[POLL]: Who will win World Cup 2014?

[goonersid]

Was well impressed by your lads last night Looks like Stevie me has got it spot on and you are going to peak just at the right time

[northbank123]

Why is Hodgson 'experimenting' with Rooney on the left-wing 10 days before England's first World Cup game? He's had two years of meaningless friendlies and largely uncompetitive qualifiers to play around with shape, formation and personnel.

After Euro 2012 he should have taken stock of the players available and started planning for World Cup 2014 straight away - instead nearly 2 years later he's still picking squads and teams on a whimsical basis. Granted England are lacking in quality in comparison to the top international teams but it doesn't help that they look like 11 players who don't know each other and don't know what system they're meant to be playing.

[augie]

Why is Hodgson 'experimenting' with Rooney on the left-wing 10 days before England's first World Cup game? He's had two years of meaningless friendlies and largely uncompetitive qualifiers to play around with shape, formation and personnel.

After Euro 2012 he should have taken stock of the players available and started planning for World Cup 2014 straight away - instead nearly 2 years later he's still picking squads and teams on a whimsical basis. Granted England are lacking in quality in comparison to the top international teams but it doesn't help that they look like 11 players who don't know each other and don't know what system they're meant to be playing.

Because his main striker is so badly out of form that it would be suicide to build a team around him ? Shrek is a class player (not top class mind) so it makes perfect sense that hodgson wants him in the team but playing him on the left puts less pressure on him and allows the team to shift their focus towards sturridge instead

[DB10GOONER]

Why is Hodgson 'experimenting' with Rooney on the left-wing 10 days before England's first World Cup game? He's had two years of meaningless friendlies and largely uncompetitive qualifiers to play around with shape, formation and personnel.

After Euro 2012 he should have taken stock of the players available and started planning for World Cup 2014 straight away - instead nearly 2 years later he's still picking squads and teams on a whimsical basis. Granted England are lacking in quality in comparison to the top international teams but it doesn't help that they look like 11 players who don't know each other and don't know what system they're meant to be playing.

Because like most Ingerlish managers that the Ingerlish media all but appoint, he hasn't a fucking scooby what his best team or starting 11 is. Woy will fail misewably in Bwazil.

And then it's gonna be (in no particular order) Curbishly, Fat Salami AllThePies, PardewCunt, Glenda and his Magic pixy elf advisors in a "caretaker capacity", Ian Holloway, A Generic Foreign Manager That The Bloke That Writes In The Sun Likes, Steve Bruce, Lying Phil Brown, John Gregory etc, etc, etc, you know, all the shit underachieving managers that are hailed as top class because they managed to get one team promoted for every three they get relegated.

[goonersid]

We are running a sweep at work to see who can guess how many tine Jackie Wileshite will fall over during the first game, I'm going for 73.
All joking aside, he is an embarassment, especially for a good old fashioned Ingerlish player who "loves a tackle"

[northbank123]

Why is Hodgson 'experimenting' with Rooney on the left-wing 10 days before England's first World Cup game? He's had two years of meaningless friendlies and largely uncompetitive qualifiers to play around with shape, formation and personnel.

After Euro 2012 he should have taken stock of the players available and started planning for World Cup 2014 straight away - instead nearly 2 years later he's still picking squads and teams on a whimsical basis. Granted England are lacking in quality in comparison to the top international teams but it doesn't help that they look like 11 players who don't know each other and don't know what system they're meant to be playing.

Because his main striker is so badly out of form that it would be suicide to build a team around him ? Shrek is a class player (not top class mind) so it makes perfect sense that hodgson wants him in the team but playing him on the left puts less pressure on him and allows the team to shift their focus towards sturridge instead

Given the option between playing a system that players have been learning for 2 years with Rooney or trying a new system with new players yet again within a fortnight of the World Cup I know which one I'd have. Club form is a completely overrated barometer when it comes to international selection. There are multiple factors that could cause it yet not be particularly relevant when it comes to joining up with the international side.

Waiting until a few weeks before a tournament and deciding your squad and entire team/shape based on recent form is a bit of a prehistoric approach. Even an international team should have a set shape and system based on a few key personnel. Obviously if somebody has had a dreadful season or barely played or is unfit or someone has come from left field to put themselves in the frame of course have a bit of flexibility, but starting from a blank canvas right before the tournament just because Rooney's form has dipped a bit? Ridiculous.

I think Hodgson is a decent enough manager because he's pragmatic - no promises of great football and will set up negatively if it gives them a better chance of getting a result, and it was an efficient qualifying campaign. But he hasn't got the balls to implement a 2-year plan and stick to his guns, as DB10 says he doesn't know his best team and he'd rather play it safe and make popular selections.

[augie]

I didn't see last nights game (nor have I watched much of engerlands games of late) but I assumed that you were complaining cos he moved shrek from centre forward and put him on left wing instead (in other wards a straight swap with sturridge) -now from reading your last post I am confused cos it reads as though woy has changed formation as well If this is indeed the case then I agree with you 100% but if it is just a case of moving personnel about in the same formation, then it shouldn't be a big deal and souldnt be classed as starting all over with a blank canvas. I would also play devils advocate with you and point out that, with modern day AFC we have only 1 plan and if that doesn't work then we are truly fcuked, but if hodgson is trying out a different formation so that he has a back up plan, can he really be slated for that ?

I understand why you would dismiss the practice of picking an international team based on club form and if it was any other player than shrek then I would agree with you - however it has to be acknowledged that shrek comes into this tournament under immense pressure knowing that he has NEVER performed well in the big tournaments and knowing that it has not gone un-noticed in the media or the fans. Putting him wide left might lift some of the pressure on him cos in reality engerlands prospects rest on his shoulders more than any other player. Shrek coming into this world cup out of form and low on confidence is not good news for hodgson and he knows it

[northbank123]

Change in formation may be a bit misleading - in crude terms it might still have been a 4-4-2 or whatever England normally play. But the difference between having Rooney for example as a lone striker or Sturridge as a lone striker with Rooney out wide completely changes the way the team plays going forward.

Rooney's poor tournament form isn't completely excusable by any means but do you really expect to get the best out of him when every major tournament he is chucked into an ever-changing side with minimal cohesion and expected to drag England through with stellar performances and goals?

With international teams fixtures are few and far between - obviously friendlies are a chance to try out a few new things but every fucking time England seem to hand out caps like confetti and as a result come into major tournaments looking like a team that don't even know each other's names.

[LDB]

Why is Hodgson 'experimenting' with Rooney on the left-wing 10 days before England's first World Cup game? He's had two years of meaningless friendlies and largely uncompetitive qualifiers to play around with shape, formation and personnel.

After Euro 2012 he should have taken stock of the players available and started planning for World Cup 2014 straight away - instead nearly 2 years later he's still picking squads and teams on a whimsical basis. Granted England are lacking in quality in comparison to the top international teams but it doesn't help that they look like 11 players who don't know each other and don't know what system they're meant to be playing.

To be fair this idea of long term planning in football is a bit ridiculous. Around who was he supposed to build the team at the end of Euro 2012? Joe Hart is about the only one you'd have placed your house on still being in the picture. Fitness and form are just too significant to make that feasible. Are Sterling, Barkley, Lalana, Shaw, Sturridge et al supposed to be ignored because they weren't in the picture two years ago? Are Jones and Smalling supposed to be automatic first picks because they once looked like "the future"? Good thing he didn't build the team around Andros Townsend who was the messiah six months ago

The only mystery is what exactly Lampard is supposed to be offering. He offered fuck all in an England shirt when he was at his peak, now it's just taking the piss. Wilshere didn't have an amazing game but he wasn't helped by being partnered with the cardboard cut-out of a footballer.

[LDB]

In my opinion the main reason England will continue to fail is that we have simply never got to grips with the pace of international football. Even average international sides can soak up our one-paced approach to the game and hit us with sucker punches in the spaces which we vacate as we charge around aimlessly. The best international sides know that you don't seek to set a fast tempo for 90 minutes, you try to control the game and accelerate at the right moments. Until our players stop trying to pretend they're playing premier league matches we haven't got a chance.

The players and managers are admittedly not helped by the hordes of (mostly northern) morons who bombard the radio phone-ins with their displeasure whenever England aren't launching a kick & rush air raid every 5 minutes. The kind of shitehawks which will turn up at their club's shitty cardboard ground every saturday just to boo back passes. SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT

[SteveO 35]

Was well impressed by your lads last night Looks like Stevie me has got it spot on and you are going to peak just at the right time

Northern Ireland aren't coming to Brazil



Goonersid - bitter as a leaking battery mixed in with grapefruit juice !

There's a special cream you can buy for that inferiority complex buddy

[northbank123]

Why is Hodgson 'experimenting' with Rooney on the left-wing 10 days before England's first World Cup game? He's had two years of meaningless friendlies and largely uncompetitive qualifiers to play around with shape, formation and personnel.

After Euro 2012 he should have taken stock of the players available and started planning for World Cup 2014 straight away - instead nearly 2 years later he's still picking squads and teams on a whimsical basis. Granted England are lacking in quality in comparison to the top international teams but it doesn't help that they look like 11 players who don't know each other and don't know what system they're meant to be playing.

To be fair this idea of long term planning in football is a bit ridiculous. Around who was he supposed to build the team at the end of Euro 2012? Joe Hart is about the only one you'd have placed your house on still being in the picture. Fitness and form are just too significant to make that feasible. Are Sterling, Barkley, Lalana, Shaw, Sturridge et al supposed to be ignored because they weren't in the picture two years ago? Are Jones and Smalling supposed to be automatic first picks because they once looked like "the future"? Good thing he didn't build the team around Andros Townsend who was the messiah six months ago

The only mystery is what exactly Lampard is supposed to be offering. He offered fuck all in an England shirt when he was at his peak, now it's just taking the piss. Wilshere didn't have an amazing game but he wasn't helped by being partnered with the cardboard cut-out of a footballer.

As I've said in a subsequent post obviously you have to have some flexibility to regard for extreme drops in form and fitness and the opposite. And changes in fringe personnel - people like Barkley, Lallana, Shaw etc - are not really what I was driving at with my point, to be honest it doesn't really matter who the back-up left-back is in a major tournament.

Drifting from friendly to dead rubber qualifier to friendly changing the squad and the team fairly drastically nearly every single team is not exactly a formula for success. England are not blessed with anything like the quality some of their European counterparts are but a bit more stability would be very welcome imo.

[clockender1]

poor Ox.

but i drew Chile in the office sweepstake. i'm happy with that.

[DB10GOONER]

Was well impressed by your lads last night Looks like Stevie me has got it spot on and you are going to peak just at the right time

Northern Ireland aren't coming to Brazil



Goonersid - bitter as a leaking battery mixed in with grapefruit juice !

There's a special cream you can buy for that inferiority complex buddy

Do you really give that much of a shit about Interlull football that your feelings have obviously been hurt? Really?

[augie]

Was well impressed by your lads last night Looks like Stevie me has got it spot on and you are going to peak just at the right time

Northern Ireland aren't coming to Brazil



Goonersid - bitter as a leaking battery mixed in with grapefruit juice !

There's a special cream you can buy for that inferiority complex buddy

Do you really give that much of a shit about Interlull football that your feelings have obviously been hurt? Really?

No he doesn't - it is just a bit of banter we have had going recently with Steve o over England's chances in brazil. Mind you the banter will go into overdrive when they beat Italy and the media start talking about the possibility of them bringing the World Cup home - all this will obviously be accompanied by the sun newspaper giving away free bowler hats with st George's flag on the front of them