shurlock

No obligatory fatima whitbread image for Tokes and DP?

Going to be tight but I hope Froch absolutely batters Groves.

So if it's at the level of the FFF and systemic, a change of manager isn't necessarily going to make a big difference?

Agree about the need for DMs in allowing the full backs to push up and the likes of Jrod and Lallana to come inside but Gerrard's not the man. Still offers something going forward but is a liability defensively now that his legs have gone. Schneiderlin and Wanyama absolutely tore him apart at Anfield.

Jrod's performance reminded of me of how he started with us, dumped out on the left, the game bypassing him. Its only when we allowed him to play more centrally and cut outside if necessary that we started to see more from him.

Bright first half - thought he was better on the right than the left in part coz Johnson provided more support than Baines. The lack of support on the left didn't help Jrod either -quite apart from his own performance.

Basically the England team is run the way clubs are run, albeit without the continuity of players training together each day. There needs to be a structure in place so that whoever is manager, the setup, selection criteria and style of play are the same. We operate something similar with our DoF and transfer committee, though we're hardly pioneers. That kind of structure arguably matters more at an international level where players need to be able to slot into a system without little or no preparation

Says the person who's come up with a side splitting, pet name for me. :lol:

So your earth shattering conclusion is that it's better to have pace and skill than just pace? Wow...I think you're on to something big here.

Yep was a massive miss that day.

Only saw the 2nd half - got alot of the ball without doing much with it.

Cheers pal

link anywhere?

It was a needless challenge by Mulumbu but the decision certainly wasnt 'soft'.

Les being slightly disingenuous about the regime's role in the development of Bale and co. At the moment it's living off past glories. I'd rather listen to Georges Prost and Rupes views on the subject.

Stoke flying high, running a tight ship while we're larging it on crack. When you put it like this, who wouldn't want to be a bit more like Stoke, CB Fried?

Taken a look at the Stoke forum? How they dealt with the pressure and expectations of being a mongboard-appointed saviours of football.

Two for the price of one even. :alpinehappyclapperimage:

Clotese :lol:

It was all about his pace - bringing someone on who could stretch them as they chased an equalizer. Similar to the way in which you might deploy a winger.

Agree- bringing Jrod on against Swansea when they were pushing up to get an equalizer certainly helped. Even got us a goal.

Also helps Clyne was back to full fitness, having missed the west brom, sunderland and norwich games.

Still think we lack width -and if the transfer rumours are correct, we've been looking at wingers/inside forwards. The fact that Clyne and Shaw get as forward as they do suggests we value width; but what happens if they are injured -as has happened this season? On paper, it seems easier to slot in a winger than expect every fullback we have to be able to bomb on. The likes of Shaw and Clyne don't grow on trees. Fox can't defend and Chambers is still quite cautious. I've been pleasantly surprised by how far Clyne and Shaw have been able to push up, especially away from home where the priority is to defend. It will be interesting to see how far we can stick to our principles at places like Arsenal and Chelsea.

And MM? I had no issue with the change just the timing. It should have made earlier or after we were safe. Not like we got over the line with lots to spare.