England v Bulgaria

[navypie]

Bit of a training exercise .

[bridpie78]

Bit of a training exercise .

Noone cares mate

[navypie]

Noone cares mate

I do. I love my England.

[bridpie78]

I do. I love my England.

I only posted because your thread looked lonely. Glad your team won bud have a beer XD

[irish_pie]

Bit of a training exercise .

Watched it myself Navy... an absolute stroll in the park for you guys, Bulgaria looked decent for a while but had nothing up front... Once the second went in it was over as a contest... you guys should qualify very soon indeed.

[Lullapie]

Noone cares mate

I actually went to the game itself. It’s been a few years since I been to a ‘big’ ground in England and I was shocked by the lack of atmosphere - and believe me that’s saying something from someone living in NZ.

From the England players there seemed to be a distinctive lack of passion. Off the ball there was minimal movement and anyone watching the game on TV wouldn’t have seen the apathy shown by the players. They looked like they were just going through the motions.

Everything from when you arrived at Wembley Park Tube Station was stage managed and sanitised. However unpredictable Notts are this season, I was sat there wishing I’d just gone a bit further south and watched the Sutton v Notts game, but I’d promised my son we’d go to Wembley. I didn’t know how long we’d have to wait for Notts to get there again.

I’m actually looking forward to the Halifax game 👍.

[jackal2]

I actually went to the game itself. It’s been a few years since I been to a ‘big’ ground in England and I was shocked by the lack of atmosphere - and believe me that’s saying something from someone living in NZ.

From the England players there seemed to be a distinctive lack of passion. Off the ball there was minimal movement and anyone watching the game on TV wouldn’t have seen the apathy shown by the players. They looked like they were just going through the motions.

Roy Keane was one of the pundits on ITV and he said exactly the same thing. He said the attitude of all the England players except Raheem Sterling in the first half was shocking. We picked up in the second half against a very poor Bulgarian side, but a performance like that wouldn't get us far against the big guns in a tournament. We retain possession much better than we used to, which is essential in international football, but you also need aggression and passion to win the ball and drive the game forward. The scoreline was immensely flattering.


Everything from when you arrived at Wembley Park Tube Station was stage managed and sanitised. However unpredictable Notts are this season, I was sat there wishing I’d just gone a bit further south and watched the Sutton v Notts game, but I’d promised my son we’d go to Wembley. I didn’t know how long we’d have to wait for Notts to get there again.


The 'old' Wembley was a unique and historic stadium unlike any other in the world, but its location was never right. When the old stadium had outlived its days there was a fantastic opportunity to build a new national stadium somewhere in the middle of the country close to the main transport links, meaning people from all over England could travel to it with relative ease. Instead, we have a big, new but entirely soulless stadium in the same snarled up location. Apart from a rather pointless 'arch', it looks no different to any of the other newer stadia around the world, and it therefore doesn't surprise me that the England players aren't especially inspired when they play in it. For them, it must just feel like playing in any other sizeable ground.

Oh yes, and it cost a fortune.

[Bohinen]

The game just confirmed what we already know, England can beat these low ranking East European teams without changing gear, but we lack the quality, passion or plan to beat anyone decent when it matters.

The usual collection of hospital passes at the back would have been exploited by a better side. The right back issue is easily solved by bringing back ATA but for me, we have a dodgy keeper who panics. Rice looks good enough in his limited role but Henderson is not international class and we have no-one better to replace him.

That's the issue, the Under 21s already thought they were world beaters until they got knocked out in the group stages of the championships this summer, and both Mount and Sancho don't really look like they could force their way even into this team. Rashford and Sterling are better than Sancho and Mount seems incapable of passing the ball to a teammate.

And then there's the manager, but he's English so that's OK.

[Bohinen]

OK, Trent Alexander-Arnold is TAA, not ATA. But what kind of name is Trent, it's a river FFS? And he's wasting two proper forenames in his surname.

[BigFatPie]

I actually went to the game itself. It’s been a few years since I been to a ‘big’ ground in England and I was shocked by the lack of atmosphere - and believe me that’s saying something from someone living in NZ.

From the England players there seemed to be a distinctive lack of passion. Off the ball there was minimal movement and anyone watching the game on TV wouldn’t have seen the apathy shown by the players. They looked like they were just going through the motions.

Everything from when you arrived at Wembley Park Tube Station was stage managed and sanitised. However unpredictable Notts are this season, I was sat there wishing I’d just gone a bit further south and watched the Sutton v Notts game, but I’d promised my son we’d go to Wembley. I didn’t know how long we’d have to wait for Notts to get there again.

I’m actually looking forward to the Halifax game 👍.

I took my lad as well, the first time I’d been to any sort of Wembley since the Bradford playoff final. I was hoping to see Notts again, but like you say, it’s not looking like that’s going to happen any time soon.

I think the stadium is fantastic, we were high up, but the view of the pitch was great. It’s fashionable to slag off football authorities, but with decent prices the FA manage to sell out an 80,000+ stadium for fairly meaningless games against the likes of Bulgaria. There is a lot of families, and as a result the atmosphere suffers, but no one can complain at seeing so many kids at an England game.

As for the match, England played as well as they had to, Bulgaria might have made more of a game of it if they hadn’t insisted on needlessly fannying around with it near their own box, a curse of the modern game. We’re in with a chance next year, and you never know, home advantage might tip it in our favour.

After all that, my son said he did prefer Meadow Lane...

[KCNotts]

I feel quite positive about the England side. I think we have good young players in every position. Right back issue? We have 3 of the best right backs in world football? Alexander Arnold, Wan Bissaka and Trippier. Gomez, Stones and Maguire are solid at the back and Sterling and Kane is as good a strike partnership as you will find anywhere.

We also have some outstanding talents coming though in midfield. The future's bright.

[magpie_mania]

I feel quite positive about the England side. I thi nonk we have good young players in every position. Right back issue? We have 3 of the best right backs in world football? Alexander Arnold, Wan Bissaka and Trippier. Gomez, Stones and Maguire are solid at the back and Sterling and Kane is as good a strike partnership as you will find anywhere.

We also have some outstanding talents coming though in midfield. The future's bright.

Only 1 less right back than we have then

[Lullapie]

I took my lad as well, the first time I’d been to any sort of Wembley since the Bradford playoff final. I was hoping to see Notts again, but like you say, it’s not looking like that’s going to happen any time soon.

I think the stadium is fantastic, we were high up, but the view of the pitch was great. It’s fashionable to slag off football authorities, but with decent prices the FA manage to sell out an 80,000+ stadium for fairly meaningless games against the likes of Bulgaria. There is a lot of families, and as a result the atmosphere suffers, but no one can complain at seeing so many kids at an England game.

As for the match, England played as well as they had to, Bulgaria might have made more of a game of it if they hadn’t insisted on needlessly fannying around with it near their own box, a curse of the modern game. We’re in with a chance next year, and you never know, home advantage might tip it in our favour.

After all that, my son said he did prefer Meadow Lane...

Something in common BFP as my last Wembley ‘appearance’ was the Bradford game. My son was more excited by the Mexican wave in the second half. The facilities were/are fantastic. Somehow we ended up with tickets for Club Wembley and the seats were brilliant. I just missed what the Kiwis call the “mongrel’ element in the England team and the lack of urgency.

[Supporter since 1951]

I actually went to the game itself. It’s been a few years since I been to a ‘big’ ground in England and I was shocked by the lack of atmosphere - and believe me that’s saying something from someone living in NZ.

From the England players there seemed to be a distinctive lack of passion. Off the ball there was minimal movement and anyone watching the game on TV wouldn’t have seen the apathy shown by the players. They looked like they were just going through the motions.

Everything from when you arrived at Wembley Park Tube Station was stage managed and sanitised. However unpredictable Notts are this season, I was sat there wishing I’d just gone a bit further south and watched the Sutton v Notts game, but I’d promised my son we’d go to Wembley. I didn’t know how long we’d have to wait for Notts to get there again.

I’m actually looking forward to the Halifax game ��.

You're absolutely right Lullapie the players were just going through the motions and their endless back passing and side passing, was irritating. At the same time, the commentator droned on and on in a monotone sort of voice and and Hoddle sounded bored out of mind. I don't know why I watch these games.

[MancMagpie]

It's still much better than the old Lampard/Gerrard days. That kind of fixture would have been a 1-1 or lucky 1-0 win. I actually see it as a positive that England won that game comfortably without having to try too hard. Effing hell, people complaining about a comfortable 4-0 win at home....whatever next? You've got to draw the line somewhere guys.

[kill_the_drum]

I was at the game.
It’s very hard to play at tempo when you can walk with the ball to the half way line.
Bulgaria shaped up to make it a very boring game and that’s what it was.
The only thing we could do is win the game and we did it convincingly.

[Lullapie]

It's still much better than the old Lampard/Gerrard days. That kind of fixture would have been a 1-1 or lucky 1-0 win. I actually see it as a positive that England won that game comfortably without having to try too hard. Effing hell, people complaining about a comfortable 4-0 win at home....whatever next? You've got to draw the line somewhere guys.

I think I’m getting out of touch as I get older 😀. To me, what differentiates Northern European football from everybody else is the blood and guts approach.
I’ve always found it odd that our modern day coaches try and fit round pegs into square holes and we may end up winning a few non-descript games, but still have the same end result in the Tournaments that matter.

[jackal2]

I think I’m getting out of touch as I get older ��. To me, what differentiates Northern European football from everybody else is the blood and guts approach.
I’ve always found it odd that our modern day coaches try and fit round pegs into square holes and we may end up winning a few non-descript games, but still have the same end result in the Tournaments that matter.

Ultimately we will only win a European Championship or World Cup if our players are good enough, and at present they probably aren't, but even if they were, we wouldn't win with the "blood and guts" approach.

Unlike qualifiers where you only play two games in succession, tournament football involves a lot of games in a short period of time and it's nigh on impossible to keep beating good quality teams if you give the ball away too easily and have to work twice as hard to get it back. I know the traditional English 'blood and guts', end-to-end game is great to watch, but if you want to win at the top level you have to treasure possession and let the ball do the work.

I'm not convinced that Gareth Southgate is a great manager, in fact I'm pretty sure he isn't, but I'll give him credit that his decision to go with younger players and to try to play a possession game has improved us as an international team. We've also benefitted from a manager like Pep Guardiola instilling this into one of our leading club sides, which has led others to copy that approach. If we had a couple more players of true world class quality we probably would have a chance of getting a trophy.

[Bohinen]

It's still much better than the old Lampard/Gerrard days. That kind of fixture would have been a 1-1 or lucky 1-0 win. I actually see it as a positive that England won that game comfortably without having to try too hard. Effing hell, people complaining about a comfortable 4-0 win at home....whatever next? You've got to draw the line somewhere guys.

Last time we played Bulgaria at home in the Euro qualifiers was in 2010. Gerrard played and we won 4-0. We won 3-0 away too.

To be fair to them, Lampard OR Gerrard is exactly what we are missing right now. The problem was trying to play both of them, but swap Henderson for an in his prime Gerrard and Barkley for young a Scholes and we would look a pretty good team.

[Bohinen]

And so to Kosovo. That's why you shouldn't get too carried away with a 4-0 win against a very limited team. Tonight we played a side with a good attack and woeful defence and they tore us to shreds. They completely controlled the midfield and it's only breakaways that won it for us. In the end, Stirling reveted to type and we started wasting those as well. When we meet a decent side we have absolutely no chance.

[JoePass]

And so to Kosovo. That's why you shouldn't get too carried away with a 4-0 win against a very limited team. Tonight we played a side with a good attack and woeful defence and they tore us to shreds. They completely controlled the midfield and it's only breakaways that won it for us. In the end, Stirling reveted to type and we started wasting those as well. When we meet a decent side we have absolutely no chance.



Well played lads, a win is a win.