Forget last night 3679

Indeed. I think the England issue has created some very strange opinions though. The one where Beckham is to blame. I just cannot get my head around it. Surely it is the managers decision. If he's not strong enough to drop someone, then he has been found at and he should walk. If he *actually* thought that it would work, then it is simply a mistake.

Fair enough. Are you talking about Hansen, Ian Wright and Iain Dowie?

As for "best tactic". I thought SWP was only a fraction away from getting through and *creating* a goal scoring opportunity after these pinpoint pbuttes. Perhaps it's just me that saw that though.

I agree with that to an extent. Football is about "alternatives" though. If you can mix your play, you'll certainly create chances. Unfortunately, the way England lined up meant we looked one dimensional. And not even that for most of the game.

I do believe that a deeply hit quality long ball can create chances though. I'd certainly like to see it as an option. For me, it meant that the midfielder had vision and the winger was making himself available to receive. You can ask no more of either player. Again, IMHO.

This is *exactly* what was happening. SWP didn't make the most of the balls that were pbutted to him though.

I think you're being unfair. The pbuttes I saw gave SWP very good chances to get through. He failed. This is not a fault of the initial ball. Perhaps a static SWP was thought to be capable of pbutting a static NI Left back. Just a thought.

Oh I wholeheartedly agree with that. Again, this boils down to the formation and *why* the decision to play in this alien way was made. It's got to be a managerial cock up. Yes?

I think I've stated this a few times in the thread Les. I felt that SGE was feeling the media pressure and was simply scared of losing. I felt his reason for the formation was not one of "accomodation" or even formulation of a "plan B". I believe he simply did not want to lose and thought the formation played would win. In which case it was an honest mistake. I still feel the manager's time is limited. He's shown himself to fail under pressure. This is not a good trait for a National Team manager.

Agreed. England in a 4-4-2 can adapt as and when required. Rooney can drop into midfield (central of course) if required and Gerrard and Lampard can add incredible weight to any attack and also create space for wide men. However, I feel the SG and FL have been poor in the last 5-6 England games and one of that pair should have made way to accomodate SWP on the right and Beckham as the incisive pbutter.

I think we still have the players to do it in style. I'm just afraid they are being limited by baffling tactics.

-- Moog

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