England were out classed, now we can get back to the real stuff... the rooney is world class stuff is laughable...pirlo is what a world class player looks like..
Rooney was one of the worst and least effectual players on the pitch - England lost because we played Rooney
Rooney is so over rated. 250k a week?! You're having a laugh. England were 2nd best all over the pitch. Failed again!!!!!!!
Rooney disappointed, Milner and Young should never grace the shirt again, but no doubt they will as no England manager yet has been brave enough to drop big players who never perform. Utterly dejected now
Roy has done a very good job in restoring pride and belief back into the 3 lions. I like many was losing interest with England but Euro 2012 has gone a long way to getting it back. Roy didnt have long to prepare and alot of drop outs and missing players and done brilliantly to top the group. We fought brilliantly tonight as a defensive unit, Parker, Gerrard, Johnson, Terry, Lescott, Cole and Hart can be very proud of their performances at the tournement. Proud to be English again
I love Leicester city so much that if it meant we got to the premier league and survived with the odd cup win with a team full of foreigners then so be it. That shows that I don't care about the national team
As klinsmann said..... not even as fit as them...you don't expect us to have the ability but training on beer don't help...our players prefer nightclubs to glory...
Pluses of the Tournement Finally some sort of term unity and spirit Performances of the back 5, Parker and Gerrard Emergence of Danny Welbeck and Andy Carroll Tactically we look alot more organised and harder to break down
I agree that Roy has been class for us. Give him 2 years and lets see how we get on in 2014. Not expecting much to be honest, hopefully Wilshere, Rodwell, A O-C, Sturridge ect have matured enough.
He is not david copperfield..he can't magic up players we don't have or produce....there is never going to be a silk purse from this sows ear... also rans we are..also rans we shall be...
I wouldn't say we were outclassed - two years ago we were, but we were tough to beat today. It was clear to me that they were in better condition than us - hardly surprising considering the pedestrian tempo of the Italian league compared to the EPL. I think the tactics were to play deep, seemed to be working in the first half, but our impact gradually reduced until we were non-existent in the second half of extra-time (don't think the substitutions helped either). Agree with you about Rooney because I have yet to see evidence of him doing anything for England worth writing home about. Despite his age, he is part of the old guard I would like to see phased out over the next two years. I'm excited about the future but think we're some way away from being world beaters.
That was coming if we're honest. Throughout the tournament we've given away possession far too easily and not retained the ball but have gotten away with it. To a certain extent we got away with it again but the better team deservedly progressed. Where I disagree with you John though is about the future. There are positives to be taken from what Roy has done and there are also the players coming through. The best thing the FA did was about 10 years ago they appointed Trevor Brooking and he saw through a more technical, skill based player development process and now we do have youngsters who are better technically. Wilshere, Cleverely, McEachran, Barkley, Rodwell, Chamberlain etc. are all players who can pass it and keep it and without wanting to create a new 'golden generation', I think these are players who can do well at International football. I just hope that Roy realises the importance of possession at this level (and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work it out after tonight) and that he gives them the chance now ahead of 2014 rather than turning back to the likes of Barry, Lampard etc.
As good as they are and have been i think its time we start to move on from people like Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and John Terry. There are other decent younger players who can play on their positions who we should be looking to And then after the world cup i would let Parker and Gerrard go We musnt keep the old guard too long and we need to slowly filter them out for the good of the team
I don't like saying we were outclassed..but thats how I and many many others saw it.... clutching at imaginary straws is what this country has done for far too long..it does us no good..
If for me, to be "outclassed", you have to be beaten everywhere on the field. Their failure to score meant our defence coped with their strikers, no matter how lucky Alan Hansen thinks we were. Don't get me wrong, I think Spain or Germany would have ripped us apart tonight, but Italy didn't outclass us in my book. Talking of Hansen, did anyone catch his last swipe at us? "England were average at the start of the tournament, average all the way through and average tonight". If a team that hasn't lost a competition in two years, a team that consistently gets into the final eight of competitions and a team that are usually only gets ousted on penos is average, then what the hell does that make Scotland?!
I think that in certain, and key, aspects of the game we were 'outclassed'. Their passing, technique, movement, touch was all far superior to ours.
I don't like hansen..but he was right..italy did outclass us..we are very average... denying the awful truth does us no good..
Wow John! Did you seriously expect us to do well in this tournament? Going into this, it was the least confident I've ever felt. So I think we did about as well as expected, if not better.
The most deceiving thing about our recent performances is that the pundits seem to be picking up on our ineptitude as if its a new thing. Our inability to keep the ball, the lack of movement off it and the general terrible technique and first touch of the players is nothing new, in actual fact its been as bad as that since Sven. I firmly believe that no manger can undo this damage unless we start from a blank slate. Unfortunately we dont have the players to even do that. The worst teams in the tournament are miles ahead of us in keeping the ball, in technique and in general football ability. The best players in our team are considered great club players because the talent that comes from outside England supply the foil in actual ability for English players to shine. That being said, Im not actually disappointed about going out and cant really critisise what what we've achieved. Anyone who has watched England intently for the last 10 years will see that there is no change in performance and that in fact the average bunch of players we have did pretty damn well to get out the groups. Good luck to Roy and the team for the next challenge, they did as much as they could with to team available I think.
