So here's to the contributions of Vertonghen, Dembele, Eriksen, Lamela etc in our success last season



Yeah cause Alderweireld was pants last season...

Don't be an idiot

comment by The Phenom - Thread Killer (U20037)
posted 4 minutes ago
So here's to the contributions of Vertonghen, Dembele, Eriksen, Lamela etc in our success last season



Yeah cause Alderweireld was pants last season...
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You realise what ETC means right?

England dominated possession in all four games at the Euros. The issue isn't ball retention, like you say, it's having the ability to unlock a defence with a creative pass. The whole tournament was spent passing sideways in the opposition's half while the opposition were comfortably set up in defensive positions. It's quite plain that possession for possession's sake is a waste of time, and sacrificing a bit of possession, to lure the opposition team out a bit and free up some space to play into, would've been a much better idea, particularly as it would've played to Vardy's strengths.

Hodgson's game plan appeared to be "keep the ball and pass through a packed defence," but you need players like Iniesta, Silva, Fabregas etc to make that work - and even then it doesn't tend to work against a well-drilled defensive unit with pace on the counter, like Italy.

I'd say England should have set up more like Italy/Leicester, but we have no defensive solidity whatsoever

England's players don't try hard enough - or show enough passion, as Bale mentioned. They are all multi millionaires at the age of 18/19 which probably doesn't help their ambitions on occasions such as last night.

I agree with the article overall, that England have a severe shortage of creative players in their camp. You just have to see and understand why Rooney was picked to play in the middle - nobody else of sufficient quality was available. However, losing against Iceland isn't because they are better at football than England, it's down to hunger. To them it meant everything and to England not much at all, judging by more than one or two performances out there.

It's quite a bad recipe the English game has for producing it's national teams, from focusing on physical attributes in preference of technical ability early on, to 99% of players never venturing onto the continent to play, to the ridiculous media pressure and delusions of grandeur etc etc

There is no easy fix tbh - only hope i would have is if somebody of Simeone's ilk was to take over, ie someone who can get the absolute maximum out of a set of players and combine that with football savvy

It's the worst mix, really - England have a big reputation, meaning they're expected to play on the front foot and dominate possession, but they don't have the talent to back their reputation up, meaning that they're insanely easy to play against. Just pack the box and hit them on the break.

The best thing England could do would be play like Iceland did last night, but as people have mentioned it's questionable if the players even have the desire to put that sort of effort into their performances.

comment by ツ Hєиgy (U9129)
posted 4 hours, 19 minutes ago
comment by The Phenom - Thread Killer (U20037)
posted 4 minutes ago
So here's to the contributions of Vertonghen, Dembele, Eriksen, Lamela etc in our success last season



Yeah cause Alderweireld was pants last season...
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You realise what ETC means right?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
if you were listing players surely you'd list the best foreign player we have and not include him in the etc

What that match highlighted to me, apart from the obvious tactical incompetence of the manager, was the need for leaders in the team.

Hodgson picked a young squad, which I have to say at the time I agreed with. But when you have a young side and things aren't going well you need the experienced heads to settle things down and get things back on a even keel. Rooney should have really picked up that role last night, instead he seemed more rattled than anyone else...I've never seen him misplace so many passes in one game. Add the lack of leaders on the pitch to the moron in the technical area and it was a recipe for disaster

comment by The Phenom - Thread Killer (U20037)
posted 2 hours, 1 minute ago
comment by ツ Hєиgy (U9129)
posted 4 hours, 19 minutes ago
comment by The Phenom - Thread Killer (U20037)
posted 4 minutes ago
So here's to the contributions of Vertonghen, Dembele, Eriksen, Lamela etc in our success last season



Yeah cause Alderweireld was pants last season...
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You realise what ETC means right?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
if you were listing players surely you'd list the best foreign player we have and not include him in the etc
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Or he just listed the first ones that he thought off and added etc assuming no one would be stupid enough to make a big deal over it?

comment by ツ Hєиgy (U9129)
posted 15 hours, 11 minutes ago
comment by The Phenom - Thread Killer (U20037)
posted 2 hours, 1 minute ago
comment by ツ Hєиgy (U9129)
posted 4 hours, 19 minutes ago
comment by The Phenom - Thread Killer (U20037)
posted 4 minutes ago
So here's to the contributions of Vertonghen, Dembele, Eriksen, Lamela etc in our success last season



Yeah cause Alderweireld was pants last season...
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You realise what ETC means right?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
if you were listing players surely you'd list the best foreign player we have and not include him in the etc
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Or he just listed the first ones that he thought off and added etc assuming no one would be stupid enough to make a big deal over it?
----------------------------------------------------------------------

With Spurs playing Alli in behind Kane he's not technically 'played against' PL midfields, so he's basically gone from playing against League 1 midfields to international ones (of varying quality) without anything in between.