Thetownend.com

Less than a week till the Russia game and here is my starting 11.
Hart
Walker Cahill Smalling Rose
Dyer Henderson
Sterling Ali Lallana
Kane

No room for Rooney as Roy plays too many players out of position to accomodate him. Milner not good enough and Barkley inconsistent.
Would like to fit Vardy in but not sure his play suits our style.

Hart up front and rooney in goal, as if we beat them the fuckers will invade most likely :)

`

You may take the piss but Woy may do that as he is legally bound to shoehorn Rooney into the team somewhere!

Formation is more important than personnel for me.

The diamond midfield with 2 up top hasn't worked recently, the 4-2-3-1 has and we got a lot more creativity from it.

I had to double take there to work out who Dyer (Dier) was. For a stupid moment I thought Kieran Dyer had played his way back into contention!

Kieron has still probably got a contract somwhere like Newcastle....

TBF Kieron may be a thoroughly decent bloke, but he did come to represent all things wrong with the Prem...namely a one trick pony, who could trouser millions for sitting around on his arse for 5 or 6 years.

I think Woy will pick the Portugal starting X1, assuming all fit. We did win, and I'm sure he'd take a similar performance now, if it delivers a result.

I'm thinking we haven't played the victors of the Great Patriotic War in a competitive game, since the denouement of Euro 88. An England classic campaign...p3 w0 d0 l3.  Such future STFC luminaries as Glenn Hoddle and v the Soviets Steve McMahon unable to provide any crumb of comfort.

What was good about those  80's tournaments was shortish, and nobody watched.

Dyer turned out in Soccer Aid the other night and miraculously didn't get injured, I am no great fan of his but to be fair the main reason he didn't play was because he was injured, including a broken leg 10 days after his West Ham debut leading to 17 months out plus having hamstrings made of glass, he then when to QPR and got stretchered off on his debut being out for another season? On a positive point he managed to seriously piss of Gold and Sullivan at West Ham which is never a bad thing!

He is apparently a youth coach at Ipswich now!  

England's record at the Euro Championships, 1 knock out victory, 0 in normal time.

Hideous.

Think I'd rather him than Rooney  :D

I think it will be as v portugal except wilshere for milner

I also predict delli ali will be sent off.

We already have. After your referendum to quit the EC you will be "invited" to join the Federation  COYR

I recently decided to start watching England again, and then unfortunately saw the Portugal game.

If Roy tries to accommodate that hairless ginger man-child against Russia (which seems annoyingly likely) I think I'll be giving England (excluding potential glory-hunting) a wide berth.

 :sheep: Rooney haters.  :zzz:

Agree, most of our likely starters, Vardy aside, play this formation week in, week out.

Assuming you have to accommodate Wayne, I'd go same back four as V Portugal, then

                                            Dier                  Henderson/ Wilshere (depending on fitness)


                          Rooney               Ali               Sturridge

                                                   Kane

Think Vardy can make more of an impact from the bench, ditto Rashford.

Swap Sturridge for Sterling, and I think you've got it

Rooney should and will play at the top of a diamond I reckon.
I'd go two upfront in vardy and Kane though I'm.not sure of Roy will go that way. The defence is a big concern so just go for it I say.

It depends whether he will spend the whole time playing as a centre forward pushing Kane and Vardy wide, as he did against Portugal, he can play the role, whether he is disciplined enough to do so is a different matter entirely!

agree. He'll definitely be playing so we better hope he is disciplined

Can't agree more. He was a bloody nuisance against Portugal for us, so lets hope he can turn into a bloody nuisance for the opposition.

Not sure it's even about being disciplined. Vardy and Kane were played wide it was basically a shoddy 4 3 3.

For what it's worth i would just play Rooney and Kane upfront with Deli Alli behind

I was talking to a Spurs fan at the weekend and we agreed on something similar. Despite the season Vardy has had, I think Rooney and Kane up front is the better option and Alli in more of his spurs role I think would work too DRS.

Not sure link works properly but this would be my team. Not sure it's everyones cup of tea but the wide players will at least do the job they are supposed to do instead of wasting Vardy & Kane wide

http://lineupbuilder.com/?sk=b6h32

                 Hart
Walker, Cahill, Smalling, Rose
                Dier   
            Henderson
       Alli                 Lallana
               Rooney
               Kane   

If we are going to try and use width (which I suspect we will not or else he would have taken Townsend) I would be tempted to replace Milner with either Clyne or Walker depending on who plays right back?

This is actually the line-up I'd go for. I'd prefer Rooney didn't play, but as he will I'd rather he was upfront than ruining the midfield.

Be crazy to play one of those wide of Midfield when they have never done it before for us in my opinion

Its a difficult one as Milner is about as energetic and dynamic as I am. what is Lallana's preferred position?

                     Hart
Clyne  Smalling  Stones  Rose
              Dier      Wilshere
     Rooney      Alli    Barkley
                     Kane

I suppose playing Barkley on the left will at least stop him constantly giving the ball away in dangerous positions, I don't envy Rose in that formation, who is going to be  sitting duck...

As noted before either Smalling of Alli are going to be sent off.

I like that i just think whoever is wider needs to get up and down and think Alli is wasted doing that

I see the press are printing the closeup pic that a journo took of Ray Lewington carrying a sheet of paper with names and a formation on - now assuming everyone thinks this is likely to be Sat's team, why do the press have to do it every time and undermine the manager by printing names and formation giving the opposition something to work on.

It may not be correct and it may be a ploy by Eng to fool the opposition but chances are its the team.

Ah the classic 4-1-1-2-1-1 formation  :D

That team will get hammered by Chris Colemans starting line up if you seen it

Thank god its not Swindon, Power would have taken them out and shot them...

(p.s - I am joking before any of the anti-Power brigade jump of this as some sort of infallible evidence of wrongdoing by Power!)

Ditto milner

Milner is a great player if you play him in position, but he isn't an international winger and asking him to play that role will just get him vilified and line him up to be a scapegoat!

We need at least one scapegoat....this squad could potentially provide a whole herd. There's a lot of players who it's very easy to dislike.

Yes reg vardy and delli ali i find very easy to dislike.good players tho

(http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTYwMFgxMjA1/z/RCUAAOSwymxVO~wx/$_1.JPG)

Thought that might happen!😊

If it's the picture I saw then it's not likely to be the team as it didn't have the back four & keeper named, but it did have 7 other positions.

Unless UEFA have said we can play with 12 or we are going to play without  full backs (despite taking four)

Bingo (although would put Alli central, Rooney left - apparently his personal preferred decision now - and Lallana right)

So has Rooney now decided he wants to play on the left, that will be handy as its a problem position - and the cynic may suggest he sees it as the best opportunity to get a starting place~?

Nah i reckon being our captain and all time top goalscorer gives him that right  ;)

According to The Daily Mail, our players are bringing the game and the country into disrepute by going topless in a pool, exposing their tattoos.

What a disgrace. Next they'll be exposing their legs by wearing shorts on the pitch or something.

Please tell me that's a joke? Scandalous that they are not going into swimming pools in wetsuits!

I have been watching a few documentaries about Euro 96 and it was interesting that Venables let his players go out for drinks etc and didn't lambast them after the Dentist Chair debacle. It seemed that the players came together after this and the team cameradery was evident. But for Gazza not being an inch taller, we would have won that tournament. Gazza and Ince used to drink a lot in their rooms.

Now, I am not suggesting that we should repeat the Hong Kong incident, but I think team bonding (a la Leicester this year) is very important. At international level sometimes England teams look like total strangers.

Actually, I just double checked and it was England rugby players, not football players. That'll teach me not to skim-read.

Still though.....


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3632322/Whatever-happened-sport-gentlemen-England-rugby-stars-lay-bare-tattoos-game-s-wholesome-image-kicked-touch.html

So until that time did Gary Lineker have an automatic right be in the starting line ups  ;)? He may have been old but his form would probably been as good as Rooney's recently, he's been a great servant to England and is still on his day well worth a place, but those days are getting rarer and to shunt the whole team around just to accommodate him seems a little perverse?

Thing is i would argue we are moving him around to accomadate peoples need to want Vardy and Kane upfront together. Rooney will still score goals if played upfront and you could see in the last game when moved upfront how his clever movement improved us. I rate Vardy but his movement is totally different and suited to a different style and formation to what we play.

Surely it's better to play players who are in form? Rooney isn't one of those.

The form thing slightly annoys me. Play the players who are in form for their country not for their clubs. On that basis we should have Danny Simpson at right back

But kyle Walker has also had a good season so that's debatable.

On that basis half the squad shouldn't be there, form is a side show in this squad, actually being fit would be a start!

You know what i'm saying though. How a player plays in a different team and a different formation shouldn't really effect everything

i agree. the mark noble debate for instance. has he ever played at the pinacle on english football? champions league? international football? No. but everyone wants to throw him onto the world stage without any previous at that level. (note this is different to rashford as its young raw talent in a position where he is not necessarily in line to be called on but COULD be a game changer in a less risky position.) if there was a debate for mark noble to be had it should have been in qualifying not for the final squad selection. he has had a good season which no one can deny.  however if the euros where next season then he might have had a chance. in qualifying players like wiltshire and rooney were brilliant and as such got us there. they deserve to keep their places if they can prove their fitness.

Class is permanent and Rooney is one of, if not THE best player available to Roy. All this hand wringing about form is pointless. He'll play in the starting 11 because he is one of the 11 best players. The end.

personally, i wouldnt start vardy. everyone is slating rooneys selection by saying they have to pick the players to fit around him. well thats exactly what is happening with vardy. he doesn't suit our system but because he has had a good season people demand he starts. vardy as an impact sub would be fantastic in my eyes. the amount of players that have not put in a shift in the past yet start makes the rooney hatred even more stupid. he gives everything in an england shirt and his goal record is outstanding.

hart
walker smalling cahill rose
lallana/wiltshire dier ali rooney sterling
kane

enough pace and attack to get us through any games.

A manager has to take into account players who got you there....trying to build some sort of bonds and team spirit is crucial and very difficult to do with international sides.

Listening on 5 live t'other night about Euro 96, Terry Venables favoured letting the lads get well and truly bladdered and indulge in Wimbledonesque antics.  Not really an option for Woy

Like shearer in 96 you mean ? 12 game goal drought going into the tournament then golden boot winner.

Playing the best players in their natural position is the name of the game... if that means Vardy starts on the bench, then so be it - Kane is the better player

Lets be honest we are not going to win whatever team we put out!

I think this our best chance for a while: not because we're great, but because none of the teams look as strong as they have been in the past: Spain and Germany both look well short of their best, France look good but have problems at centre back if Rami plays, and Italy are well below their usual level.

Remi? They will have even worse problems at the back if Mangala plays!

The problem we have is consistency and our inability to string good performances together, to win it we have to win 6(?) games and I just cannot see us playing well (or even OK) for that many games on the bounce?

Adil Rami sorry. He's not very good. Especially considering he's replacing Rafael Varane!

can't wait for this - 13 hours on a train round trip!! gonna be in a bad way sunday morning :|

I think the Remi reference was my fault, thinking of the Stone Roses?

Think we'll smash Russia 3-0. Can see us getting to the quarters or semi's and then the usual happening; a referee screw job or an exit on pens. I don't see any team to fear in this tournament.

For me its France to win with Griezmann top scorer which is where my money is going.

England will get out of the group and then I fancy us to get past the first knock-out phase. Anything beyond that is a bonus really.

Being out of work at the moment I am definitely going to be making the most of the next couple of months!

 One thing about the Euros, is that it has thrown up a few unlikely winners in Czechs, Denmark and Greece in living memory.

 No team on paper looks way above the other ususal contenders, France have to be favourites as home side, but you never know with them.

 As for us, getting out of the group will no tbe easy, but I believe we have some Platini, Blatter style expansion meaning the group games are likely to be negative.

Anyone who thinks lalalalana should be picked before milner is frankly nuts.

I'd pick my mum over Milner

Hart, Walker, Cahill, Smalling, Rose; Alli, Dier, Rooney; Sterling, Kane, Lallana.

Cheers Roy. Let's see it in action.

Lala and sterling. Meh fuck off. Gone 2-0 England Kane first goal. I'm in the Savoy if anyone fancies a pint or a scrap.  :D

He just had a good first half, though. As did England.

fantastic positivity  and movement all round and enjoying Rooney's deeper role.

0-0 though :hmmm:

Thank fuck for that

Very well deserved opener.

Sent from my MotoG3

Should sterling start- no. The same with Rooney.

Rooney's played well, the blinkers some people have regarding him are unbelievable

Is he a starter though..

Fnarrrrgh

Match report:

FUCK.

What a plum you are

I don't remember the last time I saw us so dominant.

We'll get through the group stages. That's the main thing.

Who's currently top of the group?

A Welsh plum.

Sterling was the worst player in that England team.

That was delightfully predictable.....

and he runs like he has got a handbag on each wrist,frecin girly cunt.

Almost the perfect performance and totally unjust result. We need to beat the Welsh so they don't cruise against Russia in their final game, lose and eliminate us. Hope the media report the Russian ultra fans attacking innocent England fans with the same enthusiasm they do for our mindless element.

Sterling was frustrating, he got into so many good positions to cross (which he should), only to give a poor delivery.

If that wasn't the perfect game to bring Vardy on, what is?...

Completely, was a waste of a shirt. The amount of times he outpaced their gull back but cut back rather than driving inside was so frustrating. Vardy would be much more effective there despite playing out of position

In fairness he was a cunning thief

(https://thebeautifulhistory.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/scarboroughnowp.jpg)

Positives: we created a fuck load of chances.  Better finishing would have seen us with at least 3-4 goals

The negatives: Russia were fucking dreadful. Can't stress enough how shit they were. Really really bad

If we play like that going forward and all our good chances don't fall to Adam lallana then we'll be very good.

The BBC gave rooney MOTM. He was in the game for 15 minutes int he first half (in his new beckham-esque QB role), but really wasn't effective for the rest of his time on the pitch.

The lack of subs was worrying, but overall, as Dave sez - snot all bad

 A good point. England have never won an opening game in a Euro, so to get so close could be regarded as progress, however having said that the Soviets were terrible. The performance was at least decent...which is all I ask for.

Thought England played well for the most part and quite enjoyed the game which is rare! Would have brought vardy on for Sterling as his pace/directness would have caused Russia problems. Other than that, positive performance and good platform to build on.

I don't think we can say that until the others have played them. They looked like group strugglers to me - if they lose the other 2 it'll be a bad point.

good performance other then finishing/sterling though.

I'm in Montpellier after going to the game yesterday. I will never set foot back in the place again! At one point there was no escape....proper running street battles.
'Russians' in black shirts appeared but some shouting to each other in French!
Be glad to get home!

Disappointed that once again we have a manager that plays safe and cannot seem to safe and frightened to make a change....I don't know what Sterling had to do to be taken off!

Glad you are safe Flash

Did you get me a program?


(stay safe mate)

If we're gunna play 433 then why didn't we take Townsend? He would offer a lot more coming off the bench than Sterling did in the entire 90

If we hold on for another 30 seconds then the headlines would be about what a fantastic performance it was. The late equaliser has seemed to mask the fact that it was one of best England performances I have seen for many years and the movement and passing was at times brilliant. Should have won by a distance. We are and will be a match for any team in this tournament

We played well but let's not go overboard, Russia were fucking dismal.

We definitely played well and was enjoyable to see, promising for future  games. Russia were shite though and Sterling offered very little and was the weak link for me

Hahaha. Tell us another one, please.

Discuss...

I agree. We've got a great team who could actually win it.

The finishing let us down.....and Sterling who really was shite.

We were good (to an extent) against a distinctly average team.  Not winning is actually a bit of a concern if we really did have any hopes of doing well overall (we should be considering firing squads if we fail get out of the group in this new format).  If we can't break these guys down, and still find ourselves caught out by sucker punches in defence, then better teams will deal with us.

Sterling will do well to be an International class player in a few years if he keeps up his rate of decline.  Maybe another player who had his best times on breaking into the pro game, due to being a little different and having some pace.  Both qualities will and have been worked out.  Currently I have going down the Lennon, Dyer, Pennant route.  Only a series of injuries should see him play again in this tournament after that performance.  Better to give someone like Vardy a go and utilise the lack of knowledge factor with opposition teams.  It does beg the question how we got here without figuring out how we were going to set-up, we've had two years in an easy group to prep.

Still think we'll reach the Quarters before limply losing.

We wont beat Wales, we should, but we wont, we may beat Slovakia and just squeeze through. Haven't seen the draw, but we'll probably then go out to Germany/France, even though neither of those are brilliant either. We probably have been the best team so far, but counts for crap if you cant beat a bad side.

Has someone put some Reg pills in Wiltshire water or what? We looked better than we have done for a long time, just enjoy it. Wales managed to beat one of the few countries that has a smaller population than they do, woo them. We've got the toughest game in the group out the way.

Not in Wiltshire ;) Anyway I've about 20 tournaments to base my opinions on. It will all end in depression as it always does, steel yourself!

To be honest Slovakia looked alright and could have troubled Wales more had they concentrated on playing football rather than trying to kick anything that moved, Russia were woeful which rather contradicts the argument that large population some bearing on team quality.

When you say look better than we have for a long time I assume you didn't see the Germany game where we looked better than we did against Russia and added the ability to take chances to our game.

I think the Wales England game will come down to which team bottles it?

Yeah I thought Slovakia looked half decent,better than Russia,who,apart from n Ireland,are the worst team so far
 

Watching England down the years ( along with STFC) you just know in a situation like Saturday a daft last minute equaliser is going to happen.

It's about game management etc. Take the Hun, very similar situation to us last night, but they score in the last minute.

I said before getting out of the group should be doable given only 8 teams go out of 24, but that it won't be easy.

Northern Ireland struggle by only having 11 men on the pitch, if they could keep 9 men behind the ball and have a couple of extra to allow the occasional attack they would be great

I thought both Slovakia and Wales looked average, but a lot better than Russia who on another day we would have spanked. Slovakia generally dealt with Bale quite well and Skrtel is like a much more polished Branco. The most notable thing about Slovakia was how many mohawks they had!

We should beat both. Key word should.

I love the way you can predict peoples verdicts on England results. I can guarantee the ones who say they have no interest in England anymore throughout the year are the ones who a month before tournaments tell the world how shit we will be then after a decent performance tell everyone how shit the opposition were.

So far i don't think i have seen one world class team and on Wales i don't think they were that good either. We will beat them by 2-3 clear goals. As someone famously said on here that is a FACT

Well I have no fears in us facing england.

Skrtel should have not been on the pitch.

Germany for me have impressed me the most so far, apart from at the back where they look pretty ropey.

Apart from then, and France in bits, no team has stood out as being head and shoulders better than the rest, however we still have Spain, Italy and Belgium to come.

If we can get an early goal or two against the Welsh then we should win comfortably. If we go in at half time at 0-0, things could get awkward. Slovakia didn't impress me that much and Wales generally (apart from the first 5 minutes) contained Hamsik well.

This was the best I've seen England play for a long, long time.

Sucker punch at the end, but lot's of positives to take from the game..

I, personally, thought Rooney was superb.. I don't understand the reservations that people have for him. Opinions are like arseholes, I guess.

Yeah I've gotta say, I was a big critic of Rooneys before the tournament but I thought he was excellent.

Contain Bale and we will win.

Easy.

Exactly. They have one of the best players in the tournament, but not much else.

Agree with all the comments about Rooney, I thought he was excellent in midfield.

Who do we play on the left wing instead of Sterling then? Its so frustrating to see yet another whippet footballer not having a football brain, countless scooby doo style runs down the wing to fuck up a cross or give the ball away.

I'd rather have Vardy there than Sterling.

I hate the saying "one man team" but they really are, he would turn any side into a good side just with his presence, him, Messi and Ronaldo are probably the 3 best players in the world right now and Wales are very lucky to have him.

How we deal with that I don't know, he should probably have a man marking him all game but I don't think England have a player capable of doing that who can tackle and has pace. Being a man marker is not much of a part of the modern game, unlike in olden days when Styles, Vogts, Gentile etc.

I have a feeling it will be Diers job.

I'd rather have Reg Vardy there than Sterling.

I'm not afraid to say Rooney proved me wrong in this one and found overall it was a good performance and game.

Sure we were a touch unlucky, but we should have put it to bed long before that. There were negatives (mainly wasting Kane on set-pieces, finishing and Sterling), but they were far outweighed by the positives.

What, with 'Jack' going missing in midfield, 'Blakey' on the wing and 'Olive' moping at the back while 'Arthur' was injured and on the bench?

Nah, Reg Vardy has a much better motor than Sterling.

Probably the best player we have for that role.

Well, the first half was one of the best halves of football I have seen an England team play. Rooney was putting in some passes that were Hoddelesque in their range and precision. Walker was excellent down the wing and has got some tricks to turn opposite numbers inside out.

Sterling has the runs but is dispossessed far to easily. A lot of attacks were thwarted when he lost the ball.

Just before the equalizer both Mrs F and I were wondering WTF we were doing defending so deep.........

Rose deserves a mention as well, superb full back displays from them both. In fact bar Kane and sterling have few problems with any of them. Same team again for thursday, as shearer has mentioned it could be the last chance for kane and sterling before roy is forced to change the starting 11. whoever we replace sterling with on the wing will be wasted as its no ones best position, probably the least would be rashford who looked comfortable in the recent friendly. His goals have come about from being a poacher in the box so again far from ideal. For england we used to have amble options at cb and on the wing, its gone full circle.

Under instruction - Hodgson made the changes to hold out for the 1-0.  I don't think the subs made much difference in the end, but if he's saying that post game, then the mentality in game would have shifted.

I would disagree with that.We have heard for months that with such a young squad Rooneys experience will be vital  so to then take off our most experienced players when it is needed most really confused me.

I'm suggesting the message from the bench was probably more of an influence in us dropping deep than any change in players.  The team did as they were being advised, and it cost us.

Very much like the mistake that did for Sir Alf in 1970 WC....took off Boby Charlton in Leon when we were 2-0 v Huns in quarter final....lost 3-2  :(

I'm probably his biggest fan but milner was very instrumental in russia's equaliser,so not a great substitution in retrospect

That'll explain his performance then..

Ahh! Thought you said Reg Varney - From On The Buses

I don't know what all the fuss is about replacing Sterling, we have a direct replacement who can run down blind alleys and give the ball away in Barkley?

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/jun/13/moscow-football-official-to-violent-fans-well-done-lads-keep-it-up

Cor, the Russian Lib Dems sound a bit different to our lot

Sterling *could* be a game changer, but he needs to hold and give, and do it at the right time.

Well I finally got round to watching the England v Russia game and the Wales v Slovakia game after missing them Saturday due to a wedding.

England did play quite well, Rooney being the pick of the team obviously.

England created a fair few chances but it just wasn't going in but we did look good.

Russia only looked threatening when lobbing in the high ball to the centre forward who won a lot in the air, tighten that up and we will be pretty solid.

As for Wales....they looked pretty average most of the game and several times Slovakia tore massive holes in their defence when running with the ball, and really should have scored 3 or 4.

England tend to run with the ball quite a lot and I can see England profitting from the weaknesses in the Welsh defence, of which there were a few.

Still confident of progressing past the group stages and I didn't think Russia were that crap we just made them look poor for most of the game with some good passing and movement.

Did you have it recorded on can you watch back online?

100% agree with that, we should have nothing to fear against Bale and Ramsay.
However, shouldn't have and won't have are poles apart. Wales have nothing to prove as we are expected to win. No doubt we will struggle to get a foothold on the game, Wales  will start determined to upset the guide book and, if we fail to score first and early i see it being a very poor afternoon for England. I have read this morning that Woy is opting for the he same 11 which is fucking outrageous, Sterling was woefully below standard against Russia and doesn't deserve a start.
I do hope we fucking turn them over though!!

Never mind, you can watch on ITV player if you sign up an account

So does the fact that Slovakia beat Russia, but lost to Wales,while we (England) couldn't beat Russia mean we're underdogs tomorrow? :hmmm:

No Reg, it doesn't.