midspur
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- Jan 28, 2005
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And when Henderson took over as captain in the 2nd half...
The England World Cup Thread
- Thread starter Archibald&Crooks
- Start date
And when Henderson took over as captain in the 2nd half...
Sevens
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- Apr 23, 2014
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Germany fail to win their group and England will want to lose against Belgium!
Sandros Shiny Head
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- Aug 20, 2013
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Don't understand this, I'd much rather face this Germany side than Mexico who have all the right kind of players to cause us problems
Shadydan
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- Jul 7, 2012
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Nah Germans have big game mentality, they're like Real Madrid, Mexico are much more naive than them despite looking better.
mpickard2087
Patient Zero
- Jun 13, 2008
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From an England performance POV, much the same as the first game I thought - and not all of it to my liking. But somehow it's proving effective, so far..... A back three + Henderson receiving the ball deep, and then a massive gap, whilst everyone else runs away upfield and the only option is a channel ball, shouldn't be effective... But it strangely has been. Plus it's quite refreshing to see that a team has clearly taken the time and effort to work on set pieces and be inventive, and it's paying off. The 4th goal was a lovely little routine.
However, there were also a lot of similar problems to the opening game when the build up was slower and the direct option not on. The back players in particular look a little nervy on the ball and there were a lot (really, a lot) of constant little fumbles and sloppy bits of play when in possession that made things hard for us, and better teams might punish. And without the ball again I thought we looked really weak and gave Panama easy routes up the pitch and throughout the match managed to work promising openings. This doesn't leave you confident for what lies ahead.......
Ultimately we were 5-0 up, without having to do anything/play any football apart from the sharp one-two and hit from Lingard for the 3rd goal. And the second half was always going to be a low tempo, conservation effort. I can see why Southgate wasn't too happy with the performance, and in fact I'm quite impressed he has come out and said that, and looking to improve, rather than just saying how awesome everything is.
From a Spurs perspective, thought Trippier had a very solid game again with the ball, couple of dodgy moments without it though. Rose wasn't quite at it, though the game had died a death at that point. Kane... Hmm... Another game where I think he should be doing more in his all round game, his work rate and seeing the ball is still way down and continuing on from his form at the end of the season, but in fairness I think in this team he is being asked to be more of a poacher as others do the running, and so far he is fulfilling that remit. Oh, and he knows how to take a penalty.
For the next game, presuming it isn't all change, I think it will be something like Dier coming in alongside Henderson to solidify the centre of the park, and Lingard/Sterling playing off of Kane. I think RLC showed that he is better in cameo roles rather than from the start.
However, there were also a lot of similar problems to the opening game when the build up was slower and the direct option not on. The back players in particular look a little nervy on the ball and there were a lot (really, a lot) of constant little fumbles and sloppy bits of play when in possession that made things hard for us, and better teams might punish. And without the ball again I thought we looked really weak and gave Panama easy routes up the pitch and throughout the match managed to work promising openings. This doesn't leave you confident for what lies ahead.......
Ultimately we were 5-0 up, without having to do anything/play any football apart from the sharp one-two and hit from Lingard for the 3rd goal. And the second half was always going to be a low tempo, conservation effort. I can see why Southgate wasn't too happy with the performance, and in fact I'm quite impressed he has come out and said that, and looking to improve, rather than just saying how awesome everything is.
From a Spurs perspective, thought Trippier had a very solid game again with the ball, couple of dodgy moments without it though. Rose wasn't quite at it, though the game had died a death at that point. Kane... Hmm... Another game where I think he should be doing more in his all round game, his work rate and seeing the ball is still way down and continuing on from his form at the end of the season, but in fairness I think in this team he is being asked to be more of a poacher as others do the running, and so far he is fulfilling that remit. Oh, and he knows how to take a penalty.
For the next game, presuming it isn't all change, I think it will be something like Dier coming in alongside Henderson to solidify the centre of the park, and Lingard/Sterling playing off of Kane. I think RLC showed that he is better in cameo roles rather than from the start.
- Oct 2, 2004
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- Staff
- #727
Decent stuff from England so far, and it's nice to see us actually dominating these 'lesser' teams rather than making a complete dog's fart of the whole thing.
If we go full strength against Belgium though I think some changes need to be made as there are definitely still some issues.
I'm really not convinced by Walker as a centre back. I'm not really sure what he's giving us in that position that a normal centre back wouldn't, and he's obviously vulnerable defensively. Against a good attack I'd really worry about him there.
I'd like to drop Young as I don't think he's been that effective, but it looks like Rose still isn't at the races so don't think that change can be made now.
We've also effectively played without a midfield so far, which is a good tactic against the lesser teams but won't work against the better teams. Henderson is going to need some help in there, and whilst I don't think it should be Dier and Henderson, I do think it should be someone who can hold on to the ball and sit a bit deeper. I'd probably go with Loftus-Cheek and just tell him to sit a bit deeper than he did on Sunday.
That probably means you need to sacrifice Dele, as Lingard is playing very well, and then you've got to decide whether Sterling is up to the job or not. I do wonder whether we might be better off playing Dele instead of Sterling, rather than instead of Lingard, but there is then a potential issue with pace.
If we're going full strength against Belgium I'd go:
If we go full strength against Belgium though I think some changes need to be made as there are definitely still some issues.
I'm really not convinced by Walker as a centre back. I'm not really sure what he's giving us in that position that a normal centre back wouldn't, and he's obviously vulnerable defensively. Against a good attack I'd really worry about him there.
I'd like to drop Young as I don't think he's been that effective, but it looks like Rose still isn't at the races so don't think that change can be made now.
We've also effectively played without a midfield so far, which is a good tactic against the lesser teams but won't work against the better teams. Henderson is going to need some help in there, and whilst I don't think it should be Dier and Henderson, I do think it should be someone who can hold on to the ball and sit a bit deeper. I'd probably go with Loftus-Cheek and just tell him to sit a bit deeper than he did on Sunday.
That probably means you need to sacrifice Dele, as Lingard is playing very well, and then you've got to decide whether Sterling is up to the job or not. I do wonder whether we might be better off playing Dele instead of Sterling, rather than instead of Lingard, but there is then a potential issue with pace.
If we're going full strength against Belgium I'd go:
Pickford
Dier Stones Maguire
Trippier Loftus-Cheek Henderson Young
Dele Lingard
Kane
Possibly Sterling instead of Dele...nah. Dele wins.Dier Stones Maguire
Trippier Loftus-Cheek Henderson Young
Dele Lingard
Kane
Klinsmannesque
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- Jul 26, 2013
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Recovery pace to sweep inevitable mistakes. We don't have a solid defence and I think he's there as that insurance.
DFF
YOLO, Daniel
- May 17, 2005
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We missed a trick against Panama by not experimenting with RLC as a proper number 8. It has the potential to mitigate our midfield getting run through against better teams, whilst not sacrificing the creativity or adventure that you’d lose pairing Dier with Henderson.
ComfortablyNumb
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- Jun 28, 2011
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There seems to be a trend, at club and country level, towards playing ‘without a midfield’. Or even a ‘pivot’. People were shocked by Sir Alf’s wingless wonders, maybe in a few years we’ll see teams without CMs at all?
LSUY
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- Jul 12, 2005
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Would rather play Mexico than Germany. Not only do the Germans have a big match mentality but we also have a massive mental hurdle regarding them - e.g. "Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win", "the only certainties are death, taxes and England losing to Germany on penalties", etc. We don't have that with the Mexicans so the team can go into that game without it hanging over them.
mill
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- May 21, 2007
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tiger666
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- Jan 4, 2005
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Confirmed: Dele Alli back in full training
BBC World Service correspondent Steve Crossman has been interviewing Gareth Southgate this morning...more of that to follow later.
But he has confirmed that Dele Alli is back in full training and Fabian Delph is flying with the squad as normal tomorrow, his wife is due to give birth the day after the Belgium game.
BBC World Service correspondent Steve Crossman has been interviewing Gareth Southgate this morning...more of that to follow later.
But he has confirmed that Dele Alli is back in full training and Fabian Delph is flying with the squad as normal tomorrow, his wife is due to give birth the day after the Belgium game.
longtimespur
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tiger666
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*Badum chish*
rossdapep
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- Aug 25, 2011
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Think we are in a bit of a win-win situation as far as team set-ups go.
This Belgium game will prove to be a test more than anything as Southgate can either stick to what has worked so far or try something a bit different.
If he sticks to the same game plan and - as many of us are predicting - better opposition exploit our deficiencies defensively, he will know what to change in the knock out stages. Similarly, if we actually cause Belgium more problems than they do for us using this set-up then it will give the team loads of confidence that they can beat anyone going forward.
Also, if Southgate does apply a more defensive approach but can still cause enough problems for Belgium we will then know that we have an alternative strategy going into the KO stages.
Southgate doesn't strike me as the kinda bloke who is stubborn and will keep using the same strategy like Hodgson and Allardyce did/would have. So it will be very interesting to see what Southgate does going forward.
This Belgium game will prove to be a test more than anything as Southgate can either stick to what has worked so far or try something a bit different.
If he sticks to the same game plan and - as many of us are predicting - better opposition exploit our deficiencies defensively, he will know what to change in the knock out stages. Similarly, if we actually cause Belgium more problems than they do for us using this set-up then it will give the team loads of confidence that they can beat anyone going forward.
Also, if Southgate does apply a more defensive approach but can still cause enough problems for Belgium we will then know that we have an alternative strategy going into the KO stages.
Southgate doesn't strike me as the kinda bloke who is stubborn and will keep using the same strategy like Hodgson and Allardyce did/would have. So it will be very interesting to see what Southgate does going forward.
spursfan77
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- Aug 13, 2005
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I can't see us getting anywhere without him back in the team. He's better than the other attackers and is also a big game player like Kane.
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