England 2014 World Cup

[smokie36]

That was <deleted> from an England team.

A fuc sight better than your mob last night smokes!!!!!!

Dream on baby....!

Strange, i've always thought delusions were an affliction, but I'm glad they seem to keep you happy smokes

Cheered me up on a wet and windy day rij.....bring on the scum!

[rijit]

Yeah ok but do you really rate your chances of finishing top better than 50/50?

We've played less than 50% of our games, so plenty of points to play for and tbh there isnt any teams in the group that we arnt able to take 4 out of 6 points off , so yeah i'm still pretty confident. so

toda bem amigo LOL

[smokie36]

Yeah ok but do you really rate your chances of finishing top better than 50/50?

We've played less than 50% of our games, so plenty of points to play for and tbh there isnt any teams in the group that we arnt able to take 4 out of 6 points off , so yeah i'm still pretty confident. so

toda bem amigo LOL

You'll be in Torremolinos with a pint of John Smiths and a bad dose of sunburn rij....mark my words mate!

[TruthEyes]

Working on the philosophy equivalent to win at home and draw away over the campaign , it is an ok result at 1 - 1.

[carmine]

5-0 win and a point away to Poland. Good results for England.

[nev]

5-0 win and a point away to Poland. Good results for England.

Yes this, and if Smokies country had got those results i am sure he would be a happy chappy.

Thought Rooney was woeful and Gerrard's recieve ready launch is not what we need.

But all in all a good point.

[rixalex]

Yes this, and if Smokies country had got those results i am sure he would be a happy chappy.

Thought Rooney was woeful and Gerrard's recieve ready launch is not what we need.

But all in all a good point.

If we are talking woeful, i thought Carrick was about the worst. Rooney didn't produce much in an attacking sense, but at least he makes up for it a bit by tracking back and making some tackles. Defoe was quite a disappointment. Always been a fan of his but i thought Welbeck did a bit better when he came on. The way he kept his cool and side stepped the keeper and set up Rooney was great, just needed the finish.

Defensively we had a few shakey moments. Jagielka did some frankly weird things. Perhaps his Polish/Scottish roots coming through there?!

The keeping error that led to the Poland goal was a great shame as i thought Hart was otherwise fantastic. Finally England has a stand out number one in that position, and that's a good thing... providing no more errors like that!

All in all, as others have said, an away point in Poland is not a bad result at all. Yes we can have regrets about not getting all three, as it was within our grasp, but Poland probably deserved something from the game.

11 games without defeat in regulation time is a pretty impressive stat for Hodgson... and an uncomfortable one for all the Hodgson haters out there. Performances haven't always been pretty, granted, but results come first and he's been getting the job done pretty well on that score to date.

[smokie36]

5-0 win and a point away to Poland. Good results for England.

Yes this, and if Smokies country had got those results i am sure he would be a happy chappy.

Thought Rooney was woeful and Gerrard's recieve ready launch is not what we need.

But all in all a good point.

Just to recap. As top seeds in the group you have a point at home against Ukraine and a point away to Poland.

The master plan is working. The rest of the world is fooled. Well done.

Oh and regarding my woeful country....its no more than was expected. Scotland are <deleted> at the moment....we know that. We are also not seeded in a position where we are expected to win the group....far from it.

[smokie36]

I will just add that if Poland had a serious cutting edge up front you would have lost that game for sure.

[carmine]

5-0 win and a point away to Poland. Good results for England.

Yes this, and if Smokies country had got those results i am sure he would be a happy chappy.

Thought Rooney was woeful and Gerrard's recieve ready launch is not what we need.

But all in all a good point.

Just to recap. As top seeds in the group you have a point at home against Ukraine and a point away to Poland.

The master plan is working. The rest of the world is fooled. Well done.

Oh and regarding my woeful country....its no more than was expected. Scotland are <deleted> at the moment....we know that. We are also not seeded in a position where we are expected to win the group....far from it.

Have you been drinking? If so, then good on you but seriously....... Whats this master plan thingy? Who on earth is trying to fool who? Whats Scotland to do with this thread or our results of the last few days? why do you care how we do?

Are you saying that a 5-0 win and an away point against poland is not a good couple of results?

[smokie36]

Have you been drinking? If so, then good on you but seriously....... Whats this master plan thingy? Who on earth is trying to fool who? Whats Scotland to do with this thread or our results of the last few days? why do you care how we do?

Are you saying that a 5-0 win and an away point against poland is not a good couple of results?

I'm simply pointing out that you face a tough battle to qualify. The away game in Ukraine will be the real decider as to who will finish top.

[carmine]

Have you been drinking? If so, then good on you but seriously....... Whats this master plan thingy? Who on earth is trying to fool who? Whats Scotland to do with this thread or our results of the last few days? why do you care how we do?

Are you saying that a 5-0 win and an away point against poland is not a good couple of results?

I'm simply pointing out that you face a tough battle to qualify. The away game in Ukraine will be the real decider as to who will finish top.

Well i don't think anyone of any nationality thinks qualifying for tournaments is ever easy. Ask a south bamerican. they have to deal with altitude issues aswell!

i think that hodgson should feel very satisfied so far though. It ain't been pretty but i'll argue it never will be when a hodgson team plays. Qualifying is about scrapping out results and making the most of games like the San Marino one which in fairness England did.

maybe we'll end up in the play offs, maybe we won't. Is that such a huge disaster?

[smokie36]

Have you been drinking? If so, then good on you but seriously....... Whats this master plan thingy? Who on earth is trying to fool who? Whats Scotland to do with this thread or our results of the last few days? why do you care how we do?

Are you saying that a 5-0 win and an away point against poland is not a good couple of results?

I'm simply pointing out that you face a tough battle to qualify. The away game in Ukraine will be the real decider as to who will finish top.

Well i don't think anyone of any nationality thinks qualifying for tournaments is ever easy. Ask a south bamerican. they have to deal with altitude issues aswell!

i think that hodgson should feel very satisfied so far though. It ain't been pretty but i'll argue it never will be when a hodgson team plays. Qualifying is about scrapping out results and making the most of games like the San Marino one which in fairness England did.

maybe we'll end up in the play offs, maybe we won't. Is that such a huge disaster?

Not winning the group SHOULD be seen as failure carmine....after all you are the top seeds aren't you now?

[carmine]

Have you been drinking? If so, then good on you but seriously....... Whats this master plan thingy? Who on earth is trying to fool who? Whats Scotland to do with this thread or our results of the last few days? why do you care how we do?

Are you saying that a 5-0 win and an away point against poland is not a good couple of results?

I'm simply pointing out that you face a tough battle to qualify. The away game in Ukraine will be the real decider as to who will finish top.

Well i don't think anyone of any nationality thinks qualifying for tournaments is ever easy. Ask a south bamerican. they have to deal with altitude issues aswell!

i think that hodgson should feel very satisfied so far though. It ain't been pretty but i'll argue it never will be when a hodgson team plays. Qualifying is about scrapping out results and making the most of games like the San Marino one which in fairness England did.

maybe we'll end up in the play offs, maybe we won't. Is that such a huge disaster?

Not winning the group SHOULD be seen as failure carmine....after all you are the top seeds aren't you now?

Well i suppose if you agree with the FIFA rankings and were the 3rd best team in the world then yes we should!

You're having a nightmare today mate!

[rixalex]

I will just add that if Poland had a serious cutting edge up front you would have lost that game for sure.

I see. So we are playing the game of ifs, buts and maybes...

Defoe and Rooney both had very good chances. If, but, maybe, they had scored those, and if, but, maybe, Hart had stayed on his line or got his fist to the ball, we would have won away from home three goals to nothing.

[rixalex]

Not winning the group SHOULD be seen as failure carmine....after all you are the top seeds aren't you now?

Outsiders (and some supposed insiders too!) like to whinge about how arrogant England is and how we always think we have a g_d given right to do well, but actually a lot of the time it's the outsiders projecting onto us these expectations themselves. First and foremost i want us to qualify. Qualifying top would be a bonus. Not qualifying top would not be a failure. Disappointing "yes". Failure "no". Of course that is the way outsiders will be painting it though.

[smokie36]

You're having a nightmare today mate!

I'm hurt by this comment carms....at least I watched the game!

[BangrakBob]

As an insider, I thought we were rubbish second half, with a one goal lead away we kept giving the ball away too cheaply and i think we were lucky to even get a point in the end. Our goal came off Rooney's shoulder, i think 1 of 2 shots on target (i might be wrong on that).

I've always been a massive optimist when it comes to England from an early age, but that optimism has depleted year on year. Once the premier league was born our national team has looked less and less like winning anything ever again. There is a lot more than just the EPL to account for this, but I just can't see us developing a Cup challenging team and i can't put my finger on it.

[mrbojangles]

I've always been a massive optimist when it comes to England from an early age, but that optimism has depleted year on year.

Have faith thy servant of football. One day it will be our turn and lady luck will be on our side.

[smokie36]

I've always been a massive optimist when it comes to England from an early age, but that optimism has depleted year on year.

Have faith thy servant of football. One day it will be our turn and lady luck will be on our side.

Not for a loooooong time to come mrboj.

[rixalex]

Once the premier league was born our national team has looked less and less like winning anything ever again.

Personally i think this is a bit of a misnomer. I don't think we were any great shakes before the PL came about. What has happened is other so called lesser nations have improved (aside from Scotland of course ), whereas we have stayed about the same.

[StevieH]

Personally i think this is a bit of a misnomer. I don't think we were any great shakes before the PL came about. What has happened is other so called lesser nations have improved (aside from Scotland of course ), whereas we have stayed about the same.

i think that's right. bobby robson's world cup 90 side was a bit of an anomaly. but then that world cup was weird too as traditional powerhouses just weren't all that either.

why do you think that the supposed lesser nations have improved while england kind of haven't? i mean you take someone like uruguay, population 3 million, and compare them to england? they can't be comparable in terms of infrastructure, resources, facilities etc.

[rixalex]

why do you think that the supposed lesser nations have improved while england kind of haven't? i mean you take someone like uruguay, population 3 million, and compare them to england? they can't be comparable in terms of infrastructure, resources, facilities etc.

That's a good question mate. Perhaps it's to do with more freedom in the market place, for players of lesser nations to develop and hone their skills in better leagues outside of their own country. But why this extra freedom hasn't resulted in England players also improving, is the mystery. Perhaps England players don't export well.

[mrbojangles]

I've always been a massive optimist when it comes to England from an early age, but that optimism has depleted year on year.

Have faith thy servant of football. One day it will be our turn and lady luck will be on our side.

Not for a loooooong time to come mrboj.

Maybe smokes but the optimist inside me says it will be looooooooong before your guys do

[smokie36]

I've always been a massive optimist when it comes to England from an early age, but that optimism has depleted year on year.

Have faith thy servant of football. One day it will be our turn and lady luck will be on our side.

Not for a loooooong time to come mrboj.

Maybe smokes but the optimist inside me says it will be looooooooong before your guys do

Don't be ridiculous mrboj. We will never win anything.

You need to cut down on the medication pal!

[StevieH]

That's a good question mate. Perhaps it's to do with more freedom in the market place, for players of lesser nations to develop and hone their skills in better leagues outside of their own country. But why this extra freedom hasn't resulted in England players also improving, is the mystery. Perhaps England players don't export well.

it's been a bugbear of mine for years rix, english players who went and played abroad simply improved. they just got better. hoddle, waddle, gazza, lineker, steve mcmamanan became a genuine world class player with madrid. the problem is the money anchor. they would have to take pay cuts to go abroad. when players born and raised and trained in france or holland or portugal don't have the money from the off - so they go overseas to get paid more and also become better players as a result. comes back to money really, as it so often does.

[BangrakBob]

That's a good question mate. Perhaps it's to do with more freedom in the market place, for players of lesser nations to develop and hone their skills in better leagues outside of their own country. But why this extra freedom hasn't resulted in England players also improving, is the mystery. Perhaps England players don't export well.

it's been a bugbear of mine for years rix, english players who went and played abroad simply improved. they just got better. hoddle, waddle, gazza, lineker, steve mcmamanan became a genuine world class player with madrid. the problem is the money anchor. they would have to take pay cuts to go abroad. when players born and raised and trained in france or holland or portugal don't have the money from the off - so they go overseas to get paid more and also become better players as a result. comes back to money really, as it so often does.

Now we are getting somewhere........none of the England team play abroad anymore and haven't for sometime and we have got worse since.

Thinking about StevieH comment regarding Uruguay - is it maybe because kids don't get cut early from squads, because they don't have loads of foreign players in their top level leagues? Is there not a link between the amount of foreign players in the EPL limiting/eliminating the potential of English talent?

[BangrakBob]

I've always been a massive optimist when it comes to England from an early age, but that optimism has depleted year on year.

Have faith thy servant of football. One day it will be our turn and lady luck will be on our side.

One match at a time Bob, one match at a time

[StevieH]

some performance from zlatan that wasn't it? and wow, what a fourth goal. don't recall seeing a goal like that anywhere before.

[carmine]

some performance from zlatan that wasn't it? and wow, what a fourth goal. don't recall seeing a goal like that anywhere before.

It was rather good wasn't it and i think young Steven Caulker learnt an aweful lot last night, but atleast in a positive way.

Have Chelsea put in a bid for Zlatan yet? They'll be needing back up for Falcao afterall.