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The England World Cup Thread

mpickard2087

Patient Zero
Jun 13, 2008
21,886
32,513
I still think there is work to be done, and changes to be made, looking ahead.

I wasn't as impressed as some. The shape and selections and intent are brave (which is a major departure, and quite refreshing, from the usual at a Tournament for England), I think the majority of fans/media will enjoy the gung-ho, going for it attitude that the team has, but I think there are problems there. As I said at HT, there is a massive issue in the centre of the park and a void from back to front.

First half you have Henderson plus the centre backs picking up the ball and everybody else has ran off. There were lots of good chances that came our way, Tunisia didn't look very good at the back and often gifted chances from really basic bits of play and obvious runs that should be picked up, but I don't think that told the whole story..... If there wasn't a very good pass played between the lines, or the main tactic of Lingard/Alli running into the channels as it's played over the top, we really struggled to build up play and got pressed into some errors at times and gradually got more unconvincing as we struggled for control.

People are saying the second half wasn't as good, but that's because Tunisia sat deeper and, though the disconnect from back to front was therefore ended, it largely stopped that option of knocking it into channels for runners, and so shows what a basic tactic it was. I actually thought towards the end our players were working as hard as they had done all game to find space, so deserve some credit for that, but as I said before the squad was selected, we're going to lack craft and control in the middle of the pitch and into the final third.

I also don't think the shape and press without the ball is great, and against Nigeria and Tunisia have seen too many occasions where they've been able to work the ball into decent areas with ease. Though I suspect at some point we will see Henderson and Dier paired together, I worry any half decent team is going to punish us if we aren't a little more diligent and structured when we lose the ball.

Individually a few quibbles. Young just didn't seem to offer enough up and down the left flank and mainly played it safe. Rose should get his chance. Despite the lack of options I'm not sold on Alli/Lingard in the same cm3, and we've repeated the selections of the last World Cup - where on the eve of the tournament decided to select Sterling in the No.10 role. It didn't work then, I don't see it working now.

As for our players I thought Trippier had a very competent game on the right flank. Felt a few times he could have attacked space a bit better, but was solid, error free and picked out some good balls at times and his set pieces were a big threat. Alli started pretty lively, but after that was (maybe due to injury) really plodding around the pitch. Kane was much like his end of season Spurs form - I expect much more from him in his all round game, I thought his movement at times was abysmal to tell you the truth, but he shows that he is an outstanding poacher and has the character to pop up when most needed.

For the next game if I was selecting, I'd probably go with:

Pickford
Trippier Stones Dier Rose
Henderson Delph
Alli
Sterling Kane Rashford
But with Southgate seemingly wedded to the back three and this formation, and not considering Dier at CB amongst other things, and also considering it's Panama..... I'd get a bit funky and go:




With Kane playing off the front a bit more and Vardy playing on the shoulder. Sterling very high and wide on the left, with Delph doing an extension of his half centre mid/half covering the left side job that he does at City to provide a bit more cover on that side, plus stability and passing options in the centre of the pitch.
 
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fortworthspur

Well-Known Member
Nov 12, 2007
11,244
17,536
you guys are fucked and its because of Southgate. Today he starts 5 backs, Henderson, 3 AMs and Kane. Who was supposed to help Henderson? And Walker at RCB? By playing Walker at CB you take away the one thing that sets him apart - his incredible fitness and range. Surely there is a better CB left in the country than Walker.
 

ClonedFromSandrosBeard

Well-Known Member
Jul 21, 2014
181
417
Agree with mpickard's point about lack of a midfield but I think this was down to the team deciding to avoid that battle all together. As we saw, it's a good option (if rustic) for teams looking to contain us, I think there needs to be an alternative against stronger opponents. Fun to watch though.
 

elDiablo

SC Supporter
Feb 2, 2005
4,579
2,950
formation was ok if not a bit extreme considering tunisia offered nothing in attack.

The big gap is we do not have a playmaker in the Silva or de bruyne mould. Someone to link the dm with alli/lingard. Lallana would be my choice or winks long term if he ever gets back to his previous form

As for DM, Henderson looked exposed a couple of time and if you're going to play that way the dm needs to be more mobile.

I would swap Delph for Henderson and rose for young vs Panama.
 

brendanb50

Well-Known Member
Jul 21, 2005
4,484
3,890
Decent result in a bit of an on/off game for England. Excellent start followed by some silly mistakes allowing the oppo into the game. Did well in the 2nd half to grind them down, in spite of what i felt was a very poor ref and some unusual defending.

Agree with a lot of the sentiments so far in the thread; we lack an option between the back and the front of the team. It's all well and good having options up there and wide outlets in the wing backs but if we don't have a man to transition play quickly, we'll end up struggling. Not sure who that is in this squad (they all feel like they'll be shoehorned into that role) but i think that's a key thing to test against what should be weaker oppo in Panama.

For me, should a spare CB not be moving forward to help with this a bit? similar to how it works at Spurs, a CB can move in and out of midfield, allowing CM players to move higher or cover, depending on momentum.

As also noted already, i wasn't overly convinced when we were out of possession. Some good desire to win back early on, which worked well but the effectiveness faded as the game went on and left gaps rather than forcing errors.

Hopefully a few of these elements will gel with a bit of confidence. Important 3 points under our belts and some slight changes to try in the Panama game. For me, a change at LWB and rotation in the CM3 (not sure if Alli will need a rest with his strain) to balance the transition of play a bit.

On a slight player bashing note - some of the finishing & end product was pretty poor. Sterling the main culprit for me in both areas. Lingard i felt was a bit more unlucky.

1v1 i think Sterling offers us something but playing him so advanced means he needs goals/assists to his game which i think he lacks consistency in.
 

spursgirls

SC Supporter
Aug 13, 2008
19,166
38,957
I love this line in a report by Martin Samuel. Really tickled me:

"If Ben Youssef falls that easily when touched, he must be a nightmare on public transport"
 

tiger666

Large Member
Jan 4, 2005
27,978
82,214
Only changes i'd make would be Rose for Young and RLC for Dele if he's injured, i'd give Sterling another chance.
 

spursgirls

SC Supporter
Aug 13, 2008
19,166
38,957
Cosmic posted this on Facebook:

35666754_1381303061970972_4161206904707612672_n.jpg
 

DJS

A hoonter must hoont
Dec 9, 2006
31,261
21,760
Surprising Dier didn't start given we're playing three centre backs.
 

spursfan77

Well-Known Member
Aug 13, 2005
46,680
104,956
Only changes i'd make would be Rose for Young and RLC for Dele if he's injured, i'd give Sterling another chance.
Yes, I would definitely only make a couple of changes. Making too many disrupts the rhythm of the side. We saw at the Euros, Hodgson made 6 changes for the final group game and it completely killed our rhythm and ended up contributing to our demise.

Win the game first, then make more changes during the second half if necessary.
 

danielneeds

Kick-Ass
May 5, 2004
24,179
48,764
I definitely wouldn't play Alli and Lingard against a Spain or Brazil. Probably drop in Delph alongside Henderson or Dier. Henderson and Dier is just too stodgy, Delph looks in good form, and is a bit quicker with the ball.
 
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