World Football thread

[AustrianAndyGull]

Tonight is gonna be stealing money. Switzerland are evens in places to win in Iceland. Yes Iceland have improved but they still have a long way to go to be on a a par with the Swiss. Ireland are 1/3 to win in the Faroes, should be at least double that and chuck in Belgium to cruise past the Scots in Brussels, Croatia to batter the Welsh in Osijek, Portugal to muller Northern Ireland and Germany to register another win at home to Sweden and it pays 6/1. It's a dead cert.

I also fancy Ukraine at home to Montenegro at decent odds and Holland away in Romania, although Romania have started really well. England are also tempting at just about Evens but i like to laugh when they lose or draw so i wouldn't get much enjoyment if i bet on them to win. Whatever you do DO NOT be tempted to put Austria in your accas at home to Kazakhstan. We'll win, just but we are piss poor at the minute.

[AustrianAndyGull]

Sorry, just realised that i meant to put this in the bookies odds thread.

[AustrianAndyGull]

My bet went tits up as usual but full credit to Northern Ireland for getting a draw in Portugal although Portugal are prone to squeezing past minnows just. I just wish the NI could have held on. Also amazing game involving Sweden and Germany but i just reckon it was one of those freak games. Lets not forget the Germans absolutely Thomas Mullered the Swedes for an hour after putting 6 past Ireland and they are a million miles ahead of England in terms of individual and team quality. I think they just got cocky and frivolous with the ball and everything the Swedes tried went in. Just one of those freak results but great drama nonetheless.

[Plymouth Gull]

Anyone else watching Poland destroy us? Woeful.

[stevegull]

Anyone else watching Poland destroy us? Woeful.

Terrible display. A complete lack of invention or creativity throughout. And that story is becoming woefully too familiar for England.

[AustrianAndyGull]

Read my post on the ANDY'S BIG POCKET thread on the popside which was posted before the game. I think you England fans may agree. What annoys me and i'm not an England fan is that if i were an England player i would be in the tunnel beating my chest saying how we were gonna put on a performance for the fans that got treated like sh*ite last night and then go out there and really get stuck in. This is England though and did we really expect anything else? Really? Why play a slow tempo when we are crap at it making teams like Poland look good? A succession of England managers haven't worked this out yet. I think in brutal reality is that the players just do not give a damn about England or the fans and no amount of Stevie G 'oh the England fans are amazing and the best in the world blah blah blah' will cut it anymore. I don't want to be the one to say it but i'll say it anyway, you're sh*t and you know you are!!

Surely even the most passionate of England fans can't wholly disagree with me?

[AustrianAndyGull]

Can Austria play you now? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease.................. :~D

[Plymouth Gull]

We need a revamp;

A 4-2-3-1 formation (the sort that the Germans, Spanish, Dutch all seem to play)...

Hart

Richards/Jenkinson
Jagielka/Smalling
Lescott/Jones
Baines/Gibbs (though for now Cole is still good enough as back up but Baines deserves a shot).

Rodwell/Shelvey
Wilshere/Parker

Oxlade-Chamberlain/Walcott (I'm struggling now!)
Rooney?
Young/Sterling

Welbeck/Carroll

[happytorq]

Nick, we need a revamp after every single game.

As we have for the past 30 years or so

[Plymouth Gull]

It's true. Unfortunately though it won't ever happen..

[AustrianAndyGull]

That's a proactive approach Nick and one which i believe will see improvements but just by looking at the list of players you have put down there makes it so obvious that most of them are nowhere near good enough to compete against the top international sides and the ones who have potential are being stifled by negative, boring, lets not show ANY enthusiasm or creativity whatsoever attitude. An example of this is Theo Walcott, on his day unplayable, gets a hat trick v Croatia which was many years ago now, can anyone remember what he has done since? He was a player of immense potential and although he is still young he has become psychologically scarred by playing for England and has nowhere reached anything like his potential. I don't want the same thing to happen to Oxlade Chamberlain because it will. Hart is a top top keeper, Baines is a great player too and i rate Jenkinson at Arsenal, great potential. Stevie G is Englands only world class player but is on his way out, Rooney has one good game every 10 which renders him nowhere near world class, Messi has 10 good games every 10 and Ronaldo has about 7 good games in every 10. The rest are either extremely raw or extremely embarrassing.

[Plymouth Gull]

Yep. We'll always be miles behind the top countries until we sort something out regarding the PL. However they're all cushty in their well-paid jobs to worry about the national team.

The St.Georges Park will certainly go someway to improving home-grown talent, but as it stands, with the amount of foreigners in the PL, any good youngsters won't stand a chance. See Jack Rodwell - excellent potential, hasn't done as well as Mancini hoped so he's already linked with signing Busquets in his place. It is ridiculous.

[stevegull]

We're too poor technically to play the same systems as the Germans and Spain.

I suggest we invent our own style that suits what English players are good at. And so I think we should have a front 3 of Crouch, Carroll and Kevin Davies. We'll hoof it up to them keep the ball above 6ft in the air for as long as possible. If it drops we get Lampard or Kev Nolan to slam it in. Play Becks at right back to hoof it up to the big lads.

It'll be ugly; but it'll be us!

[AustrianAndyGull]

It's weird because quite a few years ago now the 'pundit's' all used to say we were tactically inept and the archaic 4-4-2 formation when adopted with typical fast tempo up and at em British style wasn't acceptable in international football anymore and that we would regress if we continued. The fact is that gung ho, up and at em suits the English players and i reckon England would put the fear of God into some of these teams by going back to playing like this. Sure England may concede more goals than is normal but they are doing that now anyway by playing like they do. Only then will the England players get their passion and confidence back playing in a system and a style they are more than happy with and it would see England conceding at home against Ukraine but they would be out of sight by then. The slow, methodical, pass but don't move style England now play makes ordinary opposition look good and gives them confidence and for England it is difficult to change gear when needed as they more or less pass themselves to sleep. When you look at Spain, they pass and they always on the move, they never stop, there is always an option usually a forward one but the key is they pass and move at pace. England pass, don't move much and it is far too slow and laboured to have any effect whatsoever. Steve may be tongue in cheek a little with the above post but he's not a million miles from the solution IMHO. If England played to their strengths then they would be far more successful and a darn sight more entertaining to watch.

[Plymouth Gull]

Well both English sides got well beaten tonight... Are European sides getting better or are our sides just getting worse?