The World Cup Thread (7 Viewers)
- Thread starter Earlsdon_Skyblue1
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Otis
Well-Known Member
I think you are very much confusing Sweden ARE rubbish with Sweden WERE rubbish.
We played well against them, but in that match-up with us they were particularly poor. Teams do have off days you know. We all know Sweden did extremely well to even qualify from the group they were in.
But just because a team plays badly in one game it doesn't mean they are a bad side. England aren't a bad side, but we looked one in that second half last night.
It's not always just black and white. So much grey too. Sweden are a decent side, but on the day against us they didn't play well at all and our earlyish goal completely threw their game plan of sit back and hit us on the break.
Otis
Well-Known Member
At one point I thought young Sessegnon might have sneaked into the squad. He would have probably been the nearest to a like for like with Sterling. He has bags of oace and is tricky.
jimmyhillsfanclub
Well-Known Member
Meh.....I'm not as arsed or as down as I thought I'd be.....I've really enjoyed this world cup.
England did well to get the last 4.......flattering perhaps....but they can only play the teams the draw throws up.....
I had Harry Kane as top scorer @ 16/1......I assume goals scored in the dead rubber 3rd/4th game still count towards the golden boot?
England did well to get the last 4.......flattering perhaps....but they can only play the teams the draw throws up.....
I had Harry Kane as top scorer @ 16/1......I assume goals scored in the dead rubber 3rd/4th game still count towards the golden boot?
Otis
Well-Known Member
SIR ERNIE
Well-Known Member
Using the argument you used to explain away England's defeat last night, you could say Sweden lost as soon as they came up against a decent team.
Captain Dart
Well-Known Member
I take it you are hoping Mbappe doesn't play a blinder in the final.
jimmyhillsfanclub
Well-Known Member
Just googled it and yes they do.......just watch lukaku go and bag a fucking hatrick while Kane goes through the motions....that'll piss me off more than defeat to the Croats....
Otis
Well-Known Member
Not really. Get your point, but the difference last night in that second half was that Croatia were a league apart. Quicker, more dangerous, better possession, more skilful etc. etc.
It's a funny old game football isn't it. Had we bagged that second goal last night I think we would have won quite comfortably and everyone would have been saying Croatia were a poor side.
I didn't think Croatia were a poor side and I didn't think Sweden were a poor side, but Sweden were a poor side against us and Croatia were poor in that first half last night, but excellent in the second.
When the City played Yeovil and got thrashed 6-1 a lot of people were saying we are not good enough. We then though went on an produced a majestic display against Notts County and looked the best team in the league.
Are Germany a poor team? Nope. They put in some poor performances though. Belgium could have easily lost to Japan, but are clearly a better side.
Like I say, football's a funny old game. Neither Sweden or Croatia are poor sides.
Otis
Well-Known Member
Kane might not even play. Can see Southgate maybe resting him. He looked shot last night. Really leggy and weary.
Otis
Well-Known Member
I do NOT want nother bout of extra time and pens thank you very much!!
ajsccfc
Well-Known Member
I'd be pleasantly surprised if there as many as three goals in the final, it's been a while since a proper two-sided goalfest.
Modric was a joy to watch from the second half onwards last night, even if he looks like a witch and then moaned about the media saying that a team falling over with cramp against Russia looked a bit tired.
Modric was a joy to watch from the second half onwards last night, even if he looks like a witch and then moaned about the media saying that a team falling over with cramp against Russia looked a bit tired.
Earlsdon_Skyblue1
Well-Known Member
Sterling never came out after half time so that argument doesn't really wash to be honest. He was pretty decent in the first half but was completely absent second half and we looking lost from the moment we kicked that half off.
I said we needed to make changes about 5 minutes before the goal because you could see it coming. We should have changed the midfield as well as Sterling though.
Otis
Well-Known Member
Yep and Ferdinand and Neville saying what a poor side Croatia are and that we should beat them easily.
I was expecting a tough match last night.
Earlsdon_Skyblue1
Well-Known Member
Sweden are rubbish. They are not a good side whatsoever. It was not just an off day for them.
They were poor in all of their games, it's just some of their opponents weren't as challenging as us. The same goes in qualifying and for the last couple of years at least - Sweden are not good at all.
ajsccfc
Well-Known Member
That came completely from self-deprecation, it started when we were about to kick off a World Cup with Gareth Southgate as manager and so clearly we had no chance. Anyone seeing that and taking it at face value was really missing the point, it was always a form of gallows humour
I don't know why players such as Modric come out with such rubbish. The motivation is the game itself, if something some no mark says gives anyone extra motivation then they were not fully motivated in the first place. I just don't believe that would be the case in a game of such importance.
covmark
Well-Known Member
Yeah. I'll always thought the it's coming home stuff was a bit tongue in cheek tbh.
As for the tournament. It's been a great world cup. Hopefully the final will match up to what has gone before.
If someone had told me before the tournament that England would get further than Germany, Brazil, Spain and Argentina I would have said they were mad, so in that respect we've done well. However you can't but feel it's a massive opportunity missed.
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Nick
Administrator
I don't think it was meant to be humorous once we got to the knockout stages, it did get a bit silly with people doing things to get attention from it but the whole talk most of the way through (after the first couple of games especially) was that we were going to win. Pundits were writing off the opposition a lot like they were nothing.
Can understand after we had beaten Panama people joking about winning the world cup for a laugh but it grew and grew to the point it was silly.
SkyblueBazza
Well-Known Member
Yes...there are definitely two camps.
You're firmly in the England are shit & can do nothing right one!
Fact is the Croat's have more experience, played at highest level for clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich & similar...AND have won stuff. So if you thought they were gonna be easier than Brazil or France you aren't very well informed. As for other teams - there are no easy games at the World Cup. Just some teams that on paper you would prefer to play instead of those you do have to.
If you doubt that, what about Spain? Germany? Or do you excuse their outcomes as hiccups?
Think I will carry on enjoying the ride & look positively to the future thanks!
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Otis
Well-Known Member
Well we will have to agree to disagree then. People have already listed the teams they were up against to qualify and they were rather unlucky to lose to Germany right at the death too in this tournament itself.
I do not think Sweden are a bad side, just maybe a bit one dimensional and not able to adjust their game plan when things start going wrong.
richnrg
Well-Known Member
don't see whats wrong with people singing 'its coming home'. After all, we all sing songs like "We're by far the greatest team, the world has very seen" about our clubs (despite being in league 1, 2 whatever), and good old 'Ke sara sara' after a 4-2 defeat of Wycombe early on in the Checkatrade trophy. Whats the difference?
jimmyhillsfanclub
Well-Known Member
I was always more of a "Fat Les" man myself.....
Nick
Administrator
Don't think it's so much singing the song at the games. I think it's to the point where people are so obsessed with saying it they struggle to survive without saying it over and over and over and over and over and over.
Liquid Gold
Well-Known Member
All the part timers will go back into the woodwork now. How many of the 'It's coming home' will be at the Ricoh in 23 days time?
NorthernWisdom
Well-Known Member
Equivalent to him getting a knighthood from you here
tbh I'd have kept Sterling on and brought Rashford on too. Their central defence was completely incapable of defending against pace, so stick as much on as possible. If I was France, I'd be lining Mbappe up with eager anticipation.
Right about the midfield though. And we did seem to go a bit one-dimensional and try and play over the top at the first sign of getting the ball, which meant it came straight back at us.
Nick
Administrator
Will be sat in the pubs or at home waiting for Super Sunday or the Champions League on TV.
Otis
Well-Known Member
England have always reminded me so much of the City at times.Equivalent to him getting a knighthood from you here
tbh I'd have kept Sterling on and brought Rashford on too. Their central defence was completely incapable of defending against pace, so stick as much on as possible. If I was France, I'd be lining Mbappe up with eager anticipation.
Right about the midfield though. And we did seem to go a bit one-dimensional and try and play over the top at the first sign of getting the ball, which meant it came straight back at us.
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Mucca Mad Boys
Well-Known Member
We should all be disappointed we didn't win that game. Whilst Croatia was the better side overall, we had the chances to put the game beyond Croatia's reach in the first half. But, everyone should be proud of the team and the manager for restoring the belief in the national team and this tournament will fundamentally change the national psyche. We've reached a semi-final and won a penalty-shootout with the 3rd or so youngest team, and let us not forget a team that lacked international experience, Maguire made his international debut last season, for example. Croatia, by contrast, is one of the most experienced teams in the World Cup and it showed last night because they got stronger as the game carried on.
Evaluating last night, the persistent criticism after every game was that we don't create many open play chances and ironically, we had 2 chances we should've done better with, Kane's chance and Lingard's from outside the box. After the 2nd half and extra time, we didn't create the chances to win. For those criticising Sterling, Rashford basically made the same mistakes as him and I'm not going to blame him because I think the problem was the midfield. IMO, changes that needed to be made weren't made and it probably cost us and the midfield struggled massively after the 1st half. One of Delph, Dier or Loftus-Cheek needed to come on. If I was Southgate at that moment, I probably would've brought Dier on when we were ahead and pushed Henderson a bit forward because we lacked the means to hold to the ball and really needed a midfield partner for Henderson -- the same reasoning for bringing Delph on, but he's generally better on the ball than Dier (but less defensive). After the equaliser, there was a definite case for bringing Loftus-Cheek on because Dele looked very fatigued and in the context of us losing that midfield battle, Loftus-Cheek would've been someone to at least carry the ball forward which we lacked throughout the second half and onwards. Souness was critical of Lingard and Dele and I tend to agree that they did fail to provide the link between Henderson and the strikers and particularly Sterling and Rashford had a tough time of doing anything with the ball because neither player had options in the box really. I'm sure both the team and Southgate will learn from these experiences and it will hurt them because this was a winnable game and could've been won in the first half.
Evaluating last night, the persistent criticism after every game was that we don't create many open play chances and ironically, we had 2 chances we should've done better with, Kane's chance and Lingard's from outside the box. After the 2nd half and extra time, we didn't create the chances to win. For those criticising Sterling, Rashford basically made the same mistakes as him and I'm not going to blame him because I think the problem was the midfield. IMO, changes that needed to be made weren't made and it probably cost us and the midfield struggled massively after the 1st half. One of Delph, Dier or Loftus-Cheek needed to come on. If I was Southgate at that moment, I probably would've brought Dier on when we were ahead and pushed Henderson a bit forward because we lacked the means to hold to the ball and really needed a midfield partner for Henderson -- the same reasoning for bringing Delph on, but he's generally better on the ball than Dier (but less defensive). After the equaliser, there was a definite case for bringing Loftus-Cheek on because Dele looked very fatigued and in the context of us losing that midfield battle, Loftus-Cheek would've been someone to at least carry the ball forward which we lacked throughout the second half and onwards. Souness was critical of Lingard and Dele and I tend to agree that they did fail to provide the link between Henderson and the strikers and particularly Sterling and Rashford had a tough time of doing anything with the ball because neither player had options in the box really. I'm sure both the team and Southgate will learn from these experiences and it will hurt them because this was a winnable game and could've been won in the first half.
Nick
Administrator
The media are pricks.
You have the papers who go out of their way to slag the players off and then you have the other half of the media desperately trying to counteract it with their over reactions.
Southgate hugs his wife and it's "What a man"
Southgate applauds the fans and he is a hero
Pickford gives his gloves to a fan and it's like he has just swam to that cave and saved all of the players.
Trippier comes out limping to applaud the fans.
Football players do this week in, week out up and down the country. It's nothing new.
Where's the balance where you aren't either trying to slag off a player because he fingered somebody in 2002 or trying to make out he is a saint because he claps to the fans?
You have the papers who go out of their way to slag the players off and then you have the other half of the media desperately trying to counteract it with their over reactions.
Southgate hugs his wife and it's "What a man"
Southgate applauds the fans and he is a hero
Pickford gives his gloves to a fan and it's like he has just swam to that cave and saved all of the players.
Trippier comes out limping to applaud the fans.
Football players do this week in, week out up and down the country. It's nothing new.
Where's the balance where you aren't either trying to slag off a player because he fingered somebody in 2002 or trying to make out he is a saint because he claps to the fans?
skybluesam66
Well-Known Member
At the end of the day our lack of midfield lost us the game
Great against average teams, but found wanting against a world class midfield
Lets just hope the next generation will fill that void
Ryan Sessegnon
Phil Foden
James Maddison
Ruben Loftus Cheek
But remember, being good at a young age is no guarantee :-
Ross Barkley
Jack Rodwell
Great against average teams, but found wanting against a world class midfield
Lets just hope the next generation will fill that void
Ryan Sessegnon
Phil Foden
James Maddison
Ruben Loftus Cheek
But remember, being good at a young age is no guarantee :-
Ross Barkley
Jack Rodwell
Otis
Well-Known Member
Definitely should have brought Loftus-Cheek on. He would have given us some added muscle and could have helped us dictate play.
Loftus Cheek has been under used in this tournament in my opinion. Forward thinking, happy to run with the ball and is so strong to go with it. Lingard and Alli are too similar and if one is ineffective so is the other so it would have been good to try and mix it up a little.
