World Cup 2022

[K-Hod]

7 hours ago, roverandout said:

It's f**&-,in tiresome being on here. Why can't we show some positivity. We have one of the best defensive records and the best attacks playing In a world cup with no obvious favourite. Yes some realism but every sentence is argued with 'yes but we haven't played anyone ' or 'mbappe will be too good' or 'we are defensively weak' jees rovers have turned everyone into pessimists. 

So, this is your second outburst of this nature, pretty much in as many hours.

It’s really not helpful to criticise the board and those posting on it, but then continue to post. Especially after saying you were having a break? You’re posting on here of your own free will- if I found something as tiresome as you find it on here, I’d probably not bother entertaining it….

[frosty]

7 hours ago, roverandout said:

It's f**&-,in tiresome being on here. Why can't we show some positivity. We have one of the best defensive records and the best attacks playing In a world cup with no obvious favourite. Yes some realism but every sentence is argued with 'yes but we haven't played anyone ' or 'mbappe will be too good' or 'we are defensively weak' jees rovers have turned everyone into pessimists. 

I think you're the only poster that has said that both France will hammer us and Senegal will breeze past us (!).

[benhben]

Good performance yesterday without ever getting into top gear. Thought the midfield three were the key by dominating the ball but also working hard off it. Next game is where the real tests start. 

Kanes hold up play and use of the ball was excellent, but he seems to be playing deeper and deeper. There were numerous good crosses accross the 6 yard box in the first 20 minutes and he was no where near. I can see why his goalscoring rate for England has been lower recently. 

In terms of who's better, hard to tell. Mbappe, Frances best player is better than our best player and can be devastating. Their front three as a whole is flying  and they have a strong first 11. However, England have a stronger squad overall in my opinion. We have players on the bench who would be in the France side and can make numerous changes without weakening the side. Bellingham is also better than any of their midfielders. This lads the most talented 19 year old I've seen probably since Rooney. 

[Exiled_Rover]

57 minutes ago, Sparks Rover said:

Can you imagine us putting Forden as CF? 

I'm saying any Manager would be crackers to move him.

To be fair our current #9 fancies himself as a CM, so why not?

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Anything I post on here is my honest, genuine opinion. I don’t post to wind people up. Do I think we can beat France - of course we can. Anything can happen in a football match when it’s 11 v 11. Do I think we’ll beat France - no I don’t. That’s my honest opinion. I don’t have to justify it.

[goozburger]

Whatever anyone's thoughts are on our chances against France, it's shaping up to be a great set of quarter-final games.

Holland v Argentina

England v France

And hopefully...

Brazil v Croatia

Portugal v Spain

You could call any one of those a final. 😋

[roverandout]

7 hours ago, speeeeeeedie said:

Well said.

I am glad I stay off here during the games. It was obvious after 10 minutes that England were by far the better team. Pickford's save made them wake up, then lo and behold it was 2-0 and game over at half time.

Lots of posts moaning about Saka. He scores again. Henderson; a title winning and Champs League winning captain is thought of as a complete plodder. It's completely lost on most that he can play.

I say again and again that this board is anti-England, and is certainly pessimistic at the chances of winning. Of course history plays a part but it's gamblers fallacy to think that there is no chance of victory. The Germans are out again after the group stages, Italy are missing their second straight World Cup. 

I also think that a lot of it comes down to the mentality that pervades East Lancashire. Predicting the worst and being right is easier than hoping for the best and being wrong. 

Finally, as to Maguire struggling against Mbappe; the last time I looked he played on the left side of England's defence, and Mbappe on the left side for France. Maguire will be responsible for Giroud. Stones and Walker will work on Mbappe. 

Think big. 

 

Great post. Yes I critisised saka because he was poor till the goal but after he was superb. I will back Southgate 100 percent from now on no matter what 

[Sparks Rover]

18 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Anything I post on here is my honest, genuine opinion. I don’t post to wind people up. Do I think we can beat France - of course we can. Anything can happen in a football match when it’s 11 v 11. Do I think we’ll beat France - no I don’t. That’s my honest opinion. I don’t have to justify it.

It's our time, they can't keep a clean sheet, plus they are weakend, I expect an England win

Edited December 5, 2022 by Sparks Rover

[RoverDom]

Same 11 against France I reckon. Get Walker to look after Mbappe and have Henderson and Rice cover any holes that might leave. Also we've got to look after Giroud as well and not underestimate him but I'm less worried about him in a foot race against maguire but he needs to stay switched on. 

I like that midfield 3 a lot. Bellingham does what I wanted from Mount I.e. can sit deeper and help defend but then turns into an extra attacker when we're going forward. Hendersons energy and leadership is vital. 

Our choice of attacking options is unreal!  

 

Can England beat France - absolutely we can. Will we - that's to be seen but no one should be writing us off. 

 

[Gav]

England have been the best side in the tournament so far for me, those goals last night were superb, the build up play, clinical. 

Southgate needs to pick the right team and we'll beat France, nothing to be scared of.

[joey_big_nose]

23 minutes ago, Gav said:

England have been the best side in the tournament so far for me, those goals last night were superb, the build up play, clinical. 

Southgate needs to pick the right team and we'll beat France, nothing to be scared of.

Yeah... hard to disagree. The other main contenders - France, Brazil, Spain, Argentina - have all really struggled at times. I've been surprised how much really. England had a flat performance against US but were never looking like they could actually lose the game, unlike France vs Tunisia, Brazil vs Cameroon, Argentina vs Saudi Arabia, Spain vs Japan. 

I know the France, Brazil, Spain were all playing weakened teams, but still.... they should have won those games comfortably given the players they put out.

I wouldn't say England are the favorites though, still think Brazil and France have slightly better chances of winning the trophy.

[roverandout]

I'm just praying Southgate doesn't go into his shell ala the Italian game. Keep the formation same players play on the front foot. I think walker and rice can double up on mbappe. Let them worry about us. We have the better midfield so use that to our advantage 

[jim mk2]

9 hours ago, roverandout said:

It's f**&-,in tiresome being on here. Why can't we show some positivity. We have one of the best defensive records and the best attacks playing In a world cup with no obvious favourite. Yes some realism but every sentence is argued with 'yes but we haven't played anyone ' or 'mbappe will be too good' or 'we are defensively weak' jees rovers have turned everyone into pessimists. 

Is that surprising when English football history is one of failure, failure and more failure?  An insular and xenophobic Football Association did not even contest the World Cup until the fourth edition in1950. Since 1966 it's been one catalogue of under-achievement in the games that really matter. Our European competitors Germany have won 4 World Cups and 3 European Championships, France, Spain and Italy numerous titles between them.  England's  solitary success was 56 years ago.

Having said all that, this board is not "anti-England" as one troll said, just fatalistic about us ever winning a major trophy. England tripped up against Croatia in 2018 in the easier semi-final when they ought to have won and even managed to lose the Euro 2020 final in their own stadium against an Italy side that six months later couldn't even qualify for the World Cup!! Sure, we can beat France, and it would be great if we do, but the tide of history is against us.

[Dreams of 1995]

One thing that needs to be remembered is that Senegal could have only really had one goal yesterday, which was when Sarr blazed over.

The second chance, where Pickford produced a brilliant save, was an attack which started from a handball. VAR would have pulled that back. Any use of the hand which helps in an attack is a foul. There's no way that goal would have stood.

After that chance we came into the game more. We dominated in every aspect. Jude Bellingham is a fantastic player and at the age of 19 is better than both Rabiot and Tchoumeni. I actually quite like the midfield of Henderson, Rice and Bellingham because it is industrious with the right amount of passing ability and skill. I'd say it's up there with the best balanced midfield in the tournament.

Sometimes our football is a bit laboured. It's really slow in the early 20 minutes. Whether that's deliberate or not I don't know - but you might find that better teams punish us in those early minutes as we try and pass from the back.

I feel like we play our best football when we go from back to front very quickly, and expect we'll take a more counter attacking approach against France.

[roverandout]

15 minutes ago, jim mk2 said:

Is that surprising when English football history is one of failure, failure and more failure?  An insular and xenophobic Football Association did not even contest the World Cup until the fourth edition in1950. Since 1966 it's been one catalogue of under-achievement in the games that really matter. Our European competitors Germany have won 4 World Cups and 3 European Championships, France, Spain and Italy numerous titles between them.  England's  solitary success was 56 years ago.

Having said all that, this board is not "anti-England" as one troll said, just fatalistic about us ever winning a major trophy. England tripped up against Croatia in 2018 in the easier semi-final when they ought to have won and even managed to lose the Euro 2020 final in their own stadium against an Italy side that six months later couldn't even qualify for the World Cup!! Sure, we can beat France, and it would be great if we do, but the tide of history is against us.

Maybe my outburst was uncalled for but if people can't be excited about the potential of this England team then when can we? We have a far better midfield than 2018

[roverandout]

As for Bellingham he really is an absolute baller. Just hope he stays clear of injuries because this boy will be the best midfielder in the world in 2 years

[Admiral Nelsen]

30 minutes ago, roverandout said:

I'm just praying Southgate doesn't go into his shell ala the Italian game. Keep the formation same players play on the front foot. I think walker and rice can double up on mbappe. Let them worry about us. We have the better midfield so use that to our advantage 

 

I wouldn't advocate going into our shell, but I think a back three (which needs to include Walker) could be a good option for this one to be fair. Goes some way to neutralise their strengths and our weaknesses. Deny Mbappe the space he really wants, put another lightning quick defender on his side. Invites us to try and get the ball from back to front a bit quicker with space for maybe Rashford to exploit. Their defence, and to a lesser extent their midfield doesn't worry me, but then again they'll be saying the same about us. 

 

I think what you said a couple of pages back about this being a game that we'll win 2/5 times is about right for me. Really it's a shame that this is a quarter final, as you could argue we're the best two teams left in the tournament. 

[Silas]

21 minutes ago, Dreams of 1995 said:

The second chance, where Pickford produced a brilliant save, was an attack which started from a handball. VAR would have pulled that back. Any use of the hand which helps in an attack is a foul. There's no way that goal would have stood.

Not sure that's correct. The rule was changed where VAR can only overrule for handball if it's the person scoring the goal that does it.

Because the guy handballed and then passed the ball to the person that took the shot, goal would have stood.

Pretty sure I've got that right.

[JohnD]

Oddschecker -

England 25/11

Draw 25/11

France 13/9

 

[AllRoverAsia]

15 minutes ago, Silas said:

Not sure that's correct. The rule was changed where VAR can only overrule for handball if it's the person scoring the goal that does it.

Because the guy handballed and then passed the ball to the person that took the shot, goal would have stood.

Pretty sure I've got that right.

If your reading of the rules is correct then the VAR rules are wrong.

That handball enabled subsequent control of the ball, pass and shot. I also believe the handball was deliberate.

[Gav]

 

1 hour ago, jim mk2 said:

this board is not "anti-England" as one troll said, just fatalistic about us ever winning a major trophy. 

You turned Iran from being a very good side into a pub team within the space of 24hrs when England smashed them earlier in the competition

Don't lecture anyone else about trolling would be my advice. 

[Silas]

25 minutes ago, AllRoverAsia said:

If your reading of the rules is correct then the VAR rules are wrong.

That handball enabled subsequent control of the ball, pass and shot. I also believe the handball was deliberate.

Yep, it's a crazy rule but I'm fairly confident of it for the Premier League at least. Maybe WC has slightly different VAR rules. 

Stems back to a PL league game where there was an innocuous handball on the halfway line, ball then passed to attacker who did a brilliant trick and smashed in a great goal. Was ruled out, and the consensus was nobody wanted such a good piece of skill cancelled out for what happened before. 

So rule then changed to handball having to be from the actual goalscorer.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

4 minutes ago, Silas said:

Yep, it's a crazy rule but I'm fairly confident of it for the Premier League at least. Maybe WC has slightly different VAR rules. 

Stems back to a PL league game where there was an innocuous handball on the halfway line, ball then passed to attacker who did a brilliant trick and smashed in a great goal. Was ruled out, and the consensus was nobody wanted such a good piece of skill cancelled out for what happened before. 

So rule then changed to handball having to be from the actual goalscorer.

Crazy rule.

[roverandout]

1 hour ago, Admiral Nelsen said:

 

I wouldn't advocate going into our shell, but I think a back three (which needs to include Walker) could be a good option for this one to be fair. Goes some way to neutralise their strengths and our weaknesses. Deny Mbappe the space he really wants, put another lightning quick defender on his side. Invites us to try and get the ball from back to front a bit quicker with space for maybe Rashford to exploit. Their defence, and to a lesser extent their midfield doesn't worry me, but then again they'll be saying the same about us. 

 

I think what you said a couple of pages back about this being a game that we'll win 2/5 times is about right for me. Really it's a shame that this is a quarter final, as you could argue we're the best two teams left in the tournament. 

Couldn't agree more but I think they will fear our midfield.  Neither touachemeni or rabiot stand out.  Touachemeni has been  criticised for not taking the midfield by the scruff of the neck unlike Bellingham who stamps his authority on midfield.  We can have alot of joy against kounde who is playing out of position.  Also theo hernandez isn't great defensively.  Rashford up against upemacano is interesting as he absolutely tore him apart a couple of years ago. This is a French team that can be beaten. Of course mbappe Is a big factor

[DE.]

I've seen anti-England forums lads, this ain't it. Mostly decent debate about the strengths and weaknesses, current and historic, of England. Yes there are a few outliers on either side who go way too far into the negatives and positives, but such is life. 

Edited December 5, 2022 by DE.