IndoMike
Very well known Exeweb poster
Me, too....
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England v Croatia Prediction
- Thread starter DB9
- Start date
Alistair20000
Very well known Exeweb poster
Meh from me too but come Saturday I will be cheering on the boys.
No disgrace in this Tournament. They have done their best and exceeded all reasonable expectations. Just a bit of lack of quality in the final 1/3 of the pitch.
IndoMike
Very well known Exeweb poster
Yep, keeping hopes alive until semis is far beyond what I expected. We have a lot of good qualities : think we need a playmaker and a bit more nous. Team seemed to have really good team spirit which is a joy to behold. Heads up high and onwards and upwards.
I agree with most of the praise for the England team this tournament, even taking into consideration some of the opposition. However one thing I find really difficult to agree with despite the over-performance is that 3-5-2/5-3-2 is the way forward or going to cut it at the very top. The quick switch in play and constant overloads out-wide really killed us as soon as we met a good team. At this level you can't allow such space and it is an inevitable weakness of this system regardless of personnel to some extent.
Belgium suffered similarly versus Brazil, especially in that second half. As great as their performance was first half, Brazil deserved at least a draw and would have likely got if they had a focal point up-front and/or possessed any kind of threat in the air from the forward positions. There were so many opportunities out wide for them when they brought someone on more inclined to stay wide, i.e. Douglas Costa.
A 5-2-3/3-4-3 similar to Conte's would be my hope with more defensive help out wide (although the 2 CMs would need to be top drawer to pull that off too). I do wonder what would have happened if Southgate changed it at 55/60mins, we were clearly living on borrowed time... Two strikers is a bit of a luxury and we didn't really make it tell all tournament anyway (although Sterling actually arguably ended up being the pick of the advanced players. Alli was disappointing, Kane was too in the knockouts).
I'm gutted for the likes of Young, Henderson, Trippier, Rose and Walker most of whom, if not all, I doubt will play in another World Cup, even Lingard at 25 might struggle... It's the last chance for many even if the squad as a whole was the youngest we've had.
I really hope Shaw fulfills his potential as we are lacking a top-class left wing-back. We also need another centre-back to emerge, Walker wasn't cut out for the position. Joe Gomez could be it, I reckon he would have been a strong shout to start if fit and could have made a big impression too.
Most of all I really hope the inter-club rivalries don't take the shine off of the good feeling and that the player's receive a deserving reception at all the grounds. As a Utd fan too I'd like to see Henderson, Sterling, etc., etc. be appreciated at Old Trafford but I have my doubts and fear come August everyone will revert to type.
That said with the talent coming through in the likes of Trent, Rashford, Sancho, even Brewster, Foden and the experience from this tournament that Pickford, Kane, Alli, Stones, Maguire will have gained, I really fancy us for 2022 even more now.
Maguire (I know is the same age as Lingard but he's already slow so will be less effected by such deterioration, CBs tend to peak later too whilst there's real depth coming through in the advanced positions)
Belgium suffered similarly versus Brazil, especially in that second half. As great as their performance was first half, Brazil deserved at least a draw and would have likely got if they had a focal point up-front and/or possessed any kind of threat in the air from the forward positions. There were so many opportunities out wide for them when they brought someone on more inclined to stay wide, i.e. Douglas Costa.
A 5-2-3/3-4-3 similar to Conte's would be my hope with more defensive help out wide (although the 2 CMs would need to be top drawer to pull that off too). I do wonder what would have happened if Southgate changed it at 55/60mins, we were clearly living on borrowed time... Two strikers is a bit of a luxury and we didn't really make it tell all tournament anyway (although Sterling actually arguably ended up being the pick of the advanced players. Alli was disappointing, Kane was too in the knockouts).
I'm gutted for the likes of Young, Henderson, Trippier, Rose and Walker most of whom, if not all, I doubt will play in another World Cup, even Lingard at 25 might struggle... It's the last chance for many even if the squad as a whole was the youngest we've had.
I really hope Shaw fulfills his potential as we are lacking a top-class left wing-back. We also need another centre-back to emerge, Walker wasn't cut out for the position. Joe Gomez could be it, I reckon he would have been a strong shout to start if fit and could have made a big impression too.
Most of all I really hope the inter-club rivalries don't take the shine off of the good feeling and that the player's receive a deserving reception at all the grounds. As a Utd fan too I'd like to see Henderson, Sterling, etc., etc. be appreciated at Old Trafford but I have my doubts and fear come August everyone will revert to type.
That said with the talent coming through in the likes of Trent, Rashford, Sancho, even Brewster, Foden and the experience from this tournament that Pickford, Kane, Alli, Stones, Maguire will have gained, I really fancy us for 2022 even more now.
Maguire (I know is the same age as Lingard but he's already slow so will be less effected by such deterioration, CBs tend to peak later too whilst there's real depth coming through in the advanced positions)
PeteUSA
Very well known Exeweb poster
Excellent overview above, but I cant agree about Pickford. Throughout the entire tournament, he never had a serious breathtaking shot to save, with the exception of a penalty kick or two; everything he did was routine, and that left me going into the Croatia match with certain reservations. I dont think he played that well, with poor clearances in general. My biggest disappointment was when a Croatia player was clean through on him in the first half. He chose to go in with a boot, ending up with their player needing treatment. That could have been a pen and even worse a straight red. That was bad, yet no review? The other lash-up for me was Pickfords half assed endeavor at preventing their winning goal. I was screaming at the top of my lungs for him to progress towards the scorer! What does he do? Decides to dive across his goal for no apparent reason! If he'd stayed strong he might have stood a chance? I'm sorry, its too late now, but I'd have prefered the experienced Butland.
Antony Moxey
Very well known Exeweb poster
Pete, you’re an idiot. Seriously, you are. Pickford’s challenge was never a penalty, was nowhere near a penalty and you are the only person on the planet who might have even considered it a penalty. Had he been the Croatian keeper you’d be singing his praises and commenting on his bravery. As per usual, it’s alway the keeper of the team you are allegedly supporting that isn’t of the required standard whilst everyone else is.
Speaking of below standard, and not just Kane and Alli, but I thought the officials didn’t cover themselves in glory last night. A couple of England corners were missed as were a number of throw ins too. Also, if you wave play on and then play breaks down, you are allowed to bring it back for a free kick. Maybe not thirty seconds later but one or two is surely acceptable. And if you’re going to book Walker for holding on to the ball then surely you have to do the same to Croat players who copy that twice later in the game.
It’s funny but having scored more than in any other tournament previously, I just wish we had a striker playing last night.
Speaking of below standard, and not just Kane and Alli, but I thought the officials didn’t cover themselves in glory last night. A couple of England corners were missed as were a number of throw ins too. Also, if you wave play on and then play breaks down, you are allowed to bring it back for a free kick. Maybe not thirty seconds later but one or two is surely acceptable. And if you’re going to book Walker for holding on to the ball then surely you have to do the same to Croat players who copy that twice later in the game.
It’s funny but having scored more than in any other tournament previously, I just wish we had a striker playing last night.
Banksy
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I hope you're not starting a vendetta against poor young Pickford now Pete.Personally thought he did very well, great young keeper.
PeteUSA
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No vendetta: from the first game to the last, I just wasn't sure about him being there over Butland or the other keeper, and each game we got through, I was boring our household with keeping on about not being sure about him. Thats not to say he wont be automatic first choice in the future, but for me he wasnt convincing enough to lay claim to the number one shirt yet. And Croatia's winning goal; he should have stood up to that instead of giving up.
ramone
Well-known Exeweb poster
Nice to know its not just Exeweb you do it to !