England for the cup!

[out0lunch]

Bored silly last night a certain cure for insomnia.
Why pass the ball forward when you might give it away?
Best thing pass it sideways and if not pass it back. Butch Wilkins would have done well in this team.
Oh for Stirling to be in the team, at least he runs at players and takes them on.
Sorry Roy but this is a boring team and at this rate will be lucky to get out of the group stages.
Don't get me wrong I want England to win but they are too predictable

Still a good lay bet

[AlexLeicester]

Last night was nothing like the style of play we will adopt when it matters. Honduras were a bunch of thugs who decided, for whatever reason, not to allow football to be played.
Rooney will be fine; Gerrard will be immense.

The whole idea from last night was to survive without filling hospital beds!

Yes, boring as sin, but given the attitude of the side we faced, the apparent mistake in even arranging it, the total shut down for 30 mins for the storm, I can hopefully dismiss last night and wait for when it really matters.

[One_Dean_Ashton]

Still waiting for Gobstopper to make his team selections...

[PAULCAFC]

Starts tomorrow lads!

[Gobstopper]

Still waiting for Gobstopper to make his team selections...

I don't think I need say much more and don't think I got any enjoyment out of watching England lose. I made a point, you didn't like it so you thought you would have a go, obviously making an observation is not allowed on here, but I made it anyway, I was just saying it as I saw it, unfortunately I was right.

Mathematically we can still do it, we just need Italy to do it for us, so why not keep positive. I hope this eternal optimism is more to your liking as you didn't like my pessimistic viewpoint, as accurate as it was.

By the way I think Crewe's L1 campaign this coming season will be far more positive than Englands showing in the World cup so far.

[AlexLeicester]

I'm pleased to see that Gobstopper has turned the 'optimism wick' up to full. :-D
I tend to agree and, more pointedly, I think that hope for the Alex is all I've got left to enjoy now.

Disagree with one thing: last night Rooney was the only one who played better than they did against Italy.
Uruguay studied the Italy v. England game; identified our tactics and strengths; and then completely stifled us. If, perhaps, we had changed tactics and shape then perhaps we would not have had to rely on players who were marked out?

[PAULCAFC]

Here we go again, where do England go now, humiliated by Costa Rica who beat the same teams in the same week we lost to, a bunch of overrated prima donnas more interested in self prestige, no passion, no fight, all bluster, no end finish, rigid tactics and another manager who's looking like another poor choice, what is the future, is there any point at international level?

[AlexLeicester]

Here we go again, where do England go now, humiliated by Costa Rica who beat the same teams in the same week we lost to, a bunch of overrated prima donnas more interested in self prestige, no passion, no fight, all bluster, no end finish, rigid tactics and another manager who's looking like another poor choice, what is the future, is there any point at international level?

If I thought that then I would no longer support, even from afar, my national side. This would leave a big chronological gap once every other year, and for all the games leading up to the Euro and World tournaments.
There is now deadwood to be shipped out, but I do feel that with Sterling, Sturridge, Shaw, Welbeck (and possibly Nick Powell) we have the nucleus of a tram that will at least challenge.

I also see no alternative to Roy Hodgson: he clearly has the respect of the players, but he needs a much better management back-up team.

[One_Dean_Ashton]

Still waiting for Gobstopper to make his team selections...

I don't think I need say much more and don't think I got any enjoyment out of watching England lose. I made a point, you didn't like it so you thought you would have a go, obviously making an observation is not allowed on here, but I made it anyway, I was just saying it as I saw it, unfortunately I was right.

Mathematically we can still do it, we just need Italy to do it for us, so why not keep positive. I hope this eternal optimism is more to your liking as you didn't like my pessimistic viewpoint, as accurate as it was.

By the way I think Crewe's L1 campaign this coming season will be far more positive than Englands showing in the World cup so far.[/quote]

It wasn't that I didn't like your point. In fact, I was giving you the opportunity to suggest an alternative team selection and make your point more valid.

W

[Gobstopper]

There is some optimism if Hodgson can learn from his mistakes. The England team is crying out for change but Roy is very conservative, he could have been your local bank manager. Therefore despite there being an abundance of young talent he will stick with the likes of Rooney and Gerrard where what we need is a radical overhaul. I'm not a big supporter of Rooney, he was a brilliant player when he was younger but I have not witnessed that same player for 3 years now. Gerrard has been a great servant for England, but time to move on he isn't getting any younger. We also need to seriously look at our defence, Jagielka was found wanting in both games and the fullbacks were poor. I would be happier to see a team of young players, they will make mistakes but so do the older players, but we might find some inspiration out there, some enthusiasm and fight. We can admire Costa Rica and Chile two teams without a list of so called star players, who have brought an enthusiasm and *****ity to the W