The Road to Russia 2018

[Nando]

Luxembourg hit the post too!

 

[Alan]

Amazingly Luxembourg even created a couple of chances that they really should have scored.

I do love minnows. The Faroe Islands have 8 points this term and beat Andorra today!

 

[wanderer89]

They're lucky, who knows what the score might have been without the mighty Koscienly playing.

 

[Alan]

Luxembourg hit the post too!

Have you seen the incident? It was like time had stopped. I was ready for the whole of Paris to implode if Rodrigues had scored it.

 

[jd1981]

Think Andorra beat Hungary in the last batch of qualifiers, other than Gib and San Marino the small nations have at least become more harder to break down.

 

[YoungWolf]

Yeah it is kind of putting to bed the idea of a 'pre-qualification' for the 'minnows'. It's great for nations like that to experience some kind of success against high level teams.

I've been trying to work out what I think the best England team is, at full strength. I think we really need some talent to emerge in the next year or so (sancho, Foden, Nelson).

Pickford

Walker/Clyne
Stones
Jones
Rose

Dier (as the holding player)
Henderson (just because I know he will be picked regardless)
Alli (as the more advanced midfield)

Lallana
Kane
Sterling

I know people don't rate Sterling so I can imagine people might put Rashford in there, which is fine. Maybe if the Ox does well at Liverpool he could oust Henderson? I might be forgetting someone too.

I actually think we have very good attacking options, and at full back we are OK but we really need to settle on a centre back pairing that doesn't contain Cahill and we really need a solution in the middle of midfield.

 

[Jinky]

Pickford

Trippier
Keane
Stones
Rose

Tom Davies
Alli
Henderson

Rashford
Kane
Lallana

Lack of quality right through the team at the top level and worryingly coming through the ranks. I'd have Dominic Calvert-Lewin in there for Lallana to run the channels and hold the ball up before shite like Sterling.

No idea how Tom Davies isn't getting a look in when the squad is filled with cloggers like Livermore (and I rate Davies more than Chalobah).

I'd prefer to see Michael Keane ahead of Phil Jones, Gary Cahill & Chris Smalling. I also think Trippier is a much better defender than Kyle Walker and he has a better delivery.

 

[Nando]

We have no decent natural widemen, so I'd be going down the wingback route.

 

[Johnny75]

Pickford

Walker
Keane
Jones
Rose

Dier
Davies
Alli

Ox
Kane
Rashford

Subs: Heaton, Trippier, Stones, Smalling, Bertrand, Henderson, Loftus-Cheek, Lallana, Calvert-Lewin, Vardy, Sterling. Not world class but not shabby either. The manager isn't great and the tempo and running off the ball is abysmal. No space for Welbz even though he's been great in an England shirt.

Central midfield is soft and I think we lack quality strength in depth there. Agree with Jinks about Tom Davies, far better than Henderson or Livermore who are both more average than a pint of Banks's Mild.

 

[GLASGOWOLF]

I can understand why Southgate played 2 defensive midfielders against malta, but FFS, we shoul dbe playing teams to win games, instead of playing the same formation / way every game.

Let's just pick a team and formation to win the game.

Malta - We need one DM, against italy, Spain Etc you do need 2.....

Against Slovakia at Wembley, I would go with 2 DM's so for me it has to be


-------------------------------------Forster---------------------------------------

Walker--------------Cahill-------------------Keane---------------------Bertrand

-----------------------------Henderson--------------Dier-------------------------

------------Wellbeck--------------Alli--------------------------Rashford---------

-----------------------------Kane--------------------------------------------------

Hart's time is up, Henderson is a good player, does the mundane job well, as does Dier.


I want to see up pressure teams, Southgate is a good manager, was relatively successful with the U21's, nice to see Chalobah, and Maguire in the squad.
If someone could woork out why good players look so poor in an England top they would be Multi Millionaires, they just seem so uptight, always taking that extra touch they do not take in club games , the times we carved Malta open were times we played quick one touch.

 

[Del Woppio]

The look poor in an England shirt because most of them are bang fucking average. Not one of them is in the top ten in the world in their position. Alli maybe.

 

[GLASGOWOLF]

The look poor in an England shirt because most of them are bang fucking average. Not one of them is in the top ten in the world in their position. Alli maybe.

Your wrong there mate,

Alli, Kane, Sterling (why he looks so shite in an England shirt and so good an a Man City shirt fuck knows), Dier,Walker (Pep just paid 50 Million ffs) all top ten in there position in the world, the rest are all fucking good players.

Then Rashford and Stones who are in the top 5 young players in the world in their position. Stones should have played V Malta.


They seem so Scared in an England shirt, the only players who do not look petrified, are Kane, Henderson, and Rashford.
The rest just look so scared to try anything, may be Southgate just needs to put his arm round the players and tell them to ignore the shite from the press etc, and take all the pressure and shite himself.

 

[Lord Knows]

England certainly seem to play with the handbrake on and until the introduction of Rashford against Malta there was a fear of attacking the space beyond the defender. You really wouldn't believe Sterling was one of the fastest players in world football the way he continually checks his own movement to pass the ball sideways or backwards.

 

[Johnny75]

England certainly seem to play with the handbrake on and until the introduction of Rashford against Malta there was a fear of attacking the space beyond the defender. You really wouldn't believe Sterling was one of the fastest players in world football the way he continually checks his own movement to pass the ball sideways or backwards.

To a man before the subs (Rashford, Vardy and Welbeck) the decision making, runs off the ball and tempo were abysmal. That's a clear directive from the management. No variation in pace and predictable movement led to a turgid game which the opposition had nothing to cope with. Very poor stuff from a supposedly decent National team manager.

Could be worse though, we could be France.

 

[Lord Knows]

To a man before the subs (Rashford, Vardy and Welbeck) the decision making, runs off the ball and tempo were abysmal. That's a clear directive from the management. No variation in pace and predictable movement led to a turgid game which the opposition had nothing to cope with. Very poor stuff from a supposedly decent National team manager.

Could be worse though, we could be France.

England made themselves easy to mark because they ran (midfield and strikers) to the Malta defensive line and once there stood like statues. Its as though at club level all the brains and triggers for combination play belong in the heads of the continental players.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Dier and Rashford in for Livermore and Sterling

 

[Boozad]

Good.

 

[darlowolf64]

Oops!

 

[Trips]

Great Start

 

[Parkins left foot]

That's helpful!!