warspite1
Posts: 41353
Joined: 2/2/2008 From: England Status: offline
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Different manager, different system, different players....same performance. Square balls, balls in to feet with the receiving player back to goal and no imagination. Thankfully Sir Harry got England out of trouble but that shouldn't mask the fact that - the opening 15-20 mins aside - England remain a team totally unable to unlock stubborn defences. Yes we should have had two penalties (what were the VAR blokes actually watching let alone the ref of the linesman?) but..... Second half Tunisia offered absolutely nothing. We kept three central defenders in place - although at least Maguire went forward on occasion, but why didn't Walker do the same (just one time I saw him on the right wing). With little Tripps the best crosser we've had since Beckham, why not double up on the right? Walker and Tripps with Rashford inside right. England as a unit just don't seem to have tactical flexibility. Tunisia reacted to England's corners by flooding the penalty spot area. When they did, as an alternative every now and then why not have someone come short to the corner of the penalty area? Or - as Dier has done at Tottenham - have someone darting in to the near post? In other words, why can't we mix it up? Show tactical creativity? The opening 15-20 mins aside (and a couple late on from Rashford), where were the runs at the defence, where was the defence splitting pass BEHIND the defence a la Spain or Germany or.... most countries? Its not rocket science. The most basic defenders in the world can cope with square balls, opponents receiving the ball with their back to goal. What they can't deal with easily is pace, its being run at, its a lack of knowing what the opposition will do next. We don't give defenders those problems. And can someone please tell me, why was Raheem Sterling even on the plane? Let's be clear, he is a forward, he has pace and trickery in abundance. For England he is total rubbish and has been consistently in every game that matters since he made his debut. If we are to progress - and certainly if we want to beat Belgium - we need to sort this shambles out. I suspect Cahill and Dier were told before the match that they would be in the team for the Belgium game and last night confirmed that. To end on a positive - well played Tripps, Maguire (after a really shaky start that could have sunk him, he at least tried going forward), Rashford, Loftus-Cheek and of course Sir Harry.
< Message edited by warspite1 -- 6/19/2018 6:24:07 AM >
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England expects that every man will do his duty. Horatio Nelson October 1805
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