Croatia vs England Match discussion

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Jaysis, a hat-trick for Walcott?

Well done England.

Benedict XVI

Des wrote: »

Why?

'Beacuse we will never hear the end of it from the Brit media' I suspect will be the usual pathetic answer

OPENROAD

Thank God Theo is off now:P

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Benedict XVI wrote: »

'Beacuse we will never hear the end of it from the Brit media' I suspect will be the usual pathetic answer

Well, fair play to them. Croatia have had a hex over England for a couple of years now and England have put that emphatically to bed tonight.

stovelid

Looking like a serious result for them. Fair play.

eddiehead wrote: »

€500 on England to beat Croatia away? that was brave of him

Why do I feel that he may lose more often than he wins?

eZe^

eddiehead wrote: »

€500 on England to beat Croatia away? that was brave of him

I think the bet was made in dollars though. He's 1/2 French, 1/2 Italian and living in Egypt. So quite frankly, he's a lunatic. :pac:

Culchie

Benedict XVI wrote: »

'Beacuse we will never hear the end of it from the Brit media' I suspect will be the usual pathetic answer

It's a pity for all our sakes, including Englands, that a media blackout couldn't be enforced.

Great result though in fairness, and they're look like a real team now.

ironingbored

Des wrote: »

Why?

Because I hate seeing england win.

stovelid

ironingbored wrote: »

Because I hate seeing england win.

Don't watch or listen to it then. Better still, avoid this forum as British football teams are often discussed.

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Culchie wrote: »

It's a pity for all our sakes, including Englands, that a media blackout couldn't be enforced.

Nobody is forcing you to watch British TV or read British papers.

If you chose to do that, you can't complain about the content. You know what you are going to get when you turn on SSN/BBC/ITV or pick up the Oirish tabs tomorrow.

ironingbored wrote: »

Because I hate seeing england win.

What club team do you support?

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Game over.

Get in.

ironictoaster

woop for bigotry and all that.

monkey9

eZe^ wrote: »

I think the bet was made in dollars though. He's 1/2 French, 1/2 Italian and living in Egypt. So quite frankly, he's a lunatic. :pac:

He should have put money on Luxembourg to beat Switzerland away, easily predictable

ironingbored

Des wrote: »

Nobody is forcing you to watch British TV or read British papers.

If you chose to do that, you can't complain about the content. You know what you are going to get when you turn on SSN/BBC/ITV or pick up the Oirish tabs tomorrow.


What club team do you support?

Juventus.

Wouldn't really want to see Capello doing either for obvious reasons.

Mr.Nice Guy

Wow that's an emphatic result for England. I did think they could nick a win but definitely not by that kind of margin.

CiaranC

Nice result for the Engerland

FrankGrimes

Fair play to England - first time in a long time I've watched them and been genuinely impressed. Forget the media, this performance speaks for itself. It doesn't make them World Champions-elect, but it restores a lot of confidence and gives them real momentum to build from.

Like Ireland, I think England tonight showed a sense of purpose instilled by their new manager and they don't look as lopsided as in recent times so fair play to them.

eddiehead

ironingbored wrote: »

Because I hate seeing england win.

Des wrote: »

Why?

Im sure Des wont mind me quoting him here

eZe^

monkey9 wrote: »

He should have put money on Luxembourg to beat Switzerland away, easily predictable

I know, or Finland drawing with Germany 3-3... Even more predictable... :pac:

stovelid

Culchie wrote: »

It's a pity for all our sakes, including Englands, that a media blackout couldn't be enforced.

Bear in mind that our own media thinks a WC goal from 20 years ago should be cause for a national celebration now. Or still can't shut up about getting to a WC quarter-final - scoring 2 goals from open play en-route - 18 years ago.

Boggles

Thread title should be changed to "The Wayne Rooney Show - Discussion"

In a word Awesome!

Walcott wasn't bad either.

eagle eye

Great performance and to me the big centre forward on his own up front is the way to go for England. That brings the best out of their undoubted class in midfield.
Great show England and Fabio Capello.

ShiverinEskimo

Great result for them. And Rooney seems to have certainly found his stride - which can only be good for us heading to Anfield.

Should keep the fans happy for some time aswell - already seeing mention of the similarities with the 5-1 over Germany in the media too which should give the england (media) haters plenty to moan about.

PHB

Good performance. Getting the best out of Rooney by playing him off a front man is a great move. The best way to go. Since he created a goal and scored, it did him well.

The question however, is whether or not this was a choice, or did it come about through injuries? Is he going to stick with this team, or revert back to Gerrard in the middle? Against better teams imo, Walcott wouldn't get as much space and Heskey isn't as effective, but Lampard put in a solid display, but once Gerrard is back, people will want him in there. Questions still to be answered I think.

stovelid

PHB wrote: »

Good performance. Getting the best out of Rooney by playing him off a front man is a great move. The best way to go.

Hopefully AF was taking note of this for Saturday.

PHB

p.s. Surprise surprise, Terry at fault for another goal for England. No defensive midfielder protecting him never bodes well

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Just looking at the highlights, that was a very harsh red card, imo.

ShiverinEskimo

Des wrote: »

Just looking at the highlights, that was a very harsh red card, imo.

I think a fair yellow became became a harsh red when the ref saw the state of Cole's head after the challenge

chalad07

ironingbored wrote: »

Because I hate seeing england win.

Jesus - Get over it,

Well played England, good game.

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Heh, wouldn't mind cheering that sad looking Croatian girl at the end there.

Hint of offside for Walcott's third?

ironingbored

How very kind of you to refer to me a Jesus. However, you're mistaken, I'm an atheist.

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Anyone got a link to the goals from this game?

cournioni

ironingbored wrote: »

How very kind of you to refer to me a Jesus. However, you're mistaken, I'm an atheist.

You fail at humour.

Well played england... Credit given where it's due.

joe123

great now the english will hype their team up to no end and think they are the best in the world again. They remind me of the way dublin go in regards to winning sam each year.

Id like to see england in the world cup but the way the fans/media hype the team up is laughable and yet extremly annoying.

OPENROAD

joe123 wrote: »

great now the english will hype their team up to no end and think they are the best in the world again. They remind me of the way dublin go in regards to winning sam each year.

Id like to see england in the world cup but the way the fans/media hype the team up is laughable and yet extremly annoying.

as someone suggested earlier, don't buy English newspapers etc.. actually I don'y buy this media hype /fans thing.

PHB

Somebody tell me he doesn't like like a clay figure in this photo

leninbenjamin

well well well, little Theo Walcott who many people said didn't deserve to be included in the squad, let alone get near the starting lineup, gets a hattrick. pissed off England won, but delighted it was Walcott who got the goals. will pretty much shut up all those in the England squad who were continually doubting him (Gerrard in particular is supposed to have given him a very hard time) and should give him a massive confidence boost. more of that Theo please.

fair play to Rooney as well, again he's deserved it just for the criticism.

on the red; by the book he led with the elbow so it was a sending off. it's pretty obvious he didn't intend it, but either way the damage was done. it's because of incidents like that the rules are in place. tough but fair imo.

Boggles

joe123 wrote: »

great now the english will hype their team up to no end and think they are the best in the world again.

I doubt it, the genuine journalists are still very dubious about the England setup fullstop. Don't read the ****é. They still require a centre forward and need to sort out there midfield.

That said they did hammer a team that has never been beaten at home in a competive match. Not bad at all.

joe123

OPENROAD wrote: »

as someone suggested earlier, don't buy English newspapers etc.. actually I don'y buy this media hype /fans thing.

Its kind of hard when the main channels for sport are bbc and sky sports!

What ya mean ya dont buy the media/hype fans thing??

OPENROAD

joe123 wrote: »

Its kind of hard when the main channels for sport are bbc and sky sports!

What ya mean ya dont buy the media/hype fans thing??

why does the hype annoy you?

eagle eye

I just wonder what horrific back page headline will appear tomorrow? Was gonna put up a few but can't be bothered lowering my English to that inventive level.:rolleyes:

joe123

OPENROAD wrote: »

why does the hype annoy you?

It annoys me because they start talking as if their team is the best in the world. Sky sports will probably be listing odds on Englands chances of winning the world cup and you'l have football focus on the bbc dedicated to them talking about how good england were and ray stubbs or whoever will probably ask lee dixon do you think this team can win the world cup and he will reply with a yes.

Its the same with dublin every year. Pages and pages dedicated to their chances and how good they are.

All the while Ill be sitting there thinking "its one game and they were down to ten men". Fair play they did well but the onslaught of hype and false hope ( for now anyways) will just get too much.

Have you ever listend to some of the ****e Alan Shearer,Ian Wright and Jamie Redknapp spout when it comes to england? Problem is theres no alternative. At least for the champions league we have Bill O' and co.:)

OPENROAD

joe123 wrote: »

It annoys me because they start talking as if their team is the best in the world. Sky sports will probably be listing odds on Englands chances of winning the world cup and you'l have football focus on the bbc dedicated to them talking about how good england were and ray stubbs or whoever will probably ask lee dixon do you think this team can win the world cup and he will reply with a yes.

Its the same with dublin every year. Pages and pages dedicated to their chances and how good they are.

All the while Ill be sitting there thinking "its one game and they were down to ten men". Fair play they did well but the onslaught of hype and false hope ( for now anyways) will just get too much.

Have you ever listend to some of the ****e Alan Shearer,Ian Wright and Jamie Redknapp spout when it comes to england? Problem is theres no alternative. At least for the champions league we have Bill O' and co.:)

Honestly don't think it is as bad as you make it out to be, certainly in recent years, Alan Shearer has been very critical of England consistently, most in the English media realise that the English players are not as technically gifted as others. As for RTE many a time they have hyped up Ireland over the years, Eamo once said that Ireland could beat anyone. Do you remember the days when Ireland did reasonably well and they were opening bottles of champaigne in the studio at full time.

Listening to phone ins tonight they are certainly not building themselves up, yes they are celebrating an excellent result and why shouldn't they.

CiaranC

Just dont watch it. Its not hard.

eagle eye

joe123 wrote: »

It annoys me because they start talking as if their team is the best in the world. Sky sports will probably be listing odds on Englands chances of winning the world cup and you'l have football focus on the bbc dedicated to them talking about how good england were and ray stubbs or whoever will probably ask lee dixon do you think this team can win the world cup and he will reply with a yes.

Its the same with dublin every year. Pages and pages dedicated to their chances and how good they are.

All the while Ill be sitting there thinking "its one game and they were down to ten men". Fair play they did well but the onslaught of hype and false hope ( for now anyways) will just get too much.

Have you ever listend to some of the ****e Alan Shearer,Ian Wright and Jamie Redknapp spout when it comes to england? Problem is theres no alternative. At least for the champions league we have Bill O' and co.:)

Its funny alright and its certainly going to happen after this game. The thing is that they do have the players to mount a serious World Cup bid if they don't go back to playing two midfield generals in the one team again. As far as the centre forward is concerned, and I said it before that game, you have Heskey, Ashton and Agbonlahor who can play that spot. All three would be in my panel because that is the way England should play. They have so many goals in their midfield that they don't need an out and out goalscorer up front.
In fairness they were ahead when the player was sent off and I do think they would have won it anyways but not by as much.
It was an impressive performance.

leninbenjamin

eagle eye wrote: »

Its funny alright and its certainly going to happen after this game. The thing is that they do have the players to mount a serious World Cup bid if they don't go back to playing two midfield generals in the one team again. As far as the centre forward is concerned, and I said it before that game, you have Heskey, Ashton and Agbonlahor who can play that spot. All three would be in my panel because that is the way England should play. They have so many goals in their midfield that they don't need an out and out goalscorer up front.
In fairness they were ahead when the player was sent off and I do think they would have won it anyways but not by as much.
It was an impressive performance.

I agree, with a good manager England have a squad as good as any ones. I mean, look at Spain who won the Euros. some seriously good attackers, but most of their defenders wouldn't make the England Squad, (with the possible exception of Sergio Ramos, although he's still very hot and cold).

the idea that England have severe weaknesses in their squad, it's more a case of not having a manager mentally strong enough to pick the best team instead of the best players.

defence is sound, midfield is sound as long as they don't pick both Lampard and Gerrard, the wings are sound with Cole, Young and Bentley, SWP and now Walcott's laid a claim. Upfront perhaps the weakest, but Heskey and Ashton are no pushovers, and then you've the likes of Rooney, Owen, Defoe, and you've Crouch as well who's an absolute nightmare for any defender to play against even if he isn't the most prolific striker. Why that squad shouldn't be contenders for the next major tournament has me baffled.

OPENROAD

Anyone think that Owen could still find his way back into the team?

leninbenjamin

OPENROAD wrote: »

Anyone think that Owen could still find his way back into the team?

i'd be surprised if he does personally. a Rooney-Owen combo doesn't really work for me, not since Owen has lost that yard or pace. I'd be looking to find that partner for Rooney ahead of Owen, they need a more physical presence up there to get the knockdowns for Rooney. and with options like Walcott, SWP and Young for the wings i think they aren't need of anyone with real pace upfront.

eagle eye

leninbenjamin wrote: »

i'd be surprised if he does personally. a Rooney-Owen combo doesn't really work for me, not since Owen has lost that yard or pace. I'd be looking to find that partner for Rooney ahead of Owen, they need a more physical presence up there to get the knockdowns for Rooney. and with options like Walcott, SWP and Young for the wings i think they aren't need of anyone with real pace upfront.

Personally if I was picking a squad and putting four strikers in it, I would probably have Owen if/when he gets fit, along with the three I mentioned. I think you need to have someone like him for those times when its just not going right. He would never start for me though, as it would be one of the big players up front with Rooney just behind. I think Agbonlahor should be in there as he is still young and improving, and if he got into the panel now, knowing the type of centre forward that the manager needs, it gives him time to work on parts of his game and I think he would only improve for it. Also the thing is that Heskey is getting on now and Ashton has a terrible record with injury so he will be needed. I don't really like Crouch at all, he is what 6'7" and he is terrible in the air which is funny really and while he holds the ball up ok, I just don't like his awkwardness.

chalad07

Des wrote: »

Anyone got a link to the goals from this game?

http://www.footytube.com/ - good site for highlights, not sure how long they'll be up for though. Sometime they're taken down,

Jesus the old 'we'll never hear the end of this' type attitude rears it's head again. At this stage we all surly realize that the tabloid media are going to sensationalize football the same way they do everything else in this world. If you don't like the **** that we know is going to appear on the back page of the Sun then don't buy it. Simple.

Edit: This site may be better, i'm having trouble with the above: http://www.mightyfootball.com/category/fifa-world-cup-2010/