Wolves. Boy and man.
:):) - :(
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Wolves. Boy and man.
:):) - :(
Thoughts on England?
I don’t think you can knock them after one poor result. We’ve generally performed well in the (albeit very weak) group.
However I still don’t get on the England hype-train...
Small margins... but for the width of a post in the penalty shoot out vs Colombia in the World Cup, we’d have probably been out and Southgate sacked. It was a stroke of luck, but does show what a bit of continuity can bring.
Pickford - flapper who would make me nervous if a defender.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stagger
Trippier - OK
Keane - Everton struggling one place above relegation, he's personally made some errors this season for club and country. Can't work out how he is current NO2.
Maguire - he's a very good player, probably our best at the moment in this position, so has to play even if he's not playing as well as last year at the moment.
Rose - He isn't even Tottenham's best left back. Can't understand why Chillwell didn't play.
Rice - over rated - probably gets more credit than is warranted because he plays the "West Ham way".
Henderson - hard to knock, as he's a grafter and plays for probably the best club side in Europe at the moment, but he should be doing the Rice job and allowing us to play a more possession based player like Barkley, Lallana or even Foden.
Mount - he looks a really talented lad and deserves to be in the squad. But he was in the Championship last season, and to be propelled in to the starting lineup on the basis of a handful of decent performances for Chelsea is probably too early.
Sancho - scratching my head a little with this one.
Sterling - has to be in. Probably the best English player of the last 12 months.
Kane - our best striker, but looks a little out of sorts.
I think the spine of our defensive unit looks vulnerable. Pickford, Keane, Maguire, Rice.
We let in 3 against Kosovo.
But when you look at the bench on Saturday there isn't much there.
An out of form Rashford is the only player who I'd consider top class when he's at it.
Our central defensive options are threadbare. Why isn't Tarkowski in the squad?
Our midfield seems to be just defensive workhorses, especially once Maddison pulled out. But even he is untested at International level.
When the side was playing well, we played with 3 at the back. Usually Maguire, Stones, Walker. Right through the World Cup.
Wingbacks pushing on and getting some quality crosses in.
Too much football perhaps? When you consider 4 of our top clubs filled the European Finals so had extended seasons, which also meant 2 of them in the Super Cup, so we have some key players missing through injury, some other key players struggling for form following injury,
I think Travs hit the nail on the head with that word "hype".
As usual England players believe all the "hype" and think that they are better than they are.
Unless they change their tactic of playing out from the back and fannying around with the ball near their own goal they are going to get hammered when they meet a half decent team.
I think we are a vast improvement on a few years ago, no doubt about that. But all the way through the World Cup my thought was that the first “world class” team we come up against were going to knock us out... and I guess it was proved against Croatia...
Then the Nations League... again performed brilliantly, I don’t think many can argue with that... but I still can’t see that as a proper tournament.
Next Euros will be the barometer... I'd suggest it’s a harder tournament than the World Cup to progress. Although lord knows what UEFA will do with the format, is it still 16 teams? (Which makes for a high quality competition..... 24 or more will just dilute it).
I think that's a little unfair. We rank 4th in the world of performances in the last couple of years.Quote:
Originally Posted by Llani Boy
Some of the players that have been key to that are not available or in favour at the moment.
Stones, Kyle Walker, Dele Alli, Lingard, Lallana, Eric Dier - I'm not hyping these guys up. I have often looked at Dier for example and wondered why he's so highly rated, but he did seem to shield the central defenders more effectively.
I also think the 3 5 2 formation Southgate used to play with suited us better, having attacking wing backs getting forward. I'm not sure why he changed.
Have watched the last 25mins of England's game last night, I never want to Kane be in the same sentence as world class.
Good, yes.
World class NEVER.
Correct Stagger. That's the problem with England players in general, they ALL think they are world class.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stagger
Whilst talking about last nights match I'm not surprised that the England players did not walk off because they were winning. Call me cynical but if they were 3-0 down they would have been off quicker than you could say Jack Robinson!
This morning all the press/pundits/players jumping up and down about the Bulgarian fans behaviour but the reality of the situation is that, whether we like it or not, in most Eastern European countries they are not very fond of black people.
What the answer is I do not know and neither do UEFA/FIFA by the looks of it.
What I do know is that England will be turning up for the World Cup in Qatar, providing they qualify, and turning a blind eye to the fact that the stadiums are being built by slave labour, many of whom have died. Their idea of human rights, gay rights, women's rights is also different to ours but never mind as there is a lot of money to be made.
Greg Clarke, the chairman of the FA was huffing and puffing this morning, but lets not forget that it was not too long ago that John Terry lost the England captaincy for his racist behavior.
We know what is going to happen when visiting certain countries so we should get off our high horse and either accept their rules/customs/behavior or don't bother going rather than feign outrage/offence when it happens.
‘We know what is going to happen when visiting certain countries so we should get off our high horse and either accept their rules/customs/behavior or don't bother going rather than feign outrage/offence when it happens’
God help us
I don't think the decision to come off or not should be made by the team whose players are being abused. Once it gets to the third stage of UEFA's protocol the referee should automatically make the decision to take the teams off and abandon the game. The team whose fans are offending should then forfeit the game.
There is a problem with racism in eastern Europe generally. The monkey noises and chants are very reminiscent of what it was like in English grounds in the early 1980's. The problem hasn't totally gone but it is a world away from what it was like back then. I remember going to a match where Alex Williams the Manchester City keeper was pelted with bananas.
UEFA has been too soft on this for too long and are only belatedly getting tougher. I agree to some extent with Llani's point that there is a certain hypocrisy in England - some of our fans regularly disgrace themselves as we know. It has long been a national embarrassment. But it's not a reason not to act on racist abuse. Countries can overtime control what goes on in their stadia by issuing banning orders. If they don't even acknowledge the problem, which appears to be the case with Bulgaria then eventually they shouldn't be allowed to participate in international tournaments.
Well said DTQuote:
Originally Posted by Derby Tup
West ham sack their manager.
Let's hope they go down.
Never forgiven them since they CHEATED Sheff United. Fines are typically a way of supporting a southern club.
When that 2nd goal went in last night.....
Jay Rodrigues, he's one of our own :D
The special one appears to be failing to improve spurs.
Atalanta (my Italian team) smashing it up against Valencia...
They'll be happy for everybody continuing to say "everyone will want to draw Atalanta"
They are no Juventus, and I expect Liverpool and Man City will be too strong for them, but they are no pushovers.
It's a shame that they can't play their home games at their stadium, as it's not yet up to UEFA standard, and having to play in the San Siro. As fantastic as the San SIro is (in my opinion the greatest stadium in the world), teams would not be wanting to go to Bergamo...
What made them your favourite team Travs?
I'm a huge fan of Italian football anyway, and have done a number of trips over to see matches.
Got a soft spot for Lazio, as the first Italian match I ever went to was the Rome Derby in the Lazio ultras end. Also AC Milan.... when I was a lad, they were top team in the world, and a couple of years ago I went to Milan vs Juve in the San Siro and nothing will ever come close to the atmosphere that night...
But on that trip I also went to Atalanta, their fans are mental/brilliant, and it was a proper old-fashioned ground... the "end" was basically a concrete terrace with some makeshift seats bolted on, huge moat and glass barrier to stop the fans invading the pitch. Atmosphere was unbelievable (no doubt helped by a last-minute winner vs Inter Milan!)….. just a proper old-school football experience.
ps I have to say that this was well before they started competing for champions league, i'm not a glory-hunter!!
Doesn't appear that many of the prem league are happy with VAR at the moment.
Other than a few speckies of the clubs involved, is anyone else interested?
Final nail in the coffin for football in my opinion.
I'd love for Cov to get back in the 2nd division (hopefully this season we'll do it)….. but honestly got no desire to see us in the Premier League.
Extortionate ticket prices.
Large percentage of games re-scheduled for TV (with no thought for the fan who has to travel the length of the country for a Friday/Monday night 7:45pm kickoff, or saturday/sunday 12pm.
VAR fiasco. Can't even celebrate a goal now.
I've not been to a Cov match for well over a season now, and it's two years since my last away game. People might think it's deserting the team in our dark days. But it's simply the complete erosion of the matchday experience in this country... to be honest it's been on the cards at CCFC since we left Highfield Road.
I've been to more Italian matches in the past 3 years than English matches!
However I have no sympathy for the teams in the Premier League... they are greedy as hell and would pull up the trapdoor tomorrow given the chance.
The only thing that will change football in this country is a nationwide boycott of Sky TV and BT Sports (will never happen), or the general population getting bored and switching off in huge numbers (unlikely), or one of the bigger teams going bump (a Liverpool/Man Utd..... I don't even think a Chelsea/Spurs/Man City going bust would change things).
The only other thing, linked to boycott of TV channels, is mass protest by the match going fans. Example in Italy a couple of years ago.... Sampdoria vs Genoa, the Genoa derby, one of the most spectacular in football, never mind Italy... got rescheduled for a Monday night, which is massively unpopular in Italy (sunday afternoons is the traditional football time in Italy).
Ultras of both teams said to the authorities "you want this game televised to showcase the atmosphere to the world... then move it back to sunday or you'll be playing it in front of an empty ground with no atmosphere"..... game got moved back to sunday afternoon.
More possible in places like Italy/Germany/France/Balkans, where the fans are well organised…. can't see anything like that in the Premier League... tv money has too much influence and the fans don't seem to have the appetite to change it as long as their team is doing ok.
Burnley Season tickets held for I think 4 seasons now. Early bird price now for next year from £329 in Jimmy McIlroy stand behind the goal.
Not bad £17.30 per game.
What's Cov?
On the VAR, I was at Turf on Saturday which saw a couple of the weekend controversies.
I think Bournemouth were very hard done to with the first VAR, I think the 2nd was a clear handball.
The worst decisions in my opinion were the two stamping incidents. How they were not deemed red cards is beyond me.
I think VAR needs a review because as it stands it is killing the game as a spectacle.
The real football story at Turf was the wind. I have sat through some foul weather matches but never seen anything that affected the game recently as much as the wind on Saturday.
First half Pope took some goal kicks that were blowing back towards him before they landed.
Second half we dominated.
Attachment 8783
I think Cov season tickets may have been in the region of £250 this year, which for 23 games is exceptional compared to a lot of other teams. (it's 12 quid a game on the gate at one of my local non-league teams, a couple of divisions below the Vauxhall Conference)
Of course, we are not currently playing in Coventry, and there's uncertainty over when we will return, or where we'll be playing next season.
Burnley…. Went there once in the Championship, I think it may have been around 2007ish.... awful weather, M6 absolutely chocka... diverted into Accrington to find some lunch and couldn't even find a chippy open at gone midday on a Saturday lunchtime.
Up into Burnley and parked in that estate of terraced houses across the Brunshaw Road from the ground. There was a rough old pub in those streets, probably not there any more... as myself and my brother entered, a group of about 4 Cov fans were being "asked to leave", so the presence of us Cov fans arriving was not exactly welcome...
As for the game, it's the only game I've ever been to where I left early at 2-0 down in the 90th minute (we missed another 2 goals as Adi flipping Akinbiyi scored two in injury time to make it 4-0.
Pretty much par for the course for a CCFC away game really...
How much for a Burnley ticket? Jeez that’s steep!! That’s 5 pairs of running shoes!!
James Hargreaves Stand Block 3 Lower for us WP, £20 for over 65's. Having not been to a Premier League match for years me and a mate started going again last season and loving it. Spurs next week is our fifth at Burnley, also one each at North End, Morecambe, Celtic and England v Croatia.
Just got back from over 50's five a side tonight, trying to recapture my lost youth
Well well well Watford 3 - 0 win over liverpool
They don't like it up emQuote:
Originally Posted by Stagger
Read an interesting stat this morning that only liverpool and city have gained more points than spurs since Mourinho took over.
Spurs were awful in the first half at Turf Moor yesterday, two half time subs improved them a bit, just about deserved a drawQuote:
Originally Posted by Stagger
Coventry City? Stoke City? Leicester City? Lincoln City? Norwich City?Quote:
Originally Posted by Stagger
Which one Stagger. Perhaps it is that arrogant cheating one that believes, in football terms, it has sole use of the word City.
Correct. The mancs
Just about every player, and club cheats in football. Its just how much and if you get caught.
Similar to pro cycling used to be.
I'd say that Coventry City probably have more points than Spurs since Mourinho joined, as we are absolutely tearing it up at the moment...!
A shame you are homeless!Quote:
Originally Posted by Travs
I have to disagree on the deserving a draw.Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Head
One shot on target first half.
One shot on target second half and that was the penalty.
We should have had a second half penalty for foul on Wood in the box which Match of the Day conveniently forgot to show (not Spurs bias there eh:rolleyes:) but Kamara did on Goals on Sunday and was playing hell because the ref didn't give and then VAR didn't review.
We bossed the game first half, the second half was 50/50 with us having more shots on target both halves and a 2:1 Burnley would have been a fair reflection - MOTD predicated score of stats was 3. something to 1.
If anyone is interested I've just had an email to say that there are still Euro 2020 category one semi final tickets available at the bargain price of 595 euros
I'll have a dozen to watch Germany and Spain.
Good to see the wheels continue to fall off the Anfield wagon.
Of course, as is always the case with Liverpool, someone else will be to blame.
Much chortling was done this morning after waking up to find they'd let 3 in during extra-time... particularly after their celebrations at the disallowed 'goal' at the end of normal time.
On a serious note, I do think away goals should be scrapped. Goals really should count equal no matter where they are scored.
It was the Atletico players and coaching staff that were wildly celebrating when they thought they had scored at the end of normal time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Travs
I watched the game last night and Liverpool played some terrific football at times. It was bad luck, poor finishing and a howler from Adrian that cost them. I would keep the away goals rule though, as without it, we would see even more teams going away from home and parking the bus.Quote:
On a serious note, I do think away goals should be scrapped. Goals really should count equal no matter where they are scored.
I was referring to the Liverpool fan's celebrations when the goal was disallowed. I think they thought that they were going to breeze it in extra time (admittedly I thought that too!)
I can't see in the modern era why a goal scored away from home should be worth any more than a home goal. One lucky early away goal usually nullifies a whole two-legged tie.
I think teams going away from home and "parking the bus" is the way football has gone these days (unfortunately), and away goals don't necessarily change this... I see it in 3rd Division games... teams coming to Coventry and timewasting and playing for a draw after 20 minutes... never mind Premier League/Europe/etc.
Hopefully Atalanta continue to progress, don't seem to know the meaning of defending, which is unusual for an Italian team! Absolute pleasure to watch... it's a shame they've been unable to play European games at their home ground, as teams would not want to go there. Even bigger shame for their fans who may well miss out on being able to spectate on their greatest ever season due to coronavirus... although it looks like they'll make the champions league again next year.