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So thats the first 90 minutes overa nd England struggled to see of Paraguay.

I thought in the first half England looked good, they where composed on the ball pushed foward created chances looked like they could score from every set piece and then half time came ......

What I want to know is what does Sven see from that bench?  He has no idea about tactics IMO, his use of subsitutes is shocking and well you boys where helluva lucky to get the 3 points after a great first half performance.

It is vitally important to take 3 points from your opening game but it is also important that you put on a performance that breeds confidence, also its vital that your coach can send out the right signals but Sven is lacking here.

Play like that against the swedes and you will be defeated.

If you win the game your tactics are correct.

Granted, England never really started the second half but Paraguay never looked likely.  I felt England edged it and the scoreline was fair.

If they win every game 1-0 in that fashion then I'll be a happy man.

Its all about the points this early, just ask Sweden!

England were ordinary but they've got 2 weeks to get it right as there isn't a good side in their half of the draw til the quarters.

put it this way which team is sitting happiest right now:

England - just scrapped a win with a jammie own goal, or/
Sweden - did everything but put the ball in the net

Obviously england, even tho sweden deserve to be above them in the group, thats why points win over performances at this stage

Whoever wins this group. play Germany in QF, I would imagine that Sweden are happier

Why is it a team who can't beat Dwight Yorke's pub side deserve to be above England?

Sweden were awful.

under sven england will win nothing.

we have some of the greatest players in the world individualy but sven is TOO defensive. Taking off owen after 55 mins is awful. we should be going at teams and killing then not sitting back defending

Were we watching the same game? Sweden had 4 in defence with a man advantage and really only had some clumsy long range attempts with only 1-2 respectable attempts in the whole 45 mins they had the advantage.

Its far to easy to predict winning nothing at international level - there's only one thing to win every two years to go round.

there's no middle ground when people get taken over by the World Cup syndrome, one minute we're going to win it, the next we have no chance. Fact is we won one nil and Robinson only had one (if that) save to make. We have the best defence in the competition and they showed that today after being let down in the second half by an inability to keep the ball - nothing more nothing less.

End of day one is more than good for England

mate, day 1 has nothing to do with it, in euro 2004 we were the best team in it by a mile but we went 1-0 up against france and sat back and they murdered us when we sat back. in the QF we went 1-0 up against portugal and sat back and they murdered us unttl we went 2-1 down, then we started to play. sven is too defensive.

if we had a manger who attacked teams(and im not sayong this because im support arsenal) like arsene wenger, or ferguson,benitez or even martin jol we could win it

The winners of Englands group play the RU in Germanys group in last 16, the winner of that tie would play a team from group C or D ie Argentina, Holland, Portugal etc

So this time we didn't get caught and can go on. On each of the occations you talk about the player in our squad weren't half as experienced as they are now. The emergance of Chelsea and the success of Liverpool puts us so much further on than 2004...

Todays results were ideal - and football is ultimately a results business....

Lets hope for an improved 2nd half on Thursday - get qualified, avoid suspensions in the the third game and then kick on.

cos they played far better than England

well if henrik had 1 inch longer legs he would have scored 2 with a slide and should have scored with his head too

Don't the pundits all say a wins a win and we improve as the tournement progresses.

Yes it was pretty poor but least we won.

  Today was the first time since 1998 that we've won our opening group game.Previous to that it was 1982.

  OK the second half was not too clever, but it's a better start than normal.

There is no point comparing the two games - different opposition and different conditions - lets just see who qualifies! I know which position I'd sooner be in!

Sweden, who couldn't beat Trinidad and Tobago, should be above England, who beat Paraguay.  Based on the evidence that Sweden played more attractive football against 10 men who celebrated the draw like they'd won the cup.

LOL!!!!!

the winners of group A and Group B wouldn't meet until the final. group B winners would most likely have to get through Brazil in the semifinal.

I thought it was an excellent game and a deserved win, but i was in the pub from 9am.........
Dave, are you scottish by any chance? :D

Why?

Germany hve the worst defence I've seen so far.

you couldnt even put the ball in your own net, you had to get someone else to do it for you, then get M Owen to run away celebrating

sweden wouldnt stoop so low

England:

In the World Cup.
Won their first game with no goals conceded.
Big favourites to make the second round.
Got one of the best strikers in the world to return in the knockout stages.

It's times like this I really wished I supported Scotland.  ::)

Really??

Its comments like that, that make us Scots hate your poxy team more!

And Rooney is a damn fine player but I don't think he is one of the best strikers in the world!!

He plays better in the hole behind a mian striker, to be a great striker you have to have outstanding goal scoring records IMO Rooney doesn't have this yet.

COME ON THE ARGIES!!

Well there we have it from the horses mouth. That man people admire so much Martin O'Neill, has just said England will have no problems beating Sweden as they are ordinary. Didn't he manage someone once?


"And Rooney is a damn fine player but I don't think he is one of the best strikers in the world!!" -  :D

I guess Larsson is though?

Well Larrson has achieved mor ein the game than Rooney has but he wasn't top of the list Iw ould compile of world class strikers.

Schevchenko
Drogba
Crespo
Henry
Ronaldo
Adriano
Luca Toni


These guys are all better strikers than Rooney.

Its fascinating that such a world class team has pinned all its hopes on one man.

You boys are up shit creek without a paddle if he comes in and gets injured - what then??

It's simple IMO, England were poor, poor teams don't win the world cup. The England defence was shocking, luckily it was meetin the paraquay attack and not that of Argentina, Holland, Italy, Brazil etc. If they had it would have been a pasting.

And please don't tell me about the goals/game ratio he achieved in Scotland, otherwise I'm going to start telling you how good Kezman is for all the goals he scored in Holland!

Drogba? Are you kidding me? 9 goals a season for a £24 million player? Rooney scores 16 goals at 20 years old and hes not world class, Drogba scores 9 (in an amazing Chelsea side) and he is? :D

And comments like that, that make you look daft.

So you saying Larrson hasn't achived more in the game than Rooney?

Whats your fascination with Henrik?  FFS I never even brought him into this.

So you don't rate Drogba where do you put Rooney in the list then? 

And how is that?

Larsson has achieved more than Rooney I admit but Rooney is 20. We'll just again in 12 years and I'm sure we'll find that it is no contest.

My list would be:

Ronaldinho
Henry
Ronaldo
Shevchenko
Rooney
Raul (although not any more)
Crespo
Nistlerooy

In no order.

I haven't seen enough of Adriano to be convinced yet and he has long dry spells for Inter. Someone like Luca Toni I wouldn't put near the top. He's 30/31 and has only been banging them in the last year or two. Form doesn't mean world class. Drogba I just find funny.

Until he came back from Madrid, Owen would have made that list too.

OK guys

Passions are going to run high on these sort of threads

There will be different views, and no doubt some controversial views as well. Even Scottish views. Though why we allow them for this World Cup I am not sure.  :D  ;scarymoment;

Lets all debate the games/teams/players agreeably and without resorting to flaming.

There's nothing that oversteps the mark, but I see signs that it might go down that path

Give me, as one of only a couple of mods that frequents this board, an easy time please. Thanks

Oh how I laugh, didn't take long for someone to bite.

Scotish Dave posts negative views re: England which I have no problem with but when I respond my jest comment it is taken as justification for hatred and maybe even an explanation for xenophobia.

Re: Rooney not being a striker I do believe he is listed as a striker. Indeed he plays that holding role but does that mean he is a defender or midfielder. Then again maybe he should be referred to as a goal keeper. Rooney is a striker. When were a goals to games ratio a determining factor in defining if a player was a striker or not. The team sheet says he's a striker, his club say he's a striker, his country say he's a striker and 99.9% of football professionals would describe Wayne Rooney as a striker. I guess the evidence is overwhelming, Wayne Rooney is NOT a striker. 

Maybe because Rooneys "goals to games ratio" is not sufficent enough for you to regard him as not one of the best strikers and reason enough that you wouldn't include a playert like him in your Scotish team but I personally right him as a pretty decent player.

Its fascinating that such a world class team has pinned all its hopes on one man.

You boys are up shit creek without a paddle if he comes in and gets injured - what then?

I don't rest ALL my hopes on one player, I've merely think he would be the icing on the cake.

Maybe we will win the world cup and maybe we won't be at least we have a chance.

This thread, although hilarious, is rather predictable in its anti-English Scottishness

What group are Scotland in again?

I am not Scottish.....i just have 2 eyes and am not biased.

I find this statement hilarious.

I know.  I wasn't referring to you.

Neither am I bias, I have merely dared to suggest that we have an opportunity to win the world cup as we are still in the competition.

Indeed we had a questionable second half and have manager who has demonstrated a history of poor substitutions and negative tactics in important games when we have taken the lead. But we also have a number of positives that means we still have a chance whether you think it is a remote one or not. Fact is we are still in the competition whilst others aren't.

And when was the world cup ever won on the first game. I recall 1982 that Italy were so poor in the "whole" of the first round having drawn all three of their agames against Poland, Peru and Cameroon that their fans booed them. However history will forever remember them as the 1982 World Cup champions.

I love bitter scots, its the same on most in internet forums.

It got nothing to do with being bitter.

I have no problem is admitting that England have a few world class players, but they are no where near as good a team as they are made out to be.

How many of these "great" players that you have would walk into any the top leagues in Europe and do the business?

Beckham aside all the top English players from the EPL who have gone abroad have been failures.

The problem that I and many other scots have is that when the World Cup or European Championships come around you all belive that you have a divine right to win. 

Also the fact that every time there is another game on we are subjected to inherrent nonsense from the likes of Lineker and Yorath about England, I want to watch each individual game with the talk being about that game, I don't want to know what Beckham had for breakfast or any other nonsense.

At least we Scots are realistic, we know we will never win any the big tourneys but at least when we get there we can enjoy ourselves, pictures in todays Scotish newspapers where showing English fans fighting with each other at one of the live broadcasts. 

Well enjoy the rest of the tourney, your boys will be home before the end of June.  :D

 rotflmfao rotflmfao rotflmfao rotflmfao

 rotflmfao rotflmfao rotflmfao rotflmfao rotflmfao

 :goodpost:


















Just kidding:

 rotflmfao rotflmfao rotflmfao rotflmfao rotflmfao rotflmfao

Just watching that toughest job in football lol great larf watching all those failed English managers  8)

Most if not all of them would do the business abroad.

Top English players have been failures abroad? Funny - McManaman and Hargreaves haven't complained about their medals haul.

Divine right to win? Lol ok this is where we move away from footy and it's getting personal. England aren't even my first national team but to say they have no chance is ludicrous.

So your critical because we display some optisim. Do you not enter a poker tournament optimistic that you have a chance of winning or do you sit down saying you have no chance. We have a chance and that is reason alone to have hope. Do not Scotland when they qualify for the world cup dream of getting past the first round. That's unrealistic but it doesn't stop you from dreaming.

Granted the media goes overbaord but you can't judge as all by the jingoistic rubbish of the media folk. I'm realistic in our chances but that doesn't stop me from hoping for the best. The fact is my intial response was to the posts critical of England and their chances. Many of your countrymen

Indeed our team may be home before the end of June but at least they got the opportunity. What was Scotlands last competition song "Don't come back to soon". Sounds like your country realism is displayed as pessimism. Maybe it's the same pessimism and negative attitude and constant whinging that prompts others to adopt a vocal voice just to see you guys get upset :)

p.s. your arguement about English players proving their value abrod is pants on account of why would they want/need to play abroad when they get paid as much if not more in one of the richest league in the world.

p.p.s. so the Scotish papers post pics of England fans fighting. Wonder if they went looking for a story  ::). News flash, young men, drinking in large numbers and you will always see events of this nature. Happens in towns and cities every night, even in Scotish ones I believe. What has become less frequent is the ugly organised mass fighting of English hooligans. And you seem to be so proud by this news story as if to win some major point, I wonder if you nationistic papers are so quick to carry the story of Scotland being the most voilent country in Europe as reported in a EU study. Also have to point out that when I went to the old home internationals many years ago the fighting was not exclusively the English but then again guess you don't want to hear that.

Can't wait for the part about Scotish goalkeepers  ::)

This is the thing most Scots & no doubt Welsh & Irish people object to, the coverage is totally OTT, try & watch a game that has nothing to do with England & see how many times they get mentioned.

I like the vast majority of Scots have no problem with English people or the English team. I enjoy watching them because they do have a lot of very good players but I find myself getting frustarted with them because the coach has no idea how to the best out of the players at his disposal.
There are other squads with less talent at there disposal who will probably go further than England because the coach will get the best out of them eg Greece, Czech Rep, Portugal, South Korea & Turkey in recent years.

I think England will get to the last 8, anything more I think would be an achievement under the present coach.

BTW theres more fishing going on in this thread than a Rex Hunt convention, try not to take it too seriously lads  :)up

Is it any real surprise that a British Broadcasting Corporation would have a bais towards one of the home countries. If Wales and Scotland or Northern Ireland had qualified they would also be strongly covering them and before I receive the counter arguement that their covered would not be to the same level I'm sure it would be in realition to the demographic profiles.

Hey in the past the Britsih media have even strongly been supporters of a non Britsh World Cup finalist Eire and I don't recall many if any English bemoaning the covered of a non Britsih country.

At the end of the day the only thing that counts is the 3 points.

I agree. Good post.

1/ Dont you mean Won?  ;)

2/ Who? - please dont say Ronney or ill piss all over my couch and then my Girlfriend Janet will shout at me and tell me to phone Reids and get the guy out to have the couch resprayed again, and we just had it done about 3 months ago, after i came home from the pub and spilt Pakora sauce all over the right hand arm rest.  ;scarymoment;

1/ thank you for correcting me on my grammatical error

2/ hope it doesn't cost to much to get the couch resprayed

why do people always say this?

your not a daft man Moves, so why be sarcastic...

...Sarcasm is the lowest form of Humour.

Scotland will win the 2046 world cup when it will be renamed the Universe Cup since we will be able to space travel by then, and it will include teams from Saturn, Mars, Venus and the 2046 hosts Uranus

So you see MrMoves, Scotland are going to do it in Uranus in 2046  8)

When i comes to Hargreaves, as you have suggested he has nothing to prove when you look at the amount of medals he has won, so why the hell do English fans boo him all the time? in 2002 he played a vital roll in certain situations? so why Boo?

:D :D :D

Funniest stuff I've read all day.

So the coverage of Rooney hasn't been OTT?

Just ignore me why don't you..... ;tk;

Yes it has, even Ericsson (sp?) made a statement to that effect. Personally i don't think he's the great white hope everyone else believes but WTF do i know?
BTW sarcasm is the lowest form of wit :D

I have to sheepishly find myself agreeing.

Might as well get the pants performances over and done with against the pants teams.

People ALWAYS say that because Scots have a very high opinion of Scottish football and a very low opinion of English football.  Yet the standard of Scottish football is dire.

Like many Scots you're an ABE (Anyone But England) which is tragic.  I couldn't care less about Scottish football if truth be told, I suspect the same is true for most England fans, but if Scotland (or Wales or N.Ireland) were in the WC I would happily support them as a British team.

Scots should be behind England in the WC.  If you're anti-England ask yourself why you need someone to hate.

Some great posts here.

The one about coverage of Ireland in the last world cup was very true - I was very suprised to see all the coverage but was loving it!

Yes the media overdo it on England. (The next England manager thing was a joke) Yes every reporter and pundit has their say whether they know anything about football or not. Yes it's annoying as hell when footy fans who watch f'all football all year (at their own admission) come out to explain why England are so great/so bad when they haven't really got a clue, but that's why the world cup is so great - it matters to almost everyone.

Also, there is nothing wrong with optimism. Being a Liverpool fan through last years Champions League, I learned that sometimes you have to dare to believe.

A couple of points here - Scotland fans tend not to get involved in random fighting with locals and their families while supposidly watching their national team - Fair Play award.
Next - it was reported on the front pages of most Scottish red tops that Scotland was one of the most violent countries - meantion of Glasgow being particulairy violent - so your silly comment is baseless. Of course the fighting wasn't exclusivily the English - I don't think they would be that stupid to fight with themselves. ::) I think you will find, though, that the fighting was STARTED by the English.

Would you support Germany as a Eureopean team?

Because of opinions like yours.