Guy Fawkes
The voice of treason
- Sep 29, 2007
- 8,288
But by far our worst game was against Russia. Had they been sitting back against us they wouldn't have equalised would they? A second goal would have put them away. We dominated the game without our centre forward looking like scoring, nicked one from a set piece and then set back.
They were losing, of course it changes the Russian tactics, but we were still forcing them back for most of the game and they got lucky at the death with an undeserved equaliser. Their equaliser came from a free-kick so they had sent a few more forward for the set piece in the last couple of minutes because they knew they had nothing to lose at that point but everything to gain
I'd like to see the diamond with 2 up top. That would give is the best chance of playing our best players, Kane, Rashford, Sturridge and Vardy included (two starting and two from the bench. I don't understand why we've suddenly dropped it but I suspect it's because he's bottled it at the sight of a major tournament. But if you think I'm saying Roy should go then you haven't read the thread properly. I said he was AVERAGE. He'll do. He's ok. He's the "satisfactory" mark in a work appraisal. I actually said just before you quoted me that there isn't a better English manager, which is a sad indictment on our game and the FA's supposed development of it. Would Allerdyce be better? No. Would Klopp, Ranieri or Guardiola? Of course, but I even acknowledged you wouldn't tempt them from club football. We just have to accept that the current squad with the current manager is around about an out at the quarter final stage team.
We've been the best team by a long way in each of our fixtures, we've played well but failed to get the scorelines our performances merited. That happens in football (did we get the right scoreline for the 2nd leg of the play-offs against Sheffield Wednesday, or did they deserve the draw at half time / full time? - yes if you only base your assessment on the result only as you appear to)
Any of the other managers you mentioned may have ended up with the same results (or worse) because the players failed to take their chances in the game. The tactics are meaning we are dominating the fixtures in everything but scoreline.
The team on paper should be full of goals but we haven't been clinical enough when the chances arrived, is that the fault of the manager? is he telling them to shoot differently? or are they just faltering and failing to convert. The alternatives? drop / don't call up the best strikers we have in this country (because they haven't been scoring enough in this tournament) and call up who exactly? - players who have done very little all season? - there isn't a lot of depth in this country to pick from
Your best chance of winning knock out football is to be in the easiest part of the draw against the weaker sides from the group stage.
And who knew (seeing that we played first) that the draw would work out the way it has with Spain failing to top the group and ending up in our half of the draw?
Maybe playing against the better sides will suit us, they will come out and attack us because they too believe that they can win the game and it will leave more space for us to attack in and not face a team with 11 behind the ball for the vast majority of the game (which is what would have probably happened in the other half of the draw)