Well, thanks Sven.

[Easy 10]

I was thinking of you yesterday (saturday) Easy. You'd said before that you would be 'happy', relatively speaking, if England went out all guns blazing, (like 1998) and lost unluckily on penalties. Did Saturday match your criteria?

Not really, no.
We were plodding along in our usual lacklustre way up until the sending off. Yes, the team "roused themselves" once we were down to 10 men, but it was too little too late.

Portugal were SHIT, utter garbage. And yet we still utterly failed to open them up, and only looked vaguely threatening in fits and starts. This World Cup has been complete tripe from England from start to finish. Frankly I just want to forget about the whole thing.

 

[Tooting Gull]

I think Easy, more than anyone, can be permitted a bit of a Sven-rant. He has consistently highlighted the guy's flaws for more than a year, and certainly can't be accused of hindsight.

And Eriksson has now totally cocked it up in his biggest test, the one by which he will fairly be judged (and come up very short).

I was one of those who pointed out that we had no right to qualify/win these things and at least Sven was getting us there, no negligible achievement.

But the problem with this one is that right from day one of his appointment, Eriksson had one eye on the 2006 World Cup. He knew that this group of players might fall short in 2002, or even 2004, but could win this tournament.

I'll be honest, I thought the same - and he cannot complain about being harshly judged over Germany. There does come a point where the baffling decisions stop being just eccentric and start becoming ridiculous.

I was astonished, and said on here at the time, about Walcott being one of four strikers, two of the others not fully fit. And from that moment until Saturday night when Carragher got the nod to come on for a penalty, it is hard to find many calls he got right.

 

[London Calling]

Thanks for failing to find a cohesive, effective, consistant system of play that could actually beat anyone semi-decent during your 6 years in charge.

Thanks for persisting with The Obvious XI without making any provision for when key players are missing or (gulp) a bit off form.

Thanks for taking us to a World Cup without having tried Carrick or Hargreaves in a holding midfield role until it actually mattered.

Thanks for taking us to a World Cup with two injured strikers, an untried kid, and Crouch.

Thanks for leaving us stranded with Rooney having to plough a lone furrow on his own up front because you didn't take enough strikers.

Thanks for blindly persisting with the Gerrard/Lampard 4-4-2 for five years when most others realised after a handful of games that it just didn't work.

Thanks for sticking with all your faves regardless of form, fitness or contribution to the cause.

Thanks for all your inspirational and highly effective half time team talks.

Thanks for all the tactical nouse and fabulously productive tactical changes that swung so many games in our favour.

Thanks for being so calm all the time, specially on that bench. Its SUCH a help.

Thanks for bringing Tord Grip along to the party. He really is great at putting those cones out and handing out the bibs.

Thanks for your enthralling and enlightening press conferences, which really are compulsive viewing and not at all similar year in year out.

And finally. Thanks for completely f***ing up this entire World Cup campaign. With these players, I'm not sure anyone could have been quite so comprehensively inept in a Finals tournament. England truley stank from start to finish, and looking at the players we have, it takes a special kind of coach to achieve that.
Now take your handsome payoff from the FA. And f***. Off.

Ah men! Not a truer word said.

Lc

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Good to see you missed out the fact we were playing well and looked likely to win untill Rooney decided to bring his stamp into play.
This dispite carrying Lampard again.

 

[Easy 10]

Good to see you missed out the fact we were playing well and looked likely to win untill Rooney decided to bring his stamp into play.
This dispite carrying Lampard again.

"Playing well and looking likely to win ?"
Are you SURE about that Kinky ? Cos all I saw was yet another plethora of misplaced passes, aimless punts forward (Rio being the PRIME offender there), and an isolated Rooney struggling to get into the game. Lampard was woeful, Gerrard just as bad, Beckham anonymous, nothing Joe Cole tried was coming off, and in terms of chances created prior to the red card, I'm struggling to think of one. If thats "playing well and looking likely to win", then you must have been watching another game. You sure you're not getting us mixed up with the French ?

 

[Easy 10]

I think Easy, more than anyone, can be permitted a bit of a Sven-rant. He has consistently highlighted the guy's flaws for more than a year, and certainly can't be accused of hindsight.

Thanks Tooting. But I was by no means a lone voice in my opinion of the man, I think an awful lot of people had become disillusioned with Eriksson after the manner of the 2002 exit.

Just gutted that we've wasted 2 more tournaments under his "leadership". And his successor hardly fills me with hope either.

 

[Muhammad - I’m hard - Bruce Lee]

Frankly I just want to forget about the whole thing. [/B][/QUOTE] me too.......still gutted

 

[dougdeep]

Good to see you missed out the fact we were playing well and looked likely to win untill Rooney decided to bring his stamp into play.

WHAT? We got better when Rooney went off. FACT.

 

[Schrödinger's Toad]

Hardly. We performed admirably, and had a few neat breaks via Lennon, but it hardly compared to the period of dominance we were enjoying prior to the sending-off, when it was looking like being a matter of time until we scored.

 

[dougdeep]

Hardly. We performed admirably, and had a few neat breaks via Lennon, but it hardly compared to the period of dominance we were enjoying prior to the sending-off, when it was looking like being a matter of time until we scored.

You two watched it together didn't you?

 

[Easy 10]

it hardly compared to the period of dominance we were enjoying prior to the sending-off, when it was looking like being a matter of time until we scored.

I honestly think I must have been watching a different game.

DOMINANCE ??

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

I honestly think I must have been watching a different game.

DOMINANCE ??

Maybe if you watch England without your anti Sven glasses on you may see plus points.

 

[Marshy]

Thanks Sven for slowing killing my love of the one thing other than my family and the Albion that actually means something to me, watching my country play football, for the first time in my life i went into a tournament expecting absolutely nothing from an England side and that is exactly what i got.

He should have been shoved after the euro flop. Another glorious quarter final exit on penalties was always going to happen in this tournament at best.

We have played utter garbage in this tournament and have made no improvement as a footballing nation in the 6 years he has been in charge.

All he has done is manage to take 25 million pound from our game and possibly ruin the best generation of footballers we have had since 66.

Thanks Sven

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

I was thinking of you yesterday (saturday) Easy. You'd said before that you would be 'happy', relatively speaking, if England went out all guns blazing, (like 1998) and lost unluckily on penalties. Did Saturday match your criteria?

PS - That's three quarter-finals in succession and with Sven's resignation those are now officially 'The Good Old Days'. Under McClaren I think we'll struggle to win anything. I hope I'm wrong but I haven't been about England so far (he says rather smugly). Don't forget I was one of the few who said Hargreaves was a good player!

PPS - I don't think Oceanic's being paying much attention over the last 12 months or so. Either that or he's got you on 'Ignore'!

you must have been salivating waiting to make that post. You seem unwilling to see that we had a set of players who could have done something. And this was combined with a draw that we could only dream of. And this was all f***ed up by a manager who was unable to make a team of his players. But for you this was the same old England. Well to be honest I too have seen the same old England - time after time after 1970 - and this time, for once, I believed we did have players that, in the right position, with the right luck - would have lifted the trophy. I am not a person to be carried along by hype - but this set of players should have gone all the way.

The same old postings you make about the same old England may apply from now - but for this World Cup they should have been off the mark. But Sven f***ed it up.

(and of course the FA and the players take responsibility as well - but that was his set of players and his players).

 

[philgull25]

he should have gone after 2004, did well upto that tournament in my opinion taking away the Brazil game(although a half fit team against Brazil were hardly gonna do much) but sine portugal its been a shambles.

but looks like its continue where we left off with steve mclaren to me but i certainly hope not. lets give him a chance though.

 

[London Calling]

Stats shoed until Rooney sending off that possession was 50 -50.

You may recall that the Pundits stated at half-time, England 50% was in their own third whilst Portugal was possession in our half.

We really looked lost and forlorn. despite what the media said and hoped, Rooney still was not completely fit, he still hadn't gained the sharpness, and he and us was not going anywhere.

 

[London Calling]

Comapred to what we had b4 I will give Sven some credit, for giving us hope. He was also prepared to blood young players such as Lennon. Remember how the media had literally had to break Hoddle arms to get Owen and Beckham to play in 98.

I actually believe bringing players on for a short sharp shock can be good, it is a formula working well in Rugby League.

But the bloke had a squad that could beat most sides, without tactics. What we needed was a coherent team not a collection of individuals.

What we needed when we came up againgst an equal was tactics, a fit and healthy side, the best squad we could put on the pitch and a belief that we were the best.

What did Leo say to Linekar, "you need to impose yourselves on the other side".

The last years have been a waste, the friendlies have been a waste, the ;ack of structure has been a waste. And the FA are just an elite group of Chairmen who put their own clubs b4 our national side, I can't blame them for that! But they should not be in that position. And the ......................................................................................................................................

LC

 

[El Presidente]

Am I alone in thinking that our so called 'World Class' England players are over-rated?

The defence is solid, the midfield lacks guile although is full of good goalscorers, and Rooney has never scored against decent opposition.

England have never been very good, just look at their record before Sven

2000 Euro Championships, went out in group stage
1998 World Cup: Last 16
1996 Euro's: Made the semis, but ONLY after Spain had two perfectly good goals ruled out for offside in the QF
1994 WC: Did not qualify
1992 EC: Knocked out in group stage

We are the Newcastle of international football, always convinced that we are a major player, but in reality just have superb support and an inflated opinion of ourselves.

 

[Brovion]

you must have been salivating waiting to make that post. You seem unwilling to see that we had a set of players who could have done something. And this was combined with a draw that we could only dream of. And this was all f***ed up by a manager who was unable to make a team of his players. But for you this was the same old England. Well to be honest I too have seen the same old England - time after time after 1970 - and this time, for once, I believed we did have players that, in the right position, with the right luck - would have lifted the trophy. I am not a person to be carried along by hype - but this set of players should have gone all the way.

The same old postings you make about the same old England may apply from now - but for this World Cup they should have been off the mark. But Sven f***ed it up.

(and of course the FA and the players take responsibility as well - but that was his set of players and his players).

Actually, no I wasn't salivating to make it, as I've said before I wanted to be wrong and during the match I certainly wasn't thinking "I really hope we lose so I can go on NSC and say 'I told you so'".

There is obviously a lot of truth in what you say, I too think Eriksson made some dreadful, negative, fundemental errors and his reign has gone downhill. BUT I honestly believe you and a lot of other people swallowed the hype that as you know surrounds England at every tournament. You saw good performances by the likes of Gerrard and Lampard for their clubs (surrounded by good foreign players) and drew the wrong conclusions.

We had a good set of players I'll grant you, better than usual, but even the available talent was lop-sided: Robinson is no Shilton and apart from Rooney who else would you play up front?

And why can't they take penalties?

 

[Dover]

I agree that this England squad looked as though they had no leadership, and had nothing realistically in the midfield. I also believe McClaren is the wrong choice as the next manager.

McClaren will only have the job for the next two years. He will then be found out, after keeping the present squad, which ill be primarily too old to play in the next world cup.

Hopefully, by then, most of the old duffers at the FA, will have retired, and O'Neill and Pearce can be appointed. Both who no doubt show passion about the game.

And the reason why they were not appointed? Simple. The old guard still remember Clough, and both O'Neill and Pearce are a little too like their previous manager for the Fa's liking.