Great entertainment - Great Value

[Steph]

I thought I would start a new post before the England Game as I want to contrast what happened last night to what is likely to happen today.

 

I predict a 0-0 draw as that will suit both sides.

 

Last night was tremendous and man of the match was Bastian. I will come back later as Sheila is calling me for dinner.

 

 

[Gazza]

We drew straws in the office to predict the score after the 0-0 1-1 & 1-0 England had gone I went for 2-0 Croatia just to be outrageous! Oh how Im laughing at the moment, Ive got £30 coming my way!

[Mini-Smith Towner]

You were pretty much right Steph, only bit you got wrong was the result.

 

We were dire, as is often the case, and Croatia thoroughly deserved the win. Adios Steve!! Good riddance!!

 

Happy that I don't have to sit through the same rubbish next Summer to be honest.

 

[Steph]

It was worse than I thought. Ok Scott Carson let in a soft goal but these things happen. What the hell was our defence doing last night. They gave Croatia so much room that it is a wonder that Scott wasn't peppered with more shots.

 

BTW I am not including Cambell in the criticism as I do not think he can defend on his own as he seemed to be doing last night. As for Crouch why is he not used intelligently by the England management. He has tremendous touch as is demonstrated time and again.

 

Why are Gerrard and Lampard ever presents when even Beckham can be dropped. Oh I know they are two of the few English players that play for Chelsea and Liverpool so they must be good. Neither player showed any class last night and I think Rudi Hall would have done better.

 

English football needs to change. The pampered players in the premiership need to realise that they have to earn their corn and run. This means running like Croatia did - you might be a defender but that does not mean that you do not cross the half way line. You may be an attacker or midfielder but that does not mean that you do not take responsibility for defence. We lost yesterday in the middle of the pitch not closing down players in front of the penalty area.

 

And on top of that the dog spilt my Calvodos down my trousers - I only have one work pair and have to go to Wandsworth today smelling like a resident of Shoreditch Church Yard.

 

 

[Steph]

Originally Posted By: Gazza

We drew straws in the office to predict the score after the 0-0 1-1 & 1-0 England had gone I went for 2-0 Croatia just to be outrageous! Oh how Im laughing at the moment, Ive got £30 coming my way!

I trust you will be bneifiting Town with some of your ill gotten gains.

[Hawkeye Pierce]

The better team won - Croatia

 

Barwick should go! Would you allow a game of grid iron to ruin your pitch before a crucial international? Daft or what?

 

Maclaren should go! We all know from the Enfield Town vs Leyton @ the Brimobeu that time what a lottery a game on a waterlogged pitch can be like! The team that gets the first goal tends to go on and win. McLaren didn't seem to have a set of tactics for the weather circumstance. Running balls down the waterlogged wings through Wright-Philips and Cole was the wrong tactics for the conditions.

 

We had no captain out there with presence until the second half and Beckham came on. Crouch at last got a bit of service. Gerrards freekicks were poor - Rudi (as Towns Beckham) would have done better! Corners were poor until Becks came on but I think ours aren't much better. At least they didn't try those daft short corners we do.

 

England appear to have similar defensive concerns to town. And Scott Carsons butterfingers reminded me of Tilbury's first last Saturday.

[The Invisible Man]

What the hell was that pitch all about? I don't suggest for a moment that it's anexcuse for the performance (Croatia played ok on it) but the state of it was a national disgrace. It many ways it sums up the incompetence of the FA. Here we have our ludicrously expensive and very late (a sure sign of incompetence in the client/consultant sector) but quite nice stadium, then they let a lot of padded nancies play their strange egg-chasing game on it, totalling effing the pitch up. THEN although they have over three weeks they fail to repair it for a crucial football match! With modern technology they could have relaid the damn thing!!!! Astonishingly you could still see the white lines and little yard marks from the American game! Even Huddersfield Town manage to shift the rugby lines off the pitch before the footie.

 

Maybe we should lend them Roy.....

[Jim Cunneen]

I think the thing I find amazing that after going 2-0 down he waited til half time to make changes and then compounds the error by taking Barry and Wright Phillips off and leaving Lampard and the truly awful Bridge on !

 

I got fed up watching Lamapard pass to Cole practically everytime - even if there were easier / better options available and I'm afraid he just doesn't cut it. Barry was quiet but how much of it was playing to instructions and would have been better left on - even if pullred to full back in replacing Bridge.

 

And don't get me started on playing Crouch n his own so isolated....

[Arkwright]

Originally Posted By: The Invisible Man

What the hell was that pitch all about? I don't suggest for a moment that it's anexcuse for the performance (Croatia played ok on it) but the state of it was a national disgrace. It many ways it sums up the incompetence of the FA. Here we have our ludicrously expensive and very late (a sure sign of incompetence in the client/consultant sector) but quite nice stadium, then they let a lot of padded nancies play their strange egg-chasing game on it, totalling effing the pitch up. THEN although they have over three weeks they fail to repair it for a crucial football match! With modern technology they could have relaid the damn thing!!!! Astonishingly you could still see the white lines and little yard marks from the American game! Even Huddersfield Town manage to shift the rugby lines off the pitch before the footie.

Maybe we should lend them Roy.....

The pitch could have been re-leyed & playable a few days after the Gridiron match, plus the bloody place has a roof, why not use it!

[OldTowner]

Arky,

It does NOT have a roof over the pitch such as Cardiff.

 

The roof is only over the spectators and partially over the ends of the pitch.

 

Other comments re pitch and re-laying etc. Spot on.

The FA will pay £2.5M to a failed / duff Manager in compo, but not spend anything on a playing surface !!

Says it all don't it.

 

Hope the brimmo pitch is in good nick Sat.

 

[Arkwright]

Pitch at Brimmo will be wonderful (Unless we have a couple of inches of rain I suppose!).

 

A fantastic piece on the Wembley Stadium Web-Site about the quality of the pitch there, plus the state of the art sliding roof, which as you say, isn't a patch on the one at Cardiff.

 

Who do you want to see as the next Manager of England then?

[theabbeyabbott]

I hear Jim will be available soon?

[OldTowner]

Arky,

Are you running a book on Saturday ?

Raise a few bob.

 

Not true betting, obviously Mr Tax Man.

 

 

 

 

Outsider - Klinsmann

[Jim Cunneen]

Originally Posted By: abbeynut

I hear Jim will be available soon?

I wont !!

[MbrunoB]

Oh, go on!

[andyetfc]

We can have an excellent Premiership and a not so good national team or vice versa. We cannot have both. At this rate, Tom L, the next England coach, will be making up the squad with Blue Square players!

[lovely stuff]

What a sorry state of affairs when England have to play four players who rarely play for their clubs .Bridge/Crouch/Defoe/Bent..6 if you include Wright-phillips and Beckham.

 

A system needs to be introduced in the premiership to ensure at least 3 homegrown players are in any starting 11.Or 5 in the squad of 16.As i said before, in cricket (in the interests of the national team) each county team is only allowed ONE oversees player.

 

And before anyone start talikng about EU regulations (including the premier league chairman today), both Platani and Blatter have gone on record to say that any European League that imposed unilateral Restrictions and Quotas would NOT be in infingement of EU regulations.In fact platini is heavily in favour of quotas in English Football.

[andyetfc]

It's all to do with money.

 

I would love to be sacked from a job as I am not good enough, receive a golden handshake of £2.5M and then get another job.

 

Nice work if you can get it.

[Gazza]

Originally Posted By: Steph

.....I trust you will be bneifiting Town with some of your ill gotten gains.

Well I will be paying at the turnstile on Saturday so yes I guess I will, but as I had a fiver on 2-0 to Croatia and the score was 3-2 I didnt win anything and as nobody out of the six of us had the 3-2 scoreline I didnt lose anything either, as for ill gotten gains..........................Bollox!!

[waggamick]

It looked like the Croatians were playing for Croatia (with a lot of passion)...just watch the coach if you can handle the pain of a replay.

The English lacked urgency and gave the impression that the Croatian goals were an aberation and that they would rightly overcome in time.

The pitch was ordinary.

Who was it that jumped out of the way on the last Croation goal...could have been that he was avoiding a deflection but at first glance he looked like he was protecting himself rather than laying his body on the line...which you would expect at national level.