*** Official Match Thread : Italy v Costa Rica ***

[Eric Youngs Contact Lense]

Hey, we could finish above Italy in the group!!! We would have settled for that before the tournament started

 

[1066familyman]

You are living in the past. We either try to change now and look forward to the future or do it again in 4 years time.

Agreed. Massive changes required for Tuesday. Get every single player that you don't envisage playing in two or fours years time OUT. Get all the youngsters in there. Tell them to express themselves, not to be afraid of mistakes, take in the experience and when we go home we build from there. Roy is just the man to do this too. If he can get young players playing the way he had Fulham playing in Europe a few seasons ago then we have the makings of a good team that will be a pleasure to watch rather than a frustration.

 

[Bold Seagull]

All the press who virtually picked the squad Cole and Defoe should have been there abd he shoukd have done everything to get Terry in for this last tournament. Those chosen in preference didnt do anything to help us.

You could just as easily say leaving Rooney and Gerrard out, and going all out youth with say Lallana, Barclay, or Wilshere would have been better for England. I don't see how going back to the likes of Terry and Cole would have made much of a difference - we went out of the Euro's 2 years ago with them in the team, and just as badly to be honest.

 

[carteater]

I bet there will be an enquiry by england about the drawing for the group, saying that it was rigged so that england would go out, as revenge for complaining about the 2022 world cup

 

[Bold Seagull]

I bet there will be an enquiry by england about the drawing for the group, saying that it was rigged so that england would go out, as revenge for complaining about the 2022 world cup

Looking at Uruguay and Italy, we had a plum group to get out of, because they are both poor.

 

[nwgull]

I agree with all you say there. But do you know how long this Costa Rica have been together before this tournament?

I remember either Japan or South Korea (maybe even both) having about six months together prior to the tournament that they hosted, but I'm curious to know what other teams also do this, if any?

I'm sure that the CR players have been playing club football all around the world, but I'd bet that they've taken international get togethers and friendlies much more seriously - no pulling out with tight hamstrings and then turning in a club match 4 days later. There is no way that they could be that well organised without it.

 

[1066familyman]

Five minutes to go and Italy string together half a dozen lazy passes in their own half like they hadn't a care in the world. And far less urgency than Garcia-era Albion.

Anybody else smell fish?

What kind of fish are you smelling exactly?, because I don't smell anything. Just see a very well organised Costa Rica team getting exactly what they deserved out of the game.

 

[1066familyman]

I'm sure that the CR players have been playing club football all around the world, but I'd bet that they've taken international get togethers and friendlies much more seriously - no pulling out with tight hamstrings and then turning in a club match 4 days later. There is no way that they could be that well organised without it.

This is something that really winds me up. I've lost count of how many of our so called 'big' players do this for friendlies. I wonder how much that is down to the players themselves though or pressure from their clubs?

 

[carteater]

because they are both poor.

and so are england

 

[Bold Seagull]

and so are england

Yes exactly, Costa Rica are frankly pissing themselves at the supposed group of death!!

 

[Monkey Man]

Five minutes to go and Italy string together half a dozen lazy passes in their own half like they hadn't a care in the world. And far less urgency than Garcia-era Albion.

Anybody else smell fish?

Me. I have no idea whether it's actually possible to get a team to throw a World Cup game but Italy did a very good impression of a team that had been "incentivised" not to try too hard.

So many needless offsides. So little pace. So many sideways or backwards passes. An easy shot that goes almost out of the ground. No signs of frustration on the players' faces. No reckless tackles. Yes, Costa Rica worked hard for the win and deserved it but I've never seen an Italy team so devoid of spirit or fight, and so content to lose a game they were expected to win.

 

[jimhigham]

After the South Africa shambles I was really hoping that we would do what the Germans did after their own low water-mark moment (Euro 2010) and basically discard the past and start from scratch with youth. They may not have won any major tournaments since then but they have always been thereabouts and fiercely exciting to watch too.

As it was we stuck with the old guard that had failed us for the past decade. I will give credit to Roy for giving youth its head in recent weeks but how would our team have performed if a youthful lineup had been playing together for the better part of two years?

Personally I would have been happy to see Gerard, Rooney and Lampard not even make the flight to Brazil and to have sent an inexperienced team across and use the tournament as a learning experience. We were never, ever, EVER going to win in Brazil anyway so why not take the opportunity to build for the future?

To a certain extent some of this has already happened anyway. Some players that we would never have envisaged going two years ago have now had big tournament experience. I wish it could have been more but it was not to be. The FA has to protect its cash cows.

Just an opinion. Other (better informed) ones are doubtless available. Feel free to flame me.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

The whole we don't have enough players playing at a decent level is pretty mute when Costa Rica have players in mls and Danish league

Quite.

Why are our players scared to go abroad? Could they find a decent level on the continent? Or do we simply not produce a certain calibre of player?

 

[Deleted member 22389]

Quite.

Why are our players scared to go abroad? Could they find a decent level on the continent? Or do we simply not produce a certain calibre of player?

Our players don't go abroad because the money is not good enough. Secondly I don't think they could cope with it.

 

[JamesAndTheGiantHead]