When is his ever in good form? I'm a Liverpool fan and it's sad to say he is a starter at times. Who do we really have who would do well in his position though without walker? Flano would be alright but is he ready for WC games? I don't think so.
When is his ever in good form? I'm a Liverpool fan and it's sad to say he is a starter at times. Who do we really have who would do well in his position though without walker? Flano would be alright but is he ready for WC games? I don't think so.
I suspect that sales of alcohol will sky rocket just before each match. I know I'm going to have a bottle of white while I'm watching
The trophy
At the very least......the ability to put the ball away.
The inability to put the ball away was just......beyond a joke
I've been burned too many times okay!
Didn't think that was tooooo bad. If Sturridge had his shooting boots on we would have won. Best hope he sorts his finishing out when it matters cos we won't get too many chances as good as those. Italy and Uruguay will be different tests entirely.
I actually expect Englad to do well, the squad is relatively balanced, good mix of youth and experience , with plenty of workrate and pace to spare. A lot of the players had relatively light season and that always helps in these tournaments when a lot of big stars are exhausted and underperform.
I guess Woy is far from being master modern tactician, but in these tournaments tactics aren't nowhere as refined as on the club level and often the simple approach works great.
Also, the group isn't as tough as it seems from first glance.. Italy often struggles in group stages and Suarez may not be fully fit.
Greatness awaits.
I guess Woy is far from being master modern tactician, but in these tournaments tactics aren't nowhere as refined as on the club level and often the simple approach works great.
Also, the group isn't as tough as it seems from first glance.. Italy often struggles in group stages and Suarez may not be fully fit.
Greatness awaits.
I believe England will qualify from their group and Uruguay will go out finishing 3rd.
Guys, in terms of forums this is actually the least negative I've seen regarding England.
I for one believe it all relies on the Italy game. If we win that I think we have a great chance of winning the group as we'd only need a win against Costa Rica or Uruguay. However if we draw or lose I think it will be VERY tough.
However looking at the opponents, they really are hard to predict.. I mean I don't have a clue what type of Italy will turn up on Saturday and how well they shall play. Anyone predict what their starting line-up would probably be?
I don't think we should read much into yesterday, it was a very stop and start game.
Now to my thoughts... I REALLY think Barkley is a special player in the making, he does actually remind me of a young Rooney with that hunger & fearless. I personally really would consider starting him against Italy.. he can make something out of nothing. But bringing him on after 65-70 mins is not a bad idea either.. I'm just worried we may need to take the game to Itally earlier rather than later.
Sturridge should of scored at least 2 yesterday with the chances he had... bit disappointed with them finishes but thankfully if there was a game where it didn't matter... it was that one.
I for one believe it all relies on the Italy game. If we win that I think we have a great chance of winning the group as we'd only need a win against Costa Rica or Uruguay. However if we draw or lose I think it will be VERY tough.
However looking at the opponents, they really are hard to predict.. I mean I don't have a clue what type of Italy will turn up on Saturday and how well they shall play. Anyone predict what their starting line-up would probably be?
I don't think we should read much into yesterday, it was a very stop and start game.
Now to my thoughts... I REALLY think Barkley is a special player in the making, he does actually remind me of a young Rooney with that hunger & fearless. I personally really would consider starting him against Italy.. he can make something out of nothing. But bringing him on after 65-70 mins is not a bad idea either.. I'm just worried we may need to take the game to Itally earlier rather than later.
Sturridge should of scored at least 2 yesterday with the chances he had... bit disappointed with them finishes but thankfully if there was a game where it didn't matter... it was that one.
gwilliams82
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Being Welsh I have no horse in this race, but being a football fan my observations are that England are too pedestrian in games, and often move the ball too slowly to outwit even the slowest defence. How many times have you heard Andy Townsend say something along the lines of 'England haven't got into 2nd gear', 'England are looking a bit sloppy in possession', 'England are looking a bit predictable out there tonight'? Perhaps they should start being unpredictable - and actually get into a winning position in a major tournament.
That's why we took Barkley and Sterling. If we can't adapt our play through style, we'll do it through players. Not such a terrible plan actually.
For what it's worth, what I expect and what I hope for are two different things. I expect to get out of the group. I hope to get to the quarters or even semis.
Judging by Italy's midfield, they must be quite narrow of a team. If we don't play Sterling it will be totally confusing.
You're talking about the side who tried to make Gerrard-Lampard work for about a decade. I've already come to terms with the fact Sterling probably won't start.
LFCMarshall
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I'm expecting England to reach the quarter finals. It will be tough getting out of the group but in the second round we have a good opportunity with the Japan, Ivory Coast, Columbia or Greece waiting
Columbia are very tricky side and in South America I would say it's 80-20 in Columbia's favor.
LFCMarshall
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Columbia i would pick as the dark horses in the tournament, they would definitely be the side i would want to avoid from that group
Must say after watching the past 3 friendlies my confidence of getting out of this group went from 33% to 0%! If we couldn't break down a 10 men Honduras what chance will we have against in my opinion the best defence in this competition. In my opinion we have to beat one of Uruguay or Italy to qualify and i don't see us beating either at the moment. Sturridge just is not prolific enough and before i get shot down about the number of goals he scored last season when i say that i mean for Liverpool he would get 5-7 chances per game for England he will be lucky to get 2 in a game! Johnson well lets just not go there shall we, a right back who can't defend, attack, cross and only good when cutting in on his left foot! Rooney absolutely anonymous and i don't blame him for this, my tweet during the Ecuador game read "And England wonder why STRIKER Wayne Rooney plays poorly LW, CM or AM....." For me Wayne has always and will always be a striker, his best numbers for Utd was when he was playing up top with 2 wingers feeding him! If you don't play him there then for me he needs to be dropped but we all know that won't happen.
My expectations and support of England have dropped massively in the past say 5 years for multiple reasons but mainly the supporters (a word i use lightly) and the FA so for the first time i actually just want a good standard football tournament (even though i will miss most games through work). A good friend of mine is going out to Brazil in a couple of days, got tickets and flights to all England games including the potential knockout game and he said to me the other day "do you think they will be home before me" and unfortunately i think they will.
My expectations and support of England have dropped massively in the past say 5 years for multiple reasons but mainly the supporters (a word i use lightly) and the FA so for the first time i actually just want a good standard football tournament (even though i will miss most games through work). A good friend of mine is going out to Brazil in a couple of days, got tickets and flights to all England games including the potential knockout game and he said to me the other day "do you think they will be home before me" and unfortunately i think they will.