2-0 England. Italians short of height and pace at the back. I also fancy France to beat Spain. But my main bet this week will be Portugal to beat Czech.
Like others, I don't think the Eyeties looked that great against Eire. There were spells during which they looked pretty uncomfortable at the back and I think Ingerland could prosper with some high balls into the box... but I'd stick Carroll on from the start to soften them up. I've not been that impressed with Milner or Young, and would start with Walcott in place of the latter. Who to put in place of Young, though? If he's going to be of any use, then he need to fall over somebody's foot in the penalty area ASAP.
I think for people of my post-war generation (I was born 1953) in the age of rationing & cod liver oil, this rather dark, sometimes funny type of war humour was drummed into us as kids, and later portrayed in shows like Dad's Army, Fawlty Towers (Mr. Bimmler - don't mention the war) etc. My grandfather, a Londoner and life-long R's fan fought several years in France in WW1 and my father (who also grew up in London) went through WW2. I remember my father stating that the Eyetie's were notorious for their lack of moral fibre in the WW2 North African desert campaign and apparently not much help to Rommel (who my dad really respected). My father was certainly not a deliberate bigot, but in the 1920's he was raised in a more "white" London, and considered that the West Indian immigration policy brought down the tone of the neighbourhoods he grew up in. I remember once in the 1960's visiting his old family street and him declaring that "it was much nicer here before the wogs moved in"! He liked Enoch Powell too. Likely he was influenced by his own dad and myself by him. I must say my wife frowns at me when in humour I refer to Krauts, Spics, Eyeties etc. and talk about my Robertson's Jam gollywog pin collection that I proudly collected as a boy. Hopefully I will not get banned or censored for my comments here.
That's exactly the point I made, those who grew up in the 50s and 60s saw everyday reminders of the war, we often played with mates on bomb sites which were on nearly every street. My Dad lived though both wars and some of his stories from that time were both funny and awful, it's where much of the 'humour' comes from...
Young has been poor and should be dropped imo. Defensively he is exposing us down the left by getting in the wrong position nearly all the time!! I'd play Downing and Milner to start with, keep it tight and then bring on the Ox and Walcott to run them ragged as they tire!!
Brave and honest words, Kilburn. The modern liberal-leftie is quick to label the older generation as racist bigots when all they were doing was reacting to changes & events that they had no control over or were not consulted on. It really irritates me when the race card is played so easily by these idiots, who are significantly more intolerant that those they accuse of this 'crime'.
For once Uber i will respectfully have to disagree with you mate. I think the high ball into Italys box will be food and drink to them. The few (very few) times we ran at them with pace they looked vunerable. IMO the best way to get at that Italy back four is with pace down the wings. Theo has to play. Gerard also needs a good game and needs to run hard at them with the ball.
I think I'm suggesting we do both, Nuts. With Walcott we have some pace down the flanks. I would not be averse to putting Rooney on the bench and start with Carroll and Wellbeck. Might be brave, might be foolish. But Carroll is pretty effective in the air and I don't think the Italian back four are a patch on their predecessors. I agree Gerrard needs to be on his game as he's the nearest we have in this squad to guile.
This is going to be a tight one, two naturally cautious teams which play on the counter attack rather than build pressure. The Italians are generally good at converting the chances they make, Pirlo is still a wonderful player and they held Spain without too much trouble. Roy has done a great job with the players he has, and I will be delighted if we progress even if I don't expect it to be pretty. I think Roy will pick a team for the day, just as he has so far. The Ox, Walcott and Carroll are the wild cards, no changes in defense or centre mid, though Parker worries me. As for the other topic on this thread, can't think of a useful contribution that would be less than two pages long. Suffice it to say I am delighted to be from London, the most diverse city, along with New York, I have ever found, and all the better for it.
Perhaps giving an honest and discerning insight like Kilburn might serve you more than yelping and screaming like a crazed dog that's just been stung on the arse. Just a thought
