"Have City made it a policy not to sell to English "rivals"?"

Think it depends on the player. Reckon we would have sold Hart to a 'rival'.

Foden WOULD have played vs Wolves last week in the Carabao cup according to Pep. Not sure if you've seen Foden but he is very small and lightweight. He plays where David Silva, Banana Silva, kdb and Sterling play. I can see him being packed off to either Breda in Holland or Girona in Spain next season.

1 hour ago, Bredbury Blue said:

Foden WOULD have played vs Wolves last week in the Carabao cup according to Pep. Not sure if you've seen Foden but he is very small and lightweight. He plays where David Silva, Banana Silva, kdb and Sterling play. I can see him being packed off to either Breda in Holland or Girona in Spain next season.

What a shame if that happened.  Talent like that should be playing in England 'not packed off" to obscurity

I caught a few bits of the game last night and it looked to be dire football.

 

For the 81000 who attended you have my sympathy.

Edited November 11, 20178 yr by smokie36

I watched the second half and thought it pretty entertaining as far as 0-0 draws go. It was heartening to see the youngsters play with aplomb.  England looked slick on the counter-attack. The formation suits them. Because Germany wanted to attack, England could play their natural game. The trouble is lesser teams will sit 10 men behind the ball at the tournament, knowing that is their best chance of avoiding defeat, and gaining the odd win.

World cup draw coming up.  I'm not sure that an 'easy' draw is any better for England than one in a 'group of death'.  England are not that great, as we know, and particularly find it difficult to break down weaker opposition.  Our natural game is fast counter attack, and so being drawn against more adventurous opposition may suit.

14 minutes ago, mommysboy said:

Our natural game is fast counter attack

After Brazil 2014--you said that with a complete straight face........

6 minutes ago, sanuk711 said:

After Brazil 2014--you said that with a complete straight face........

It is in theory what we are best at given the talent we have- fast attackers and a strongish defence, but little in the way of midfield talent!  Whether it is effective at this level I couldn't say, because we're not up too much in all honesty.

Group G: Belgium, England, Tunisia, Panama

 

Well really !!

1 hour ago, mommysboy said:

Group G: Belgium, England, Tunisia, Panama

 

Well really !!

 

England have a great chance of winning the cup.

it all feels a bit meh to be honest. there are no more groups of death, there are only groups where it's clear which two teams are going to qualify. like the champions league. the only remotely interesting match in the first round is spain vs portugal, and they're both going to go through from that group anyway. group H is probably the most interesting.

11 hours ago, RonniePickering22 said:

 

England have a great chance of winning the cup.

 

The Argentina group is quite interesting.

 

Tunisia and Panama are really rather weak qualifiers, but given we got knocked out by Glacier Utd in the last tournie, progress can not be taken for granted.

4 hours ago, mommysboy said:

 

The Argentina group is quite interesting.

 

Tunisia and Panama are really rather weak qualifiers, but given we got knocked out by Glacier Utd in the last tournie, progress can not be taken for granted.

 

Every team is looking to progress of course and none look for me a true standout.

 

Of course Belgium if they click will be very tough to beat.

15 hours ago, RonniePickering22 said:

England have a great chance of winning the cup.

I'm glad your sense of humour is strong today, Ronnie.

5 minutes ago, Here It Is said:

I'm glad your sense of humour is strong today, Ronnie.

 

Nothing wrong with a bit of optimism!

7 minutes ago, Here It Is said:

I'm glad your sense of humour is strong today, Ronnie.

Scottish humour may I add

In successive World Cups England could only draw against CONCACAF teams USA & Costa Rica. Beating Panama is not a given.

If England do qualify, they will have a game against a qualifier from Poland's group.

49 minutes ago, RonniePickering22 said:

Nothing wrong with a bit of optimism!

Gareth will be overly optimistic and I've a feeling of impending doom with this particular group.

Here we go again then?

 

Losing Alex Ox is a bit of a blow for England, though the chances were he'd pick up yet another serious injury at some time.

 

So, how to bolster an already rather meagre midfield?  Are there any players in the squad you'd like to see out, and who are the players who should gain a place?

 

For me, I would take a gamble on Wilshere, and Shelvey.  But equally I'm rather impressed with Loftus-Cheek, and Cook. 

Edited May 14, 20188 yr by mommysboy

1 hour ago, mommysboy said:

Here we go again then?

 

Losing Alex Ox is a bit of a blow for England, though the chances were he'd pick up yet another serious injury at some time.

 

So, how to bolster an already rather meagre midfield?  Are there any players in the squad you'd like to see out, and who are the players who should gain a place?

 

For me, I would take a gamble on Wilshere, and Shelvey.  But equally I'm rather impressed with Loftus-Cheek, and Cook. 

Wilshere and Shelvey......what a depressing reality. 

6 minutes ago, BangrakBob said:

Wilshere and Shelvey......what a depressing reality. 

I'd take England's swiss-army knife, James Milner - he'd also be good for morale with his entertaining yarns on cleaning his house.

I would be tempted to put Ashley Young in centre midfield. He is 2 footed, is a great passer and has a good shot on him. The last couple of seasons he seems to have bulked up, is more vocal and has a bit of edge about him (credit Mourinho?). Left back would then have to be Delph or Bertrand IMO. Rose is a no no for me.

Edited May 14, 20188 yr by champers

4 minutes ago, Bredbury Blue said:

I'd take England's swiss-army knife, James Milner - he'd also be good for morale with his entertaining yarns on cleaning his house.

He has retired from internationals. Otherwise, he would be a shoe in.

8 minutes ago, Bredbury Blue said:

I'd take England's swiss-army knife, James Milner - he'd also be good for morale with his entertaining yarns on cleaning his house.

Absolute revelation this season, some of his career best performances in the CL this season. I’m glad he won’t be playing for England, he needs a rest. 

Are we agreed that England will be finally knocked out by Panama?  I hope so.  It saves on the nerves.

 

Edit: I'm absolutely certain that this will be the case.

Edited May 14, 20188 yr by fanjita

13 minutes ago, fanjita said:

Are we agreed that England will be finally knocked out by Panama?  I hope so.  It saves on the nerves.

 

Edit: I'm absolutely certain that this will be the case.

Well, in the last 2 WCs we drew with qualifiers from CONCACAF, USA and Costa Rica. Panama are an unknown quantity and have nothing to lose.

3 minutes ago, champers said:

Well, in the last 2 WCs we drew with qualifiers from CONCACAF, USA and Costa Rica. Panama are an unknown quantity and have nothing to lose.

This is doomsday for Gareth.  He's well out of his depth and just another yes man to the FA.  

 

There's a chance of a result against Tunisia, but even that's up in the air.  I foresee loses against Belgium and Panama, plain and simple.  If we lose to Tunisia in the opener then it's all over before it started.  

26 minutes ago, fanjita said:

Are we agreed that England will be finally knocked out by Panama?  I hope so.  It saves on the nerves.

 

Edit: I'm absolutely certain that this will be the case.

A tad pessimistic perhaps, because England appear to be on the up.  England seemed to have discovered the handy knack of passing the ball to a team mate.  Having said that, sometimes you're right to be wary, especially after being knocked out by Iceberg United in the last tournie.

37 minutes ago, champers said:

I would be tempted to put Ashley Young in centre midfield. He is 2 footed, is a great passer and has a good shot on him. The last couple of seasons he seems to have bulked up, is more vocal and has a bit of edge about him (credit Mourinho?). Left back would then have to be Delph or Bertrand IMO. Rose is a no no for me.

Has he ever played there?  

Just now, mommysboy said:

Has he ever played there?  

He started out there at Watford, Houllier played him there at Villa and he played there a time or 2 for England. I think top players can play anywhere; and he has. I believe it would be a risk worth taking. I also believe Southgate is risk averse so it will be a creative midfield of Henderson and one other.