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warspite1 -> RE: All things Football (soccer) related (6/18/2021 11:57:34 AM)
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Wodin No I don't have it in for England. I am English, I love my country I love football - I would love nothing more than England winning a football tournament. I've waited since 1972 - almost 50 years (my first international game I remember was the Euro qualifier defeat against Germany at Wembley that year).
BTW you also thought I was wrong about Spurs earlier in the season [;)]but.....
But unlike Spurs - who were rubbish because we have a rubbish squad - I repeat what I said earlier. England - unlike in many, many previous tournaments - DO have some decent players and they should be in for a decent tournament. BUT
The biggest problem with England down the years has been that our tactics have been rubbish - even with decent players.
If this team plays to its strengths then it can go far in the tournament. But, then we should have beaten Croatia in the last World Cup. What happened? We were the better team, we were 1-0 up, Croatia had an ageing team and towards the end of the first half one or two players were losing it and getting rattled.
So what happened? Did we keep our foot on the gas? Did we apply pressure to the Croatians who were losing it? Did we attempt to run them ragged to take advantage of their ageing squad? Did we pull their defenders out of position through clever balls over the top and runs into the channels?
Er, no... none of the above. Just as we did countless times under Erikson and others, we sat off, we went into our shell, we allowed Croatia to dominate the ball. As Croatian confidence grew, ours visibly melted away. It was pathetic and so predictable.
Foden, Mount, Grealish, Kane.... these players should strike fear into any team - and if Sterling is on form you can add his name to that list.
This time around its not the lack of players - its the tactics and the mental side that will determine whether we have a decent tournament or do the usual.
Yes, I agree about Germany. One should never write off the Germans. However, they were very poor against France and I've watched Hummels a lot this season and no way should he be playing. Emre Can (substitute against France) also had a dreadful year for Dortmund. Based on the game against France, and with Portugal to come, I would seriously have concerns the Germans will even get out of the group.
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