[Drinking] Англия против Бельгии (England vs Belgium)

[GT49er]

Either England are, after all, a bit shit and will always come up short against better teams than Panama and Tunisia, or Southgate has been brilliant in identifying his 'first team' and we will have a great WC when he brings them back on against Izquierdo and co. Wonder which? Eeny, meeny, etc, etc.............

 

[Mellotron]

Don’t Sweden ring alarm bells with you? We may only be left with sprats and mackerel in this side of the draw but we are quite capable of losing to all those teams, in fact we just got well beaten by one of them ( no shots to test the keeper in over 90 mins from us)

“Well beaten”. Two poor reserve sides, one scored a goal one didn’t when through. Hardly well beaten. It was a shit game from both sides.

 

[Bozza]

“Well beaten”. Two poor reserve sides, one scored a goal one didn’t when through. Hardly well beaten. It was a shit game from both sides.

Nailed it.

Can anyone think of a more low-key game England have played in a World Cup final? (I don't doubt someone will bring up a good example.)

This was England against one of the best sides in the world and it was just a complete and utter load of toss. I found myself doing other bits and pieces whilst it was on, when normally I'd expect to be captivated by every moment.

Bring on the real thing next week...

 

[dazzer6666]

“Well beaten”. Two poor reserve sides, one scored a goal one didn’t when through. Hardly well beaten. It was a shit game from both sides.

Nailed it.

Can anyone think of a more low-key game England have played in a World Cup final? (I don't doubt someone will bring up a good example.)

This was England against one of the best sides in the world and it was just a complete and utter load of toss. I found myself doing other bits and pieces whilst it was on, when normally I'd expect to be captivated by every moment.

Bring on the real thing next week...

Spot on - was equivalent to an early-round league cup game with the reserves plodding around.

 

[Goldstone1976]

I found myself doing other bits and pieces whilst it was on, when normally I'd expect to be captivated by every moment.

Me too - I posted on this thread several times during the game. No way I’d be doing that if it was a decent game/mattered.

I am somewhat encouraged by the thought that we have a route to the semi before we meet a side that could win the thing. But then so do Colombia.

 

[Easy 10]

Felt more like a friendly. Two scratch sides, neither of them overly fussed about the result. Southgate coming out with a load of old twaddle about 'wanting to win every game, wanting to win the group' - but then leaves our best XI and most dangerous striker on the bench. Insults the intelligence somewhat. I thought we were past all that bullshit with this guy, but clearly not.

 

[jameswestport]

Poor poor game.

I see in the papers Rose might keep his place which is good because Ashley Young hasn't impressed me.

Rashford and Loftus Cheek back on the bench to be used as impact subs.

Hopefully if Kane can deliver the goods again you'll beat Columbia.

 

[Bozza]

Felt more like a friendly. Two scratch sides, neither of them overly fussed about the result. Southgate coming out with a load of old twaddle about 'wanting to win every game, wanting to win the group' - but then leaves our best XI and most dangerous striker on the bench. Insults the intelligence somewhat. I thought we were past all that bullshit with this guy, but clearly not.

Maybe, but do you really expect an England manager to come out and say he made changes, didn't care about the result and, in fact was perfectly happy to lose?

He may think some or all of those things, but there's no way on earth he can come out and say it.

 

[Bodian]

Don’t Sweden ring alarm bells with you? We may only be left with sprats and mackerel in this side of the draw but we are quite capable of losing to all those teams, in fact we just got well beaten by one of them ( no shots to test the keeper in over 90 mins from us)

Since I've been watching football we've played Sweden 15 times. Just two wins (although they were two out of the last three). My memories of them are that they are always well organised, hard to beat, frustrating - and just the sort of team we'll go out to.

 

[Bodian]

Nailed it.

Can anyone think of a more low-key game England have played in a World Cup final? (I don't doubt someone will bring up a good example.)

This was England against one of the best sides in the world and it was just a complete and utter load of toss. I found myself doing other bits and pieces whilst it was on, when normally I'd expect to be captivated by every moment.

Bring on the real thing next week...

Against Costa Rica in the last world cup. They were already through, we were already out. Think there were about seven or shots!

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

Felt more like a friendly. Two scratch sides, neither of them overly fussed about the result. Southgate coming out with a load of old twaddle about 'wanting to win every game, wanting to win the group' - but then leaves our best XI and most dangerous striker on the bench. Insults the intelligence somewhat. I thought we were past all that bullshit with this guy, but clearly not.

To be honest, what is he meant to say?

"to be honest Guy, I didn't really care. It was easier for us to finish second. I hope the fans who have paid thousands of pounds to come watch us today understand".

Impossible situation really. I think he has played it the only way he could. He has continuously expressed that he wants all his players to get some game time for if they are needed later on.

Rashford didn't miss on purpose. Pickford didn't let the shot in on purpose. Our 2nd team lost to their first team in a game of 2 teams who have barely ever played together (hence it being such a dull affair).

Absolutely fine by me.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

All this talk about building momentum was clearly bollocks. You simply cannot build momentum by playing 2 completely different teams,

Look at it differently. If you are choosing to look at it as 'two completely different teams', then the PROPER team hasn't actually lost any 'momentum' at all.

 

[Easy 10]

Maybe, but do you really expect an England manager to come out and say he made changes, didn't care about the result and, in fact was perfectly happy to lose?

He may think some or all of those things, but there's no way on earth he can come out and say it.

Well Martinez pretty much telegraphed the fact that he'd be sending out a 2nd XI.

From the way Southgate was speaking in the run-up, I was expecting 2,3 or 4 changes tops, which I'd have supported. I honestly didn't expect him to throw the whole team up in the air for the last game a-la Hodgson, but I guess maybe I was being naive.

Personally I think our 1st XI is still very much a work in progress and could really have done with being given more time to gel, but now we're just going to have to do it on the hoof, in the knockouts. He could've started with a strong XI with maybe 3 changes, then taken players off in the 2nd half. But it is what it is. He was clearly determined to get to the "easy" side of the draw (not that Colombia is a gimmee), so time will tell if playing the ressies in the middle of a World Cup was a sound decision.

 

[Easy 10]

Look at it differently. If you are choosing to look at it as 'two completely different teams', then the PROPER team hasn't actually lost any 'momentum' at all.

You're a half-glass-full kinda guy. Fair play !

 

[Icy Gull]

“Well beaten”. Two poor reserve sides, one scored a goal one didn’t when through. Hardly well beaten. It was a shit game from both sides.

When you can’t even test a keeper over 90 mins whilst the other team scores a cracking goal and has your keeper scurrying around trying to keep the ball out of the net on a couple of occasions and parrying the ball back to them on a few other occasions, I’d call that well beaten even though it was only the single goal.

 

[Is it PotG?]

Well Martinez pretty much telegraphed the fact that he'd be sending out a 2nd XI.

From the way Southgate was speaking in the run-up, I was expecting 2,3 or 4 changes tops, which I'd have supported. I honestly didn't expect him to throw the whole team up in the air for the last game a-la Hodgson, but I guess maybe I was being naive.

Personally I think our 1st XI is still very much a work in progress and could really have done with being given more time to gel, but now we're just going to have to do it on the hoof, in the knockouts. He could've started with a strong XI with maybe 3 changes, then taken players off in the 2nd half. But it is what it is. He was clearly determined to get to the "easy" side of the draw (not that Colombia is a gimmee), so time will tell if playing the ressies in the middle of a World Cup was a sound decision.

Japan would not be a 'gimmee' either.

I am more than content with our schedule.

 

[Bozza]

He was clearly determined to get to the "easy" side of the draw (not that Colombia is a gimmee), so time will tell if playing the ressies in the middle of a World Cup was a sound decision.

Yet if Rashford had scored, and he really should, then we'd have been top. Were strikers instructed to miss on purpose in the unlikely event of finding themselves with a goalscoring opportunity?

 

[Is it PotG?]

Yet if Rashford had scored, and he really should, then we'd have been top. Were strikers instructed to miss on purpose in the unlikely event of finding themselves with a goalscoring opportunity?

Indeed, top with a draw and momentum lost anyway with the possibility of Brazil.

 

[Easy 10]

Yet if Rashford had scored, and he really should, then we'd have been top. Were strikers instructed to miss on purpose in the unlikely event of finding themselves with a goalscoring opportunity?

When you create one solitary goalscoring opportunity over the course of 90 minutes, you don't really give yourself much of a chance of getting a result.

Its fine, whats done is done, maybe it will work out for the best. Its not how I'd have approached this game, but then what do I know ? He'll stand or fall by his decisions. IMO he made way too many changes last night, but we'll see the benefit of that when we witness the performance on Tuesday.

 

[Bozza]

we'll see the benefit of that when we witness the performance on Tuesday.

That's not true either though, is it?

If we romp to a win, it doesn't mean that last night was played correctly.

Equally, however, if we are dross and go out to Columbia it doesn't mean that it was a direct result of resting players / coming second, although I don't doubt that a load of thicko fans and most of the British press will be going after Southgate using that line of attack.

Unfortunately we don't get the benefit of seeing both different paths play out in parallel. In fact there are many possible paths including we made no/few changes last night and still lost. There's another that sees us win last night but lose Kane with an injury that puts him out of the rest of the tournament etc.