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The 2017-2018 Football Thread
- Thread starter Lord Blackadder
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Have you been to Madrid, or know galaticos?
If so, you would be happy
[doublepost=1531344782][/doublepost]Everyone know I’m a 2018 World cup sceptic here, well I luckily watch the match with Croatians today.
I’m glad Croatia won today, they were the far better side: more shots on goal, more possession Etc. England only had two shots on goal.
I don’t understand the hype of the English team, despite getting to the semi finals, they didn’t play particularly well. They struggled to score in open play ( in the last three games the majority of their goals came from set pieces ). England also had an ‘easier’ route to the semi finals than say France.
France would have destroyed England.
France vs Croatia should be a good match.
I think France will win, but would be good to see Croatia win their first World Cup.
I don’t understand the hype of the English team, despite getting to the semi finals, they didn’t play particularly well. They struggled to score in open play ( in the last three games the majority of their goals came from set pieces ). England also had an ‘easier’ route to the semi finals than say France.
France would have destroyed England.
France vs Croatia should be a good match.
I think France will win, but would be good to see Croatia win their first World Cup.
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Summer of '66 gets most English fans excited. May have been. Oh, well, there's 2022 to look forward to. I'd love to see Croatia win on Sunday. It'll be a masterful battle against the French, but I think it would be wonderful to see a small country like Croatia win. If anything, it'll boost the morale of their country and smaller neighboring countries to put more money into football.
Smugness from Bilic? AHAHAHAHA
Do you even read your own press? Do you want me to show you SMS messages I got from my english friends in the last 3 days? Or is it finally coming home??
Either way, England didn't deserve to go thru. They played like Greece in 2004, and Portugal in 2016. But Portugal had luck, so they managed to beat us after 1 crossbar, and 1 more frame of the goal.
England got lucky in the start, and after initial shock, England should have finished the game. But even 2:0 lead wouldn't manage to win this game for them.
As I said earlier, due to all injuries, and team being really tired, we needed a real performance from Ivan Perisic. And oooh boy did he deliver...
Well guys, after this reply, I'm off to drinking. And hopefully, I'm of to Moscow in a few days. After that it's London for a 2 weeks. And I gotta tell you, those english lads aren't looking forward seeing me, or even hearing from me
And now....
[doublepost=1531360116][/doublepost]BJEZITEEE LJUDIII BJEZITEEE IZ GRADAAA
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Well guys, after this reply, I'm off to drinking. And hopefully, I'm of to Moscow in a few days. After that it's London for a 2 weeks. And I gotta tell you, those english lads aren't looking forward seeing me, or even hearing from me
Enjoy!
Croatia have really proven themselves and ground out three tough matches now. Best of luck to them in the final! I think France are the clear favorites but you can never count this Croatia team out. They have what it takes to win. They have some big stars who have stepped up at the crucial moments, and they never give up.
I think the English were really excited to get to the semifinals, but I disagree that their was a lot of "hype" around the team, or that England disrespected Croatia. Southgate certainly showed a lot of respect in both his preparation and his press conferences and I didn't read anything in the (serious) English press to indicate that Croatia were being taken lightly.
Where is this "we were disrespected" narrative coming from in the Croatia camp? Of course, I don't read English trash tabloids, and whatever they say is utter nonsense and not to be taken seriously - if that is where the "offense" came from I think it is safe to say it does not represent the vast majority of English opinion.
Everything I have read in the English press suggested that Croatia were a very dangerous opponent and were worthy winners.
I think the English were really excited to get to the semifinals, but I disagree that their was a lot of "hype" around the team, or that England disrespected Croatia. Southgate certainly showed a lot of respect in both his preparation and his press conferences and I didn't read anything in the (serious) English press to indicate that Croatia were being taken lightly.
Where is this "we were disrespected" narrative coming from in the Croatia camp? Of course, I don't read English trash tabloids, and whatever they say is utter nonsense and not to be taken seriously - if that is where the "offense" came from I think it is safe to say it does not represent the vast majority of English opinion.
Everything I have read in the English press suggested that Croatia were a very dangerous opponent and were worthy winners.
Super proud of England during this World Cup. Finally feel like I’ve watched my country play with passion and actually want it and it’s refreshing. It’s sad we went out but Croatia were the better team last night. Nursing a hangover today after partying into the night with fellow England fans in good spirits lol.
Supporting Croatia for the win!!!
Supporting Croatia for the win!!!
Indeed there has been massive respect for Croatia in our press and from just about everyone I have discussed this with. We knew from the group stages they were an awesome side and knew we had a tough challenge. Don’t listen to stirrers from either side is my advice.
@The-Real-Deal82
Here is a video clip, listen to Modric:
Of course, no disrespect from your players, or team managers. They were fabulous, and they are real gentleman. But those things don't matter any more, and they didn't matter even before the match.
I was really drunk when I wrote my response to that guy about Bilic smugness. So if you found my post offensive, I would like to apologise, because that wasn't my intention at all. Too many drinks last night
I agree, and I think that during the match, they wanted it more. England seemed to run out of energy in the second half, let alone the extra time. I would have hoped that as they were the younger team, they would have done better. I fear they thought the game was going to be easier, or they'd already done enough to win.
Rather than continuing to strive to score goals, I thought we lapsed into trying to defend our lead after around 30-40 minutes of play. I've always thought that is/was a mistake and in particular England's national football team's recurring mistake year after year, competition after competition. What I've particularly liked about Southgate's approach is the continual attacking play, the constant striving to win - it just seemed to be forgotten towards the end of the first half, and for most of the second.
I didn't understand why they took Sterling off. I accept he hadn't scored all tournament, but he was outpacing the Croatian defences, making very useful runs and clearly had them worried. It looked to me like they had two men on him from 20 minutes into the game until the time he came off (others may know better). Once he came off, our attacking became much less effective. I don't know much about Rashford, but from what I've seen in these games, he's no Raheem Stirling, and the Croatians seemed to think so too.
A lot of positives going forward though. Great team, no prima donnas, great attitude, attractive style of play, first World Cup semi-final in 28 years, able to win penalty shoot outs, they have 'can do' attitudes all through the team, level headed. A national team to be proud of. A national team to give us hope. And I'm hoping for more shots on goal, and some more goals from open play in future matches.
I was really drunk when I wrote my response to that guy about Bilic smugness. So if you found my post offensive, I would like to apologise, because that wasn't my intention at all. Too many drinks last night
I'm sure Modric and some of the other players were just hyped up from the match, and venting emotion. That's understandable. I think both countries showed each other a lot of respect, but Croatian fans knew that 1) their squad had more stars and more experience than England and 2) this generation of players was aging - this might be their last chance to do something big. They took their chance.
If I were an England fan I would be disappointed to have missed the final, but also excited that Southgate has taken the squad so far, with so much quiet competence - and shown that there is potential for the future. Most of the players will young and will play the next few tournaments together - they will have a chance to become a veteran unit together.
I think every player had a least a decent tournament - and as for the criticism of Sterling...he's not a striker, people need to get that in their heads. Finishing is never going to be his main thing. That's what players like Kane or Vardy are for. Sterling stretches defenses, wears them out.
Harry Maguire was probably one of the standouts for me - he looks like a relic from a bygone era but he is actually a thoroughly modern footballer.
I am of course also pleased to see that Jordan Henderson had a good tournament - he was not there to provide flashy play but to anchor the center of the pitch and provide communication and leadership. He's developed under Klopp.
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I was rooting for Croatia because of Modric (and because I think Croatia had a tougher path to the semi final) but think that one main problem for England was the lack of a real top competitor within the WC so far - and I'll confess that I didn't think Croatia was able to give that contest because of their age and the fact that they played overtime twice in a row - so was still surprised yesterday. (It's a miracle - and let's hope it really was just that -to me how they were able to keep up the pace over almost the entire game and with late substitutions as well..). So when forced to the English squad wasn't really well prepared to shift into higher gears. As well as Southgate who may be a good manager overall but his in-game coaching left me a bit unimpressed since against lame Colombians (without James) and yesterday his substuitions/reactions didn't really help/changed anything imho.
So lack of tough/top opposition (Panama, Tunesia, Denmark and Sweden..) and lack of goal threat from open play was the big problem - Kane, despite the general perception was pretty lackluster imho, considering he's regarded as one if not the top striker right now. 5/6 goals against Panama and Tunesia and I think 3 pens..so plenty to improve on as well.
But overall a welcomed return of the English squad from the dead
So lack of tough/top opposition (Panama, Tunesia, Denmark and Sweden..) and lack of goal threat from open play was the big problem - Kane, despite the general perception was pretty lackluster imho, considering he's regarded as one if not the top striker right now. 5/6 goals against Panama and Tunesia and I think 3 pens..so plenty to improve on as well.
But overall a welcomed return of the English squad from the dead
...So when forced to the English squad wasn't really well prepared to shift into higher gears. As well as Southgate who may be a good manager overall but his in-game coaching left me a bit unimpressed since against lame Colombians (without James) and yesterday his substuitions/reactions didn't really help/changed anything imho.
So lack of tough/top opposition (Panama, Tunesia, Denmark and Sweden..) and lack of goal threat from open play was the big problem - Kane, despite the general perception was pretty lackluster imho, considering he's regarded as one if not the top striker right now. 5/6 goals against Panama and Tunesia and I think 3 pens..so plenty to improve on as well.
But overall a welcomed return of the English squad from the dead
I would have liked to see a little more from Kane. To be fair, he was targeted by each of England's opponents, and he did a lot better than Lewandowski - I expected more from him, even though he was in a terrible Poland squad.
I think a key factor was that Croatia had a lot more experience, and more top-level star talent. I am also amazed at their ability to grind out these long matches and still recover in time for the next one.
England and Southgate are a young and relatively inexperienced squad. They went farther than anyone expected. Croatia are a small country with an exceptional generation of talent (much like Belgium). They are punching above their weight.
France, on the other hand, could be set for a period of dominance if they realize their full potential.
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Don't think I saw a Polish game this time but from what I heard: it wasn't that hard to perform better than Lewandowski
Of course it' not just one or two factors and Croatia had a lot of luck to even find their way back into the match yesterday at all (Kane's so-so shot from near distance should have been a goal / Persic's goal could have been overruled by VAR, Mandukic was lucky Stones took a nap and so on).
All I'm saying is, that I think it would have helped England if they had faced and overcome another top contender before - to bring out the last 1-2%. Almost intentionally losing against Belgium doesn't count, granted that game was almost meaningless already. That and that I was expecting a bit more creativity in the last third - but yep, that may (or may not, we'll see) come with a more experienced manager and players. Overall they played a good tourney and didn't make a lot of mistakes - although I also think that they just didn't face the competition - until yesterdy - that relentlessly punish that one tiny mistake you make within 90mins.
Agreed about France. They almost got there two years ago and I doubt they'll lose out in a final against the underdog twice.
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Coming in to the World Cup, the realistic expectations for England were to get to the Round of 16, best case scenario to get to the Semifinals. That is exactly what they did. Yes, they were fortunate that the path through the knockout rounds ended up being comparatively easy, but England has lost many of those "easy" type games in major tournaments in the past. A lot of positives to build on, but a lot of issues that remain to be addressed. A healthy and on form Jack Wilshire or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain would have helped a lot.
With England's young core and promising players who should stake their place for Euro 2020 (Ryan Sessegnon, etc), England has a clearer future than some of the aging squads like Germany, who I think are really going to struggle to rebuild.
With England's young core and promising players who should stake their place for Euro 2020 (Ryan Sessegnon, etc), England has a clearer future than some of the aging squads like Germany, who I think are really going to struggle to rebuild.
I don't disagree but for one I don't think that past performances should really matter that much -especially if nearly all the players weren't involved and on the other side I think that Croatia was definitely beatable yesterday (and an "easier" path to a final will probably never occur again for England) - but that is the perspective from the outside and think it's sympathetic, if a bit downplaying yourself, to be content with the outcome. Doubt the players see it that way though but who knows/cares.
Cheers.
@The-Real-Deal82
Here is a video clip, listen to Modric:
Of course, no disrespect from your players, or team managers. They were fabulous, and they are real gentleman. But those things don't matter any more, and they didn't matter even before the match.
I was really drunk when I wrote my response to that guy about Bilic smugness. So if you found my post offensive, I would like to apologise, because that wasn't my intention at all. Too many drinks last night
Yeah I saw that interview last night after the match. Our tabloid press are scum btw and I really hate it when we are judged as a nation on their disgusting articles and opinions. I was in a pub with about 200+ England fans and prior to the game most people were saying we’d be very lucky to win. I think the way Croatia have played we knew exactly how good they were.
Enjoy the final, please thrash France!!
Felipe Anderson has agreed a £35 million deal to become West Ham's sixth signing of the summer following the additions of Andriy Yarmolenko (£17.5m, Borussia Dortmund), Jack Wilshere (free), Ryan Fredericks (free), Lukasz Fabianski (£7m, Swansea) and Issa Diop (£22m rising to £25m, Toulouse).
Going to be a fun year! Hope they can all gel together quickly and stay fit.
Going to be a fun year! Hope they can all gel together quickly and stay fit.
Croatia's path to the final was harder than England's, but France have knocked out (an admittedly terrible) Argentina, a strong Uruguay side, and a superb Belgium. They have shown they can beat a team at Croatia's level. Croatia also convincingly beat Argentina, but they have arguably not faced a side as good as either Uruguay or Belgium, so this will be a big test for them.
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Disagree, you judge too fast. we didnt get to see the real potential Colombia had. winning by pens is a lottery... they had a perfect game against Poland.
Enjoy the final, please thrash France!!
I really hope that we will, but to be honest, France are big favourites IMO. But it's the final game of WC. And in one match, anything can happen
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