The sky TV is a reference to how the big money premier league is ruining our national team and fair play JWM. The last exciting England performance I remember is us beating Germany 5-1. Even Ipswich has had more recent excitement then England!!
it was effing dire. an hour and half of my life wasted that i'll never get back. win a world cup by 2022. in football. no chance
It was a good result for an England team that is not as good as many believe it should be, but the pool of players that the manager has to choose from is not very good so we are not the force we once were.
Your not far wrong Johnny although i can see some light at the end of the tunnel for Ipswich but for Team England i can only see it getting worse.
The Cupboard is well and truly bare.... Jack Wilshere! Don't make me laugh! Our best player last night and indeed for most of the qualifiers is now 33 Years old!
Agree it was like watching an Ipswich performance. We did a job kept decent shape and did enough, although poor in possession and little creativity but you could see what Hodgson was trying to do in how he set the team up, a bit like you can Mick even if you don't like it. I actually hope Hodgson gets given a chance in the job, he seems like a decent bloke (almost a bit Robsonesque?) and unlike previous managers I can actually see what he's trying to do in matches and there has been a couple of decent performances in there against Brazil. Even though it's been a bit negative I can kind of see what he's trying to do, abit like Mick has done at Town I geuss!!
I think it was a really good show. I think people are forgetting the regular international embarrassments. Our players were fighting to keep Ukraine out, there were blocks and tackles going in from Gerrard and Cahill that you only get when players are giving all for the cause. We were unimaginative in attack but we badly missed Danny Welbeck. If we qualify for Brazil it'll be job done and that's all we can ask for. I do think Walker is a little out of his depth and with Liverpool's form there's a good argument for Glen Johnson to play instead.
Totally agree with all of this (which is troubling - I'm joking Hampy!) Walker was the worst player for me, but I just can't agree with those who said that other teams won't be trembling in their boots about playing us. OK, not trembling, obviously, but most would prefer to avoid us I'm sure.
Yeah I mean it wasn't a great spectacle but we did a job and looked like we knew what we were doing, it was a 'don't get beat' first and foremost. Yeah I thought Walker got caught our quite a bit although I think the 2 arsenal lads were the worse players on the pitch (Walcott and Whilshere) although those 2 have been key to our good performances over the past year (both games against Brazil) so perhaps with those 2 playing so poorly we couldn't get in any sort of rhythm. As for Lampard, what was Zidane saying that he was still our most important player??? I know Lampard has got a fairly decent scoring record for England but when has he ever played well for England?? I can't think of one game where he's been more than a 6 for England!!! I always get the feeling that Lampard being in the England team has also blunted Gerrard (who wasn't too bad the other night) because he's best playing further up the pitch but with Lampard in the team he's always played deeper or in certain cases wide left!!! The best english player of the past 10 years and we play him out of position!!!
And Visa Versa... I have always been a fan of Lampard, probably more so than Gerrard and think they affect each other detrimentally. In a 2 man midfield I'd probably chose Lampard ahead of Gerrard... For me Stevie is a far far more talented version of David Norris... All over the pitch, gets involved in everything. What I find frustrating is that he's constantly trying the hollywood ball and his 'guts and thunder' approach is loved by the media but Frank would undoubtedly have a better pass completion rate and would give more stability in a 2 man midfield... you could say Gerrard is the archetypal 'English Midfielder' whereas Lampard has a bit more continental culture about his game. Not saying I don't rate Gerrard [He's clearly a class above] but I think some people often overlook his flaws due to his 'heart on his sleeve' playing style
Yes I agree with that assessment and certainly Gerrard hasn't performed well for England either but I rate Gerrard above Lampard by a long way, and think the Norris comparison was not needed . Gerrard has the ability to dictate play and yes has the tendancy to do the Hollywood pass but he can set the tempo of the match and as we've seen many times with Liverpool can carry a whole team. Lampard certainly is more like a continental style player but for me sometimes he slows the play down too much (particularly for England), unbelievable goalscoring record though!! For me we've wasted Gerrard for England whilst Lampard has been poor even though he's generally played in his favoured position. If you could name all the best characteristics of an English player Gerrard would be the perfect example, it's almost like he's from another generation of footballers, he really is a Legend. I agree he has that guts and thunder approach but as I've said he can also read the game and dictate play (something Norris couldn't). For me though we've got a player who could potentially be a cut above both of them in Wilshere, he has that steel of an English player but is also superb on the ball like a continental player.
