Mokong Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 Jesus, Ireland were very lackluster against Slovakia tonight, didn't really start playing till the last 20mins. We needed at least 4 points out of these next two games and you'd expect 3 of those 4 would have come tonight. They better pull out a miracle of a performance on Tuesday if they are to beat Russia. Must win game it will be.
Fierce_LiNk Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 Haha, that Netherlands scoreline is insane. Anyone would think San Marino were Arsenal, last weekend. *runs* It's good that both England and Wales won. Belgium had to let the "new" Holy Trinity down and draw their game. Pffft.
Caris Posted September 2, 2011 Posted September 2, 2011 (edited) Does anyone else think Van Persie looks like Richard Bacon? Edited September 2, 2011 by Caris
Ramar Posted September 3, 2011 Posted September 3, 2011 Haha, that Netherlands scoreline is insane. It's really not insane, San Marino are bottom of the FIFA rankings and have been Europe's whipping boys since forever. They've never won a competitive game.
Fresh Posted September 3, 2011 Posted September 3, 2011 Shameful, this and the monkey chants were just absolutely shameful. Why is this seen as acceptable in some parts of eastern europe? Do they not understand the connotations attached to such behavior.
Platty Posted September 3, 2011 Posted September 3, 2011 Yeah it's unreal. FIFA need to come down on them hard. There is no place for it, what's wrong with these people. Good win for England against a poor Bulgaria side. 2nd half was a bit of a bore fest but that's all we needed to kill the game. Should be a good game against the Welsh. Looking forward to it.
Fierce_LiNk Posted September 3, 2011 Posted September 3, 2011 It's really not insane, San Marino are bottom of the FIFA rankings and have been Europe's whipping boys since forever. They've never won a competitive game. It is insane considering it's their highest score-line of all time, by about 3 goals. It's not like we see an 11-0 every week. Most teams stop after 3-5 goals. The half-time score was only something like 3-0. So, to come out in the second half and score 8 is crazy.
Charlie Posted September 3, 2011 Posted September 3, 2011 How many shocking refereeing decisions which not only affect the outcome of a game, but potentially a whole qualifying campaign or major tournament before they bring in some sort of video technology? If Scotland had lost the game because we played awful I wouldn't have minded as much because we could vent about the players/manager, but because the referee made an awful decision and then made the opposite decision minutes later for an identical challenge/dive? You can't be having that.
gmac Posted September 3, 2011 Posted September 3, 2011 whilst the penalty decision was laughable (I don't think either were penalties) a draw was a fair result on overall play. Plus the Czech's should have had a penalty in the first half. Apart from a 10-15 minute spell Scotland hardly played any football, there were too many passengers today. Charlie Adam and Steven Naismith were woeful, not sure why Danny Wilson was brought on. Hutton's crossing was wasteful and his defending wasn't great either. Only Fletcher and Brown stood out for me today.
Jon Posted September 4, 2011 Posted September 4, 2011 Yeah we weren't great but that doesn't excuse idiot referring. The Charlie Adam tackle was a penalty in the first half but you can't justify that as a reason to give one an hour later with no time left in the game. Tactically Levein got it all wrong again, why are we playing 4-5-1 at home against an average Czech side. We showed them far too much respect and gave them far too much time on the ball. Thankfully they had Baros up front, or it could have been far worse.
Charlie Posted September 4, 2011 Posted September 4, 2011 To be honest I didn't actually see the match and haven't seen anything other than the major talking points so I can't really comment on our performance. Our bench was depressing, James Forrest is barely good enough for the Celtic bench, let alone Scotland. Danny Wilson has played about 3 times since moving to Liverpool - why even bring him on? Don Cowie? Surely we have better players available than him. Totally in agreement with @JonSt about Baros, he's been living of Euro 2004 for far too long. This was a game we needed to win and if Levein had got his tactics right we could've won it. The game was there for the taking as the Czech's aren't the side they used to be.
Mokong Posted September 6, 2011 Posted September 6, 2011 Jesus we were lucky to get that 0 - 0 draw with Russia today they were all over us for the full 90 mins. Russia should have had at least two goals, how Dunne kept the ball out of the goal in the first half and Given made that save with his frakking knees in the 2nd, jesus we had the luck of the Irish there for sure..... if only we had a bit more of it and fluked a winning goal from somewhere. Though I guess we were mega lucky Slovakia had a surprise 2nd loss to Armenia least that should keep us in with a chance at 2nd place... though I reckon 1st place is out of reach, unless the Russia have a slip up in the last two games.
Ramar Posted September 6, 2011 Posted September 6, 2011 England were shite, but won. I still couldn't give a toss.
MadDog Posted September 7, 2011 Posted September 7, 2011 I just dislike so many England players, and the fact that we are a very dull side to watch. We have very few exciting players.
Fierce_LiNk Posted September 7, 2011 Posted September 7, 2011 Wales played some pretty good football. Ramsey really looks comfortable in that Wales shirt. Overall, a 1-0 scoreline was probably a good outcome for me. Keeps the English and Welsh part happy. That Earnshaw miss, however, was awwwwwfuuuul. I've never rated the guy, despite that awesome record he has. The problem with Wales is that they haven't really got somebody to lead that line and cause trouble for the opposition. The closest thing there is Craig Bellamy. England's midfield is just poor. I don't know what's happening/happened to James Milner, but the guy just looks very un-exciting and out of his depth. The centre of midfield is the problem, because Young and Downing looked like they wanted to do something, or at least looked like they could cause trouble. Is Barry really good enough to play central midfield for England? He's not even one of the best central players at City. Maybe that's just saying something about our options. Wilshere and Cleverley will hopefully be the future of that midfield.
MadDog Posted September 7, 2011 Posted September 7, 2011 Hart Johnson Terry Cahill Cole Barry Gerrard Wilshere Downing-------------Young Rooney That's he team i'd play, unless i'm forgetting someone. Totally agree with you Flink on Milner, he's just so average and steady. Kinda agree with you on Barry aswell, but he's the best holding midfielder we have, unfortunately.
Fierce_LiNk Posted September 7, 2011 Posted September 7, 2011 Hart Johnson Terry Cahill Cole Barry Gerrard Wilshere Downing-------------Young Rooney That's he team i'd play, unless i'm forgetting someone. Totally agree with you Flink on Milner, he's just so average and steady. Kinda agree with you on Barry aswell, but he's the best holding midfielder we have, unfortunately. That's probably a better team, except I'd get rid of Johnson and I'm still tempted to oust Barry. I don't even think Barry does that deep role well. He sits deep, but the guy isn't really that pacey or particularly that much better in the tackle compared to Wilshere. In that team, the likes of Terry and Gerrard will be coming nearer to the end of their international careers. So, there's two big gaps to fill potentially there. I also don't really like the idea of playing one striker up front, unless the midfield are very mobile and get up to attack quickly enough.
MadDog Posted September 7, 2011 Posted September 7, 2011 Who would you replace Johnson with? I'd love to see Kelly get a chance, he will sooner or later, i really rate the guy.
Fierce_LiNk Posted September 7, 2011 Posted September 7, 2011 Who would you replace Johnson with? I'd love to see Kelly get a chance, he will sooner or later, i really rate the guy. Well, I think it says it all that someone like Smalling can come in, out of position and in-experienced, and probably do the job to as good a level as Johnson can (and still get forward well like Johnson does). The guy is Bale Mk. II in the sense that he isn't really a defender. I wouldn't trust him to defend if he were playing at United, lets put it that way. I'd rather see Kelly play right back for both Liverpool and England than Johnson, so I agree with you there.
Ellmeister Posted September 8, 2011 Posted September 8, 2011 I think Richards would be better than Johnson. Wilshere should be in Barry's place and then I'm not sure who should take over. Personally I still prefer Lampard to Gerrard even though Lampard hasn't played well recently. Bring back Beckham! :p
Ramar Posted September 8, 2011 Posted September 8, 2011 I'm not getting involved in the Johnson discussion again, he's rubbish. And Ell, are you suggesting Wilshere play defensive/holding midfield?
MadDog Posted September 8, 2011 Posted September 8, 2011 Wilshere shouldn't start as a holding midfielder, it just isn't his position. Gerrard has always been miles better than Fat Frank. :p
Ellmeister Posted September 8, 2011 Posted September 8, 2011 I have no idea what I said then. He's not a defensive midfielder. I think I meant to say Parker.
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