Goals aside, neither of them did anything of note against Wales. Vardy wandered around aimlessly whilst Sturridge looked like he'd been reading the 'Heung Min Son guide to picturesque Cul-de-sacs'.
No surprise there. Shocking team selection. Poor performance. Wilshere, Sturridge, Bertrand, Henderson all wretched. None of them fit or in form. Sums up Hodgson perfectly. Hopelessly misguided and out of his depth.
True, Slovakia + Vardy = Leicester. I didn't hear it but surely Dier is MoM? Rooney truly awful. Dier is better at doing midfield stuff.
For all we're supposed to have this great forward lineup this year, this tournament is showing that when you play to the strengths on none of them - you pay for it. We don't play a counterattacking game for Vardy, we don't play a high-pressure high-tempo game for Kane. And we don't play in a way to accommodate them together adequately. Dier though is emerging as a real star this tournament, and the Spurs-backs are making a good showing of it too. Henderson (and Milner) is a classic Roy players. All huff but not enough quality to make up for it. Wilshere normally performs for England but had a bad one tonight, and Vardy and Sturridge did not live up to their billing at all. I actually think Rooney is doing ok in midfield but we need to work out a good combination further up the pitch or we're not much longer for this tournament.
Dier was magnificent but there are so many passengers out there it's shocking. Like watching Spurs through the late 90's. So many players you just look at and think 'what on earth does he bring to the table?' Bertrand, Smalling, Henderson, Rooney, Wheelchair, Sturridge, Vardy (don't think he touched the ball once in the second half).
Excuse me, but Vardy is used to playing in the most attackingest formation ever known to football. And if you don't believe me, some will be here very soon to correct your error.
England get plenty of possession against teams like Slovakia, get the ball forward quickly and put crosses into the box. But it's so haphazard and there is no precision in the passing. Henderson's delivery is appalling. The number of times he over hit passes by yards and yards was painful. If only England could add a little quality to the work rate and energy.
It's nearly always too slow for England. Poor delivery and not done fast enough. Defences get organised and we're done. We'd done better over the last few games but tonight was a severe step back.
He didn't have an amazing season but could Ross Barkley be the answer to this tedious and predictable mess?
Yikes. You could really see the difference for a team of central attackers when they lacked Spurbacks (like that!) to create width. Now on to the second place team in Group F, which could very easily be Hungary, Portugal, Iceland or Austria. England would be favored against anyone but Portugal, who have a history of knocking England out of tournaments. So, Portugal it is, then! I don't think they're the same since they dropped Helder Postiga, tbh.
The draw is so complicated that I'm confused, but could it be a blessing in disguise to finish second? Or doesn't it matter - because if England are to progress Spain or France or Italy or Germany or Belgium are going to be opponents sooner rather than later anyway.
Very reminiscient of Spurs under AVB, frankly. Hopelessly labored and timid buildup. Where the hell was Bertrand? I was only able to catch the last 15 minutes, but when the ball went to the left, the only player there was Alli. I found myself agreeing with McManaman, which is a sad thing. Far too slow forward, far too few players trying to get on the end of crosses, far too little urgency. The worst of it was that they seemed to give up belief they could score from crosses, when it was clear that was their best option. Kane worked hard to get on the end of them, and no one else I saw.
England and the press increasingly remind me of the mob in The Life of Brian. Sturridge toe pokes in after wasting the ball over and over against Wales - Messiah. Rooney has a so-so game in midfield - Messiah. Vardy scores from what he thought was an offside position - Messiah. Wilshere can stand upright - you get my drift. We're a limited team. The Spurs Superbacks are just about our only weapon to open up a defence, so Mr Hodgson rests them both. I'm happy the Spurs guys, apart from the collosus that is Eric Dier, have had a rest. They'll be well rested by the Final and can watch it from the bar in some far-flung shore.
