M*A*R*C wrote:Iceland showed what you can achieve with some passion and a good manager.
England had neither.
Their win was absolutely deserved, and could have been by a bigger margin.
Excellent summary - I have never seen such a static performance by a 'supposed' international team.
England are an impossible team to get behind, and to be honest I have been slightly envious of the Welsh, both Irish sides, Iceland and many other sides - their passion and enjoyment in getting behind their team is visible on the terraces .... whereas English fans look pained all the time, waiting for the inevitable failure. Our expectations are always way too high.
Most importantly though, well done to Iceland - well deserved and the better side won.
sjb958 wrote:
And I just love that chant you do:
Ooooooooh
Ooooooooh
Ooooooooh.......
.
Same as. It's like a Viking battle cry - very effective even with a relatively small number of fans.
Huge Congratulations to Iceland, they thoroughly deserved that win and that's all I'll say on last night - it's been done to death and I have no new words to add other than I actually felt ashamed last night, they were that poor.
Congratulations to Iceland what a deserved quarter finalist, not just yesterday but the efforts throughout the tournament so far.
I actually enjoyed the second half and maybe it was despair but i smiled the whole way through, dont think ive smiled during a England game for years!!
Cant think of a more deserving group of players and manager to be humbled and humiliated in such a way.
So the blind loyalty to a group of players that 'peaked' 18 months ago ends in shame.
Surprise surprise. We do the same EVERY single time we qualify for a tournament, pick the players that got us there. The last time a manager showed a ruthless streak was Hoddle, and despite going out on penalties we at least came home with our heads held high
Hart can go back to his Head and Shoulders contract, although they may want rid
Henderson and Lallana have there Nivea deals, but again, will they want abject failures??
Please Gid we get a manager who will rip up the FA's template of dollar over glory
How is it possible for a group of experienced professionals to have absolutely no clue.
Forget the manager for a second. After 60 minutes the players should have said to each other f#ck this and let their natural talent or instinct come out. Everyone knows how to get the best out of Vardy, least of all the players he has been scoring against all season. Half of the team have been playing with Kane all season so why didn't they give him the service he needs?
If the players had ignored Roy last night and played how they have in the past and will again in the future then we would have won.
How many years of hurt is it now? 50 and counting.
Iceland were not lucky because England were poor. Iceland were well organised, extremely fit and highly motivated as any international football team should be. Except England of course. Iceland will be equally as impressive against France. I hope they do well.
As for what's next for England? One suggestion, as in previous tournaments would be easier to swallow defeat if the badge kissing media work and lucrative endorsements were done after you'd actually won something.
I thought after 50 years the lesson would have been learned, England can't win a tournament without 3 Hammers in the team.
Looking at last night and these are just my opinions Antonio as wide right with Walker as fullback would have been more effective than Sturridge and Walker.
Noble instead of the really poor Dier would have given the midfield a better balance. What is it with Rooney, he's not a creative midfielder. sorry but his time is up. Wheelchair so unfit he was appalling and the 3rd hammer would have been Cresswell, I can't see what the Rose love in is all about really I can't. If we had Carroll on the bench what an option to bring on, Kane looks totally spent, he's going to need a lot of R N R before he's ready to go again,
Steptoe even tried his magic falling over trick only for the referee to see right through him.
I just hope the FA look to the future and get in dynamic young manager who understands modern tactics and footballers, but knowing them it'll be Bungpuss who gets the job.
There was one very small thing that summed up last night's performance for me (and my general dislike of Jack Wilshire).
Cahill with the ball near halfway. A player between him and Wilshire. In any other team, Wilshire would put himself into space to enable him to receive the ball. So what does he do? Point in Walker's general direction and not move an inch.
WorcesterWHU wrote:There was one very small thing that summed up last night's performance for me (and my general dislike of Jack Wilshire).
Cahill with the ball near halfway. A player between him and Wilshire. In any other team, Wilshire would put himself into space to enable him to receive the ball. So what does he do? Point in Walker's general direction and not move an inch.
This team is all about "you do it".
Wheelchair's inclusion in the squad over the likes of Noble,Drinkwater etc is shameful.The desperate act of an arrogant,clueless man .
If we want to play pretty football on the ground , then Wenger should be offered the job but only if we have the quality players to deliver that style. If we don't have the players to deliver that style we need to hire Big Sam to play a direct game. At least he can organise a team and I imagine scare the s*it out of them if they don't perform.
The Icelanders observed that our players were incapable of playing through a tight defence , could not deliver or whip accurate passes in from wide areas, were not comfortable in possession, had lots of players who were running on empty, no aerial threat, a back 4 prone to error and a nervous wreck goalkeeper. So all they had to do was get ahead in the game , then defend until we became tired and frustrated and hit us on the break when opportunities arose.
Viking_Hammer wrote:I´m so proud, so very very proud. Even though I´m half English and my dad calls me a traitor I supported Iceland all the way tonight.
The countries gone bonkers btw.
And to those earlier in the thread giving it large about getting such an "easy" draw
Sorry but I think I´m allowed to gloat a little tonight
Not sure why you're gloating, it's not like you beat a decent side
Ignoring players in form like Townsend, Drinkwater and Noble. The last two being natural midfield leaders who don't hide when the going gets tough.
Persisting with an out of form winger, partly because he was the only one he selected in the squad.
Gambling on the fitness of Wilshere and Henderson.
Not having a settled formation, let alone side going into the tournament. The games leading up to it should have been about fine-tuning it, not drastic experimentation that left us totally confused.
His obsession with players based on who they played for and past reputation....shoe-horning the likes of Rooney into midfield because he's past it as a striker but has experience.
In fairness, no one could have legislated for the dire form of Hart and Kane....pretty much everyone would have had them in their side but honestly, using the Spurs striker to take corners and free kicks?!
The second half panic and disintegration was predictable from about 30 minutes. No composure, leaders or mental strength when we needed an Adams or Terry to galvanise the team.
If the most hopeful chance of scoring late on was to send Cahill up front and launch it, then a) why not just resort to this method from the start...or better still have the option of Carroll in the squad.
I'm not sure Cresswell, Antonio, Noble or Carroll would have made any difference but at least one or two of them will be given a chance now.
Time and time again this has happened to the England sides who qualified for European Championships or World Cup tournaments , I'll say this now , it gave me no pleasure to see England lose against Iceland last night , I wanted your country to do well , I have many English friends , not only on here but in the World outwith the internet and I was thoroughly disappointed by last night's result .
The subject of English international football has been done to death , the likes of Lilleshall are all fine and dandy but how do you recover from yet another knock-out defeat ? The FA need to take a long look at themselves , the players need to take a long look at themselves - are they playing for their Country or do they still in their minds play for Manchester United and Tottenham ?
Picking so many players from a successful Club side always seems like a good idea but it's been tried before and failed - you need a Football-savvy Manager who is allowed to pick his own team not another old boy with the right club tie and he needs to instill National Pride in the players he selects and get rid of this ' Premiership Mentality ' .
Good Luck .