Re: Football Thread

Sat Feb 20 2016, 15:31 Message reputation : 33% (3 votes)

When fit I don't think it would be too controversial to say that Wilshere is England's best midfielder, though all the same I wouldn't take him to the squad in an injured state as we did with Rooney in 2006.

Does anyone think there's any merit in using Drinkwater in some of the warm-ups to see if he'd get a place over say, Delph?

Sat Feb 20 2016, 15:56

Drinkwater's been good this season but I don't know how much is down to him and how much is down to playing alongside Kante who's been amazing. Probably more deserving than Delph though yeah. Roy seems to rate Cleverley though so I wouldn't be surprised if he made the warm up squads.

Sat Feb 20 2016, 16:20

Beninho wrote:

Tanzim wrote:ben nd sugar ray r stuped af

wilshere isnt even making the squad at this r8

Wilshere won 6 MOTM in the last 7 England games he played looool I'm dead

We can't allow a substandard midfielder to take his place if he is fit, end of

now stop negging me you divs

he hasnt played a game in yrs, essien was sick b4 his injury doesnt mean hes gna be instantly gd again
also lets also bring bck towsend since hes always had a decent performance wid a england shirt??

Sat Feb 20 2016, 16:58 Message reputation : 0% (1 vote)

chuckleberry finn wrote:what I think it'll be:

Hart
Clyne Smalling Stones Bertrand
Alli Dier
Walcott Rooney Sterling
Kane

:hits: If that's our main lineup we're done.

Bertrand - Good player, lacks experience internationally

Alli - Good player, great prospect but this tournament has come too soon for him to be a starting player + we have better players in his position.

Dier - DM's not even his strongest position.

Stones - I don't rate him. IMO he'd be a better playmaker at defensive mid. He's a good passer and can run with the ball but his decision making is abysmal.

I'd play:

Hart

Clyne-Smalling-Cahill-Gibbs

Carrick-Wilshere

Ox-Rooney-Sterling

Sturridge

Full 23 should be:

Hart
Forster
Butland

Clyne
Smalling
Cahill
Shawcross
Stones
Dier
Gibbs
Baines

Carrick
Wilshere
Drinkwater
Barkley
Walcott
Welbeck
Oxlade-Chaimberlain
Sterling

Rooney
Vardy
Kane
Sturridge

Sat Feb 20 2016, 20:06

corn wrote:

chuckleberry finn wrote:what I think it'll be:

Hart
Clyne Smalling Stones Bertrand
Alli Dier
Walcott Rooney Sterling
Kane

:hits: If that's our main lineup we're done.

Bertrand - Good player, lacks experience internationally

Alli - Good player, great prospect but this tournament has come too soon for him to be a starting player + we have better players in his position.

Dier - DM's not even his strongest position.

Stones - I don't rate him. IMO he'd be a better playmaker at defensive mid. He's a good passer and can run with the ball but his decision making is abysmal.

I'd play:

Hart

Clyne-Smalling-Cahill-Gibbs

Carrick-Wilshere

Ox-Rooney-Sterling

Sturridge

Full 23 should be:

Hart
Forster
Butland

Clyne
Smalling
Cahill
Shawcross
Stones
Dier
Gibbs
Baines

Carrick
Wilshere
Drinkwater
Barkley
Walcott
Welbeck
Oxlade-Chaimberlain
Sterling

Rooney
Vardy
Kane
Sturridge

Bertrand is so much better then gibbs, and wouldn't you want someone who's actually playing week in week out for their club. And come on alli is playing better then any Englishmen in the league how can you not even put him in the squad!

And I have to disagree with you on dier too, I think cdm is his best position, infact he is probably the best cdm in the premier league atm, just look at how he's coped against the top teams, he bosses midfield.

Sat Feb 20 2016, 20:46

First things first, it's not about having all the best players and throwing them on the pitch, it's about having the best team, the XI that work together the best. The reason I select Gibbs is because I believe he is the best choice for that position. I like Rose a lot but he has no international experience so he's out of the picture. Baines is terrible, past his peak when Moyes left but is good as a backup, so that leaves Bertrand and Gibbs. Both similar in ability imo but the reason I picked Gibbs over him is because he has more big game experience. He has played games for England, he has played in the FA Cup final, he has played in the Champions League. Sure Bertrand played in the CL final, but that's one, albeit high pressure game, whereas Gibbs has played in quite a few. Plus with Wilshere, Ox, Welbeck, Walcott and possibly (but hopefully not) Chambers in the side, I feel he'd be the best choice for team cohesion as well because those players know how he plays and at least one of them will be staring for us in the Euros.

Dele Alli, good player, again no experience. With Sterling it was different because he was working so well with Danny Sturridge, Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson; three first team players for our World Cup campaign. Who from the Spurs side will be starting games for England in Euro 2016? I don't see Dier getting ahead of Cahill or Smalling or even Stones, Rose won't be in the squad and will Kane really start ahead of Rooney or Sturridge if fit? Alli would be a better choice for 2018, not for this years tournament as I can see a lot of the other Spurs players breaking into the first team squad at that point as well.

Dier can play anywhere across the backline and in mid. I like him in defense but I guess its subjective.

Mon Feb 22 2016, 17:04 Message reputation : 0% (1 vote)

Shrewsbury vs United who will win tonight?

I'm gonna go for a 2-1 Shrewsbury victory.

Mon Feb 22 2016, 22:37

Tue Feb 23 2016, 15:39

corn wrote:Shrewsbury vs United who will win tonight?

I'm gonna go for a 2-1 Shrewsbury victory.

nice prediction ya tadger

Sun Feb 28 2016, 13:42

Who will win the Carling Cup final do you think?

I've a feeling Liverpool will win it in extra time, gonna go for 2-1.

Tue Mar 08 2016, 15:16

Been reading a bit about McClaren since it appears that his job is on the line after that 3-1 defeat to Bournemouth. Someone said that whilst his CV is littered with managerial failings except for one Eredivise title with FC Twente and a good spell in charge of Middlesborough, Ranieri's spell with the Greece National Team is far worse than anything McClaren has ever done. Anyone agree or disagree?

Also if McClaren is sacked, who do you think should take over? Personally I'd give the job to Tim Sherwood until the end of the season and see who's available in the summer. Sherwood is a fantastic motivator and gets the best out his players in the short term. Townsend is a dynamic player who he managed at Spurs and he can get the best out of youth players so I could see Ayoze Perez shining under him. Shelvey is a decent passer and Dummett will graft so I think there definitely is a team there. Don't know who I'd get after Sherwood though, Benitez or Moyes would be the best options probably.

Tue Mar 08 2016, 16:30

corn wrote:

Also if McClaren is sacked, who do you think should take over? Personally I'd give the job to Tim Sherwood until the end of the season and see who's available in the summer. Sherwood is a fantastic motivator and gets the best out his players in the short term. Townsend is a dynamic player who he managed at Spurs and he can get the best out of youth players so I could see Ayoze Perez shining under him. Shelvey is a decent passer and Dummett will graft so I think there definitely is a team there. Don't know who I'd get after Sherwood though, Benitez or Moyes would be the best options probably.

newcastle are trying to stay up you know

Tue Mar 08 2016, 16:35

chuckleberry finn wrote:

corn wrote:

Also if McClaren is sacked, who do you think should take over? Personally I'd give the job to Tim Sherwood until the end of the season and see who's available in the summer. Sherwood is a fantastic motivator and gets the best out his players in the short term. Townsend is a dynamic player who he managed at Spurs and he can get the best out of youth players so I could see Ayoze Perez shining under him. Shelvey is a decent passer and Dummett will graft so I think there definitely is a team there. Don't know who I'd get after Sherwood though, Benitez or Moyes would be the best options probably.

newcastle are trying to stay up you know

I'm looking at it realistically. Moyes won't want another black mark on his CV, nor will Benitez and Rodgers is far too big for the job. No big name is going to touch the job at this stage because relegation is a real possibility. The only options I can see are Sherwood and Peter Beardsley, the U21 manager and knowing what Newcastle's record is with untried managers (Shearer, Carver), I think Newcastle would give the former a go.

Sat Mar 12 2016, 15:31

Who's going to take over from Aitor Karanka then? Would've been the perfect job for Warnock but he's too busy keeping Rotherham in the Championship.

Sherwood, McClaren, Monk would be good shouts as Boro are still in with a great shout to securing automatic promotion, then there will be Ince and Di Matteo who appear on every bookie's list, and maybe Jonathan Woodgate could be a wildcard. He's taking his coaching badges at the moment and this could be a good opportunity to kick start his managerial career. Thoughts?

Sat Mar 12 2016, 16:27 Message reputation : 100% (1 vote)

Who will win the Euro 2016 and who will do good?
Personally, I think that there are 7 strong teams that can win the trophy: England, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Belgium and Portugal. However the real contenders out of those teams are France, Spain, Germany and Belgium. I don't think England can win because they don't have a leader of a team, I don't rate Wayne Rooney as a captain, if they had somebody like this, they would go on to the final. Italy always do bad in big competitions ever since the 2006 World Cup, they will try and play defensively through out the whole tournament and will eventually get knocked out by a classic team that will play 3 up front. Portugal, we all know are a 1-man team, if they lose Ronaldo they will get no where, also, with him they aren't that good either. There are also 2 teams that will surprise everybody, Poland and Croatia. They both have good teams and can reach the semi-final if they get lucky in the draw.

My predictions:
1st: France
2nd: Spain
3-4: Belgium and Germany
5-8: England, Poland, Portugal, Croatia
9-16: Italy, Sweden, Ukraine, Austria, Turkey, Russia, Wales, Romania
Group Stage:Ireland, Albania, Switzerland, Slovakia, Hungary, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Czech Republic

Sat Mar 12 2016, 17:50 Message reputation : 100% (1 vote)

Świeczka wrote:Who will win the Euro 2016 and who will do good?
Personally, I think that there are 7 strong teams that can win the trophy: England, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Belgium and Portugal. However the real contenders out of those teams are France, Spain, Germany and Belgium. I don't think England can win because they don't have a leader of a team, I don't rate Wayne Rooney as a captain, if they had somebody like this, they would go on to the final. Italy always do bad in big competitions ever since the 2006 World Cup, they will try and play defensively through out the whole tournament and will eventually get knocked out by a classic team that will play 3 up front. Portugal, we all know are a 1-man team, if they lose Ronaldo they will get no where, also, with him they aren't that good either. There are also 2 teams that will surprise everybody, Poland and Croatia. They both have good teams and can reach the semi-final if they get lucky in the draw.

My predictions:
1st: France
2nd: Spain
3-4: Belgium and Germany
5-8: England, Poland, Portugal, Croatia
9-16: Italy, Sweden, Ukraine, Austria, Turkey, Russia, Wales, Romania
Group Stage:Ireland, Albania, Switzerland, Slovakia, Hungary, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Czech Republic

Maybe Italy was crap in last world cups, but they are usually pretty strong in euros. They were in the final of euro 2012 if you remember;)

Sat Mar 12 2016, 20:29

Italy's got a lot of work to do in fashioning an incisive attack, they've been extremely laboured by their standards in the qualifiers, and the fact that Graziano Pellè's their first choice centre forward reflects their dearth of great attacking players. Four years ago they had Balotelli in good form but after his loss of his place on the Milan teamsheet it's difficult to see him earn a recall with the tournament only months away.
Pirlo also seems to still be considered despite playing in the USA, he was their player of the tournament in 2012 but his last season in Juventus showed signs of him creaking, and him not playing in a top level league will have led to more rust accumulating.
That being said, their defence is excellent and they do have two top level central midfielders in Verratti and Marchisio so they should at least progress to the knockouts, though if ever they go 1 down they'll struggle.

Sat Mar 12 2016, 21:08

Rénbeaudach wrote:Italy's got a lot of work to do in fashioning an incisive attack, they've been extremely laboured by their standards in the qualifiers, and the fact that Graziano Pellè's their first choice centre forward reflects their dearth of great attacking players. Four years ago they had Balotelli in good form but after his loss of his place on the Milan teamsheet it's difficult to see him earn a recall with the tournament only months away.
Pirlo also seems to still be considered despite playing in the USA, he was their player of the tournament in 2012 but his last season in Juventus showed signs of him creaking, and him not playing in a top level league will have led to more rust accumulating.
That being said, their defence is excellent and they do have two top level central midfielders in Verratti and Marchisio so they should at least progress to the knockouts, though if ever they go 1 down they'll struggle.

They have El-Shaarawy who's found form at Roma, Giovinco who's tearing it up the MLS and Rossi who's a reliable source of goals. Also I wouldn't rule out Balotelli, since he always seems to perform for Italy.

Sat Mar 12 2016, 21:58

lol @ the mls, and rossi doesn't have any knees.

Sun Mar 13 2016, 00:44

Świeczka wrote:Who will win the Euro 2016 and who will do good?
Personally, I think that there are 7 strong teams that can win the trophy: England, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Belgium and Portugal. However the real contenders out of those teams are France, Spain, Germany and Belgium. I don't think England can win because they don't have a leader of a team, I don't rate Wayne Rooney as a captain, if they had somebody like this, they would go on to the final. Italy always do bad in big competitions ever since the 2006 World Cup, they will try and play defensively through out the whole tournament and will eventually get knocked out by a classic team that will play 3 up front. Portugal, we all know are a 1-man team, if they lose Ronaldo they will get no where, also, with him they aren't that good either. There are also 2 teams that will surprise everybody, Poland and Croatia. They both have good teams and can reach the semi-final if they get lucky in the draw.

My predictions:
1st: France
2nd: Spain
3-4: Belgium and Germany
5-8: England, Poland, Portugal, Croatia
9-16: Italy, Sweden, Ukraine, Austria, Turkey, Russia, Wales, Romania
Group Stage:Ireland, Albania, Switzerland, Slovakia, Hungary, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Czech Republic

Germany are the team to beat and I think they will win the tournament this year. France are the second best team in the tournament and of course have home advantage, but the Germans are on another level; they have a fantastic player in each position. Belgium won't do as well as people predict, Wilmots is not a great coach and they can be suspect defensively. Spain's golden generation is gone. They still have fantastic players but they won't reach the final. Quarters is more likely. Disagree with Rooney being a poor captain; he's been exceptional with this England team and has lead us to 10 wins in a row. A much better captain than Gerrard anyway who was texting his mate Luis Suarez before the Uruguay game. Croats won't get out of group, their FA is riddled with corruption and whilst they have a strong midfield and a good forward in Mandzukic, I think they will be the serial underperformers this tournament. On the other end of the scale, Albania will make it to the semi finals. Hamdi Salihi of Skenderbeu Korce will be the surprise player of the tournament.

Sun Mar 13 2016, 12:07

do Germany have any good strikers? Is Muller gonna play there? They don't have a right back either and Schweinsteiger is past it.

hope belgium lose every game lol.

Sun Mar 13 2016, 12:27

chuckleberry finn wrote:do Germany have any good strikers? Is Muller gonna play there? They don't have a right back either and Schweinsteiger is past it.

hope belgium lose every game lol.

Muller is more than capable of leading Germany's front line. They got Gundogan and Bender and possibly even Can who can play in Schweinsteiger's position. As RB they have Grosskerutz don't they, although with the plethora of talent they have in the center back postition (Hummels, Howedes, Mustafi), they could always play two of those and play Boateng at right back.

Sun Mar 13 2016, 12:39

I don't doubt that they have players capable of replacing Schweinsteiger but are they gonna drop their captain?

Sun Mar 13 2016, 13:05

chuckleberry finn wrote:I don't doubt that they have players capable of replacing Schweinsteiger but are they gonna drop their captain?

LVG isn't the manager, the captain doesn't always have to play. I'm sure Lahm, Mert, Neuer or whoever is vice cap can lead the team on the field, and Bastian be that all important influence in the dressing room.

Sun Mar 13 2016, 13:26

lahm retired fam