England vs Swiss Rolls

[Cunnyfunt]

was chatting football to a couple of friends the other day, and Smalling came up in the conversation.  We tend to to get every Manchester United game live among the 3 or 4 games each weekend, so I have seen most of his games this season.  He does seem to be a vastly improved player, and along with Shaw, possibly their top 2 so far.  One friend suggested that having Schneiderlin providing protection in front of him has taken some of the pressure off.  Certainly a sensible theory when you consider how good Lovren looked when he did have the same cover at Southampton, and how much poorer he looks at Liverpool.

That's what England miss in my opinion. A real defence minded CM to protect the back four. This could easily expose our defence against a higher class opposition. Hodgson tried playing Wilshere there but that's not really his game at all. 

[RedJim]

Id fancy us against France at the moment. Also Belgium are over rated. Portugal without Ronaldo I'd expect us to beat.

Interesting you put France and Begium above us but not Netherlands?

The reason I haven't suggested the Dutch is because they are in a mess and I doubt whether they'll qualify. 

Portugal with Ronaldo: I'd fancy them to beat us. Without Ronaldo? Not sure - but they are tournament-savvy. The type of team that knows how to grind out results in the major championships. England are not.

Wales? I think England would beat them. Yes, Wales have 1 world class player like Portugal, but my point is Portugal have the big game experience. Those Welsh players have never experienced a major international tournament before.

My point is I don't think this English squad has either a) the natural talent or b) the big-game know how to beat teams like Portugal, France, Spain, Germany at a major tournament. I think you need one of either of these things, preferably both, to do well at a major tournament.

England have a half-decent side, but few of the players are leading figures at their clubs, Rooney and Hart aside, and there aren't any players with the prodigious talent of someone like Eden Hazard at Belgium, Paul Pogba of France, etc. Those are the reasons I don't see us doing any better than beating the mediocre teams but getting found out by the first quality side we meet.