The Football Thread.

menamestom

p90fool said:

chris78 said:

p90fool said:

Philly_Q said:

I just heard someone on the radio saying "Southgate drives his Ferrari at 15 mph.  And puts his phone on Battery Saver at 99%.".

Southgate is actually playing a blinder. He has shit players who are propped up by overseas talent in the Premiership, so his only weapon is crushing negativity. 

If he allowed a bit of flair and ambition they'd be exactly where Scotland are  now, ie, home.  

Yet Bellingham was La liga player of the year, Kane broke all records in the Bundesliga, other overseas players like Tomori can’t get near the squad and I bet if any of TAA, Foden, Saka or Rice became available, they’d be going to top clubs.
Worth remembering that Stones, TAA, Foden, Walker etc are Champions League winners

Which goes to prove my point really. Surround those stars with English players and they don't create or inspire anything. 

If course I'm being a little facetious and have no beef with any footballers, it's just that the commentators, pundits and press seem to live in a Nadine Dorries-style parallel universe which none of the rest of us can see. 

"World class generational talent" is absolutely not what the punters are watching or throwing plastic cups at. 

Think of it another way though, would Pep, Ancelotti, Mourhino have this squad playing the same football as they are now?

Would they take no fit LB to a tournament then thay a RB in that position?
Would they play their right back in Centre Midfield, when they havn't ever tried it before?
Would they play a no.10/Right winger on the left, leaving the natural left winger they brought on the bench?
I don't think they would do any of these things.  I'm not saying these players are generational talent, but the current setup is not making the best of them by a long way.  The truth it probably somewhere in the middle, managed right they would genuinely be a good team.  Mediocre low risk management makes them look like a mediocre team.

Gassage

DrCornelius said:

CaseOfAce said:

I'm at best a casual fan of the game with no in depth knowledge of coaching, tactics, formations and the like but can anyone explain why an England player venturing across the halfway line immediately feel the need to kick it back into their own half. Talk about frustrating. I thought the idea was to place the ball behind the opposition's goalie?

From another layman's point of view, the idea is to hold the ball and probe until gaps appear in the oppositions formation or someone makes a run that warrants an attempt at a decisive forward pass (and the risk of losing the ball). The problem is we seem scared to risk losing the ball (do we not trust our defence ?) plus as mentioned earlier, we are so static that opportunities to play the killer pass aren't coming up.  When Palmer came on he created more space on his own than the whole team as he was willing to risk losing the ball to get past someone and open up space

Football is a simple sport.

The more shots on goal you make, the more goals you will score.

So, get it into the box, create chaos. 

There's absolutely zero point in playing fancy dan bollocks on the half way line.

guitars4you

Gassage said:

Football is a simple sport.

The more shots on goal you make, the more goals you will score.

So, get it into the box, create chaos. 

There's absolutely zero point in playing fancy dan bollocks on the half way line.

You are probably right as an overview - But we all know there is more to it than that - I equally say the same about Rugby in that I've never seen a team score a try whilst the ball is in the air 

There is a big difference between the kick long Wimbledon style and the happy happy Barca/Spain style - Both can have their place and equally who you have available to you will make a difference - Messi would be a waste of time playing Wimbledon style - Peter Couch would be a waste of time play for Barca 

However I do wonder how long it will be before we see a 4-4-2 system back in the PL with a Toshack/Keegan style big target man and nippy guy running off him - It wasn't that long ago Man U won many titles with a form of 4-4-2

guitars4you

The Belgium centre back Faes - Did he not use to play for Chelsea and Brazil - Looks like him

TTony

guitars4you said:

The Belgium centre back Faes - Did he not use to play for Chelsea and Brazil - Looks like him

Faes is/was at Leicester.

David Luiz (I think) was a look alikey who played for Chelsea

LionAquaLooper

TTony said:

guitars4you said:

The Belgium centre back Faes - Did he not use to play for Chelsea and Brazil - Looks like him

Faes is/was at Leicester.

David Luiz (I think) was a look alikey who played for Chelsea

This is correct. Was David Luiz. 

munckee

Belgium and Romania have caught the awful bug alongside France, Netherlands, England, Italy etc etc.  

Philly_Q

TTony said:

guitars4you said:

The Belgium centre back Faes - Did he not use to play for Chelsea and Brazil - Looks like him

Faes is/was at Leicester.

David Luiz (I think) was a look alikey who played for Chelsea

Also played for Arsenal.  Sideshow Bob.

LionAquaLooper

Philly_Q said:

TTony said:

guitars4you said:

The Belgium centre back Faes - Did he not use to play for Chelsea and Brazil - Looks like him

Faes is/was at Leicester.

David Luiz (I think) was a look alikey who played for Chelsea

Also played for Arsenal.  Sideshow Bob.

Wasnt this the same time as his look alike Guendouzi was also at Arsenal? 

mgaw

England are boring as fuck , even if they keep getting results the fans, who pay through the nose to follow football deserve better.

Philly_Q

LionAquaLooper said:

Philly_Q said:

TTony said:

guitars4you said:

The Belgium centre back Faes - Did he not use to play for Chelsea and Brazil - Looks like him

Faes is/was at Leicester.

David Luiz (I think) was a look alikey who played for Chelsea

Also played for Arsenal.  Sideshow Bob.

Wasnt this the same time as his look alike Guendouzi was also at Arsenal? 

Yeah, I guess he was Sideshow Bob Jr...  Well remembered, I knew Luiz had another lookalike but the name wasn't coming to me.

Shrews

Portugal bring in the B team, but keep Ronaldo in the side to shout at them a lot. 

Georgia have shown they're no mugs though and could well get the 4 points they need

Georgia 2 Portugal B 1

Czech 2 Turkey 2

Could turn out to be an excellent game. 

guitars4you

Not watching tonight 
going for the PM debate- might be just as boring 

rze99

I just watched Georgia Beat Portugal two nil. They play in white like England their flag is a St George’s cross like England. I was fantasising about this was England versus Portugal  outstanding performance. Great determination organisation flair - excellent attacking display. 

If only. 

Philly_Q

So, England vs Slovakia?

A friend of mine in work is Slovakian.  It's her birthday on Saturday.  Shock win over England as a late birthday present on Sunday?

guitars4you

Sounds like plenty of needle in the Turkey game 

Teetonetal

mgaw said:

England are boring as fuck , even if they keep getting results the fans, who pay through the nose to follow football deserve better.

The conundrum, is football a results business or an entertainment business - it needs to be both, but the pressure for results is so great, that losing pretty is not an option for a lot of managers. If we went out at the group stage playing expansive football, Southgate would still get it in the neck and the fans would still be unhappy. So he chooses to grind out results, knowing that he is more likely to get to quarters or semis with that approach.

mgaw

Teetonetal said:

mgaw said:

England are boring as fuck , even if they keep getting results the fans, who pay through the nose to follow football deserve better.

The conundrum, is football a results business or an entertainment business - it needs to be both, but the pressure for results is so great, that losing pretty is not an option for a lot of managers. If we went out at the group stage playing expansive football, Southgate would still get it in the neck and the fans would still be unhappy. So he chooses to grind out results, knowing that he is more likely to get to quarters or semis with that approach.

Agreed, interesting listening to my 14 year old and his mates who all value exciting football over boring wins 

CaseOfAce

Good grief. Georgia last night. Now that was football. What a TEAM. Playing with heart, determination and not a little skill - against Portugal and Ronaldo - and a well deserved result.

munckee

mgaw said:

Teetonetal said:

mgaw said:

England are boring as fuck , even if they keep getting results the fans, who pay through the nose to follow football deserve better.

The conundrum, is football a results business or an entertainment business - it needs to be both, but the pressure for results is so great, that losing pretty is not an option for a lot of managers. If we went out at the group stage playing expansive football, Southgate would still get it in the neck and the fans would still be unhappy. So he chooses to grind out results, knowing that he is more likely to get to quarters or semis with that approach.

Agreed, interesting listening to my 14 year old and his mates who all value exciting football over boring wins 

In general I would, I'd rather see us attack and watch great football.  If we 1-0 it to the final from here on in and win the tournament I'm guessing most English people would be happy though.