So, how do you reckon we will fair against Russia ?

Got what it takes ? And if you were at Wemblet on the weekend, would you have booed my boy Bentley as well ? Do you think he deserved the boos ? Do you think he will get booed again ?

I think it will be tougher for us on Wednesday, and am nervous as to whether we can register a win.

Also, I am nervous as to whether McLaren will revert back to the big boys, and with that a losing formula as they go and underachieve yet again.

I think the injuries that led to new blood in the team was the best thing that could have happened for England in a long time.

:thumb:

:tumbleweed:

I'll stick to club football then !

Tsk !

The current lineup is excellent i'd say, everyone works for eachoher, for the team and for themselves. There isn't a big ego there who thinks it's his god given right to pay for the country even though he isn't anywhere close to as good as he thinks he is. The likes of Lampard, Beckham, Rooney etc.

Gareth Barry has been monumentally good. Solid as a rock, can pass the ball superbly and with little fuss, and has a canny strike on him when the moment arises. Playing him in the centre with Gerrard is great. Barry holding back to allow Gerrard to run forward and unleash the odd bullet (though unsuccessfully tonight). Something Lampard never did.

Emile Heskey is only good at one thing, but my god look what it has done for Owen. Owen has been reborn as of late, he looks more like the player he was before he left Liverpool and became ravaged by injury for 3 seasons straight.

2 games, 6 goals and 6 points. England are now in a great position to qualify and even though I don't like McLaren at all it will take alot of pressure off. On some level I have to wonder wether sticking it out with a manager is actually a wiser move to make than changing whenever things get rough.

But aye, bottom line is, another great team performance, another 3 points and another 3 goals. Great stuff. GO ENGLAND!!!

p.s. Great for us Geordies to see Owen being so awesome again. Viduka or Smith can act like Heskey for us and Owen might just start scoring the odd hat trick for the Toon. Oh the beauty of the game when things go right :lol:

So, how do you reckon we will fair against Russia ?

Got what it takes ? And if you were at Wemblet on the weekend, would you have booed my boy Bentley as well ? Do you think he deserved the boos ? Do you think he will get booed again ?

I think it will be tougher for us on Wednesday, and am nervous as to whether we can register a win.

Also, I am nervous as to whether McLaren will revert back to the big boys, and with that a losing formula as they go and underachieve yet again.

I think the injuries that led to new blood in the team was the best thing that could have happened for England in a long time.

:thumb:

Clearly we have a problem as always with our team . a team spending more time in hospital than on the field , a team more interested in the Premiership than playing anything else . a team of unharmonious millionaires who take to the pitch like 11 ponce's on a Sunday morning complete with girlfriend , poodle and Chelsea tractor . England will achieve nothing .:)

I think we need to adapt Man Utd tatics of counter attacking and constant pressing.
I don't really like Man Utd lol but you can't fault Fergies tatics and thats what we lack in our England team as all we seem to do is build up a attack then back pedal back to the goalie every bloodytime.
If you watch teams like Spain, Italy, Brazil and such , they all have this flowing style which they are fluent with passing the ball around but they keep it in the ball park , our lot as Bp said above looks like there out on a special visiting day having a kick round the local park :lol:
I agree aswell Mondy, get some new blood in and lets constantly attack our opposition , cos when we do we are pretty dangerous, when we sit behind the ball its like watching wet paint dry and we end up losing anyway:bitchslap:

Clearly we have a problem as always with our team . a team spending more time in hospital than on the field , a team more interested in the Premiership than playing anything else . a team of unharmonious millionaires who take to the pitch like 11 ponce's on a Sunday morning complete with girlfriend , poodle and Chelsea tractor . England will achieve nothing .:)

The above is the sound of a nail being hit firmly and squarely on the head. :thumb:

hehe! You change the words England for Spain, Premiership for Primera division, and Chelsea for almost any club down here and BP´s description would fit as a glove as well. Going further on the subject, I find it at the least interesting how half of the players not only in the league teams, but also in the national teams, at least from what I´ve seen for the past few years around here, have suddenly became (insert here any european nationality). What a joke.

What a bunch of tossers, lost 2-1 to Russia and ofcourse Rooney gave away a penalty like the hot tempered prick he is, are we ever gonna have a manager that can kick our players arses and get some decent tatics working:bitchslap:
Oh well suppose i will save on shouting abuse at our team in euro 2008 lol, i hope they sack Mclaren aswell , his bloody useless :slap:

I couldn't care less about the England team, win or lose.
We won the world cup in '66 on a fluke.
Two good results since then 4-0 against Holland (Euro '96) and a 5-1 win in a friendly against Germany. We beat Argentina in Japan because they were poor.

I get more joy out of seeing Scotland do well.

Well if we can't finish top of the the group we got put in, there really is no hope for England at all, with all due repsect to the other countrys in this group, we shouldn't of lost to any of them, not even drawn any imo.
They don't deserve to scrape through, and if they don't, atleast we can all watch Euro '08 without the torture of knowing England is going play, it will improve my viewing pleasure no end.

Best of luck to Scotland too, lets hope atleast they can have a good run in the comp like Ireland did back in Japan, i was proud to be part Irish watching them that year.

As pissed off as I am I think this is the best way to make England realise that McClaren was never right for the job. I don't hate him as others do but he really didn't have a clue about some of the more important aspects of the squad. He should have learned from Sven's misguided loyalty to players but he did not. Robinson has been shot to pieces for months but he still played him even though he is almost definitely responsible for Spurs poor form.

Once Russia do the business inevitably against Israel and McClaren has to step down the FA are in a position to choose a charismatic and motivational manager. Mourinho is an obvious choice but I doubt he will take it. Big Sam has found himself at a huge club and he will not jeopardise that. And Redknapp, well I pray he isn't leaving Pompey. I truly hope it is an Englishman that takes the post but he has to be man enough for the post. If not then I will happily accept another foreigner, even Felipe Scolari :)

As pissed off as I am I think this is the best way to make England realise that McClaren was never right for the job. I don't hate him as others do but he really didn't have a clue about some of the more important aspects of the squad. He should have learned from Sven's misguided loyalty to players but he did not. Robinson has been shot to pieces for months but he still played him even though he is almost definitely responsible for Spurs poor form.

Once Russia do the business inevitably against Israel and McClaren has to step down the FA are in a position to choose a charismatic and motivational manager. Mourinho is an obvious choice but I doubt he will take it. Big Sam has found himself at a huge club and he will not jeopardise that. And Redknapp, well I pray he isn't leaving Pompey. I truly hope it is an Englishman that takes the post but he has to be man enough for the post. If not then I will happily accept another foreigner, even Felipe Scolari :)

Oh Dear, we got beat. Make it alright Porty, make it alright :(

Im so glad i never paid to see the game for it was like watching paint dry . Apart from a slight euphoria after Roonies goal it was downhill all the way . A sloppy performance , almost a Sunday in the park affair . We simply do not have the right mentality and drive . Cohesion is non existent . So Mcclaren will now go , im not sure this is a managerial problem , i think its one of English players in a very intimidating Premiership where nothing is more important anywhere but to stay in it . Just another boring chapter in English football .

We Should Have Played This Bloke !!!!!!

Bugger me, we have another lifeline. So all we need to do now is draw or win against Croatia and we scrape through ?

One more chance for England to fuck it up then, eh ?

:brickwall:

Its really hard for me to feel any enthusiasm about the lifeline. I am sure we we do ok and probably qualify but I am still pissed off that the outcome was out of our hands. For McClaren to accept this campaign is absolutely inane/insane. Our team are potentially world class. We have some great players and some very impressive younger players coming in. Yet we have a manager that seems less able to read a game than Keegan.

McClaren seems unable to react to opposition tactics and offer any positive counter to make an impression. He is happy when the team score a goal and then just sit back and try to soak up pressure from teams that should never be given the opportunity. He is happy playing people out of position and relying on long ball tactics. I want to see England string a dozen passes together,- not lose possession after 2 passes.

I would have been happier to see Russia qualify because at least England and the FA might redress the problems with the national team set up and make plans to ensure that training and team time is available on a more regular basis. And of course to get rid of McClaren and put a real manager in place.

For all the criticism Sven got - he at least took a few chances over the years, like Darius Vassell a chance before he was a Premiership player. That paid off for us very nicely.

But all said and done, I will support the team as I always do but at the moment its club before country for me.

I just can't get excited about the current team nor am I that interested in watching them.

A bloke down the road had a spare ticket to a game, and gave it to a neighbour that wasn't even into football. I wasn't even remotely jealous. I think the last time I can remember being really excited about the team was '96 & '98, and that's not just because Blackburn had a few players in the team then. Since then, there's been the odd good performance, but it's mainly been down to luck rather than tactical awareness by the manager or excellene by the players.

I'd love to feel passionate about the team, but it's very schizophrenic to watch the players in the England team perform and then see how they perform in the Premier League a few days later.

That's why I'm really into club football before country as well at the moment.

There's so many players playing out of their skin, yet the moment Lamps, Becks and Terry get anywhere near fit again, they displace these other players that are playing out of their skin and actually proud to play.

I wouldn't like to see a tournament without England in it, but, the way we play, the tournament would probably be more enjoyable without at the moment.

I'm just a bit sick of watching us draw, lose, or scrape wins against teams that we should be hammering. A wake up call is needed, and I really don't think if we scrape through that that much needed wake up call will come around soon.

Is it to much to ask to want to feel optimistic about the team once again, rather than the pessimistic bastard I am in this post ?

I mean, British players are so expensive these days, but if you went on the evidence of the national side alone, you'd wonder why ?

:headscratch:

I don't pretend to know owt about 'the beautiful game' ... but even I can see that the national team is severely lacklustre, compared to previous tournaments. Is that down to the management? ... I simply don't know, but I can sympathise with all of you lads who're losing heart with England's recent international 'performances'. Will they soon be like Spinal Tap ... playing support to the puppet show, so to speak?

In complete contrast though, up here in the bonnie land beyond the wa-all, EVERY Scotsman, proud to call himself one, seems to be 120% behind the national team and the management, regardless of setbacks.

I was in Glasgow city centre on Saturday (yesterday) around lunchtime ... and I'd never seen so many white and hairy legs in my entire life.

Seemed almost every second male was sporting a kilt with boots over white, rolled-down socks ... and carrying either a St Andrew's cross, or a royal standard tied around their necks as a cape, or blue 'n' white painted face complete with orange "Jimmy" wig & Tam 'o' Shanter!

Every one of them was happy and in high spirits ... even greeting me ... an ENGLISHMAN as a good friend when asked to photograph a few of 'em! Never felt more welcome here than yesterday!!

Shame the team couldn't quite pull back against the Italians.

Kind of on the fence about the Scotland result. Was gutted for them because they have done so well, and I do think the team deserved to go through as they had a good campaign.

However, every Scotsman I know loves to see England lose, so in that respect, I have a little wry smile at them losing and not going through.

:toothless:

Well i agree with both Porty and Mondy, its become torture to watch england play, and atleast if Russia had won we'd of been saved that torture in the Euro's.
From how we've played in the qualifying games, we don't deserve to be there, and i would of gladly seen one of the other British/Irish nations there instead.
We have the players to do well in any comp, but to watch them in an england shirt is like watching a bunch of kids in the sunday league, which is why i've stopped watching them altogether atm, i don't need that kind of stress at my age :lol:
Something needs to be done, thats if we r ever going to challenge for anything ever again, it probably won't be in my lifetime though :lol:

They got their fluke chance after Israel beat Russia. and now with 20 minutes on the clock they're 2-0 down to Croatia. :lol: I love it, they don't deserve owt else

cant believe they are fucking it up again big style. The Euros are gonna be very boring to watch without me home team present. still another half to go, lets pray they pull their fingers out their arses and play some decent football.

Hopefully we can wave goodbye to Mclaren , what a poor peformance , with the players have we shouldn't be losing to teams like these :upset:

I am gutted even though I tried not to care. Its hard to ignore national pride when it comes down to it. But it is the right result - Croatia are a good and compact team and really earned the result.

I think McClaren should do the right thing and walk away - he has damaged the morale of the team and fans alike. We DO have a good team but they need a manager that can inspire the team ... sadly that is up to the FA to pick someone that is CAPABLE.

How bizarre. Overpaid bunch of wankers, barely a handful with any real pride in playing for their country. Maybe this failure of mammoth proportions will be a blessing in disguise in the coming few years. At least it wasn't the world cup we failed to qualify for.

Well, last night I watched a bunch of tits that were all over the place due to lack of proper support.

Oh, and over on ITV, Gok Wan was giving women advice on how their breasts would look better if they wore the correctly fitted bra.

:lol:

Joking aside, I did actually watch Gok Wan with my wife and flicked over occasionally to see the score. I wasn't really surprised by the result, nor really gutted to be honest.

What gutted me the most was the lack of conviction in the post match interviews form the players, and Mclaren's refusal to stand down.

I think that it's probably a blessing in disguise. Hopefully England can get someone in who can sort this mess out and pick people for the team who deserve to be there and not the ones who expect to be there.

I'm sorry, but I don't think the players will be that gutted as they return to their huge salaries and back to performing in their club sides. Yes, they might be worried about all the stick that will be coming their way, but genuinely gutted ? I don't think they're gonna feel it as much as the fans, somehow.

That's the really gutting thing.

I don't know who should come in, but definitely someone who can read a game of football for a start who can get 11 players playing together once again.

It's a poisoned chalice. Do players who play in the Premiership week in week out for millions need someone to tell them how to play the game they play every day? Change the Manager and he'll bask in glory when they win and be treat like a turd when they don't. At the end of the day, the players lost the match full-stop.

Well tbh, as annoying as it is to watch them, its still sad to see them out, but when they play like that, they honestly don't deserve to be in there anyway.
I hope they find a decent manager, because for me its the missing link, as much as i hate to say it, someone like Axel Ferguson would kick their ass's into shape (i know he'd never be stupid enough to manage them, but u get my point lol).
We need someone to get them playing as a team, thats the problem imo, they go out on the field as 11 players, and we play like a non-league side because of it.
I too reallly hope this is the kick up the ass the FA need to make a proper appointment, but we all know the FA know FA about football, so we might end up with just another misc manager :dunno:

The media involvement is already underway, and that is a big reason why no-one will touch it.

It does need a big figure at the top. Someone prepared to drop people if they are not fit or playing well, or unable to play together in a team, rather than playing them because of the name ($$) on the back of their shirt.

I do agree that these people shouldn't be told how to play, but we surely need someone in there who knows the right players to pick and who can make the appropriate substitutions during a game if things are not going right.

Wenger or Ferguson are the type of people ideal for the job, but wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.

The next few days / weeks will be interesting. I just hope the conclusion is a good one.

Here's hoping... And stay away from Sparky !!!

:bitchslap:

One of the worst England games I ever saw, the Croatia 1st leg was probably worse, that Robinson miskick has me in stiches every time. I did'nt even realise Lampard was on the pitch until he stood up to take the penalty. I think Gerrard was hiding up Lampard's arse as well. Why oh why did they play with one f'ing striker in the first half, they did that shit in the world cup and look what happened. At least we did'nt see Beckham dry reching on the side line LOL.

Come on Jose Mouriniho, take up your rightful place as an England Manager!. (Although he's probably hanging out for the Barcelona job!).

Who going to be watching the Euros next year then ? I think I'll cheer on Holland because they have nice chicks. !!!

Perfect!!! England and Croatia both in group 6 of the 2010 World Cup :)

Perfect!!! England and Croatia both in group 6 of the 2010 World Cup :)

LOL. Altogether now... "WE WANT MOURHINO, BUT HE DON'T WANT US"