england V CROATIA

[xoai]

First and foremost, england needs to change coach. Fire McFailen if he doesn't want to quit. Anyone can be better than him

[abcdef]

What a shambles. At 2-0 down, i believed, maybe it was more hope, that we would do it, and we did. And then we didnt. At 1-0 up in Russia we needed character, we didnt have that. At 2-2 today (yesterday), we needed character, nothing. Blame the manager, sure, thats what the English do, to be fair, he needs to go. We played better second half after the changes, you can credit him for that....nope, he just got it wrong to start. English football IS 4-4-2. FACT. Crouch tried up front, every knock down went to Croatia. They thoroughly deserved their win today. Maybe a lucky goal or two, but basically we were abysmal. I'm gutted, and when I'm going through the pain this summer of refusing to watch a single Euro 08 match, all the players will be on holiday. A nice sunny destination, and getting paid £80,000 a week to be there. Why would you wanna be in Austria/Switzerland, when you could be in the Carribean?????

[hassan134]

I wonder wheres this Croatian dude, he must be very happy at the moment

[durply]

In truth, the best player for england was david beckham. He showed Gerrard how and england captain should be because gerrard typically tries to do everything himself. England were poor overall but they must quit the habit of making foolish remarks and complacent views to the media.

Anyways, i think the FA should ensure that Beckham gets his 100th cap. The guy deserves it.

[hassan134]

Torpedo, where are u m8??? I just want to see what u have to say...

[hassan134]

OOOOO it could happen now, England v Scotland!!!

I just want to see Ashvale's new sig next LOL I have to admit Israel helped England by giving them a chance to qualify but hehe they messed up and ruined everything...

[simpleman]

It's funny the England v Croatia thread is dominated by Scottish posts. I don't recall so many negative posts in the Scottish thread when they played against Italy. It shows it's the Scots who have the chip on their shoulder not the English. Again I'm proud to be an Englishman. However with that said, I'm not proud of our shitty English team.

Stiff McClown is now sacked. He shouldn't have been appointed in the first place. We don't have any English managers in charge of any big team, winning anything real competitions. We therefore don't have any English managers who have the pedigree to manage the England team. Because of that we have to choose a foreign manager (that means NON English, but possibly a British manager)
So our management is crap, but we all knew that,

England players. The last time I was proud of watching an England team play was when we lost to Argentina and Beckham got sent off. We were awesome with 10 men. We showed pride, passion and the bulldog attitude we associate with English football. That has been lost from our team and the Scots showed us how it was when they played against Italy.
My question to any England supporter is to name me who they feel are World Class English players? Starting with the team last night:
Carson: He's a great young keeper, but nowhere near world class. Has the potential, I just hope this experience doesn't fuck him up like the experience did for David James in his early Liverpool career. World Class: No
Bridge: ermmm, short and sweet. World Class: No
Lescott: You're having a larf surely: World Class: No
Campbell: I've never liked him, in his prime people would argue he was. At his age is he now? World Class: No
Richards: Not a chance in hell, maybe one day but certainly not now: World Class: No
Barry: Like Bridge, errmm no :World Class: No
Gerrard: Fuck no. He maybe classed as World Class when he plays in a Liverpool shirt, but I don't ever recall him showing his class in an England shirt. And I don't give a fuck about the arguement playing out of position. He hasn't shown it and that's all: World Class: No
Lampard: I'm not a Frank fan, however in the past he has scored goals that mattered. Not anymore, has he peaked? Is he world class? :World Class: No
Wright-Philips: The fact you can't get a Chelsea supporter to say he's any good somes it up: World Class: No
J Cole: He has the ability to score some spectacular goals, so does that make him world class? He seems to only perform when the whole team is on top of their game, but you could argue that about a lot of players. World Class: No
Crouch: Firstly, that was a great goal he scored. I thought he was going to head it and miss but great composure touch and finish. Anyway I don't get excited when he plays to Liverpool, he's never been my type of striker regardless of the goals he scores. Sorry Peter. Anyway I don't think anyone would suggest he's world class: World Class: No

Subs that came on:
Beckham: Although I can't get excited by him, he's proven himself time and again for England. He was but I think now he's to old for it: World Class: No
Defoe: Can't even play for his club:World Class: No
That was the starting 11, mmm, I wonder why we didn't win.

As for those injured,
Rooney: He has shown in the past he can be and is still young so I would say yes he is: World Class: Yes
Terry: I think he's one the best English defenders we have. I don't know if I'd call him world class but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt: World Class: Yes
Ferdinand: I think he's totally overrated, don't understand at all why he's so highly praised. For me:World Class: No
Owen: When he was 15 yes, now hell no:World Class: No

So out of the whole England squad we have what 2 world class players and a couple who should be. Why the fuck to we English think we should win anything?

Rant over, go ahead shoot me:

[huzup]

good post simpleman
just selective commenting on your post
Firstly - the rivaly is so intense for the Scots that they feel elated when England lose at anything, so the typical bitter like Evertonian posts are understandable (for me anyway)

I've always stated - right from when Sven went - NO English manager is good enough, or knowledgeable enough in his field to manage the England side or any international side for that matter - on to British, only O'Neil comes close, and even then I'm not overly keen on him.

You world class players comment - yes, for England, only Rooney and Terry have shown any world class ability for England, Owen did when he was in his nappies.
Last nights team was nothing more than an average group of players.
The likes of Lescott, Campbell, Barry and Bridge are CRAP! - 10 good games doesnt make you an International candidate.
McClaren got it wrong from the beginning, changed it right for the 2nd half then didnt change his tactics when he should of (at 2-2).
Showed poor management skills there.
All 'big' club players got showed up last night, it really was dreadful

[durply]

Of all those that featured for england in the game against croatia, i feel that Peter Crouch showed more star quality than any other player in white. Its sad if england's hopes still hangs upon a jaded figure in David Beckham. No disrespect to him but he is no longer in his prime but sadly it seems that England has not yet moved on. With that said though, i reiterate my desire to see him get his 100th appearance for England. With Mclaren gone, England needs a manager that is not afraid to introduce new ideas to the team and find the winning combination of players. This often means having to drop star eyed players if they do not blend it well with the team's play. Hopefully, some of the super inflated egos could deflate a little. The england under 21's are doing well at the moment and that is a pool of players that the new manager should utilise. A bit of youth could do the team good, i feel. In short, the new manager needs to dump some players so lets start with Shaun wright Phillips who can't cross for f*ck!!.......

[i like chocolate]

Well, im back from the match! Atmosphere was great but a big shame we didn't win. To be honest, as much as i think england were a failure, they deserved to draw. They played decent football, created many opportunities but it was unfortunate we couldn't add the final touch. For starters, you can't play crouch on his own. You have to play a high ball for him to knock it down into the path of another player giving them the opportunity to shoot. We did it much better in the second half when Defoe and Bent came on. Beckham was key because Crouch was winning every ball that did come. But there was little quality crosses in the first half for Crouch. When Beckham came on he can provide and provide. Which brings me to my next point, Micah Richards. Had a decent game but was a bit too enthusiastic about getting it to Beckham. There were many times where he could have gone on himself, but insisted he gives it to Beckham. Wayne Bridge on the other side, had a terrible game. He wasn't anything. The Croations spotted that and exploited it. They just slotted through ball after through ball and should have scored many more than just the three. You can't play Lescott in such a big game, you have to work with experience. He was unsure about what he was doing and just opted to kick the ball out of play. Campbell however did play well, he worked hard and was strong. Carson also had a terrible game. When passes came to him, he took his time and allowed the Croatians to close him down. The first goal was horendous. It wasn't hard to deal with, and he made a huge error. Second goal, he just stood on his kness and watched Olic score. He made no intention for the ball. Third goal was down to not closing down. You can't allow a player to be in space for a long time. Especially when they're confident against the keeper. They gave him time to hit his shot. In midfield, not bad. Joe Cole got down, but really should have shot when he was cutting in. Barry was a bit quiet not much to say. Just should have closed the players down. Lampard was ok, got forward, but was a bit quiet too. Don't think he deserved man of the match. Gerrard was brilliant, he worked his socks off and really got stuck in. Made important tackles and was the only real passionate player. Wright-Phillips played well too. He linked up well with Richards on the right and had a few chances himself in the second half. Defoe, was quiet too, got forward but didn't really create much. Bent really should have saved us the point needed, should have kept it low in the corner. Overall, an average performance, should have got the the point, but that's England for you!