Engerland in Crisis ?

gandalf · 06-09-2004 12:03am #1

Well after their draw with Austria the knives are out again for the lustful Swede. I reckon his time is now numbered and there is a very strong chance that the Poles could provide the result to end his reign as England Manager.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/3629222.stm

Pigman II · 06-09-2004 12:05am

The only pole Sven needs to worry about is the one in his pants.

jesus_thats_gre · 06-09-2004 12:06am

That result was the last thing he needed after the affair crap.. Poor Sven..

Big Ears · 06-09-2004 12:13am

id give the Poles a good chance of a win , especially with James in goal (I don't think he's mentally right in games after he's made a mistake in the previous match) .

Still the FA will struggle to sack him due to the compensation he would have to be paid , what they really want is for him to quit .

So we could see England with 1 point from 2 games going into a must win game with Wales having a poor manager that the FA don't want .

I think Olisadebe(if he playes) will score 2 in a 2-0 win for Poland .
What are the odds for England not qualifying , because I could be very interested in that bet .

mayordenis · 06-09-2004 12:39am

how can they stay loyal to beckham he is actually just a bad footballer.

The Muppet · 06-09-2004 8:08am

The English are so fickle If they lose Wednesday they will sack him but if they win he will be hailed as a great manager. I think Svens days have been numbered since he was found out tactically in Portugal and the next poor run for England will see him sacked but I think the team will lift itself for Poland and get the result needed to save him for now.

Big Nelly · 06-09-2004 8:44am

Ok just listening to BBC 1 and tell me if this is true cause didnt watch game! was playin scrabble! anyway they where saying that when Gerrard was interviewed at the end of the game he was askin how was his injury! he replied sayin he had no injury....then they asked why he was taken off.....he said he seen Wayne Bridge limping and waved at the bench!! Sven da spanner though he wanted to come off so took him off but he had no problem :rolleyes:

Not sure if this is a piss take but if it is for real England r f**ked....wat sort of a dope do they have for manager!!

Anyway who cares!! go on da boys in Green!!!!

PHB · 06-09-2004 9:52am

Becks still provides at least 3 or 4 quality chances a game, every game.
When he has a good game he provides 20 of them.
He is completely marked out of it every match and gives the rest of the team space because of his reputation.
There is no english right wing player who is as consistant at him at that sorta level

The Rooster · 06-09-2004 10:00am

You're being very generous there to Becks PHB!

But a 2-2 draw away to one of your main rivals is not a bad result. Yes, the way it happened was calamitous, but even if England only draw in Poland they're still going to win the group.

Its not a great group. England will get maximum points at home - the only team I'd give any chance of getting something would be Wales, because of the derby factor.

The Gerrard subsititution was a ridiculous situation alright, but I would put it down to "one of those things". I wouldnt read anything into it - a simple misunderstanding, with nobody really to blame.

Pepe LeFrits · 06-09-2004 10:11am

He really should have tried the 5-3-2 in one of their friendlies, the players england have are very well suited for it.

As for Sven, tactically and motivationally, he's useless. He's good at spotting talent and gaining the player's trust, which is good for a club manager, but not so much so for an international one.

Big Nelly · 06-09-2004 12:06pm

The Rooster wrote:

But a 2-2 draw away to one of your main rivals is not a bad result

Dont see how you can class Austria as a main rival......u must think Poland and Wales are terrible....>Austria are ranked 90th in the world......terrible team....even NI think they will be above them in the final table......

The Rooster · 06-09-2004 12:12pm

I said one of their rivals, not their rival.

The fact is the challengers for second place are Austria, Wales and Poland. Very little between any of them. None near as good as England, but the 3 are their only rivals to top spot.

Unfortunately for Northern Ireland, they have no chance of finishing ahead of Austria. They'll do well to finish ahead of Azerbaijan, and given the Azeri's home record, even that may prove beyond them. Though I wouldnt be overly shocked if NornIron picked up points against Wales, the derby effect again.

thejollyrodger · 06-09-2004 4:05pm

England has always been an average side. Fair enough they won the world cup back in 66 but really that isnt the modern era.

England, by its nature, is a nation of averages. Their national side are no different. They build the team and manger up and then it all end up in tears.

I think its the usual story is that they start off, 4 points will do in the first 2 games. Then it's, oh we have such a brilliant team I expect nothing less than 2 wins. When they get a draw its a diaster. They should beat Poland but I think Svens days are numered either way, the english media cants just concentrate on the football.

mike65 · 06-09-2004 4:09pm

As much as it pains me I could live with Poland thumping England if it guarenteed Sven getting the chop but sadly it wont as the FA are...well, the FA.

Mike.

eirebhoy · 06-09-2004 9:35pm

I'll stick my neck out and say that England would have won (and also would have did better in Portugal) if Butt was fit. Lampard is seriously overrated and is only doing more bad than good by forcing Gerrard into a defensive role. He gets away with so much when he gets a goal. With Butt injured Sven should have went for another holding midfielder like Ledley King and stuck Carragher at the back.

Its only a matter of time before Lampard gets found out, it took Beckham a while.

vorbis · 07-09-2004 12:19am

by that logic eirebhoy, ever player is waiting to be found out :rolleyes:
After all it took 12 years to find Zidane out...

eirebhoy · 07-09-2004 12:06pm

vorbis wrote:

by that logic eirebhoy, ever player is waiting to be found out :rolleyes:
After all it took 12 years to find Zidane out...

What logic? I've seen Lampard play a load of times and he is completely overrated. No logic involved.

The Muppet · 07-09-2004 12:11pm

eirebhoy wrote:

What logic? I've seen Lampard play a load of times and he is completely overrated. No logic involved.

I agree with Eirebhoy on this one. The way the media go on about him you would think he is the next Zidane or something. He's not a bad player but has done nothing yet to merit the hype published about him .

Dont be at yourself · 07-09-2004 1:22pm

England Player In Being Overhyped Shocker.

daveirl · 07-09-2004 1:52pm

This post has been deleted.

Pepe LeFrits · 07-09-2004 4:41pm

With all players fit, I think this looks a lot better than what they are fielding these days...

..................... Robinson

......... Woodgate .. Campbell .. Ferdinand
Wright P .................................... Cole

....................... Butt
............ Gerrard ........ Lampard 

................. Rooney
......................... Defoe

Dont be at yourself · 07-09-2004 7:24pm

SWP as a wing-back?

With a fully fit squad, midfield is their only area of concern. I reckon a lot of this stems from Beckham. As an attacking midfielder, he's not delivering - and Sven, unable or unwilling to drop him, is sacrificing defensive balance to compensate for Beckham's increasingly through-the-motions performances.

I'd like to see Beckham dropped (if only for a game or two to get him motivated), with a midfield of Wright-Philips, Butt, Gerrard and Joe Cole. Butt and Gerrard would be a much stronger midfield, especially with SWP and JC relieving Stevie G of much of his attacking duties. Gerrard is much better at breaking down and distributing play than he is at providing the creative spark.

Pepe LeFrits · 07-09-2004 7:44pm

NekkidBibleMan wrote:

SWP as a wing-back?

He plays as wing-back for City.

Dont be at yourself · 07-09-2004 8:16pm

Since when?

Any game I've seen him play, he's been on the right or supporting Anelka.

Pepe LeFrits · 07-09-2004 8:21pm

He plays on the right hand side of a 3-5-2 (5-3-2).

http://www.bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk/squad-desc.asp?id=24

Dont be at yourself · 07-09-2004 8:27pm

I stand corrected. He's still a bit shit defensively though, certainly wouldn't be giving him defensive duties in an international team.

jesus_thats_gre · 07-09-2004 8:37pm

kaids wrote:

With all players fit, I think this looks a lot better than what they are fielding these days...

..................... Robinson

......... Woodgate .. Campbell .. Ferdinand
Wright P .................................... Cole

....................... Butt
............ Gerrard ........ Lampard 

................. Rooney
......................... Defoe

Why would you play a Butt with the three of the best CBs in the world.. Overkill

Pepe LeFrits · 07-09-2004 8:41pm

It might not be necessary but knowing Gerrard and Lampard they'd still probably need someone to track players making deep runs from midfield.

If it makes you feel better, you could stick Beckham in there

eirebhoy · 07-09-2004 8:43pm

jesus_thats_gre wrote:

Why would you play a Butt with the three of the best CBs in the world.. Overkill

He's the best holder England have. Surely England's recent performances without Butt proves you need a holding midfielder in the team. They had less possession against every team at Euro 2004 with the possible exception of Croatia.

Big Ears · 07-09-2004 9:47pm

You could have the best centre-backs in the World and the best attacking misfielders , but without a holding midfielder you wouild be caught out...........REGULARY .

jesus_thats_gre · 08-09-2004 12:14am

If you are gonna play butt, you only play with two CBs...

The Muppet · 08-09-2004 8:10am

What has Butt done in the last to years to merit all the confidence heaped on him here. The last time I saw him play he was finding it difficult to complete a decent pass . I would not play Butt. Parker was showing great promise until his move to chelski and if he could get regular football I think he could be good enough. I would not play Wright phillips at right back either as he is not an International quality defender and would leave you very open there when he goes on his runs.

The Rooster · 08-09-2004 11:05am

I think Nicky Butt peaked at the world cup and has been on a slippery slope formwise since then. Lets not forget that Ferguson regularly picked Phil Neville ahead of him last year in central midfield, and rated Djemba Djemba higher than him this year. And he's done little to help Newcastle's defensive frailties this year (maybe nobody could).

Of course there is a lack of good English defensive midfielders out there. But so long as Frank works hard and gets stuck in, England probably could do no better than Gerrard and Lampard.

DamoRed · 08-09-2004 6:06pm

It looks like Calamity could be for the chop after all

http://www.teamtalk.com/teamtalk/News/Top_Stories/0,7889,0,00.html

Dont be at yourself · 08-09-2004 6:12pm

Which just goes to show you that the media have more of a say than the coach when it comes to picking the England team. :rolleyes:

Dont be at yourself · 08-09-2004 6:44pm

It's official, Robinson and Defoe to start ahead of James and Smith.

Pepe LeFrits · 08-09-2004 6:53pm

NekkidBibleMan wrote:

Which just goes to show you that the media have more of a say than the coach when it comes to picking the England team. :rolleyes:

But are you really surprised? It's blindingly obvious that Sven is more concerned with everyone liking him than creating a winning football team.

Wright-Phillips' performances recently have suggested that he is very capable of performing at international level. The point of the 3 centre-backs is that it affords the wing backs more freedom to get forward, while the pace of the wing-backs allows them to quickly get back into position if attack turns into defence. It would provide England with lots of width also, which is something they sorely lack at the moment.

I've been reasonably impressed with Butt so far this season, not so much so with Beckham. Scott Parker would have been a better choice had he not committed career hari-kiri (at least as it currently seems) by joining Chelsea. Ledley King might do a job there I suppose.

therecklessone · 08-09-2004 9:34pm

NekkidBibleMan wrote:

Which just goes to show you that the media have more of a say than the coach when it comes to picking the England team. :rolleyes:

Do you think James deserved another chance? He is clanger-prone, and Robinson's had a good start to the season for Spurs, especially at St. James Park where he was bombarded with shots.

Looks like SGE has been given some breathing space, with one of his changes (Defoe) helping him out. Can't see James getting back into the team TBH.

Dont be at yourself · 08-09-2004 10:30pm

While I don't rate James as a keeper (I'm a Liverpool fan with too many memories of his blunders), I think that dropping him after conceding the soft goal against Austria was a terrible decision. It'll completely destroy his confidence and I'll be surprised if he pulls on an England shirt again.

I'd also take issue with the manner in which he was dropped. You don't feed the press quotes about not making changes, then apparently give in to the media's bullying of the player hours before kick-off.

Engerland in Crisis ?

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