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2014 FIFA World Cup | Official Thread (pg. 30)
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| Dykes_on_Jay |
| bye bye engerland. |
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| Jon_Snow |
Gooooooooooal
Suarez 2
England 1 |
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| Lira |
| Oh, well, at least Rooney scored his goal :p |
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| Vector A |
I don't like Uruguay.
Hope Italy shuts them down. |
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| Lira |
| quote: | Originally posted by Vector A
I don't like Uruguay.
Hope Italy shuts them down. |
Me neither. It was Suarez who got his hand on the way of Ghana's winning goal in 2010, wasn't it? That's why I wanted England to win, even more than usual. |
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| Vector A |
| Yeah he seems like a piece of work. I liked watching tiny Costa Rica beat them 3-1, lol. That was a fun game. |
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| Lira |
| quote: | Originally posted by Vector A
Yeah he seems like a piece of work. I liked watching tiny Costa Rica beat them 3-1, lol. That was a fun game. |
That it was!
If I recall correctly, England can still advance to the next stage if they defeat Costa Rica next week with enough goals (and Italy crushes Uruguay). Unlikely though it is, I want to believe it's possible. |
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| SYSTEM-J |
| quote: | Originally posted by Sykonee
Preferably explained in a depressed, post-pub drunken diatribe. |
I went home at half time, because the PA in the pub was damaging my ears and I'd rather lose my hearing to techno than to an obviously doomed England performance.
To answer your question Marcus, in this particular instance it was rather obviously because we had no presence in the centre of the park. The Uruguayan midfielders were pressing aggressively in the centre of the pitch and preventing Gerrard and Henderson from being able to get on the ball and control the pace of the game. Consequently, we were unable to slow the game down or speed it up when it suited us, and all our play came down the flanks. Generally the pattern of the first half was lots of very scrappy play with no real spells of calm possession for either side. I didn't watch the second half but I can't imagine it was much different. When your defence is as weak as ours you need to be able to take pressure off them by maintaining possession.
Part of our perennial failure is this inability to exert control over a match - most of England's best players, past and present, are quite explosive players who can suddenly do something spectacular. There isn't really a culture of measured play and English coaching doesn't emphasise the technique required to come short and play the ball quickly and calmly under physical pressure in tight spaces, traditionally focusing instead on explosive and physically rugged attributes like strong tackling, long range shooting, long balls and crosses. It adds up to a national side that consistently can't take a game by the scruff of the neck and always seems to end up playing high stakes games in a state of desperate mania.
The real problem, however, is simply a complete lack of nerve under pressure which I believe finds its roots in the collective post-colonial neurosis that characterises the English national psyche. We used to rule the world, we used to bully all these other nations and we even invented the game of association football which is the one medium in which we can now test our international might. We should be the greatest in the world! But of course we're not, and football instead becomes a re-enactment of our fall from imperial grace. I read a stat that we've lost gone out of something like 6 of the last 8 World Cups to former wartime enemies, usually Germany. No coincidence there. |
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| Lira |
| quote: | Originally posted by SYSTEM-J
Part of our perennial failure is this inability to exert control over a match - most of England's best players, past and present, are quite explosive players who can suddenly do something spectacular. There isn't really a culture of measured play and English coaching doesn't emphasise the technique required to come short and play the ball quickly and calmly under physical pressure in tight spaces, traditionally focusing instead on explosive and physically rugged attributes like strong tackling, long range shooting, long balls and crosses. |
In short, England is a victim of what I like the most about it :(
Oh, well, I'm still hoping for a last minute miracle next week. Italy should thrash Uruguay quite easily, and I see no reason why England's past should get on the way against Costa Rica. Best of luck! |
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| Lagrangian |
| Not even with those 'guerrilla' soccer players ... English Only In Name ...Twice the size of the average Uruguayan...I mean let's be honest: England is a basket case. |
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| Vector A |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lagrangian
Not even with those 'guerrilla' soccer players ... English Only In Name |
lol, you stupid racist . |
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| Lira |
| Go Greece! For Zeus' sake, just leave the god damn group stage for once! |
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