The first half was so poor that I even found myself yelling before half time, 'For God's sake, bring Lallana on.' Yes, that bad!
http://metro.co.uk/2014/10/09/arsen...splay-for-england-against-san-marino-4899901/ Apparently Chambers getting stick for his performance against San Marino. I saw mistakes, but I guess I was forgiving because he's only a kid and also one of ours. Perhaps Clyne will get his chance in the next match.
I thought I understood Hodgson's homespun logic but I'm slightly taken aback. Not that I give a toss about the England setup, but when it unfairly limits the clear form and quality performing RB in the PL for the last couple of seasons, and he's a Saints player, then I begin to get annoyed for his benefit. Obviously, Clyne wants to make his mark on the international scene. I know Pochypoos occasionally favoured Chambers over Clyne, even when Nat was fit and ready to play, but this is ridiculous. Chambers was used as an RB at Southampton, but he's really a CB or even a midfielder. He just took up the RB role to get his career moving, and he did very well there because he is a very good rounded player. But let's not be fooled into thinking that he's international quality at RB. He's nowhere near Nat, and if Roy can't see that then something is very screwy indeed.
We have missed a chance as a country to replace Hodgson before these tournament qualifiers and pick a complete young fresh team in a very weak group. Clyne should have started right back last night and Chambers centre back, Ox should have started and the likes of Milner, Lambert should not even be in the squad. We have a lot of good youngsters in the squad but a old school manager. I think Chambers will fill part of our centre back weaknesses and become a future England captain. Not sure who will fill our other weak area in centre mid, Shame Morgan wasn't English.
He held up attacks going down the right in the first half, because his touch was average and he wouldn't immediately go at the full back or deliver early.
We played a central three of Milner, Henderson and Wilshire and the announcer at wembley declared there's was goals in that line up!!!! How negative. Lallana and Chamberlain should have started instead of two of them. We played a pub team who gave us the ball back each time they got it. We didn't need a CDM.
Whatever way you look at it, we had 3 Southampton academy boys playing. We would probably have had 4 if Shaw hadn't gone to Man Utd. This should be celebrated by us as an amazing achievement.
There was a group of subs warming up near to where I was sat with my lad, including Lallana, Lambert, The Ox and Clyne..... It did feel a little bit good and there was chambers on the other side warming up with the starters.
What I don't understand was why Clyne was called up, yet didn't play and was replaced by a lad they'd dropped to the u21s. Can understand Chambers being brought in as back up, but playing him does suggest they don't know their a*** from their elbow. They could have given Clyne a run out in a game where even a poor performance wouldn't have been a disaster against minnows.
It is simple. It is Liverpool, United and Arsenal's new scouting policy. They ask Roy to call up the players they are interested in and then he can tease them with international football, then only select those who are getting European football. He then has a quiet word about playing against European opposition regularly and hey presto, the player returns to Saints with the sound of another song in his head They were discussing on the radio last night that Nat Clyne must be thinking. "Why did I bother?"
Doubt that Clyne thought that though...he has a foot through the door. A few judicious challenges on his rivals in PL matches and he's there.
The game was crying out for a RB who could go past the opposing full back and put in a decent cross, or occasionally cut in and shoot. It's just baffling that everyone who has watched Southampton this season, and the last two, knows we have exactly such a player. Why he wasn't called up... oh wait.
Of course, but it is incredible that Roy didn't think that San Marino was the perfect opposition to play a debutant RB against, having picked him as the only RB until he brought Chambers back from the Under 21's. It will serve him right if Clyne is the only fit RB for a bigger team in the near future and he then thinks that he should have given him a debut against small fry opposition.
To be fair to Roy though, it is not as though the RB he picked has been playing CB for most games this season at his club and only a couple at RB, while picking up a zillion yellow cards because he kept getting ripped a new one and the only way to stop someone was to haul them down like an egg-chaser ... oh wait again!
I'll be surprised if he does. Not sure why Milner is getting stick, thought he was very good last night. He's unfashionable but if you actually watch him he is having a blinding season so far. Much rather him in the side than wilshere/gerrard
I can't see why people ciritcise Milner either. Season in, season out, he's managed to more or less hold his place in a very expensive, succesfull and highly rotated Man City team, and this is all without doing anything too fancy, having bags of pace or scoring loads of goals. Without watching City or England too closely, this sort of tells me he must be doing something right!
