England v Norway

Woy should be sacked, as he had his chance at the World Cup and ****ed it.... And we look worse now...

Did you see when the crowd were lifted out of their seats in the second half !! Yep that's right...the Mexican Wave.

The highlight for me.

Whats the point of bringing Lambert on for five minutes.

Do we get a £3k add on?

Well I've just finished a 2 hour conference call working, looks like I didn't miss much then? Unsurprisingly.

thought Forren looked reasonably sound.

thought Forren looked reasonably sound.

Gave the ball away a lot when trying long passes

You watch the press hail Rooney and the inspirational saviour/skipper

we all know u can't polish a turd..... the bottom line it was sh1t... don't expect anything more...

What a truly insipid performance...

When these guys are earning 100K to 300K a week, what possible motivation is there for them to give 110% and risk injury ?

Its just terrible, Woy trying to defend himself in the press conference claiming we controlled the game and looked threatening was equally nauseating.

He started with a 442, made an underperforming player captain and played a CB at RB ahead of some competant RBs.

Henderson and Wilshere flatter to decieve, the latter put in a better performance then usual but still pretty poor. Sturridge bemusingly gets lauded as our saviour, despite the fact he is greedy, takes the wrong option and isnt as good as is made out.

Its probably the poorest England squad Ive seen for a long time. Poor options at CB, a completely uninspiring CM and a lack of options upfront. Its very very poor

I hope he goes 433 Monday and drops Rooney.... But he wont

Its just terrible, Woy trying to defend himself in the press conference claiming we controlled the game and looked threatening was equally nauseating.

 

He started with a 442, made an underperforming player captain and played a CB at RB ahead of some competant RBs.

Henderson and Wilshere flatter to decieve, the latter put in a better performance then usual but still pretty poor. Sturridge bemusingly gets lauded as our saviour, despite the fact he is greedy, takes the wrong option and isnt as good as is made out.

 

Its probably the poorest England squad Ive seen for a long time. Poor options at CB, a completely uninspiring CM and a lack of options upfront. Its very very poor

 

I hope he goes 433 Monday and drops Rooney.... But he wont

I thought that in the first half we did play very well up until the point at which we needed to be more clinical with the final pass. I suspect that were it a qualifier, we wouldn't have been quite so keen to try to walk the ball into the net and play pretty triangles around their 10 defenders on the edge of the area, and we'd have carved out enough openings to be 3 or 4 up. Rooney is going to be a massive problem, though, as everyone expected. If we're going to play two up top, which I've no real issue with if it suits the rest of the team, he needs to stay up there, not continually drop deep in an attempt to get involved all the time, as it just leaves Sturridge isolated.

Second half was garbage until the last 20 minutes or so when Sterling moved a bit more central and caused them loads of grief.

Thought Delph looked good when he came on, Milner was solid as well (except for that one hilarious shank out of play which has been Vined to death already ). Defence remains a concern, largely because of the lack of protection they're afforded by the midfield. The 4 picked last night of Sterling, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wilshere and Henderson has no defensive strength at all, Xerdhan Shaqiri will have a field day in that space on Monday night

even after sleeping on it. it was horrendous

My thoughts on Roy were made after the WC. Last night offered absolutely zero confidence he is anywhere close to being the right man to take us forward

what made me laugh, they had pallister on the big screen giving his thoughts before the game, apparently Rooney has been 'unbelievable' for England for years..

sweet jesus

My thoughts on Roy were made after the WC.

So why did you bother watching it then? Genuine question, if you've already decided what you think before watching a game, why waste 2 hours of your life?

So why did you bother watching it then? Genuine question, if you've already decided what you think before watching a game, why waste 2 hours of your life?

I went as I live up the road and all the lads at work were going, All I had to do with give someone £30 (as they sorted the tickets in the end). Transport was sorted and was sat on the lower tier of the ground

All I had to do was turn up at the car park and put one foot in front of the other.

I got an expense claim that came in a bit more than I expected. so was not out of pocket

plus I wanted to see it for myself. Curiosity got the better of me (and the convenient thing of something to do a couple of miles up the road)

dreadful

It was funny when god knows how many round me wanted that lad (king i think) to square the ball to his team mate when he ran clear in the 2nd half.

I've given up with the England team.

Roy's statement that fans need to get used to the squad being full of bench warmers for the big 6 is madness. Will AL and Ricky become better players by sitting in the stands watching Ballotelli and Couthino every week?

There needs to be a minimum percentage of game time that players have to reach before they are selected, for the Full team and for the U21's as well. The U21's is full of Spurs and United players that do well to get of the bench in a league cup match. Some Journo's have been saying that the Squad should evolve from the U21's but many of these players are not first team players for there clubs by the time they turn 22.

You could put out an England team excluding the big 6 players that would give last nights team a run for their money.

Of the top of my head

Forster

Clyne Davies Bertrand

Cork Huddlestone Shelvey

Dyer JRod Routelidge

Give that a go next time Roy.

I see that Forster, Clyne and Cork all feature in The Sun's Fantasy X1. Redknapp was also very critcial in The Sun today but could he do any better? In time Henderson might replace Gerrard but at the moment he doesnt look like he will. We arent great defensively (and Chambers made an error in the brief time he was on that could have led to a goal) not great in midfield and lacking something up front. We just dont have the players at the moment.

I am as unhappy as everyone else (well the fans anyway) at Rooney being captain but who else is there? Trouble is, based on his perfermances for club and country of late he shouldnt even be starting.

All major teams have a strong spine. We are spinless. No Shearer up front. No one coming through like Gerrard and Terry. Even Hart for all of his confidence has an error or two in him.

We are told that certain "young" players coming through will make a difference. Wilshere - will he ever be fullly fit? Oxlade-Chamberlain - showed glimpses last night but nothing to build a team around. Sterling at least looks like he has made the step up but needs better around him.

I think we are going to struggle for some time to come, irrespective of who the manager is.

I enjoyed us getting another win. Hopefully another on Monday but won't be easy.

Great British Bakeoff had 4m more viewers than England national team.

I see that Forster, Clyne and Cork all feature in The Sun's Fantasy X1. Redknapp was also very critcial in The Sun today but could he do any better? In time Henderson might replace Gerrard but at the moment he doesnt look like he will. We arent great defensively (and Chambers made an error in the brief time he was on that could have led to a goal) not great in midfield and lacking something up front. We just dont have the players at the moment.

Redknapp would have Crouch and Defoe up front, with Lampard as captain (he wouldn't have retired if Uncle 'Arry was in charge).

I am as unhappy as everyone else (well the fans anyway) at Rooney being captain but who else is there? Trouble is, based on his perfermances for club and country of late he shouldnt even be starting.

This is why I despair at how much gravitas is given to the international captaincy. No other nation seems to give as much of a **** as we do, and the problem with nominating somebody is that that person is more or less guaranteed to be picked regardless of their form. Rooney's form so far this season does not justify a place in the starting XI right now, IMO.

All major teams have a strong spine. We are spinless. No Shearer up front. No one coming through like Gerrard and Terry. Even Hart for all of his confidence has an error or two in him.

We need to decide on a system that we are going to play and actually stick to it. There's no point chopping and changing all the time. We played a 4-5-1/4-3-3 system all through qualifying for the World Cup, then made a relatively late (but not completely mental given the personnel) switch to 4-2-3-1 in time for the tournament itself, and now we're back to a sort-of-fluid 4-4-2 with the midfield expanding and contracting to wide and narrow at various points. Apparently Trevor Brooking has said that all of the under-age teams are being brought through to play a 4-3-3 system - if that's the case, the seniors should be playing that as well. That way, when the kids become good enough to get in the seniors, they are well-versed in the system they're going to play.

We are told that certain "young" players coming through will make a difference. Wilshere - will he ever be fullly fit? Oxlade-Chamberlain - showed glimpses last night but nothing to build a team around. Sterling at least looks like he has made the step up but needs better around him.

The return of Theo Walcott will make a massive difference, I think. I don't think even Oxlade-Chamberlain himself knows whether he's a central midfielder with a bit of pace or a winger with a bit of strength anymore, he's got the attributes to be either, but when it comes to actually playing he just doesn't seem to perform for England. I think we're a decent side when we've got the ball, the problem is when we haven't got it. Our defenders are all reactionary rather than instinctive. Even John Terry, as good as he was in his prime, is one to throw his body in the way of everything rather than having the instinct and ability to simply be in the right place when it matters so such desperate defending isn't necessary. Rio Ferdinand was probably the best defender we've had in recent years because of his reading of the game and anticipation. I don't see many of the defenders in contention for the senior squad who have those sort of attributes, they all seem to be "recovery" defenders rather than "anticipation" ones. Perhaps Calum Chambers will become that sort of defender, but they can't throw him in there yet and expect it to happen overnight, which is why I thought it would have been better for him to be in the under-21s, which would still be a promotion for him.

Then of course we get onto the issue of the centre of midfield. Attacking midfielders seem to be plentiful, and we've got a few who can do a bit of everything, the likes of Henderson, Delph, Wilshere, etc, but none of them are disciplined enough to be that screen in front of the back 4. There's a case for saying that Jack Cork fits that bill, but unless he's playing regularly for us, I don't think anyone can realistically expect him to be getting a game for England. Gareth Barry would be a good option, I think, but for whatever reason he seems to be completely out of Hodgson's thinking. He had a terrible 2010 World Cup (along with many others), but from what I remember he was injured at the start of the tournament and evidently never got 100% fit before he got torn to bits by the Germans.

I think we are going to struggle for some time to come, irrespective of who the manager is.

Depends what you mean by "struggle". We'll qualify for tournaments and then it's down to the draw and performances in those games. Expecting to win tournaments isn't realistic in the short term, nor has it been realistic since Euro 2004 when we did have a genuinely good team, and it does seem as if people have finally accepted this. One problem is that while some people are content to lessen their expectations, many take that as a sign that we're not ambitious enough and complain at every small detail. The same applies at club level, selling a player for ridiculous sums of money to a bigger club is seen as a club lacking ambition, rather than one taking a "one step backwards, two steps forward" approach by reinvesting that money sensibly, and not just chucking it down a drain.

Great British Bakeoff had 4m more viewers than England national team.

So? I'm sure X Factor or Strictly Come Dancing probably have more viewers than an England qualifier when they're both on at the same time.

What were the viewing figures for the Denmark friendly back in March? Comparable matches against mediocre Scandanavian opposition on a Wednesday night.

Great British Bakeoff had 4m more viewers than England national team.

Perhaps we should draft Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood into midfield?

Thanks for the thoughful repsonse Steve. There is clearly no quick fix for England's problems. They were talking on Talksport about doing away with a full time manager and brining in someone part time to manage based on the main make up of the team. Eg - if you had 4 Liverpool players then us Brendan Rodgers for a couple of years (while he still manages Liverpool) The idea was that it would be easier for him to get his ideas across as many of the team would play his way anyway. Falls apart of course if the all get injured or lose form!

I remember Mick Channon saying about Lawrie Mac, he just used to get good players in and let them play! Perhaps that is the problem, to many systems and to much tinkering? We just dont have the quality at the moment though to let players just play.

What we have though is what we always have after a disppointing England performance - lot of reactionary comments and ideas. If the problem were that simple to fix I am sure someone would have done so by now. Even the great Sir Bobby Robson came across his "best" team through injuries to "key" players.

So? I'm sure X Factor or Strictly Come Dancing probably have more viewers than an England qualifier when they're both on at the same time.

 

What were the viewing figures for the Denmark friendly back in March? Comparable matches against mediocre Scandanavian opposition on a Wednesday night.

So, the nation that invented association football would rather spend time watching its citizens bake stuff than watch their national team, to the tune of about 4m people.

Thought that was worth mentioning. I draw the line at doing your research for you. You're sure anyway, right? Unqualified certainty is surprisingly ok in 2014

So, the nation that invented association football would rather spend time watching its citizens bake stuff than watch their national team, to the tune of about 4m people.

 

Thought that was worth mentioning. I draw the line at doing your research for you. You're sure anyway, right? Unqualified certainty is surprisingly ok in 2014

Considering the vast majority of people in this country seem to have absolutely nothing but fluff in between their ears these days, I think it's a reasonable assertion to make.

It's only "worth mentioning" if there's a context, you're comparing apples with oranges.

Redknapp would have Crouch and Defoe up front, with Lampard as captain (he wouldn't have retired if Uncle 'Arry was in charge).

 

 

This is why I despair at how much gravitas is given to the international captaincy. No other nation seems to give as much of a **** as we do, and the problem with nominating somebody is that that person is more or less guaranteed to be picked regardless of their form. Rooney's form so far this season does not justify a place in the starting XI right now, IMO.

 

 

We need to decide on a system that we are going to play and actually stick to it. There's no point chopping and changing all the time. We played a 4-5-1/4-3-3 system all through qualifying for the World Cup, then made a relatively late (but not completely mental given the personnel) switch to 4-2-3-1 in time for the tournament itself, and now we're back to a sort-of-fluid 4-4-2 with the midfield expanding and contracting to wide and narrow at various points. Apparently Trevor Brooking has said that all of the under-age teams are being brought through to play a 4-3-3 system - if that's the case, the seniors should be playing that as well. That way, when the kids become good enough to get in the seniors, they are well-versed in the system they're going to play.

 

 

The return of Theo Walcott will make a massive difference, I think. I don't think even Oxlade-Chamberlain himself knows whether he's a central midfielder with a bit of pace or a winger with a bit of strength anymore, he's got the attributes to be either, but when it comes to actually playing he just doesn't seem to perform for England. I think we're a decent side when we've got the ball, the problem is when we haven't got it. Our defenders are all reactionary rather than instinctive. Even John Terry, as good as he was in his prime, is one to throw his body in the way of everything rather than having the instinct and ability to simply be in the right place when it matters so such desperate defending isn't necessary. Rio Ferdinand was probably the best defender we've had in recent years because of his reading of the game and anticipation. I don't see many of the defenders in contention for the senior squad who have those sort of attributes, they all seem to be "recovery" defenders rather than "anticipation" ones. Perhaps Calum Chambers will become that sort of defender, but they can't throw him in there yet and expect it to happen overnight, which is why I thought it would have been better for him to be in the under-21s, which would still be a promotion for him.

 

Then of course we get onto the issue of the centre of midfield. Attacking midfielders seem to be plentiful, and we've got a few who can do a bit of everything, the likes of Henderson, Delph, Wilshere, etc, but none of them are disciplined enough to be that screen in front of the back 4. There's a case for saying that Jack Cork fits that bill, but unless he's playing regularly for us, I don't think anyone can realistically expect him to be getting a game for England. Gareth Barry would be a good option, I think, but for whatever reason he seems to be completely out of Hodgson's thinking. He had a terrible 2010 World Cup (along with many others), but from what I remember he was injured at the start of the tournament and evidently never got 100% fit before he got torn to bits by the Germans.

 

 

Depends what you mean by "struggle". We'll qualify for tournaments and then it's down to the draw and performances in those games. Expecting to win tournaments isn't realistic in the short term, nor has it been realistic since Euro 2004 when we did have a genuinely good team, and it does seem as if people have finally accepted this. One problem is that while some people are content to lessen their expectations, many take that as a sign that we're not ambitious enough and complain at every small detail. The same applies at club level, selling a player for ridiculous sums of money to a bigger club is seen as a club lacking ambition, rather than one taking a "one step backwards, two steps forward" approach by reinvesting that money sensibly, and not just chucking it down a drain.

Apart from the redknapp waffle thats pretty spot on in my assessment. Ideally however, Id hope someone has a word with Roy over the playing of a 433 variant in order to match with that of the lower age groups.

Completely agree with CM, there just isnt any strength there any more, worth noting that Cork was apparantly very close (closer than Clyne apparantly) but indeed I dont expect him to be a regular until he features more regularly for Saints. The striking department is a little weak IMO aswell, until someone grabs Rooney by the balls and explains to Sturridge this is primarily a team sport. My one hope here is either for Welbeck to flourish under Wenger (personally think he is better than Sturridge) or the lad at sunderland to finally fulfill his promise (unlikely)

Considering the vast majority of people in this country seem to have absolutely nothing but fluff in between their ears these days, I think it's a reasonable assertion to make.

 

It's only "worth mentioning" if there's a context, you're comparing apples with oranges.

Nah, comparing TV ratings, which is a fair comparison.

I personally reckon this England team is going to be a ratings disaster until Hodgson, Rooney or both are moved on.

So, the nation that invented association football would rather spend time watching its citizens bake stuff than watch their national team, to the tune of about 4m people.

 

Thought that was worth mentioning. I draw the line at doing your research for you. You're sure anyway, right? Unqualified certainty is surprisingly ok in 2014

Struggling to see any intellectual or cultural superiority or import of a meaningless late summer international football friendly versus an episode of a pretty well put together mass - appeal TV series.

I didn't watch either yesterday but I would suggest the quality of Bake Off as a program/piece of entertainment might just win out over England's pyrite generation puffing about in a match of no consequence whatsoever.

Struggling to see any intellectual or cultural superiority or import of a meaningless late summer international football friendly versus an episode of a pretty well put together mass - appeal TV series.

 

I didn't watch either yesterday but I would suggest the quality of Bake Off as a program/piece of entertainment might just win out over England's pyrite generation puffing about in a match of no consequence whatsoever.

I expect this is one of those incidents that bletch mentioned, in which you are simply cleverer than everyone else on the planet.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/sep/04/great-british-bake-off-bbc-ratings-itv-england-norway

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/england/11074627/Great-British-Bake-Off-thrashes-England-v-Norway-in-ratings-battle-after-Wembley-friendly-turns-off-viewers.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/england-vs-norway-audience-figures-well-beaten-by-great-british-bakeoff-9711086.html

https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/pitchside-europe/tv-cookery-fans-dish-out-ultimate-insult-for-england-team-093006527.html

http://www.theweek.co.uk/football/60261/desperate-england-cant-even-beat-the-great-british-bake-off

Well done, again.

By way of a proper comparison, I now have the figures from the Denmark game in March, a comparable friendly fixture against similarly mediocre Scandanavian opposition on a Wednesday night.

An average of 4.5m watched last night's game, compared to an average of 5.5m for the Denmark game, so a 20% decrease from March.

I expect this is one of those incidents that bletch mentioned, in which you are simply cleverer than everyone else on the planet.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/sep/04/great-british-bake-off-bbc-ratings-itv-england-norway

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/england/11074627/Great-British-Bake-Off-thrashes-England-v-Norway-in-ratings-battle-after-Wembley-friendly-turns-off-viewers.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/england-vs-norway-audience-figures-well-beaten-by-great-british-bakeoff-9711086.html

https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/pitchside-europe/tv-cookery-fans-dish-out-ultimate-insult-for-england-team-093006527.html

http://www.theweek.co.uk/football/60261/desperate-england-cant-even-beat-the-great-british-bake-off

 

Well done, again.

No idea what Bletch said about me. It's sweet that you do.

And no idea why you have searched, copied and pasted all those links which seem to be just repeating the point that, well, you made in the first place.

You're not a well man, are you?

By way of a proper comparison, I now have the figures from the Denmark game in March, a comparable friendly fixture against similarly mediocre Scandanavian opposition on a Wednesday night.

 

An average of 4.5m watched last night's game, compared to an average of 5.5m for the Denmark game, so a 20% decrease from March.

20% is a big decline; ask any business owner if he'd like to lose 20% of his or her customers in a year.

The decline at Wembley is even bigger; more like a 35% drop in attendance.

When Hodgson announced Rooney as captain, he heralded four more years of more of the same. Rooney, the player that probably needs to be dropped most, is now virtually undroppable. That'll make England virtually unwatchable, borne out by last night's viewing figures and the actual experience of watching the game.

No idea what Bletch said about me. It's sweet that you do.

 

And no idea why you have searched, copied and pasted all those links which seem to be just repeating the point that, well, you made in the first place.

 

You're not a well man, are you?

Just making the point that while you may struggle to spot the intellectual point of the comparison, others, including broadsheet newspapers, have done precisely that.

Now some might see that as evidence of something else. I'm choosing to use it as representative of your intellectual superiority over the rest of your species. Once again, well done.

Coming on here must be like a broadband router doing a stint as a 9600 baud modem. We all live in awe, y'know.

20% is a big decline; ask any business owner if he'd like to lose 20% of his or her customers in a year.

 

The decline at Wembley is even bigger; more like a 35% drop in attendance.

 

When Hodgson announced Rooney as captain, he heralded four more years of more of the same. Rooney, the player that probably needs to be dropped most, is now virtually undroppable. That'll make England virtually unwatchable, borne out by last night's viewing figures and the actual experience of watching the game.

So don't watch it, nobody's forcing you

Rooney won't be in the team in four years' time, Hodgson will retire after the Euros, Rooney will have surpassed Bobby Charlton's goalscoring record with hat tricks home and away against San Marino and a late consolation against France in the quarter-finals so he'll **** off as well.

Just making the point that while you may struggle to spot the intellectual point of the comparison, others, including broadsheet newspapers, have done precisely that.

 

Now some might see that as evidence of something else. I'm choosing to use it as representative of your intellectual superiority over the rest of your species. Once again, well done.

 

Coming on here must be like a broadband router doing a stint as a 9600 baud modem. We all live in awe, y'know.

I thought you hated the mainstream media?

Just a load of media filler on a nothing story. Popular show beats meaningless match. Gee fu cking Willikers.

I thought you hated the mainstream media?

 

Just a load of media filler on a nothing story. Popular show beats meaningless match. Gee fu cking Willikers.

I'm on mainstream media sites all the time; I just don't trust them as a sole source of news. It's good to see the skeptical side of Complete Bollócks though.

Run along and give this a proper reply.

http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?51659-September-One-Judgement-Day&p=2045053#post2045053

We're all waiting for further evidence of your intellectual superiority. Your chicken-shít act on the Judgement Day thread was therefore a disappointment.

I'm on mainstream media sites all the time; I just don't trust them as a sole source of news. It's good to see the skeptical side of Complete Bollócks though.

 

Run along and give this a proper reply.

 

http://www.saintsweb.co.uk/showthread.php?51659-September-One-Judgement-Day&p=2045053#post2045053

 

We're all waiting for further evidence of your intellectual superiority. Your chicken-shít act on the Judgement Day thread was therefore a disappointment.

I think we all know what sources you like, and the great resources you utilise.

Haven't clicked that link yet: no idea what I am supposed to have run away from. Hint: was probably busy.

Clicked the link. Um, I replied to it.

You really aren't well are you?

I think we all know what sources you like, and the great resources you utilise.

 

Haven't clicked that link yet: no idea what I am supposed to have run away from. Hint: was probably busy.

You replied to it, mucker. Your one-liner fooled no-one.

Fair dos, though. You get to maintain the delusion of being right. Everyone else gets a free picture of the forum bully running away from himself.

You replied to it, mucker. Your one-liner fooled no-one.

 

Fair dos, though. You get to maintain the delusion of being right. Everyone else gets a free picture of the forum bully running away from himself.

You are effing nuts mate.

As I said I couldn't even remember the post you were on about. If people want to character assassinate me they have my blessing. I replied to that post.

I think I might slowly back out of the room, maintaining eye contact at all times. Cuckoo. Cuckoo.

You are effing nuts mate.

 

As I said I couldn't even remember the post you were on about. If people want to character assassinate me they have my blessing. I replied to that post.

 

I think I might slowly back out of the room, maintaining eye contact at all times. Cuckoo. Cuckoo.

Don't go to any extra effort on my account. Your usual "brave Sir Robin" act is just fine.

If you wanted to finesse it a little, you could make like your chicken power animal and cluck off.

I reckon an average Swiss team could give us a bit of a beating on Monday.

If the result of this is Roy getting sacked, then it won't be a bad thing. He is an extremely poor England boss.

I reckon an average Swiss team could give us a bit of a beating on Monday.

We may well lose on Monday, but this is probably the best Swiss team in their history (not saying a massive amount, admittedly, but they are no mugs), and let's face it, this qualifying campaign is the dictionary definition of "going through the motions". We'll beat all four of the other teams in our group, and it doesn't matter whether we top the group or not as both qualify automatically.

If the result of this is Roy getting sacked, then it won't be a bad thing. He is an extremely poor England boss.

Who would you replace him with? Assuming the FA wants to stick with an Englishman, there really are no outstanding candidates.

Agree steve, and unfortunately any new boss woud have to work with the same grouo of players who, right now, arent good enough

We may well lose on Monday, but this is probably the best Swiss team in their history (not saying a massive amount, admittedly, but they are no mugs), and let's face it, this qualifying campaign is the dictionary definition of "going through the motions". We'll beat all four of the other teams in our group, and it doesn't matter whether we top the group or not as both qualify automatically.

 

 

Who would you replace him with? Assuming the FA wants to stick with an Englishman, there really are no outstanding candidates.

Roberto Martinez must be sorta English by now?

We may well lose on Monday, but this is probably the best Swiss team in their history (not saying a massive amount, admittedly, but they are no mugs), and let's face it, this qualifying campaign is the dictionary definition of "going through the motions". We'll beat all four of the other teams in our group, and it doesn't matter whether we top the group or not as both qualify automatically.

 

 

Who would you replace him with? Assuming the FA wants to stick with an Englishman, there really are no outstanding candidates.

Hodgson isn't outstanding. Maybe we need to go for someone English who actually played international football. Not really bothered whether they have had managerial experience at club level.

Hodgson isn't outstanding. Maybe we need to go for someone English who actually played international football. Not really bothered whether they have had managerial experience at club level.

Joey Barton. He knows his left backs.

Good piece on Wayne Rooney here. Harsh but fair.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/sep/05/wayne-rooney-england-captain

...too often recently Rooney has clogged the movement ahead of him in a system where he is no longer the best No10 or the best No9. Instead he seems to present a kind of roving black hole, the dark heart of this England team around which so much hopeful effort seems to flounder, and so much angst from the periphery coalesce.