then let me respond by rating the team in accordance to not playing in their 'favourite' positions:- Hart 5: Can't be blamed for having to struggle behind a four-man defence when he prefers to play behind a five-man defence with additional midfielders covering the centre-backs. Also struggled being asked to deal with several crosses coming in from the left when he's right-handed. Johnson 6: Can't defend and shouldn't be asked to. Woy should have deployed him as wing-back and changed the formation. Baines 5: Disgraceful that he was asked to play at left back without Barry to support him. Woy is a ****. Cahill 6: Not being asked to play in a jose's preferred back seven is crippling his positional awareness. Woy is crucifying his career. Jagielka 6: No Barry in front of him, no Howard swearing at him from behind. Wicked Woy bastard. Gerrard 5: Pirlo has three midfielders to do all his tackling and chasing and what does Gerrard get? Henderson on his own. We can't expect anything ever again from Gerrard unless Woy uses all our forwards to come back and surround SG every time we don't have the ball. Wellbeck 7: Chased up and down winning several balls and had a great first half, but unless we deploy him as Rooney's manservant as is his role at United then Woy is being a criminal old sow. Sterling 8: Ruined his team's chances by focussing on terrorising the Italians in multiple positions when he could have been playing right-back instead and allowed Rooney to play in his favoured position. Sturridge 7: Scored a great finish from a Rooney assist, but had he played in left-midfield he could have laid on at least ten for Rooney to score from the centre, as Wayne would have been undefendable had he played there. Rooney 11: Had he played # 10 the tournament would now be over as all the other teams would have gone home in fear. The Brazilians would have aborted themselves as they were already home. Had SAF still been in power than Woy would have played Smalling and Jones on the flanks to support him, with Ashley Young in central midfield to win him penalties.
The ****ing BBC panel - Seedorf and Henry supplying wit, wisdom, style and class - and Robbie savage as the village idiot. Funny thing is he doesn't realise when Henry and Seedorf are taking the piss out of him. In their second language too!
Well at the moment he's playing Gerrard and Henderson as our only midfield. Much is made of baines being outnumbered, but foe large parts of last night it was two against five. Intrigued to find out who you'd play in central midfield in a 4-4-2 if you had to play that formation Tobes. As said, I wouldn't play it simply to accommodate Rooney, but if you're not going to have Henderson or Wilshere (****, no) alongside gerrard I wonder who you have in mind. Jones?
We're short of options in CM and given Gerrards lack of mobility these days and the fact he's undroppable as the captain, he simply can't play 442 imo
Plus why would you throw the formation that's been used since 2012 after the Euros away just because of 1 loss to one of the best international football teams in the tournament.
We should play a 442/41212 diamond IMO: Hart Johnson - Cahill - Jags - Baines Gerrard Hendo - - - - - Lallana Sterling Studge - Rooney This keeps both Studge and Rooney up top in their preferred roles, keeps Sterling in the central roaming role he's proved to be so good at and lets us have energy in the middle with Hendo and Lallana too. Baines and Johnson can play their natural attacking game and provide the width too. Downside is its not the most defensive system so will will inevitably concede goals but so what? Lets ****ing attack and take the "we'll score more" attitude! We're not going to win the cup, probably won't even get out the group so why not just have a go? Edit: I've criticised Rooney a lot when it comes to England. Not because of how he is playing or he lacks effort but because he doesn't fit a 4231, 451 or 433 type system IMO. He's not a winger or number ten and I'm not convinced he is the best person to be a lone forward either. Not his fault. However, what I have said is he is brilliant as part of a front two.
Hodgson won't do that sort of formation, it's either 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2, he will stick with 4-2-3-1 because he's has good players in each role. Based in form this season, the best players in each position are: --------------Hart Johnson-Cahill-Jagielka-Baines ------Henderson-Gerrard Sterling---Rooney----Lallana ----------Sturridge The only problem is Rooney lacks intelligence in that role, he will roam wherever and Lallana will cut in leaving Baines to be our only width in the left.
This is the side here I would like to see would have it ---------------HART Johnson-Cahill-Jagielka-Baines --------Henderson- Gerrard Sterling-------------------------Lallana --------Rooney-Sturridge Rooney is not a number 10 never has been, he is a striker 2 up front man. Thing is Lallana/Sterling play more like a number 10 then Rooney which is where we are going wrong.
