Welbeck is dragging the Polish defenders everywhere - that's what he's in the team to do. His pace and movement is preventing them from settling. He's quick and he's tireless. Stick to FIFA 13 management if you can't see what he's giving the team.
Only 50 million for Townsend, Spurf? I figure he's got two good feet, I'll wager Real would pay 200 million for him. Plus he doesn't need a walker to get around... I'll get my coat.
He's done nothing but run into the middle of the pitch, wait until someone else does something good and try to piggyback on it. Stick to the United board if you can't see criticism of United players without getting angry
We need another goal quickly, take the passengers, Wellbeck and Sturridge off and bring on Defoe and Lambert.
Credit to Hodgson for not making a defensive substitution. Continuing to press forward looks like the best idea, I think. Though I'm not in the Frank Lampard fan club... Poor from Rooney and Lampard. There were acres of space on the left, and Rooney plays it into a traffic jam. Then Lampard gets caught out and grabs.
Despite the best efforts of Scotland, Modric has a chance to play in the World Cup via the play-offs, whilst Denmark were the runner-up that wasn't good enough. A shame, really. Anyway, back to being jetlagged as ****...
Way to beat the Polish clown, Gerrard. I've been running down England and Hodgson, but I have to give both credit for playing positively and giving the fans something to cheer about the last two games. I'd absolutely love it if he lost to Iceland.
please log in to view this image Always knew Hodgson could do it and never doubted Gerrard as captain
It's really satisfying seeing Chesney letting a goal in. Shame it doesn't happen more in an Arsenal shirt.
Who's getting angry? I'm not. I was making an obvious point from watching the game. His running was creating the space for Baines on the left and it helped create the first goal. Welbeck's touch and poise in front of goal is not as assured as it should be, but it's wrong to dismiss the contribution he did make. Townsend is raw too and there were plenty of times when he was hasty and didn't play the right ball, but you're quick to praise the positive effect his running had on the team, especially in the first half. That was what Hodgson gambled on - two wingers/forwards running tirelessly in the channels and pulling defenders out of position to allow space for Rooney centrally as a striker or coming deep and for Baines to be able to run forward into space on the left. It worked reasonably well against both Montenegro and Poland. Without Welbeck's tireless running to the left, Townsend would have been easier to shackle.
It was one of my earliest memories of football, and devastation, not myself, i was very young when things were a bit more black and white, including the tv! (we're not going to the world cup!, me: "never mind, whens the next one?"), it was the roomful my dad had round. At that age when all you've seen this group of men do is make constant noise, the stony silence and occasional new word was a surprise. And so the interest grew.
