The cure for insomnia

[bcfc01]

Yay !

England beat the No.1 ranked team in the world 2-1.

Not that you'd know going by some comments on here.

[2015]

1 hour ago, maxjak said:

Cannot believe how wasteful Belgium were...well done England and all that....but really Belgium should never have lost that game.

We will get found out soon by all this tinkering from Southgate and giving caps to players who have only played like 20 prem games. 

Pickford shouldn't be in goal.

Tripper should not be a left back.

Treatment and alienation of Foden and Greenwood out of order when Maguire gets straight back into the side.

Grealish is better than Mount (in my opinion).

I am sorry but the formation and players we play are FAR too negative and have been since we lost to Czech Republic. We genuinely do have some real classy attacking talents coming through right now, so use them Southgate or waste them.

I cannot see us going to the Euros next year playing like we have and not being punished.

Not negative, just from what I have observed based on performances. As proven in the past with England, results are fine until we get to the Tournament..

[Red-Robbo]

I thought Belgium, who were disappointing, were unlucky TBH. A dive from the most minor of touches and a lucky deflection got us our goals.

I honestly don't think we deserved a win. We were better in the second half but sooo poor in the first 45. Static. Slow. Crippled by caution.

[2015]

1 minute ago, JonDolman said:

It's weird because I would have Pickford behind Pope and Henderson at club level, but generally I think Pickford has done well for England and no doubt that is why he remains the number 1.

Yeah Trippier not a left wing back, and I'd probably not have him in the squad as a right wing back either. But he did play well second half today.

I am hoping Sakho continues to get games at Arsenal and improves enough to be good back up for Chilwell. I think Sakho will be quality.

My biggest worry is at centre back. Hopefully Gomez gets back to how he was.

Yes centre back is a concern for me with England to be honest, right now we seem to not have any of international quality we would ideally like for England and those we have got like Maguire, Gomez, Dier, Walker are hardly on form currently. 

I think Trent could potentially be played in midfield at some point in his career due to his passing ability. That would be interesting, because I don't think he is the best of defenders but fantastic going forward.

It's a fair shout on Pickford, he hasn't really let England down, however the best keeper at the moment is Pope and he should be given a run.

I just want to see Southgate be more expansive and use the plethora of attacking options we have got, he seems to be very stubborn and has his favourites.

[North London Red]

15 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

I thought Belgium, who were disappointing, were unlucky TBH. A dive from the most minor of touches and a lucky deflection got us our goals.

I honestly don't think we deserved a win. We were better in the second half but sooo poor in the first 45. Static. Slow. Crippled by caution.

England may have had a bit of good fortune but Belgium only have themselves to blame. It was bad defending from Meunier to let Henderson get goal-side at the corner that led to the penalty (and whilst Henderson certainly made the most of the contact, I think he was impeded, albeit only slightly). And they were wasteful with the other chances they created. 

England improved from about 30-35 minutes onwards and managed to negate Belgium for most of the second half. We may not have deserved the outright win but I thought our recovery after that dodgy 20 minute spell probably merited a point. 

The return game in Brussels next month will be a stern test, but as the away team and with the threat of Sancho and Sterling on the counter attack, we could pose them problems. 
 

[Red-Robbo]

3 minutes ago, North London Red said:

England may have had a bit of good fortune but Belgium only have themselves to blame. It was bad defending from Meunier to let Henderson get goal-side at the corner that led to the penalty (and whilst Henderson certainly made the most of the contact, I think he was impeded, albeit only slightly). And they were wasteful with the other chances they created. 

England improved from about 30-35 minutes onwards and managed to negate Belgium for most of the second half. We may not have deserved the outright win but I thought our recovery after that dodgy 20 minute spell probably merited a point. 

The return game in Brussels next month will be a stern test, but as the away team and with the threat of Sancho and Sterling on the counter attack, we could pose them problems. 
 

 I agree with most of that. But while I think refs will often give soft penalties like ours when you can see a hand briefly brush an opponents back, I don't think Henderson was actually impeded in any way. Meunier's reaction to him after the game clearly showed he didn't either.

TBH a fly could've landed on Henderson's back and he'd have gone down like that. 

The sheer theatrics of the dive indicate to me there was nothing in it.

Still, if it's good enough for the Gas I suppose...

[North London Red]

3 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

 I agree with most of that. But while I think refs will often give soft penalties like ours when you can see a hand briefly brush an opponents back, I don't think Henderson was actually impeded in any way. Meunier's reaction to him after the game clearly showed he didn't either.

TBH a fly could've landed on Henderson's back and he'd have gone down like that. 

The sheer theatrics of the dive indicate to me there was nothing in it.

Still, if it's good enough for the Gas I suppose...

Yes, Henderson certainly made the most of whatever contact there was. His interview after the game also suggested he knew it. I wonder what VAR would have made of the challenge. 
 

He did something similar in the World Cup against Colombia. It’s not a side to his game that I’d endorse. 

[Mr Popodopolous]

4 hours ago, Alex_BCFC said:

Last nations league when we beat Spain away?!

Was impressive, actually really impressive in many ways- but possibly a bit overdone- in retrospect. Tactically very good and a strong first half indeed, but 25-30% possession and 3 shots on target from which you score 3 goals, this does not usually win a game! I'd say it is fairly rare to have so little of the game in key metrics- and yet win, away to Spain especially.

Strong result today for sure and gives us a chance of winning the group- everyone will beat Iceland I think, Denmark at home is no gimme, they have players who play for a variety of high ranking clubs, Belgium away is the toughest of all but if we avoid defeat there, we should win the group- in our own hands now.

[JamesBCFC]

11 hours ago, BanburyRed said:

Amazing that we don't have another naturally left sided wing back/full back to play?

Jay Dasilva not fully match fit I suppose.

[Oh Louie louie]

I think, and i do mean think, cause theres no way i can see it being true, that scotland are unbeaten in this uncomplicated leauge?

 

[Blackbird1]

13 hours ago, Davefevs said:

We aren’t a very good team are we.  We are ok, we have decent individuals but rarely look a team.  Belgium are well structured, have good players who know what they’re doing.  They are happy to defend when they have to, but know they have a plan to exploit England when they have to ball.  We try to play like we are the best in the world, we don’t respect teams like Belgium.  In reality a draw is a good result.  But we ought to be able to play a better style in achieving results.

Oh Dave look at the stats 

 

 

[Robbored]

First half was dreadful but full marks to Belgium who stopped England playing very effectively. They got a very very dodgy penalty to lead but second half Southgate tweaked things and England were far better and equalised with a stonewall penalty and deservedly won the game.

It was a typical ‘game of two halves’..............

It was like watching paint dry in the first half tho but that was largely down to the opposition.

[richwwtk]

7 minutes ago, Robbored said:

First half was dreadful but full marks to Belgium who stopped England playing very effectively. They got a very very dodgy penalty to lead but second half Southgate tweaked things and England were far better and equalised with a stonewall penalty and deservedly won the game.

It was a typical ‘game of two halves’..............

It was like watching paint dry in the first half tho but that was largely down to the opposition.

Except that our penalty equaliser was in the first half?

[Lew-T]

Mason Mount man of the match...

 

[Northern Red]

17 minutes ago, richwwtk said:

Except that our penalty equaliser was in the first half?

And far less 'stonewall' than theirs.

[Robbored]

1 hour ago, richwwtk said:

Except that our penalty equaliser was in the first half?

And?.........

[MarcusX]

13 hours ago, cityexile said:

5 at the back, 3 right backs, 2 DM's and a CM playing right wing.

Sometimes Southgate’s genius is... Its almost frightening

Walker is a RB by trade but has played that RCB role for England several times ahead of fit CBs and played it well

We didnt really have a left back in the squad with experience, when Chilwell's fit it'll be his spot so not really anything to worry about.

Henderson is more of a box to box midfielder than a DM

13 hours ago, 2015 said:

Have you watched England's performances lately? Performances and line up today/performance has been rightfully criticised. 

I'm not sure it's "rightful" criticism, we won the game against the top side in the world at the moment therefore his selections are vindicated.

There's been some very good performances over the last few years. Admittedly the last few games have not been up to standard but he's hampered by injuries and unavailability at the minute.

10 hours ago, 2015 said:

We will get found out soon by all this tinkering from Southgate and giving caps to players who have only played like 20 prem games. 

Pickford shouldn't be in goal.

Tripper should not be a left back.

Treatment and alienation of Foden and Greenwood out of order when Maguire gets straight back into the side.

Grealish is better than Mount (in my opinion).

I am sorry but the formation and players we play are FAR too negative and have been since we lost to Czech Republic. We genuinely do have some real classy attacking talents coming through right now, so use them Southgate or waste them.

I cannot see us going to the Euros next year playing like we have and not being punished.

Not negative, just from what I have observed based on performances. As proven in the past with England, results are fine until we get to the Tournament..

Pickford hasn't done much wrong for England, and Everton are currently top of the league.

Tripper wont be left back when we have fit left backs.

Maguire is technically innocent still at the moment, and has generally played well for England despite club form. Agree about Foden and Greenwood, that should be forgotten about now.

 

9 hours ago, Red-Robbo said:

 I agree with most of that. But while I think refs will often give soft penalties like ours when you can see a hand briefly brush an opponents back, I don't think Henderson was actually impeded in any way. Meunier's reaction to him after the game clearly showed he didn't either.

TBH a fly could've landed on Henderson's back and he'd have gone down like that. 

The sheer theatrics of the dive indicate to me there was nothing in it.

Still, if it's good enough for the Gas I suppose...

When was the last time you were in the box attacking (or defending) a corner, or attempting to win a header anywhere on the pitch? The slightest touch or push can be enough to put you off, especially once you're off the ground. It may have appeared soft but he pulled him enough to restrict him. I'm actually surprised it was given as usually they aren't.

[maxjak]

1 hour ago, richwwtk said:

Except that our penalty equaliser was in the first half?

Dont worry...he was wearing his union jack glasses.......he actually thought our penalty was a "stonewall"?, and Belgiums was dodgy.  Which is the exact opposite of what the majority thought.  Who was Man of the Match?  Maguire?

[One Team In Keynsham]

10 hours ago, North London Red said:

England may have had a bit of good fortune but Belgium only have themselves to blame. It was bad defending from Meunier to let Henderson get goal-side at the corner that led to the penalty (and whilst Henderson certainly made the most of the contact, I think he was impeded, albeit only slightly). And they were wasteful with the other chances they created. 

England improved from about 30-35 minutes onwards and managed to negate Belgium for most of the second half. We may not have deserved the outright win but I thought our recovery after that dodgy 20 minute spell probably merited a point. 

The return game in Brussels next month will be a stern test, but as the away team and with the threat of Sancho and Sterling on the counter attack, we could pose them problems. 
 

I presume this comment was in jest: I guess the return fixture will be an equally soulless behind closed doors pseudo-training match. I don't see any advantage being gained by the home team.

I was amused yesterday by the commentators talking about how great it was for the Belgian players to play at Wembley: they could have played it on a training pitch at St Georges Park or a school playing field down the road and still have achieved the same atmosphere.

[Davefevs]

2 hours ago, Blackbird1 said:

Oh Dave look at the stats 

 

 

What stats?  Balls in the onion bag?  Read plenty of my posts....I talk about that stat being the only really important one.

I think you misinterpreted my post....I’m saying we aren’t generally a good “team”, but a bunch of individuals.  And for fans to think that a bunch of individuals can rock up and expect to win against a “team” like Belgium is disrespectful.  I don’t think Southgate thinks that, but he is still struggling to build a team.

Im not sure where stats needs to come into it?

[North London Red]

28 minutes ago, One Team In Keynsham said:

I presume this comment was in jest: I guess the return fixture will be an equally soulless behind closed doors pseudo-training match. I don't see any advantage being gained by the home team.

I was amused yesterday by the commentators talking about how great it was for the Belgian players to play at Wembley: they could have played it on a training pitch at St Georges Park or a school playing field down the road and still have achieved the same atmosphere.

Not according to the latest rumours. Belgium had fans in the stadium for their friendly against Ivory Coast last week, and in line with UEFA's guidance that teams can allow fans in at 30% capacity (subject to local or governmental restrictions), it is expected they will have fans in attendance for the game v England in Brussels. 

The comment was not in jest. 

[grifty]

12 hours ago, 2015 said:

We will get found out soon by all this tinkering from Southgate and giving caps to players who have only played like 20 prem games. 

Pickford shouldn't be in goal.

Tripper should not be a left back.

Treatment and alienation of Foden and Greenwood out of order when Maguire gets straight back into the side.

Grealish is better than Mount (in my opinion).

I am sorry but the formation and players we play are FAR too negative and have been since we lost to Czech Republic. We genuinely do have some real classy attacking talents coming through right now, so use them Southgate or waste them.

I cannot see us going to the Euros next year playing like we have and not being punished.

Not negative, just from what I have observed based on performances. As proven in the past with England, results are fine until we get to the Tournament..

So Southgate should only give caps to players who have how many Prem games for you to be happy? The whole disconnect people had with England was that players got picked regardless of form in the Prem so to see Southgate give debuts to players such as Grealish, James, Greenwood, Phillips, Sanco, etc is refreshing.

Pickford while playing pretty poorly for Everton right now does seem to play well for England, although I agree with others that for me Pope is No.1 right now.

Chilwell is only just back from injury, Shaw doesn't seem to be in favour anywhere and Sakho had a very iffy game V Wales, so Trippiers experience was needed v Belgium.

Maguire didn't get straight back in the side, he was dropped from the squad for the 1st game after his court verdict. Foden and Greenwood were also dropped. They just weren't selected for this game which IMO is correct as they are not ready/suitable for that game.

Grealish had heavy strapping on his thigh v Wales, if that was a precautionary measure, then 2 games in 4 days would have been too much so he was swapped for Mount (who then scored the winning goal)

Against the No.1 team in the world, you are going to play a more negative/defensive formation to ensure we don't get pumped. I do agree the 5 at the back is not needed v teams such as Iceland and if it is, it should be RWB, CB, CDM, CB, LWB which will allow RWB & LWB to be further up the field, and the CDM push into midfield allowing the AMC to attack more. Will leave 2 CBs as cover with a. CDM to mop anything up

[One Team In Keynsham]

4 minutes ago, North London Red said:

Not according to the latest rumours. Belgium had fans in the stadium for their friendly against Ivory Coast last week, and in line with UEFA's guidance that teams can allow fans in at 30% capacity (subject to local or governmental restrictions), it is expected they will have fans in attendance for the game v England in Brussels. 

The comment was not in jest. 

Understood. Thanks for the added info.

[richwwtk]

1 hour ago, Robbored said:

And?.........

Nothing, except it invalidates your match analysis completely.

[2015]

22 minutes ago, grifty said:

So Southgate should only give caps to players who have how many Prem games for you to be happy? The whole disconnect people had with England was that players got picked regardless of form in the Prem so to see Southgate give debuts to players such as Grealish, James, Greenwood, Phillips, Sanco, etc is refreshing.

Pickford while playing pretty poorly for Everton right now does seem to play well for England, although I agree with others that for me Pope is No.1 right now.

Chilwell is only just back from injury, Shaw doesn't seem to be in favour anywhere and Sakho had a very iffy game V Wales, so Trippiers experience was needed v Belgium.

Maguire didn't get straight back in the side, he was dropped from the squad for the 1st game after his court verdict. Foden and Greenwood were also dropped. They just weren't selected for this game which IMO is correct as they are not ready/suitable for that game.

Grealish had heavy strapping on his thigh v Wales, if that was a precautionary measure, then 2 games in 4 days would have been too much so he was swapped for Mount (who then scored the winning goal)

Against the No.1 team in the world, you are going to play a more negative/defensive formation to ensure we don't get pumped. I do agree the 5 at the back is not needed v teams such as Iceland and if it is, it should be RWB, CB, CDM, CB, LWB which will allow RWB & LWB to be further up the field, and the CDM push into midfield allowing the AMC to attack more. Will leave 2 CBs as cover with a. CDM to mop anything up

Ignore the fact that our performances lately have been very negative. We set up to not lose, which shouldn't be the case with the attacking players we have. Been the case since we lost to Czech Republic. If you can't see that then i don't know what you're watching

[B1ackbird]

Does Southgate favour players he worked with at under 21 level? 

[2015]

8 minutes ago, B1ackbird said:

Does Southgate favour players he worked with at under 21 level? 

Interesting point really. I think he certainly favours his tried and tested players. I still scratch my head as to why Grealish hasn't played more games for England yet Eric Dier has loads of caps.

[Phileas Fogg]

41 minutes ago, 2015 said:

Interesting point really. I think he certainly favours his tried and tested players. I still scratch my head as to why Grealish hasn't played more games for England yet Eric Dier has loads of caps.

I’m with you on the scepticism about Southgate. I know it’s a bit unfair, but he just doesn’t strike me as a ‘winner’. I’d love to be wrong, but I can’t see us winning a tournament with him in charge. I genuinely think we’d have a better chance under Allerdyce.

Southgate is exactly the sort of guy the FA would love. Principled, articulate and doesn’t rock the boat. There are some comparisons with our board and Lee Johnson.

I’d love to see what a top level manager like Ancelotti could do with this team. I know the FA are wary of that sort of appointment (much like our board post-Coppell) but the England job would interest lots of top managers.

[2015]

Just now, Phileas Fogg said:

I’m with you on the scepticism about Southgate. I know it’s a bit unfair, but he just doesn’t strike me as a ‘winner’. I’d love to be wrong, but I can’t see us winning a tournament with him in charge. I genuinely think we’d have a better chance under Allerdyce.

He’s exactly the sort of guy the FA would love. Principled, articulate and doesn’t rock the boat. There are some comparisons with our board and Lee Johnson.

I’d love to see what a top level manager like Ancelotti could do with this team. I know the FA are wary of that sort of appointment (much like our board post-Coppell) but the England job would interest lots of top managers.

You are bang on. I'd like to see Arsene Wenger myself, bit head in the clouds but he understands English players and would really benefit our attacking aspects of our play. Bored of the likes of Dier, Rice, Trippier etc

[Phileas Fogg]

11 minutes ago, 2015 said:

You are bang on. I'd like to see Arsene Wenger myself, bit head in the clouds but he understands English players and would really benefit our attacking aspects of our play. Bored of the likes of Dier, Rice, Trippier etc

I found the Greenwood/Foden situation frustrating.

Both are huge talents, for me Foden is our best breakthrough talent since Rooney in 2003/2004. By all means they needed to be punished and made an example of (to an extent). But freezing them out of the team is disproportionate and counter productive.

I appreciate it's a sensitive issue, but it doesn't really benefit anyone when you deny them of match experience. 

I'm also baffled by his treatment of Grealish. I find it quite bizarre really.