Drinkwater starts for England v Australia

[Aussie Fox 1969]

Why does every Australian player sound like their eastern European?

Haha! Well spotted Fix 4 Life.

A snippet from an Australian commentary during England's 1-3 loss to Australia in 2003 (with apologies to comedian Billy Birmingham, aka The Twelfth Man):

England loses possession. Australia now has the ball.

U-cant-ski passes to I-can-ski, to No-u-cant-ski, to So-can-she-ski, to We-can-all-ski.

Now with Lost-my-how-ski, to Digga-ditch, to Son-ova-bitch.

Wide ball for the substitute Smith . . . I hope I pronounced it correctly. Tricky name that.

Little chip-avitch over the top-avitch. F**k-off-ya-bitch, it's a goal-avitch.

Australia 2 nil-ski

England in deep sh*t-ski

Disclaimer: All names and incidents portrayed in this commentary are fictitious.

[Nalis]

In the infamous Croatia v Australia match in the 2006 World Cup, wasn't there something ridiculous like 4 Croatian born players in the Australian team and 3 Aussie born players in the Croatian team?

[reynard]

International football is different to the top of the Prem.. The Prem is the most competitive top league in Europe from top to bottom, but the quality at the top is poor compared to Italy Germany Spain. I think Drinkwater will be shown up next season in the Champions League should he find himself in a matchup with the likes of Pogba, Iniesta etc. Premier League (as Bale said) is about being physical. Strong, fast, enduring, determined.. International and high end European football is a lot more tactical. Knocking it over the top to Vardy is not a system that will carry anyone far - except in a Premier League where the BEST DEFENCE was of TOTTENHAM!!! I mean c'mon.. Spurs have a reputation for being awful at defending, have conceded more goals than any other team in the EPL history - and that is the best on offer last season.

 

i think Drinkwater, Sterling and Barkley should be dropped for the 23 man squad.

 

The problem is we don't have the players to play this so-called tactical game. What are our strengths at the moment? That is what Roy should be focusing on. Well I would say that in Kane and Vardy we have two of the most in form strikers in Europe at this exact moment. However, we try and play we can't/won't be able to defend.  So what Roy does is play one of his best strikers on the left wing. If he wanted a proper winger then frankly he should have selected Albrighton who is one of the best crossers of the ball in English football.  Vardy and Drinkwater have a telepathic understanding of each others game just as Ali and Kane do. These combinations built up over the last season in two of the three most successful teams in our top league are options he should at least consider.

 

Personally I can't see what Henderson offers. He's bang average and probably isn't really match fit but Roy will take him because he's loyal to players who got him through the qualifiers and he's a conservative manager who won't ever try anything unusual or unpredictable.

 

I really don't get your point about Tottenham's defence. What on earth has reputation got to do with it. What they did last season was excellent but it had nothing to do with past reputations. As for this knocking it over the top bollocks if you think that was all our game was then you simply haven't watched us play. In a sky sports interview Vialli (who I think knows a bit about football) said Leicester was one of the best counter attacking teams in European football. Athletico Madrid haven't done too badly with a similar style either. The top of Italian football is pretty poor at the moment. In a league largely based on home grown talent even the Italian head coach thinks this is the poorest team they have had technically for many years. German football largely consists of two teams and Spain around seven.

 

As for high end European football and international football being technical if for that word you swap boring then I'd agree. Obviously there are good teams and great teams but for me watching Barcelona  pass it sideways and backwards for 70 minutes is a bit like watching paint dry. A lot of international football is equally dull and not always of so-called great quality.

 

England may lack technical quality but what we do have that frightens opponents is pace. Vardy, Rashford and Kane all have it and all can finish. The question for me is do we have a manager who can take off his blinkers and see that. The movement and the ability to get in behind defenders is excellent but if we fail to get the ball to them by playing systems which don't suit our players then I don't see how we can win.

 

Hope I'm wrong but I fear we will get so far a fail because we have a manager who is too cautious.

[dominicmsb]

Can see him getting dropped after these 2 friendlies. Rashford looks incredible and Sturridge is a game changer whether he is 100% fit or not.

[Col city fan]

The problem is we don't have the players to play this so-called tactical game. What are our strengths at the moment? That is what Roy should be focusing on. Well I would say that in Kane and Vardy we have two of the most in form strikers in Europe at this exact moment. However, we try and play we can't/won't be able to defend. So what Roy does is play one of his best strikers on the left wing. If he wanted a proper winger then frankly he should have selected Albrighton who is one of the best crossers of the ball in English football. Vardy and Drinkwater have a telepathic understanding of each others game just as Ali and Kane do. These combinations built up over the last season in two of the three most successful teams in our top league are options he should at least consider.

Personally I can't see what Henderson offers. He's bang average and probably isn't really match fit but Roy will take him because he's loyal to players who got him through the qualifiers and he's a conservative manager who won't ever try anything unusual or unpredictable.

I really don't get your point about Tottenham's defence. What on earth has reputation got to do with it. What they did last season was excellent but it had nothing to do with past reputations. As for this knocking it over the top bollocks if you think that was all our game was then you simply haven't watched us play. In a sky sports interview Vialli (who I think knows a bit about football) said Leicester was one of the best counter attacking teams in European football. Athletico Madrid haven't done too badly with a similar style either. The top of Italian football is pretty poor at the moment. In a league largely based on home grown talent even the Italian head coach thinks this is the poorest team they have had technically for many years. German football largely consists of two teams and Spain around seven.

As for high end European football and international football being technical if for that word you swap boring then I'd agree. Obviously there are good teams and great teams but for me watching Barcelona pass it sideways and backwards for 70 minutes is a bit like watching paint dry. A lot of international football is equally dull and not always of so-called great quality.

England may lack technical quality but what we do have that frightens opponents is pace. Vardy, Rashford and Kane all have it and all can finish. The question for me is do we have a manager who can take off his blinkers and see that. The movement and the ability to get in behind defenders is excellent but if we fail to get the ball to them by playing systems which don't suit our players then I don't see how we can win.

Hope I'm wrong but I fear we will get so far a fail because we have a manager who is too cautious.

Super post

[GaelicFox]

Hope he goes on holiday with his family , relaxes And rests

Then comes back focused on proving that thick Fcuk Woy Wrong !

I have to say yesterday he was bang average compared to the standards he set this season in the league

And yesterday he was playing against a lower championship level team.

[GaelicFox]

The problem is we don't have the players to play this so-called tactical game. What are our strengths at the moment? That is what Roy should be focusing on. Well I would say that in Kane and Vardy we have two of the most in form strikers in Europe at this exact moment. However, we try and play we can't/won't be able to defend. So what Roy does is play one of his best strikers on the left wing. If he wanted a proper winger then frankly he should have selected Albrighton who is one of the best crossers of the ball in English football. Vardy and Drinkwater have a telepathic understanding of each others game just as Ali and Kane do. These combinations built up over the last season in two of the three most successful teams in our top league are options he should at least consider.

Personally I can't see what Henderson offers. He's bang average and probably isn't really match fit but Roy will take him because he's loyal to players who got him through the qualifiers and he's a conservative manager who won't ever try anything unusual or unpredictable.

I really don't get your point about Tottenham's defence. What on earth has reputation got to do with it. What they did last season was excellent but it had nothing to do with past reputations. As for this knocking it over the top bollocks if you think that was all our game was then you simply haven't watched us play. In a sky sports interview Vialli (who I think knows a bit about football) said Leicester was one of the best counter attacking teams in European football. Athletico Madrid haven't done too badly with a similar style either. The top of Italian football is pretty poor at the moment. In a league largely based on home grown talent even the Italian head coach thinks this is the poorest team they have had technically for many years. German football largely consists of two teams and Spain around seven.

As for high end European football and international football being technical if for that word you swap boring then I'd agree. Obviously there are good teams and great teams but for me watching Barcelona pass it sideways and backwards for 70 minutes is a bit like watching paint dry. A lot of international football is equally dull and not always of so-called great quality.

England may lack technical quality but what we do have that frightens opponents is pace. Vardy, Rashford and Kane all have it and all can finish. The question for me is do we have a manager who can take off his blinkers and see that. The movement and the ability to get in behind defenders is excellent but if we fail to get the ball to them by playing systems which don't suit our players then I don't see how we can win.

Hope I'm wrong but I fear we will get so far a fail because we have a manager who is too cautious.

England are handicapped by a manager who is incapable of managing

Lots of talent and no one to weave it together

[les-tah]

I will be very happy and smug when Roy drops drinkwater and gambles on the fitness off e likes of Henderson and wilshere and they both get injured.

Roy is a terrible manager.

[Jonezy]

Wow, talk about hyping. Rashford MoM both on BBC and The Independent.... Apart from smashing a loose ball into the net, he didn't really do anything and lost nearly all his duels. Bertrand were the best England player last night in my opinion.

 

Drinky was having a Kingy game and if he had to do something to get in, I think he is out. Henderson, Wilshere, Lallana was the same bland though, but they are probably higher i the national team hierachy.

 

I want to be excited about England, but I am really not....

[roblcfc84]

Danny will go I'm sure of it. Looked lost 1st half but in truth the whole midfield looked confused by the system. Did ok 2nd half - he, like Vardy for me, look like different players - could be instructions, could be nerves - personally I think it's a case of wanting to play it safe and not make mistakes. With Delph injured and JW struggling he will go. For me Barkley, Delph and Sturridge will miss out

[the_tank]

Danny will go I'm sure of it. Looked lost 1st half but in truth the whole midfield looked confused by the system. Did ok 2nd half - he, like Vardy for me, look like different players - could be instructions, could be nerves - personally I think it's a case of wanting to play it safe and not make mistakes. With Delph injured and JW struggling he will go. For me Barkley, Delph and Sturridge will miss out

Not sure..think Sturridge is in not sure if a goal will be enough for The Rash? Is Henderson fit enough?

Predict Woy will drop Delph, Drinky & The Rash

[Aussie Fox 1969]

In the infamous Croatia v Australia match in the 2006 World Cup, wasn't there something ridiculous like 4 Croatian born players in the Australian team and 3 Aussie born players in the Croatian team?

Nice pick-up Nalis.

A crazy, spiteful game. A 2-2 draw, with 3 red cards and a record 3 yellow cards to the one player.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/5058732.stm

"1952: The teams are in the tunnel, waiting to come on the pitch for this crucial decider.

In a bizarre twist, seven of the Australian squad are of Croatian descent, while three of Croatia's team are Australian-born."

[Dodgy Bob]

I don't know. A front two of Kane and Vardy, and a diamond with Dier at the back, Rooney up top, Alli and Drinkwater in between, wouldn't be too disconcerting. Tonight we didn't see players of that calibre, and the shape of the side wasn't easy to pin down as a midfield diamond. It looked like more than a few players weren't sure where they were meant to be and, skimming through the newspaper write-ups now, it would appears that quite a few pundits were of the same opinion.

That line up would be OK, but is unlikely to happen because of Hodgson. It's also still a case of shoehorning players in just to get them in the team. When have any of those midfielders ever proved themselves capable of playing in a diamond? When has a diamond ever worked for England? When has it ever worked for anyone?

In four years of Hodgson we should have at least developed an identifiable style of play. Instead we go I to his third major tournament without a clue even what formation were going to play, except to know it will be one that's entirely unproven, probably plays people out of position, and is riddled with big club bias. It's pathetic from Hodgson, I'm absolutely sick of him.

We need a real manager, who will play a system the players are familiar with, players in their best positions even if it means dropping some royalty/3rd place spurs players, and will demonstrate enough tactical acumen to eek out little gains. Hodgson can't even get the basics right. He looks like someone who takes five minutes just to figure out how to turn the alarm off on his phone every morning.

[HighPeakFox]

You couldn't wish for a better scapegoat than Woy, so surely the bitterest amongst you must be delighted to have such a prime target for your fury.

[Dodgy Bob]

Wow, talk about hyping. Rashford MoM both on BBC and The Independent.... Apart from smashing a loose ball into the net, he didn't really do anything and lost nearly all his duels. Bertrand were the best England player last night in my opinion.

Drinky was having a Kingy game and if he had to do something to get in, I think he is out. Henderson, Wilshere, Lallana was the same bland though, but they are probably higher i the national team hierachy.

I want to be excited about England, but I am really not....

The hype machine is in overdrive over Rashford. I agree with you. Ignoring his age and potential, of which he certainly has some although he's nowhere near where the likes of Rooney and Owen were at his age, and just looking at his performance last night on face value, I thought he was quite poor. There was nothing in that performance for me that suggests he's capable of making any serious impact in the tournament, but for sure Roy will give him the chance, he does play for man Utd after all.

[Dodgy Bob]

You couldn't wish for a better scapegoat than Woy, so surely the bitterest amongst you must be delighted to have such a prime target for your fury.

Who's fault are Hodgson's terrible selections if not Hodgson himself?

[PhillippaT]

You couldn't wish for a better scapegoat than Woy, so surely the bitterest amongst you must be delighted to have such a prime target for your fury.

The problem we have at Leicester, is that we have experience of what managers can do with/from Pearson and/to Ranieri, so we we know what's possible, and how much impact a manager can have.

[foxfanazer]

Neither Drinky or Vardy are suited to Woy's tepid, pointless possession based game unfortunately. Vardy has obviously done more but gets little praise on his international displays.

[steflcfc]

Hodgson is making a few basic errors like playing players out of position which haven't played in them for their club.

 

Sterling isn't a striker for Man C, wasn't having a great game, once moved onto the left of Midfield was much more effective.

Danny doesn't play on the left/right of  diamond for Leicester, once he played the DM role he was much more assertive/confident

Vardy IS a striker, not played on the left of a 3, once he has been put upfront he has 3 in 3.

Lallana, I'm not sure what his best role is for England I put him in the Milner bracket, versatile not holding down 1 position but wont set the world light either.

 

These are some very basic selection errors made by Roy, and we wonder why some players are underperforming whilst played out of position.

The whole of the MF first have was unbalanced and no one really knew there role it was obvious

 

We can all see he has a youngish team with some excellent  players in their respective positions, we could be a very good team at the Euros

With Roy in charge this wont happen as he will accommodate some players who shouldn't be in the starting 11 or even 23 man squad.

 

Taking too many Cm's with fitness issues for me, and when it fails it will be his get out plan and can blame injuries to Sturridge, Wilshere, Henderson.

The latter 2 will get rings ran around them once the tournament starts, and the pace of the football increases.

 

The sooner its finished any Roy goes hopefully, for me the better

[foxes_rule1978]

Hodgson is making a few basic errors like playing players out of position which haven't played in them for their club.

Sterling isn't a striker for Man C, wasn't having a great game, once moved onto the left much more effective.

Danny doesn't play on the left/right of diamond for Leicester, once he played the DM role he was much more assertive/confident

Vardy IS a striker, not played on the left of a 3, once he has been put upfront he has 3 in 3.

Lallana, I'm not sure what his best role is for England I put him in the Milner bracket, versatile not holding down 1 position but wont wet the world light either.

These are some very basic selection errors made by Roy, and we wonder why some players are underperforming whilst played out of position.

The whole of the MF first have was unbalanced and no one really knew there role it was obvious

We can all see he has a youngish team with some excellent players in their respective positions, we could be a very good team at the Euros

With Roy in charge this wont happen as he will accommodate some players who shouldn't be in the starting 11 or even 23 man squad.

These mistakes have been made by Hodgson for a long time now with different players. These are good players we have now, but with Hodgson and his tactics none are playing to their strengths and struggling to find that club form. It use to be under Sven that we would play all our best players regardless of whether they were in their natural position, Hodgson doesn't even do that now!

[HighPeakFox]

Who's fault are Hodgson's terrible selections if not Hodgson himself?

 

The problem we have at Leicester, is that we have experience of what managers can do with/from Pearson and/to Ranieri, so we we know what's possible, and how much impact a manager can have.

 

If you read what I said, I wasn't commenting on his idiocies (or lack of them) so much as how easy it is to scapegoat him - rightly or wrongly. It was more a comment that some people need a hate figure, and he makes it easy for those people. 

[steflcfc]

These mistakes have been made by Hodgson for a long time now with different players. These are good players we have now, but with Hodgson and his tactics none are playing to their strengths and struggling to find that club form. It use to be under Sven that we would play all our best players regardless of whether they were in their natural position, Hodgson doesn't even do that now!

 

I agree with you.

 

Roy's trying too many players out of position to fit his tactics, its not working.

 

The diamond in the 2 friendlie, has been passed/cut through so easy by 2 fairly average international sides with a fair few of their best players missing.

The better International teams will have a field day.

It has put a fair bit of pressure on our back 4 which is weak to say the least.

[st albans fox]

I agree with you.

 

Roy's trying too many players out of position to fit his tactics, its not working.

 

The diamond in the 2 friendlie, has been passed/cut through so easy by 2 fairly average international sides with a fair few of their best players missing.

The better International teams will have a field day.

It has put a fair bit of pressure on our back 4 which is weak to say the least.

But the diamond is the only way he can play vardy and Kane together up top. and everyone is applying pressure to him to do that. Fwiw, I think he'll start against Russia 4-3-3 with vardy on the bench and Rooney on the left/lallana right. The midfield three of wilshere Henderson and Alli . Doesn't make sense to me but that's what I think he will do

[dominicmsb]

But the diamond is the only way he can play vardy and Kane together up top. and everyone is applying pressure to him to do that. Fwiw, I think he'll start against Russia 4-3-3 with vardy on the bench and Rooney on the left/lallana right. The midfield three of wilshere Henderson and Alli . Doesn't make sense to me but that's what I think he will do

 

It's not the ONLY way. We won the league playing 4-4-2 remember?

[Peterorange]

That line up would be OK, but is unlikely to happen because of Hodgson. It's also still a case of shoehorning players in just to get them in the team. When have any of those midfielders ever proved themselves capable of playing in a diamond? When has a diamond ever worked for England? When has it ever worked for anyone?

In four years of Hodgson we should have at least developed an identifiable style of play. Instead we go I to his third major tournament without a clue even what formation were going to play, except to know it will be one that's entirely unproven, probably plays people out of position, and is riddled with big club bias. It's pathetic from Hodgson, I'm absolutely sick of him.

We need a real manager, who will play a system the players are familiar with, players in their best positions even if it means dropping some royalty/3rd place spurs players, and will demonstrate enough tactical acumen to eek out little gains. Hodgson can't even get the basics right. He looks like someone who takes five minutes just to figure out how to turn the alarm off on his phone every morning.