Lying here in hospital bed and had to come on and say hard luck to England and thank **** JT wont be getting his hands on another trophy. Who was the other person that wanted Italy to win Euro 2012?
Keepers should always stand up. at least 1 person will hit it down the middle. Dive 1st pen and then stand up for the later ones. Especially if its a long run up.
Although I know it's the same old same old............I still feel the hurt!! We were so poor tonight and a lot of that was down to the formation (I know, I know). We will never be able to compete when we play 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 against sides that play more fluid formations. We were totally outnumbered in midfield, resulting in Gerrard being completely knackered by half way through the 2nd half and unable to get on the ball at all. We played so rigidly with two wide men who were isolated whenever they received the ball. Italy played a diamond formation of 4-1-3-2 with Pirlo pulling the strings at its base. We will always chase shadows playing a rigid, non-fluid formation like 4-4-2 and that means we will always struggle under Woy unless he sees the light!! Milner isn't good enough at this level and neither is Young. Rooney can't cope with the weight of expectation!! Terry, Lescott, Johnson and Hart come out with some credit, as does Gerrard for his earlier performances. We will never learn I fear!! Off to bed..............gutted...........again!!
Gutted, hate losing to Italy. Fùcking pissed off, my twà t of an italian son will be gloating, the bastard.
poetic justice that cashley and the extra from platoon missed. how cool was pierlo though? hart made all the faces then ends up on his arse! that took minerals!
I tweeted to Rooney earlier that if Pirlo takes a pen he hits them down the middle, tell JH. If I knew that how the **** did Hart not? Hart was bloody embarrasing in that shoot-out, in fact he was ****ing ****.
Saw nothing today from either side that would worry the Germans, they have been clinical with their chances so far. Good foundation for Roy to build on though, at least we looked like a team for a change.
Rooney was supposed to be closing Pirlo down but rarely got near him after the first 20 minutes, Italy found acres of space inside our wide pair, it just meant we were chasing throughout the match. An object lesson in the shortcomings of 4-4-2 but Hodgson will never change, Mr Cautious will carry on regardless...
Can't agree mate. We looked so 2nd rate tonight I was embarrassed! We will never compete playing such out-dated formations!!
Rooney was shockingly unfit. Hodgson should have taken him off not Welbeck and put Defoe on instead of Carroll.
Hodgson did his best with the limited quality available to him. But really horrible football to watch, even when we win. Just hope Cleverly and Wilshire are good enough to give us something in midfield in future, that's where we are weakest. We can't play the more interesting formations without the players. If Cleverly or Wilshire turn out to be as good as Pirlo, Schwiensteiger or Iniesta we'll be fine. But they probably won't, so let's not get our hopes up. We overachieved in this tournament, won the second weakest group without ever dominating a game, fell to the first decent team we came up against, they should have won within 90 minutes easily. Roy will continue with 2 lines of four, because he's too old to change now, but I really think he's not the problem. Time for Gerrard, Terry ( I know he did well in that desperate last second block kind of way), Barry, Lampard to retire? I would be much happier losing with a bunch of kids.........
Its nothing to do with formations. Sooner or later we all have to accept that the players we produce on these Islands are vastly inferior to those on the Continent. Until we change the coaching structure, no England Manager will get past a Quarter Final.
Are we even average? Backs to the wall for 85% of the game, zero attacking threat, unable to string 3 or 4 passes together. Why, when we have ability in areas, do we sit back, as if in awe of our opponents, and not aim to use the pace of Walcott, to move fast, to pass sharply and accurately, to quickly move the ball out of congested areas and show a bit of self belief? I sat watching it with my missus, who was going on about which wallpaper we should put in the alcoves, and I felt no real nail biting stress. I sat back on the sofa, as if watching a film, which says it all really - when I'm watching a QPR game I'm either standing/moving around the room or at the most, I'm perched on the slightest bit of sofa, taking most of it in my quads, ready to react as necessary. Roll on the proper football.
The new School of Excellence at Burton is up and running, so the seeds are in place, I just think it may be 8-10 years before we see the fruits of it. I think a major change towards a younger team is needed in the run-up to the World Cup in two years time. Agree with FFS that some of our older regulars should be phased out...
That's the point Woody, there is no ability. You might think there is but when you get to the top level, our players are out of their depth in terms of technical ability. Hodgson seen this from day one and did the only thing he could: Batten down the hatches and keep it tight. The blue-print for limited sides was set by Greece in '04. It was the only way and very nearly got a semi-final out of it.
I'd say there's very little ability, rather than none. Rooney is up there with the best strikers in the world, but of course looks unfit. Walcott has pace on the wing, and can create something, but not when the play is lethargic and laborious. Lescott's decent, johnson's decent and gets forward. Hart's a good goalie. Terry, as hard as it is to say, is a typical, solid English centre back. Very little ability I reckon is accurate, and I can't see it getting much better in the foreseeable.
True. Even the standard of park football in Italy, Spain and Portugal is incomparably superior to ours. Better weather and more time kicking around on the beach and on concrete or tarmac makes the difference imho. Too many soft grass big pitches cause poor control and inability to cope with pressing.
