England really were poor last night

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

What a miserable OP.

 

[Pbseagull]

Part of the peverse fun of watching England is that we seem to struggle at times with all International games, whether they are against top teams or minnows. This for me is part and parcel of being an England fan, it certainly keeps me on the edge of my seat and my heart rate rocketing when I watch England play. Before the Euros started I thought that we would struggle to get out of our group...we bloody well won it!! and by points rather than just goal difference. My expectations have gone up massively since the tourny started and I'm loving it at the moment...even if we go out against Italy or in the Semi's against Greece or Germany, I think we've done brilliantly.

 

[Badger]

It's the first time England have ever beaten a home nation in a tournement. Just enjoy it.

That's not true, apparently we beat Switzerland in the 1954 World Cup.

I've just looked this up on Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1954_FIFA_World_Cup Group 2 was quite tasty

West Germany 4 – 1 Turkey
Hungary 9 – 0 South Korea
Hungary 8 – 3 West Germany
Turkey 7 – 0 South Korea
Play off (??)
West Germany 7 – 2 Turkey

West Germany went on to beat Hungary in the final

Honourable mention for:
Uruguay 7 – 0 Scotland

 

[shaolinpunk]

Playing badly but still winning?

That's the mark of champions...

 

[Colossal Squid]

It's the first time England have ever beaten a home nation in a tournement. Just enjoy it.

As well as the first time we've ever beaten Sweden in a competitive match. AND Hodgson remains unbeaten.

To be honest things are going VERY well for England right now, despite a very average squad hit by injuries.

 

[dejavuatbtn]

So far Hodgson has got everything right. Tactics spot on - give nothing away for the first hour. See if you can catch them on the break and use attacking options during second half. His interviews are first class, saying all the right things in a manner befitting an England manager. He's only been in the job a few weeks which makes me hopeful he will be there for years to come and turn the national team's fortunes round.

 

[Simster]

That's not true, apparently we beat Switzerland in the 1954 World Cup.

I've just looked this up on Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1954_FIFA_World_Cup Group 2 was quite tasty

West Germany 4 – 1 Turkey
Hungary 9 – 0 South Korea
Hungary 8 – 3 West Germany
Turkey 7 – 0 South Korea
Play off (??)
West Germany 7 – 2 Turkey

West Germany went on to beat Hungary in the final

Honourable mention for:
Uruguay 7 – 0 Scotland

: perseus:

 

[forrest]

How many times at major tournaments have we actually played the host nation? I genuinely don't know!?

Euro 80 - lost to Italy 0-1 group stage
Euro 92 - lost to Sweden 1-2 group stage
Euro 04 - lost to Portugal 2-3 q-finals
Euro 12 - beat Ukraine 1-0 group stage.

So last night was the first time we've beaten the host nation at the Euro's.

As for World Cups.

WC 54 - beat Switzerland 2-0 group stage.
WC 82 - drew with Spain 0-0 2nd round group stage
WC 90 - lost to Italy 2-1 third/fourth play off

So overall our record against the hosts is pretty poor. Until last night the last time we beat a host nation was all the way back in 1954!

 

[Norman Potting]

I predict England to win the tournament, 1 - 0 against whoever in the final with the goal being a scrambled affair finally rebounding off Rooney's backside from an offside position, handball in the build up and ball not fully crossing the line. Can't remember which European final it was where Arsenal were allegedly "thrashed 0 - 1" by their opponents (Alan Smith goal) and won the trophy - it will be a repeat of that scenario!

It will all be worth it to see Roy at the press conference, grin at the camera, say one word "tabloids" and raise his middle finger!

 

[Wozza]

Gerrard misses final through injury, making way for... John Terry to lift the trophy.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Gerrard misses final through injury, making way for... John Terry to lift the trophy.

John Terry misses the final through injury, but lifts the trophy anyway...

 

[TotallyFreaked]

I think the OP should look on the positive, it means that you can get many of this nagging jobs done around the house while still watching England on the TV and not really missing anything

 

[countryman]

It may not be the best game England have ever played but we are though to the quarter finals now and that is what matters.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

So far Hodgson has got everything right. Tactics spot on - give nothing away for the first hour. .

Stretching the point somewhat, all we did in the first half was give it away

 

[leigull]

Technically England have been one of the worst teams in the tournament, they've riden their luck with the amount of chances the other teams have had and how quickly/easily they give the ball away, but they're through to the next round and the Russians and Dutch are at home.

Same situation with Chelsea, their fans don't give a shit how much they were outplayed by Barca and Bayern, just that their name is on the Cup. The rest of Europe won't have enjoyed watching them though

 

[Steve.S]

This is a make shift side, with a manager who has not had time to mould a team. They have done a fantastic job, despite a lot of players missing through injury. The positives are that we are starting to look like a side that is hard to break down, and with time, Roy can work with the attacking side of the game. We have to have a solid defence. During the Euros I think the defence on the whole has been good.
Yes we do need someone like Wiltshire to be a play maker and when he is fit, it may make a big difference, along side the pace of the two Arsenal boys. Give it a couple of years, i can see England having a good side.

 

[maltaseagull]

Yes, we won, but overall Ukraine, yes Ukraine who are 511th in the world rankings outplayed us all over the park.

I don't blame the manager. He is doing the very best he can with what he has available, but what a poor bunch of players.

Gerrard and Hart are probably the only two who, based on last night's performance, would walk into any other team.

Cole has not played as well as he can so far in this tournament.
Johnson has been pretty good and has developed into a decent international RB.
Terry had a good game, but is clearly past his best.
Lescott is OK, but marginally international standard.
Parker has played very well, but is he really the best we can produce in that position?
Young has shown flashes of class, but too few and nowhere near enough consistency. Disappointing. Not good enough.
Milner may run a lot, but is not up to international standards. Did absolutely nothing of note last night.
Welbeck, like Young, has shown flashes of class (to be fair many more flashes of class than Young), but apart from his great goal against Sweden has not really produced the goods.
Rooney was awful last night. Rusty maybe, but for a professional footballer of his class to play so poorly was bad. He can only get better.

Walcott has shown some real potential, but last night there was no point in bringing him on if his team-mates were going to ignore him.
Oxlade-Chamberlain has also shown potential, but not yet ready to start.
Carroll scored a great goal against Sweden, but has not really shone apart from that.

So we've got to the Quarter Finals without really showing any true international class. The football last night was tedious and boring. We seem to be unable to consistently pass to our own players. We get dispossessed far too often, the biggest culprit being Ashley Young.

Personally I don't give us much chance against Italy, but will cheer the team on anyway.

Things can only get better.

Nice try

 

[brunswick]

he has had to start at the back - be solid - he only had a few weeks and that is the sign of a class manager - now to sort out the attack.

remember bobby robsons england? we were terrible in a couple of matches in 1990. The next game we might click and then it is the right time for momentum.

hope is good, and its exciting, ppl should get off their backs........saying that, Young is tosh ;-)

 

[leigull]

I don't understand all the "hard to beat" and "solid defensively" comments. Did you not see the Sweden game? And lucky Ukraine had the worst shot to goal ratio of the whole tournament as they could have had a couple in the first half.

 

[The Large One]

It's the first time England have ever beaten a home nation in a tournement. Just enjoy it.

Aside from Switzerland 1954.