A few points from me...
1. Anyone that expects or even thinks we are anywhere near world-beaters has not been watching English football with their brain in-gear for about 15-20yrs
2. Better performance tonight, actually did enough to win it IMO
3. The defining comment for me about England's football future was from the commentator on ITV tonight...words to the effect that Costa Rica were supposed to be the whipping-boys in this group! EVERYONE casting judgement about Roy Hodgson needs to think about whether they're victims of negative media propaganda because that's their line now & when he was with Liverpool. THEY said Costa Rica were the whipping-boys. THEY got it wrong...THEY are not "experts" at all. Don't fall for their idiotic agendas on anything let alone football.
I have none of that negative media here, although I can imagine what its like, my opinion is from watching them in Miami and then watching the games on tv.
My opinion is that we got our tactics wrong , by playing to deep and not pressing high enough, giving teams too much respect and time on the ball. This is down to the coach. And I'm not swayed in anyway by the SUN . I haven't read that or and English newspaper since Christmas.
I'm just hoping we learn and use this wretched experience to help us grow for euro 2016 .
A few points from me...
1. Anyone that expects or even thinks we are anywhere near world-beaters has not been watching English football with their brain in-gear for about 15-20yrs
2. Better performance tonight, actually did enough to win it IMO
3. The defining comment for me about England's football future was from the commentator on ITV tonight...words to the effect that Costa Rica were supposed to be the whipping-boys in this group! EVERYONE casting judgement about Roy Hodgson needs to think about whether they're victims of negative media propaganda because that's their line now & when he was with Liverpool. THEY said Costa Rica were the whipping-boys. THEY got it wrong...THEY are not "experts" at all. Don't fall for their idiotic agendas on anything let alone football.
1. I don't think anyone would think we would win the friggin thing but to crash out of the tournament in a gutless defensive way was piss poor
2. Playing well and winning are two very very different things.
3. Personally I don't think the England camp did enough research into any of our opponents, we were tactically naïve against Uraguay, gave Italy way too much respect and expected to walk over CR. This clearly didn't happen.
1. I don't think anyone would think we would win the friggin thing but to crash out of the tournament in a gutless defensive way was piss poor
2. Playing well and winning are two very very different things.
3. Personally I don't think the England camp did enough research into any of our opponents, we were tactically naïve against Uraguay, gave Italy way too much respect and expected to walk over CR. This clearly didn't happen.
1. I think the response by some even on this forum suggests they think we have every right to expect us to win the "friggin thing"
2. Absolutely right, we haven't consistently done either of those together for a long time now sadly
3. Really cNt say on that...the outcome would suggest there's a reasonable chance you're right though
I have none of that negative media here, although I can imagine what its like, my opinion is from watching them in Miami and then watching the games on tv.
My opinion is that we got our tactics wrong , by playing to deep and not pressing high enough, giving teams too much respect and time on the ball. This is down to the coach. And I'm not swayed in anyway by the SUN . I haven't read that or and English newspaper since Christmas.
I'm just hoping we learn and use this wretched experience to help us grow for euro 2016 .
The only glimmer of hope really for me is that we were not outclassed like last time...& the time before...although that's maybe because we have slid that low that qualifying is now as good as we can realistically expect? Anything else is a bonus.
I thought we played okay in spells and certainly controlled the game, but I'm not sure quite how much effort Costa Rica put in.
Thought Sturridge was poor, particularly his first touch. Jones did okay at right back and I thought Luke Shaw was excellent at left back. I liked Lallana and Wishere in midfield as they gave us a bit of invention.
Wishere did some really good stuff but also lost the ball on a few occasions too. Need to see him fully fit in that role. Barclay faded as the game wore on, but showed some nice touches. Milner isn't international class and though Smalling didn't play too badly, he still isn't the answer back there in defence.
Some good stuff, some not so good, but not too unhappy with tonight's performance. Biggest worry for me tonight was Sturridge. We need a Michael Owen type striker to be putting those chances away. That's the difference at this level. The opposition have taken their chances where we have failed to do so. Sturridge should have had a hat trick tonight I reckon,
Maybe it's just me, but I'm not taking much encouragement from any of those performances. There's no zip or enthusiasm or joy to this England side, most of these players look sharp and bright when they're playing in England in the PL - with a couple of exceptions they looked like they were playing in diving boots in Brazil.
Sturridge looks like he's carrying the world on his shoulders, I can't see why we couldn't squeeze Lambert in alongside him to help out. In fact, if we're looking to cut teams apart with cute passes, rather than occasional surges from midfield, or Hollywood balls, then Lambert's a better bet than anyone we've currently played in the '10' role, imho.
Ho hum. At least it's over now, and I can look forward to watching CCFC again. Oh.
England and English football (like British football) has been in steady decline for 30 years.
Until we get people at the top who have a soul, not just moronic bean counters, it'll never improve.