Sven - and my first post!

[Willow]

This thread is far to sensible for an england national team debate


for the record I agree with all you dave the gaffer types out there.

sven has got to have another pop at a competition and with his record he might just take us all the way. anyone who can say he is shit is talking out of their arrrrrrrrrrse

Seconded. Totally agree with everything the Gaffer has said on this thread. People need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Considering how many overseas players we have in the premiership now, I think we are very lucky to have a half decent team. Ten years down the line we could be another Scotland.

We won. Enjoy the moment.

 

[Schrödinger's Toad]

We've asked him to show guts and make the hard decisions, and he has, at least as regards Smith & James. Now he has to decide whether Owen or Defoe makes way, whether King or Terry (or neither) stays and whether Wright-Phillips gets in the team if he keeps up his form. Promising, at least.

 

[alan partridge]

what really pisses me off about the criticisms is that a lot of them are the same problems England has had throughout our history.

Looney summed it up perfectly before the portugal game...and now i have forgotten what he said. something about having a 'f*** up' gene. we've always had it, we play like world beating warriors one match then like beryl reid visiting alan bennett on a sunday for tea the next. Its England, Sven has done a great job of bring a little consistency to the national team.

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

I'm perfectly happy with sven as manager. As has been mentioned above, he's only lost two competitive games, and both of those our goalkeeper had a helping hand in...
He's turned over the germans in their own back yard (when beating germany was still an achievement)
He beat 'the cheating argies' in the world cup
He was two minutes away from beating the french
he's gone up against big mouthed world cup semi-finalists and saw them off with ease
And he's made the quater-finals of the two major championships he's been involved in.

How many england managers have a better record?(footballwise, not women. his choice of women is frankly appalling)

So, to sum up i agree with everything dave the gaffer, and all the 'dtg types', have said.

 

[NMH]

Brazil battered us in the second half and we hardly got a kick as I recall.

Brazil at that time were the best team in the world and went on to win the tournement, we quite clearly were not.

Sven's fault?

France game was very unfortunate as we played well for most of the game, but let it slip in the last few minutes with a piece of sheer genious from Zidane and complete idiocy from James.

Svens fault?

Portugal we were under the cosh from the moment we scored our first and the goal was coming. In fact we went behind in that game and managed to scrape an equaliser when being totally outplayed. We had a goal dissallowed somewhat contraversially, Portugal went on to lose in the final.

Svens fault?

Austria, we went two nil up...cruising it. The forward scored a remarkable free kick ( as Beckham has done many a time) and James let in a soft goal. We had chances to wrap it up before then but Sven doesn't kick the ball...Smith and Owen do.

Svens fault?

First of all, Brazil weren't even the best team in South America at that time! Their fans fully expected to lose to England, and they were lucky to even qualify. STOP kissing Brazil's arses, they aren't worthy. WE let them off the hook, gave them unnecessary respect, and SVEN is accountable. When our side was devoid of guts and determination and nobody was taking them on - he needed to put Joe on and change the mood of those hangdogs on the pitch.

The France game was not "unfortunate". We played into their hands by letting off the gas in injury time. We failed MISERABLY to defend a lead. Beckham took a pen against his club goallie and Sven put his bald pate in his hands. He tells his team nothing toward the end of that game when they needed some steeling up. He sat there like a lemon. He's a TWAT.

Portugal we shouldn't have been 'under the cosh'. What, do you think things just 'happen' to England? We were on the same pitch and could have done something about the midfield after Rooney got injured - but the gaps were so spacious we invited the hosts to attack. Becks does NOT inspire anyone but himself as a captain - and he went awol for that one. Er.....can I not intimate that the effing MANAGER has some responsibility for taking matters up as they happen?

Playing James at all is a sign that someone doesn't know what a goallie looks like. With our players at this time, we should have a good record, regardless of manager. What Sven does is attempt to select the better players and allow those players to play in their best positions - but tactically he's poor, and James is WELL documented as a dodgy keeper regardless of the one or two good games he's had.

We have to get used to the realisation that we'll win nothing for several more years, following the preceding decades of same (unless we count the little Tournoi De France when we were imperious). Coulda shoulda. Oh well, thanks in advance Sven for getting us to a couple more quarter finals, along with the occasional 'surprise' team like a Costa Rica or a Korea or something.

England expects too much of a team that is better than Brazil ....and the rest.
Still, it's not like we invented the bloody game though, is it?

 

[NMH]

Ten years down the line we could be another Scotland.

We won. Enjoy the moment.

We are already another Germany, so yes, we might well become another Scotland.

We snagged a jammy own-goal and pinched a win at Poland's place, and I did enjoy the moment. Perhaps we could also say "this is what we wanted, we can retire now as happy supporters" and forget the next 12 games.

England expects.

...well, this Englishman does anyway.

 

[graz126]

before i saw the slagging james had recieved. i thought sven had given in to fan pressure and was getting a bit desperate to please. (i do prefer robinson).
but now i am thinking james confidance had been knocked by paper slagging and that is why he changed keeper.
i have been saying for a long time now about playing cole and bridge on the left, but i must admit i was think of playing bridge at left back and cole as left midfielder. but to give sven his due, last night looked the strongest and most balanced the left has in many years. so maybe playing bridge in front of cole of was the better option.
it meant they had a bridge to cross to get to our cole.