances? I've a funny feeling for the semi's as I think we could build a very good squad from the nucleus we have, and especially after the debacle of the world cup *SHOULD* have brought some of the players down to earth.
Rooney adding goal-poaching to repertoire won't hurt either. As long as he doesn't get injured 5 matches before the finals we've got a chance. Never forget how wonderful he was before he got injured against Portugal in '04.
Yeah, his fitness is a concern. I unimpressed by Wright-Phillips though, he's lightning quick and sometimes he even takes the ball with him. He hasn't got a great final ball and Crouch needs excellent service to worry a keeper. Luckily Jermain Defoe can create a goal out of nothing, that might be required. I'm equally worried about Lescott, he doesn't look international standard. I'd play Shorey (please let's hope Phil Neville doesn't play). We need two strong banks of 4 to kill the Croatian spirit.
We must go for the win, playing for the draw is suicide.
We need two strong banks of 4 to kill the Croatian spirit. We must go for the win, playing for the draw is suicide.
Couldn't agree more. The defensive/offensive role of the midfield is key. We need enough firepower from there to create chances (Gerrard) with the defensive know-how (Barry) to repel attacks.
If Rooney was in his best "off the striker role" I think we could roll them over, but he's out, so we're going to be reliant on a midfielder either feeding strikers with perfect thorugh balls which an on-form Defoe could deal with (but has had sadly too few matches), or as you say feed Crouch with plenty of crosses. The alternative is the wingers nipping in and strking at goal, to which Wright-Phillips is one of the best, but, and it's a big but, as you say, he's got to be on best form, otherwise you may as well not play him.
It's gonna be tight, it's gonna be tense, but there's enough fire-power with a balanced squad to do the job. We'll find out next week whether McClaren has got the balls for the job or not. If not, they better sack him IMO.
Supporting England is hard work. We're such under-achievers considering the wealth of talent we've had over the last 70 or 80 years, and as I've said in an earlier post we have had the players over the years, it's an excuse to use the likes of the Brazilian/Argentinian/Italian talent to gloss over the failures of the past. It could be worse, imagine how the Spanish feel, they're even worse than us. Kind of ironic being as the ESP and ENG Premier Leagues are arguably the best in the world.
Comments
Just saw the game, wow the last few minutes were nerve wracking. England better do the job on Wednesday !
Nearly felt sorry for Scotland but what the hell, they would be taking the p*ss big time if they had got through and England get knocked out on Weds.
Looks like McClaren might survive another week then.
Necros.
Hes not, but his boyfriend is ;)
MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILES
Hmmm, Necros and Miles. They'll make a lovely couple...
male order?
Andrew
Well if we don't make it now then surely McClown deserves to get the sack. It'll be a tough match against Croatia to be sure, and we're missing Owen and Rooney but then that may be a blessing; those two can be hit and miss , so maybe the workhorse (Crouch) can get a spawny one off one of the angles of his head.
And don't you freakin' dare McClown try and play Lampard and Gerrard together! Get Barry and Gerrard to try and prevent a talented Croatian midfield from stringing too many together, Wright-Phillips and Richards down the right, consign Downing to the fucking John Pontins piss-ant league where he deserves to be and I think we'll be okay. Crouch and Defoe will do alright upfront, but I think Gerrard could be our match winner, we seriously need him to be in top form.
And just to vent my spleen about yesterdays debacle. I know the FA will never read this but Why o' f**king why did we play a f**king friendly match 5 days before a potential final championship qualifying match? You bunch of fu***ng imbeciles. You do not deserve to be running the show. Never mind sack the manager, he's just a muppet employed as a yes man to you f***ing idiots. Get the hell out of Soho Square and employ people with footballing brains who can make sensible decisions and have got the bollox to put a man in charge of my (yes MY) national team who has the balls to make decisions that will make my country a footballing heavyweight. No, I don't buy into the crap that we're not good enough, we are, but the people who make the decisions aren't!
Phew!
My heart goes out to Scotland. As a true Englishman I've never bought into this feel sorry/support Scotland as they're hard-up mentality. I've always thought "screw 'em, hope you lose - badly", and in recent years they have. But it has to be said they have done magnicficently in a group that I thought they would be lucky to be still in after the first three of four matches never mind the final group game. It's no mean feat to beat France home and away and all in all they probably are more deserving of a finals place than France.
Yes, but only if it's in the bit I've quoted, there should be enough experience on the pitch without carrying Beckham. Apparently he's not played a full 90 minutes since August so there's no way he can be fit enough to last that match from the start. But if we need what you say... I remember that match against Greece... Bring him on for the last ten minutes. Or play him for the first half. If it doesn't work Wright Phillips when he's on song will terrify any defender and doubly so with the equally lightening and gifted Richards just behind him. I think we'll do it, part of me hopes not as McClown should get the sack, but the FA have said they won;t so we might as well :-)
If we do qualify, what do you reckon our chances? I've a funny feeling for the semi's as I think we could build a very good squad from the nucleus we have, and especially after the debacle of the world cup *SHOULD* have brought some of the players down to earth.
Rooney adding goal-poaching to repertoire won't hurt either. As long as he doesn't get injured 5 matches before the finals we've got a chance. Never forget how wonderful he was before he got injured against Portugal in '04.
We must go for the win, playing for the draw is suicide.
Couldn't agree more. The defensive/offensive role of the midfield is key. We need enough firepower from there to create chances (Gerrard) with the defensive know-how (Barry) to repel attacks.
If Rooney was in his best "off the striker role" I think we could roll them over, but he's out, so we're going to be reliant on a midfielder either feeding strikers with perfect thorugh balls which an on-form Defoe could deal with (but has had sadly too few matches), or as you say feed Crouch with plenty of crosses. The alternative is the wingers nipping in and strking at goal, to which Wright-Phillips is one of the best, but, and it's a big but, as you say, he's got to be on best form, otherwise you may as well not play him.
It's gonna be tight, it's gonna be tense, but there's enough fire-power with a balanced squad to do the job. We'll find out next week whether McClaren has got the balls for the job or not. If not, they better sack him IMO.
Supporting England is hard work. We're such under-achievers considering the wealth of talent we've had over the last 70 or 80 years, and as I've said in an earlier post we have had the players over the years, it's an excuse to use the likes of the Brazilian/Argentinian/Italian talent to gloss over the failures of the past. It could be worse, imagine how the Spanish feel, they're even worse than us. Kind of ironic being as the ESP and ENG Premier Leagues are arguably the best in the world.