trivial things that make you smile,or make you feel good

[horlock07]

Watching USA Belgium. Fantastic game, I'm not a wannabe yank, but I want them to win so badly.

Made a schoolboy error by forgetting that I paused it earlier and then reading twitter which told me the result!

But bloody hell America played well with passion, why the hell don't England play like that!

[4D]

Same goes for Algeria,  all credit to them.

[fatbasher]

Made a schoolboy error by forgetting that I paused it earlier and then reading twitter which told me the result!

But bloody hell America played well with passion, why the hell don't England play like that!

Good point.

[sonicyouth]

If England appointed Klinsmann and loaded the team with German born and based players, how would people feel?

[janaage]

People are so hungry for success these days that they probably wouldn't care.  Which is a shame.

Also how would people react to doing a US, playing well and getting knocked out to Belgium in Round 2. I expect the press would go mental.

[Matchworn Shirts]

If England appointed Klinsmann and loaded the team with German born and based players, how would people feel?

every national team is full of foreigners, doubt it would make much difference

[Bogus Dave]

United States - technically poor, tactically naive, aim to get by on superior physicality.

England - technically poor, tactically naive, aim to get by on superior physicality.

The way the states played was very impressive, it was a great game and I was urging them to get an equaliser. But this constants claim that England have something to learn from them is a bit over the top.

[DV]

United States - technically poor, tactically naive, aim to get by on superior physicality.

England - technically poor, tactically naive, aim to get by on superior physicality.

The way the states played was very impressive, it was a great game and I was urging them to get an equaliser. But this constants claim that England have something to learn from them is a bit over the top.

Since when do England aim to get by on superior physicality?

We try to get by on good passing, attacking football - which our players aren't good enough to do. Thats why we are shit.

I'd also argue playing with pride and passion is entirely different to getting by on superior physicality plus it doesn't matter how you win football matches as long as you bloody win them!

[Bob's Orange]

I've never heard of him, but I'd swap Michael Bradley for anyone in the England midfield. What a shift that guy put in, incredible.

[Reg Smeeton]

Since when do England aim to get by on superior physicality?

We try to get by on good passing, attacking football - which our players aren't good enough to do. Thats why we are shit.

I'd also argue playing with pride and passion is entirely different to getting by on superior physicality plus it doesn't matter how you win football matches as long as you bloody win them!

It's always been a strand running through the heart of English football, that it's all very well for Johnny Foreigner to have all this fancy technique, but they would inevitably bow down to English/British muck and nettles.

When I think back to say the period from roughly 1977, through to about 1985 (Heysel), you get the classic picture.  English club sides, winning the European Cup every year, with a mixture of defensive hard men, often Sweatie, midfield enforcers and a big bloke like Peter  Withe up front.  You'd watch the occasional game shown on TV, and the constant mantra was Johnny Foreigner, good technique, but lacking bottle and physicality, so English/British would prevail. Another constant....goalkeepers who flap, don't catch just punch the ball, not a patch on our fine custodians in the footsteps of Gordon Banks....some of them being such wimps they wear gloves, unlike Gordon.  (SWeatie keepers excepted)

The zenith of this phenomenon, was probably Norn Ireland, beating Spain in Sevilla in the 82 WC, courtesy of a front 2 of Billy Hamilton and Gerry Armstrong.

Of  course Heysel put and end to English team entry into European club football, and so Europe and trends in the game, became even more remote for some years. Italia 90, put a sticking plaster on things for a bit, but what did the FA do, appoint Graham Taylor that's what....

Now we've got the situation whereby there is at least a realisation that we've been left behind, but there still is a belief that Johnny Foreigner, wont like it if we have some athletes who can run quickly at their ageing midfielders or statuesque defenders....see Sturridge/Sterling; Pirlo and Godin

[kerry red]

What made me sit up and take notice of Johnny Foreigner was when Ajax - whom nobody had ever heard at the time - absolutely stuffed Liverpool 5-0 in the Fairs Cup in the early 70s .

So this debate of, essentially, brain versus brawn, has been going on for ages.

Somehow Team England have almost been forced to try and adopt a continental way of playing even though it obviously doesn't suit them.

So we end falling between 2 stools and playing absolute crap

[Cookie]

England are shite because we're easy to beat due to the defence being gash. USA are average but are very difficult to beat and Belgium aren't all that anyway

[bigbobjoylove]

FIFA banning any sort of tackling has removed England's traditional best asset. You can't even go up for headers vs flappy foreign keepers anymore either as the ref will just blow up.

[4D]

One thing that has stood out for me in this world cup is the look of agony shown by anyone fouled - even with minimal contact. Has this replaced diving? 

[Reg Smeeton]

What made me sit up and take notice of Johnny Foreigner was when Ajax - whom nobody had ever heard at the time - absolutely stuffed Liverpool 5-0 in the Fairs Cup in the early 70s .

So this debate of, essentially, brain versus brawn, has been going on for ages.

Somehow Team England have almost been forced to try and adopt a continental way of playing even though it obviously doesn't suit them.

So we end falling between 2 stools and playing absolute crap

Of course, there have been coaches in English football, who've been a bit like lost prophets, men who wanted to see possession based football, but had to go elsewhere to develop their ideas, so firstly ex Town man Jimmy Hogan, who played in the SL before the Great War, when Town were noted for sexy football, to such an extent that we travelled to Argentina to help spread the game.

Hogan, ended up in Austria as a result of the Great War and his coaching developed the Austrian Wunderteam of the 30's, unfortunately, WWII and the Anschluss, put paid to them, although the Hun nicked a lot of ideas.

Another, was Vic Buckingham, who coached in England, but had to leave under a cloud, although nothing was proved against him, in wake of the Sheff Wednesday match fixing stuff of 63 ish, in which ex Town man Bronco Layne was busted.

Buckingham went to Holland and helped  develop Total Football, where he found such adherents as Ernst Happel, along with players like Johan Cruyff.

Happel, had come through the Austrian system, and took the Dutch to the 78 WC final.

Instinctively, the English just don't like possession football, a fact for which there was plenty of evidence on here last season, with TEFers slagging off the Power/Cooper template.