England v Italy 2300BST

Rooney just has too go. What with this changing of the guard we have seen, he is the barnacle hanging onto the ship.

 

Other than the assist for the goal, which was a great ball, Rooney was poor.

 

The Klingon on the starboard bow....

 

Rooney and Gerrard were both poor. Neither will be dropped though.

 

He didnt do that much wing play though. He drifted inside almost instantly and stayed there to launch ineffectual shots at a grateful italy

 

Think Lambert should have been on instead of Lallana in the end. We lacked a man to aim for in the box, neither Rooney nor Welbeck appeared to be playing that lead striker role on the last defender, and at one point we got the ball wide and only had one man to aim for in the box. Put Lambert in there and the defenders have the physicality and the aerial threat to worry about, which might open up space.

Not sure why so many got cramp, can't blame the English schedule as most of our players were not playing in Europe. Not a good sign for the first match of a tournament.

 

BTW, when I said about England only improving when they lose their dependence on Rooney, it wasn't a criticism of Rooney. It was a criticism of successive English managers who have been influenced by those in power and the media. They have to be brave enough to leave him out of the side, rather than hope he can recapture some sort of form at international tournament level.

 

My biggest issue with Rooney was that, like in the Euros, he shirked his defensive duties. He's a great player but a bit of a liability as far as the team performance is concerned.

 

Dang it.

 

Some rose-tinted specs on by many tonight. Don't think Italy broke sweat beating us. England didn't really offer much of a threat and sod all in the second half. Awful substitutions, Wilshire is just ****ing crap. Too late for Lallana, should have been Lambert.

 

Acceptable disappointment for me. They were a little better than us, because they're a little better than us. We looked good in spells and have every chance to progress playing like that. Some tweaks needed, yes, but no reason to be too upset.

 

How about when the 4th Costa Rica goal goes in?

 

I'm up for Japan v Ivory Coast now.

 

Okay, you can come back to me on that if it happens.

 

Lambert should have come on for sure. Basic mistake by Hodgson.

 

Milner guaranteed to start on the left against Uruguay now.

 

Think they found England a little harder than that, but I know what you mean. Italy have always had an innate ability to [effortlessly] raise their game to the level required to beat the opposition. Until they finally find a team who they can't raise their game up to. And that's always been rare.

I also agree on the substitutions. Lallana should have come on when Wilshere was brought on, and Lambert should have come on at the time Lallana eventually did. Wilshere is exactly what Paul Scoles has said of him. He's not wrong about Rooney either.

 

Italy had superior tactics today. First goal form brilliant set piece action, second from constantly overloading english left side with Candreva nad Darmian. Then they withdrew in their own half and allowed England to dictate the game, which was never their strenght.

 

Still believe Rooney isn't ****?

And why the **** did Lambert not play?

 

I may be wrong, but I have noticed that when Barkley comes on he is explosive initially and usually has a shot or two and gets involved, and then towards the end you don't see too much of him. Not sure why that is?