England Vs Poland - Match Thread

[GHoddle]

I quite like the look of the front 4 with Sturridge, Rooney, Townsend, and Welbeck. Hopefully Roy sticks with that and puts a solid midfield in behind them. If those are going to be the front 4 for Brazil, they need to play together to develop some chemistry in the friendly matches we have between now and the world cup.

 

[roj]

Just heard Wayne wooney motm on talkshite (helps me sleep). I only had one wank over the knicker thread during the match. Did I miss something?

 

[Crouchinho]

I quite like the look of the front 4 with Sturridge, Rooney, Townsend, and Welbeck. Hopefully Roy sticks with that and puts a solid midfield in behind them. If those are going to be the front 4 for Brazil, they need to play together to develop some chemistry in the friendly matches we have between now and the world cup.

I'm not sold on Wellbeck at all. I guess he has decent movement, I'm hoping someone better comes in. I don't think I've ever seen a striker who misses such easy chances. That one in the six yard box was awful.

Good to see Townsend play well again.

Lennon, Walcott, Bridge, SWP, Bentley, Downing etc have all been let downs playing on the wings. No bottle to take a man on.

Baines and Townsend are a breath of fresh air really

 

[GHoddle]

I quite like the look of the front 4 with Sturridge, Rooney, Townsend, and Welbeck. Hopefully Roy sticks with that and puts a solid midfield in behind them. If those are going to be the front 4 for Brazil, they need to play together to develop some chemistry in the friendly matches we have between now and the world cup.

I'm not sold on Wellbeck at all. I guess he has decent movement, I'm hoping someone better comes in. I don't think I've ever seen a striker who misses such easy chances. That one in the six yard box was awful.

Good to see Townsend play well again.

Lennon, Walcott, Bridge, SWP, Bentley, Downing etc have all been let downs playing on the wings. No bottle to take a man on.

Baines and Townsend are a breath of fresh air really

You could add Adam Johnson to the list of wingers who were let downs. Although in Johnson's case idk what it was because he always looked impressive to me, I guess City fans could clarify that.

Wellbeck maybe there's a tactical advantage to playing him on the left, because he can come inside while Baines overlaps. Wellbeck is athletic and pretty decent at man marking so he can be an asset imo even though I agree that he hasn't been very convincing. Walcott could come in for Wellbeck if Andros stays in the team, the question though would be which side you put each on. There are a few other promising young wingers at the moment as well though so maybe one of them will make the step up.

 

[supercity88]

It was really good to see Baines come in and play so well in both games, he has to be preferred to Ashley Cole now for what he adds in an attacking sense. Thought Smalling was okay, but didn't support Townsend enough, and whilst he didn't need the support last night, against tougher opposition we could do with a better combination. Walker is a better option in that sense. I think Welbeck does well, holds the ball up, is quick and determined but I agree that he needs to take his chances better. The first half was like that for most players. My main concern is with the middle two of Gerrard/Lampard/Carrick, for me they are too slow to deal adequately with the oppositions counter attacking. We were lucky not to be punished from counter attacks last night and Gerrard/Lampard/Carrick cannot recover in those circumstances. I think it has to be one of them and then Wilshere/Barkley or someone with more pace in the middle. England lack that defence minded midfielder who can play the ball out of trouble. Carrick and Barry both have a degree of it, but I think their lack of pace is found out against opposition that are more direct and move the ball quickly around the pitch.

Having said that, impressed with the last two games. More attacking intent, more freedom to play and good performances under the circumstances. Looking at the campaign as a whole Roy got it spot on tactically and credit to him for that. I have my doubts over his negativity away from home but to be fair it has worked out well so got to support him for those decisions. It was a marathon not a sprint. The World Cup this time round offers an England side with a good balance of young and old and if all of our players stay fit I think we should be in good confidence. Hopefully we arrange friendlies against Germany to give ourselves a real test ahead of the game.

 

[Deleted member 52846]

I quite like the look of the front 4 with Sturridge, Rooney, Townsend, and Welbeck. Hopefully Roy sticks with that and puts a solid midfield in behind them. If those are going to be the front 4 for Brazil, they need to play together to develop some chemistry in the friendly matches we have between now and the world cup.

Welbeck is not my cup of tea at all. He's clumsy and slow in thought and easy to read. Sturridge is another one; five woeful things to every bit of excellent play he produces and he plays for himself only and not one bit for the good of his team - his movement is awful as well.<br /><br />-- Wed Oct 16, 2013 12:01 pm --<br /><br />

It was really good to see Baines come in and play so well in both games, he has to be preferred to Ashley Cole now for what he adds in an attacking sense. Thought Smalling was okay, but didn't support Townsend enough, and whilst he didn't need the support last night, against tougher opposition we could do with a better combination. Walker is a better option in that sense. I think Welbeck does well, holds the ball up, is quick and determined but I agree that he needs to take his chances better. The first half was like that for most players. My main concern is with the middle two of Gerrard/Lampard/Carrick, for me they are too slow to deal adequately with the oppositions counter attacking. We were lucky not to be punished from counter attacks last night and Gerrard/Lampard/Carrick cannot recover in those circumstances. I think it has to be one of them and then Wilshere/Barkley or someone with more pace in the middle. England lack that defence minded midfielder who can play the ball out of trouble. Carrick and Barry both have a degree of it, but I think their lack of pace is found out against opposition that are more direct and move the ball quickly around the pitch.

Having said that, impressed with the last two games. More attacking intent, more freedom to play and good performances under the circumstances. Looking at the campaign as a whole Roy got it spot on tactically and credit to him for that. I have my doubts over his negativity away from home but to be fair it has worked out well so got to support him for those decisions. It was a marathon not a sprint. The World Cup this time round offers an England side with a good balance of young and old and if all of our players stay fit I think we should be in good confidence. Hopefully we arrange friendlies against Germany to give ourselves a real test ahead of the game.

Wilshire and Rodwell are both international quality, but they're both always injured.

 

[Deleted member 52846]

lol bbc said Wiltshire passed to Gerrard, terry butcher said lampard - never known a player get so little recognition than milner

does it really matter ??? england qualified thats good enough for me :)

For England, I guess not, but for James Milner it might, it was a great touch to set Gerrard away.

I'm certain Gerrard knows exactly who set the sublime pass up for him and that's the most important thing for Jimmy. It was a great pass!

Top game that last night, i'm still buzzing. Best qualifier game since Germany away in 2001 and the Scotland play-offs for the 1998 WC.

 

[r.soleofsalford]

I quite like the look of the front 4 with Sturridge, Rooney, Townsend, and Welbeck. Hopefully Roy sticks with that and puts a solid midfield in behind them. If those are going to be the front 4 for Brazil, they need to play together to develop some chemistry in the friendly matches we have between now and the world cup.

I'm not sold on Wellbeck at all. I guess he has decent movement, I'm hoping someone better comes in. I don't think I've ever seen a striker who misses such easy chances. That one in the six yard box was awful.

Good to see Townsend play well again.

Lennon, Walcott, Bridge, SWP, Bentley, Downing etc have all been let downs playing on the wings. No bottle to take a man on.

Baines and Townsend are a breath of fresh air really

You could add Adam Johnson to the list of wingers who were let downs. Although in Johnson's case idk what it was because he always looked impressive to me, I guess City fans could clarify that.

Wellbeck maybe there's a tactical advantage to playing him on the left, because he can come inside while Baines overlaps. Wellbeck is athletic and pretty decent at man marking so he can be an asset imo even though I agree that he hasn't been very convincing. Walcott could come in for Wellbeck if Andros stays in the team, the question though would be which side you put each on. There are a few other promising young wingers at the moment as well though so maybe one of them will make the step up.

i prefer welbeck on the left wing.



the further away from the action the less chance he has of missing open goals like last nights


The Wanker

 

[inbetween]

England did alright last night but again with a midfield composed of a 33 year old and Michael Carrick we aren't exactly going to set the world on fire. It all depends on the luck of the draw I think, if we get a decent group and then somehow get a decent team further on we might have a chance but either way there are 5-6 teams that are just miles better. The squad as a whole just doesn't have enough good players in every position, the defence isn't bad but midfield is a major weakness and I wouldn't exactly bet on Hodgson pulling off a tactical masterclass against the better teams so quarter finals at the most for us.

 

[Super David Silva 21]

Seems were setting up friendlies against Germany and Argentina at Wembley.

Stuff that, have them play in Germany and in Buenos Aries then have a penalty shootout at the end of the match.