lxl Ra lxl
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What is this madness? You expect England to play a 4-3-3?
Rio Ferdinand calls for radical reform and a new identity for England | Football | The Guardian
I agree with him, but I think he is very naïve to think that England would be willing to sacrifice qualification for national pride. Especially with the stupidly-high demands of the fans.
I agree with him, but I think he is very naïve to think that England would be willing to sacrifice qualification for national pride. Especially with the stupidly-high demands of the fans.
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I
iNickStuff
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Perhaps this again.
DarloGeorge96
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What the **** was Walcott doing? Don't run away from the player with the ball and give him even more space, close him down ffs.
LFCMarshall
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Brilliant that Rickie Lambert has scored! Bullet header.
Not at international level. I don't think he's ever completed a long pass either.
I
iNickStuff
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Almost.
What Stevie "tries 1,000 hollywood balls per game" Gerrard? Course not lol
He can be quite accurate with them, though. Sometimes.
LFCMarshall
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He also made some key tackles, was very calm under pressure and played the holding role reletively well for saying its not his natural position
The fact we have little creativity when it comes to the forwards probably forces Gerrard to try the longer balls more often with England
The fact we have little creativity when it comes to the forwards probably forces Gerrard to try the longer balls more often with England
Can't help being wrong when an England manager goes against the norm and makes sensible and positive subs..
Happy to be wrong this time.Was at the game, fun to watch, the atmosphere was great considering there was still 10k or so fans missing. Not going to go into any depth as how England played, it was a friendly against a pretty average team who were fired up.
The fact you have to say sometimes probably means he isn't all that accurate.
It was half-sarcastic, I guess.
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iNickStuff
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View attachment 377962
Glenn Moore: That's enough pride and passion, it's time for England to follow the German example
An inability to retain the ball is making it extremely hard to close out matches
| The Independent | Sport | Football | News & Comment |
When Nobby Stiles made his England debut in 1965, against Scotland at Wembley, he went to shake the hand of his Manchester United team-mate Denis Law before kick-off. As he extended his hand Law snarled: “F*** off you little English *******”.
Scotland may already be among the living dead when it comes to qualification for World Cup 2014 but there is nothing like a crusade to Wembley to give the auld enemy the kiss of life. Any England player tending to complacency after the under-21s despatched the junior jocks 6-0 on Tuesday night was swiftly disabused when James Morrison renewed the suspicion that Joe Hart's position in the England goal may not be the sinecure it once seemed.
Which was, perversely, just what Roy Hodgson needed. The August friendly is a distraction for many players with the Premier League's opening inevitably on their minds, but once Morrison scored they had to focus on the here-and-now. It became a proper work-out in advance of the demanding World Cup qualifying programme on which much rests.
England prevailed in the end, but it was a while before they met the challenge. Even before Morrison's goal Scotland pressed more effectively, held their shape and broke sharply. England pushed the visitors back but were never able to feel in command and it was Scotland's ambition which was the undoing of them as space was left in behind for Theo Walcott to step on the turbo and level.
It was a neat finish which will further encourage Walcott's desire to lead the Arsenal attack. Arsene Wenger will note, though, that he came off the wing to score Hodgson having detailed him to stay wide on the right. On the other flank the width was provided by Leighton Baines with Danny Welbeck drifting inside to support Wayne Rooney in an attempt to facilitate some close-quarter interchanges between them and the advanced midfield duo of Jack Wilshere and Tom Cleverley. They never quite managed to open up Scotland in this fashion but there were promising signs which may bear fruit in the qualifiers to come.
Steven Gerrard sat deeper and while England trailed was unable to resist the temptation to deliver several overly optimistic Hollywood passes in an attempt to prompt the equaliser. A player of his experience should know there was no need, so early in the match, to try and force to play that way.
This flexible 4-3-3 is the preferred shape of Hodgson's new England (it remained the same when Frank Lampard replaced Wilshere at the break, and when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain came on for Gerrard on the hour). Four-four-two has been consigned to history, for now at least. In its place is a fluid formation with clever ball players and a mobile front line. That is the theory. The subsequent arrival of Rickie Lambert underlined the belief that there is a Plan B, and it is now as likely to involve Lambert as Andy Carroll.
How long Hodgson persists with Plan A, which does not create enough chances against good opposition (or, as tonight, moderate opposition playing above itself) remains to be seen. The goals did, after all, come from a counter-attack and two set-pieces, not from some neat Barcelona-esce passing move,
The much-vaunted academy system is intended to develop more players like Wilshere and Cleverly, but the debate continues as to what should be 'the English way'. The usual mantra is 'pride and passion' but such attributes are hardly unique to these shores, and they are not a way of playing football. Many factors, not least the climate and the game's cultural history, mitigate against aping the Spanish model. The lack of tactical debate and knowledge in England, though this is changing, suggests the Dutch or Italian philosophies are equally alien.
The modern German game is one best suited to English (and Scottish) players. A decent tempo, pressing high up the pitch, and no shame about playing the occasional long pass or scoring from set-pieces. Technique needs improvement at all levels, not least because tournaments are played in summer climes and chasing the ball for 90 minutes, in a format which demands a game every four days, is no recipe for success.
An inability to retain the ball also makes it extremely hard to close out matches. At 3-2 England looked like conceding an equaliser right until the final whistle. The Premier League nature of the game was a factor, but so was a defence which has become worryingly porous and a midfield which struggles to simply rotate the ball between them when under pressure
Such inadequacies have bedevilled England teams for decades and Hodgson cannot be expected to fix them in the brief time he has with these players. He has to find a way to mask the deficiences and achieve short-term success this autumn, then a respectable performance in Brazil. The target is France 2016. No one seriously thinks England can win next year's World Cup, but they need to be there to learn and buy time for Hodgson to integrate the young talent and find a winning formula.
Glenn Moore: That's enough pride and passion, it's time for England to follow the German example
An inability to retain the ball is making it extremely hard to close out matches
| The Independent | Sport | Football | News & Comment |
When Nobby Stiles made his England debut in 1965, against Scotland at Wembley, he went to shake the hand of his Manchester United team-mate Denis Law before kick-off. As he extended his hand Law snarled: “F*** off you little English *******”.
Scotland may already be among the living dead when it comes to qualification for World Cup 2014 but there is nothing like a crusade to Wembley to give the auld enemy the kiss of life. Any England player tending to complacency after the under-21s despatched the junior jocks 6-0 on Tuesday night was swiftly disabused when James Morrison renewed the suspicion that Joe Hart's position in the England goal may not be the sinecure it once seemed.
Which was, perversely, just what Roy Hodgson needed. The August friendly is a distraction for many players with the Premier League's opening inevitably on their minds, but once Morrison scored they had to focus on the here-and-now. It became a proper work-out in advance of the demanding World Cup qualifying programme on which much rests.
England prevailed in the end, but it was a while before they met the challenge. Even before Morrison's goal Scotland pressed more effectively, held their shape and broke sharply. England pushed the visitors back but were never able to feel in command and it was Scotland's ambition which was the undoing of them as space was left in behind for Theo Walcott to step on the turbo and level.
It was a neat finish which will further encourage Walcott's desire to lead the Arsenal attack. Arsene Wenger will note, though, that he came off the wing to score Hodgson having detailed him to stay wide on the right. On the other flank the width was provided by Leighton Baines with Danny Welbeck drifting inside to support Wayne Rooney in an attempt to facilitate some close-quarter interchanges between them and the advanced midfield duo of Jack Wilshere and Tom Cleverley. They never quite managed to open up Scotland in this fashion but there were promising signs which may bear fruit in the qualifiers to come.
Steven Gerrard sat deeper and while England trailed was unable to resist the temptation to deliver several overly optimistic Hollywood passes in an attempt to prompt the equaliser. A player of his experience should know there was no need, so early in the match, to try and force to play that way.
This flexible 4-3-3 is the preferred shape of Hodgson's new England (it remained the same when Frank Lampard replaced Wilshere at the break, and when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain came on for Gerrard on the hour). Four-four-two has been consigned to history, for now at least. In its place is a fluid formation with clever ball players and a mobile front line. That is the theory. The subsequent arrival of Rickie Lambert underlined the belief that there is a Plan B, and it is now as likely to involve Lambert as Andy Carroll.
How long Hodgson persists with Plan A, which does not create enough chances against good opposition (or, as tonight, moderate opposition playing above itself) remains to be seen. The goals did, after all, come from a counter-attack and two set-pieces, not from some neat Barcelona-esce passing move,
The much-vaunted academy system is intended to develop more players like Wilshere and Cleverly, but the debate continues as to what should be 'the English way'. The usual mantra is 'pride and passion' but such attributes are hardly unique to these shores, and they are not a way of playing football. Many factors, not least the climate and the game's cultural history, mitigate against aping the Spanish model. The lack of tactical debate and knowledge in England, though this is changing, suggests the Dutch or Italian philosophies are equally alien.
The modern German game is one best suited to English (and Scottish) players. A decent tempo, pressing high up the pitch, and no shame about playing the occasional long pass or scoring from set-pieces. Technique needs improvement at all levels, not least because tournaments are played in summer climes and chasing the ball for 90 minutes, in a format which demands a game every four days, is no recipe for success.
An inability to retain the ball also makes it extremely hard to close out matches. At 3-2 England looked like conceding an equaliser right until the final whistle. The Premier League nature of the game was a factor, but so was a defence which has become worryingly porous and a midfield which struggles to simply rotate the ball between them when under pressure
Such inadequacies have bedevilled England teams for decades and Hodgson cannot be expected to fix them in the brief time he has with these players. He has to find a way to mask the deficiences and achieve short-term success this autumn, then a respectable performance in Brazil. The target is France 2016. No one seriously thinks England can win next year's World Cup, but they need to be there to learn and buy time for Hodgson to integrate the young talent and find a winning formula.
ThatManSam
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I watched the game last night and for the majority of the game, we were poor. You could see that edginess in the squad you normally see before the new season starts. I thought we were lucky to win, Scotland looked sharper in open play, but they were poor on set pieces.
One player I thought was brilliant was Leighton Baines, he caused Scotland so much trouble on the left to the point where their winger had to track back which of course meant they were not as effective going forward. In Cole & Baines we have probably one of the best left backs in the world. Choosing between the two is tricky but the squad last night that played is near enough what I expect Hodgson to use next month, albeit with Carrick instead of Cleverley.
That brings me on to another point about our squad. When we utilise the pace in the squad we are so dangerous. We have so much of it, we should look to use it more often, particularly when we face the better teams like Spain, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, etc... We have proved many, many times both club and country that when we up the tempo and use our strengths to our advantages (speed) No team can live with it. Look at Walcott vs Brazil at Wembely for example, they couldn't cope with the pace.
I like watching Wilshere. The more I see him play, the more I like him. He has so much ability its unreal and he sits in that little pocket in front of our midfield, where he is hard to pick up, sort of like what Messi does for Barca. He is creative and has good vision and on top of that is not afraid to take on players. I cant remember the last time we had a player like Jack, he is going to a vital player to our squad.
When we play well, we are as good as anyone in the world, the thing that lets us down though is consistency. This is why this season is so important, if we keep our squad fit and if our players have a good season, we have a chance of doing well at the World Cup. If we can play like we did at the Maracana, then we can go far. If we can beat Spain & Brazil, why can't we beat everyone? Consistancy & Mentality. That's they key this year.
One player I thought was brilliant was Leighton Baines, he caused Scotland so much trouble on the left to the point where their winger had to track back which of course meant they were not as effective going forward. In Cole & Baines we have probably one of the best left backs in the world. Choosing between the two is tricky but the squad last night that played is near enough what I expect Hodgson to use next month, albeit with Carrick instead of Cleverley.
That brings me on to another point about our squad. When we utilise the pace in the squad we are so dangerous. We have so much of it, we should look to use it more often, particularly when we face the better teams like Spain, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, etc... We have proved many, many times both club and country that when we up the tempo and use our strengths to our advantages (speed) No team can live with it. Look at Walcott vs Brazil at Wembely for example, they couldn't cope with the pace.
I like watching Wilshere. The more I see him play, the more I like him. He has so much ability its unreal and he sits in that little pocket in front of our midfield, where he is hard to pick up, sort of like what Messi does for Barca. He is creative and has good vision and on top of that is not afraid to take on players. I cant remember the last time we had a player like Jack, he is going to a vital player to our squad.
When we play well, we are as good as anyone in the world, the thing that lets us down though is consistency. This is why this season is so important, if we keep our squad fit and if our players have a good season, we have a chance of doing well at the World Cup. If we can play like we did at the Maracana, then we can go far. If we can beat Spain & Brazil, why can't we beat everyone? Consistancy & Mentality. That's they key this year.
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lol Rickey Lambert. Where's Defoe or Bent? Or mighty Andy Carroll? I see Lampard - Gerrard combo was amazing against Moldavia, so Roy decided they will overwhelm Ukraine midfield. Not to mention amazing dribblings by Jack Wilshere, only to be support by useless run by Theo 'faster than the wind' Walcott. I refuse to believe this is Englands strongest team at the moment. Yes, there's no Rooney, but where's Carrick? Welbeck? Joe Hart is liability as well. God, if Roy somehow manages to get this team in Brazil I will be amazed.
Lambert is the best choice. Carroll is injured, and Lambert is better anyway. Welbeck got booked for kicking the ball 0.00003 seconds after the whistle went, so he's banned. Carrick should be playing over any of the midfielders there. Watching us play it long every 2nd pass while he sits on his **** is criminal.