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El Scorchio 8:43 Wed Jun 22
So England vs Iceland. Win win situation.

Couldn't really hope for a better draw. Should be easy if all Woy's posturing about how good we actually are and we owe someone a hiding comes true. On the other hand, they are stout at the back and have a goal in them. A loss to them would certainly mean the tin tack for the bumbling idiot.

I'm going for an unconvincing 2-1 to England after extra time.

El Scorchio 9:48 Tue Jun 28
Re: So England vs Iceland. Win win situation.

Him getting binned certainly lessened the blow of losing. In fact the game was actually too farcical to really be that upset about by the time the end eventually came.

Am I annoyed we lost? Yes. Am I delighted he's gone? Absolutely.

happygilmore 9:39 Tue Jun 28
Re: So England vs Iceland. Win win situation.

Timothy Henman

Ronald_antly 1:31 Tue Jun 28
Re: So England vs Iceland. Win win situation.

El Scorchio wrote...

"On the other hand, they are stout at the back and have a goal in them. A loss to them would certainly mean the tin tack for the bumbling idiot."

Congratulations on your pyrrhic victory.

KingandPaynter 11:38 Mon Jun 27
Re: So England vs Iceland. Win win situation.

and he did just that


Re: So England vs Iceland. Win win situation.
Workmanlike Woy will pick Sterling and fuck it up for most if not all of the game....

David L 9:20 Mon Jun 27
Re: So England vs Iceland. Win win situation.

He did say "knock out stages"

CHH 7:10 Mon Jun 27
Re: So England vs Iceland. Win win situation.

Sorry TC since 1966 we have won 18 games at world cup finals alone

source wiki P W D L F A
Mexico 1970 Quarter-finals 8th 4 2 0 2 4 4
West Germany 1974 Did not qualify
Argentina 1978
Spain 1982 Second group stage 6th 5 3 2 0 6 1
Mexico 1986 Quarter-finals 8th 5 2 1 2 7 3
Italy 1990 Fourth place 4th 7 3 3 1 8 6
United States 1994 Did not qualify
France 1998 Round of 16 9th 4 2 1 1 7 4
South KoreaJapan 2002 Quarter-finals 6th 5 2 2 1 6 3
Germany 2006 Quarter-finals 7th 5 3 2 0 6 2
South Africa 2010 Round of 16 13th 4 1 2 1 3 5
Brazil 2014 Group stage 26th 3 0 1 2 2 4

Grumpster 6:55 Mon Jun 27
Re: So England vs Iceland. Win win situation.

Results probably haven't done us justice as we've played pretty well, but you don't see the other major nations constantly letting teams off like we do, so something's not right.

Due dishing out a whooping, but I'll just settle for a good performance with some actual shots on goal for once instead of having no cutting edge.

TCHammer444 6:48 Mon Jun 27
Re: So England vs Iceland. Win win situation.

Swiss. 6:23 Mon Jun 27

agree - it is shocking.

I have been told today that we've only won 6 knockout games since we won the World Cup in 1966, which is staggering

World Cup 86, Paraguay 3-0,

World Cup 90, Belgium,1-0 Platt, & 3-2 Cameroon, Platt & Lineker (2 pens)

Euro 96 - 0-0 Spain (4-2 on pens)

World Cup 2002, Denmark 3-0 (heskey, owen, rio)

World Cup 2006 - Ecuador 1-0 Beckham.

And that is it...

If we don't win tonight, we don't deserve to be there.

Mart O 6:47 Mon Jun 27
Re: So England vs Iceland. Win win situation.

TBF, he filled that role in front of the defence until first Diarra, thn Kante took over. He's generally done OK but he's a definite downgrade on Kante for me.

Mr Anon 6:40 Mon Jun 27
Re: So England vs Iceland. Win win situation.

Mart O 6:36 Mon Jun 27
Re: So England vs Iceland. Win win situation.

Not sure Cabaye is much of a downgrade to be honest.

Mart O 6:36 Mon Jun 27
Re: So England vs Iceland. Win win situation.

Anyway, not sure if this has been mentioned but, IF we win tonight, France will probably replace Rami with Mangala and Kante with Cabaye.

Bonus Gibbon, lads !

Alex V 6:34 Mon Jun 27
Re: So England vs Iceland. Win win situation.

El Scorchio 6:04 Mon Jun 27

Well with the squad he has, I think he's picked the right players and the right approach. But they have to prove it on the pitch tonight.

Swiss. 6:23 Mon Jun 27
Re: So England vs Iceland. Win win situation.

TCHammer

Quite an incredible stat that

El Scorchio 6:18 Mon Jun 27
Re: So England vs Iceland. Win win situation.

Indeed- it was their full backs pulling wide in the example shown. I know Draxler was playing on the left as well, but he was one of the players making a move inside to drag the defence narrow and allow Boateng and the left back to go forward into space.

However, I do agree we're a bit damned if we do and damned if we don't. (and in my opinion) because he simply hasn't picked a flexible enough squad to really play in a system other than the diamond one he abandoned after the Portugal game. You're right in the fact that even if we get wide and get crosses in, they really have to be on the ground as we don't really have any forwards who can compete in the air with good central defenders- especially if they are always likely to be outnumbered in the box.

Alex V 6:14 Mon Jun 27
Re: So England vs Iceland. Win win situation.

El Scorchio 6:04 Mon Jun 27

Draxler and Ozil aren't really wingers either, they're attacking players doing a job in a wider role. There's not that much difference in the way we and Germany set up - the difference is that their pattern of play is more established and practised and their players are frankly better than ours.

I don't see how wing-backs will give us extra width. The full-backs already have proven they can get forward well - they essentially have already been playing as wing-backs. Actually 3-5-2 takes away wide options, because the wide forwards that used to contribute wide will have been taken away, it would be up to central players like Alli or Rooney to do extra work to get wide, which is not their natural game.

I do agree we shouldn't be attacking narrow. You need to use the width of the pitch. We could be a bit better at doing that. But at the same time we don't have a Carroll in the centre for crosses - we have set out our stall to work the ball largely on the floor into and across the box. If the suggestion is to rip up that plan we just don't have the players to do it, whatever system we use. If we're to win we need to get the ball at the feet of our forwards in and around the box.

TCHammer444 6:06 Mon Jun 27
Re: So England vs Iceland. Win win situation.

We haven't won a game of knockout football for 10 years!

Tonight is the night we break it

C'mon England

El Scorchio 6:04 Mon Jun 27
Re: So England vs Iceland. Win win situation.

V- it's more about trying to get some bloody width into the team than having an extra centre back. There's not many other ways to do it, seen as he's only put one wide attacking player in the whole squad.

Sure, you can always stick Vardy or Sturridge on the wing, but then you leave yourself short in the middle with only a misfiring Kane and the inexperienced Rashford.

Alternatively he could look to play a full back as a winger.

We're not going to get much joy against them by attacking narrow- like the last three games. We have to spread the play and use the field to our advantage. Have someone pacy to get in amongst and behind them out wide.

There was a beautiful demonstration of Germany's tactics yesterday where they showed all the midfielders coming inside to draw the Slovaks there, then shooting the full backs down the wings where space had been created. That's how they created space against a packed defence. Worked a treat as they carved them open again and again just like we failed to do.

El Scorchio 5:59 Mon Jun 27
Re: So England vs Iceland. Win win situation.

Hammers1993 4:57

Exactly!
It's a bit of a last resort, but that's the corner the old duffer has painted himself into, so I think it's a very reasonable idea. They are both athletic enough and will give us the width we need- shouldn't have to worry too much about defending Iceland.

Haz 5:12 Mon Jun 27
Re: So England vs Iceland. Win win situation.

We'll never really know V.

busheyhammer85 5:06 Mon Jun 27
Re: So England vs Iceland. Win win situation.

I'm very surprised we didn't try 3-5-2 in any of the friendlies to be honest.

Alex V 5:05 Mon Jun 27
Re: So England vs Iceland. Win win situation.

Not sure a single England player has much if any experience playing a 3-5-2. In terms of possible gambles, or round pegs in square holes, it would be an absolute extreme roll of the dice imo. I'm not really sure what the benefits of it would be anyway - have we looked short of an extra centre-back on the pitch so far?

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