*Official* English Football Season 2014-15

[duffer]

Signs for Arsenal and injured the next day. Couldn't make this **** up.

 

[sledger]

Yeah, just came in here to post that. ****ing hell.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

He truly is an Arsenal player.

 

[Cabinet96]

He should be fine ftr. Might not play whenever it is England are playing Norway but who cares. But it really is remarkable. Not like he's ever done a training with Arsenal so you can't argue it's more than luck.

 

[Ikki]

I hope this pic isn't a filter problem or anything.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

England team v Norway

Bring on the dustbin.

Hart, Stones, Jones, Cahill, Baines, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Henderson, Wilshere, Sterling, Sturridge, Rooney.

 

[Eds]

If we had a slightly more robust midfield I think that would actually work quite well. Sterling and Ox can both be fantastic 4-4-2 wingers if that's what you want and Sturridge is better with a partner.

But then you remember it's coached by Hodgson and it all goes to **** anyway.

 

[sledger]

That midfield totally lacks any real bite. Good that the young players are being given a go though.

 

[Ikki]

Many countries have done better with worse. Since I've been watching football, England's problem has been the conservative/backward managers they've appointed. Imagine someone like Hiddink or Bielsa taking over that side.

 

[Uppercut]

Yeah you have to wonder what the players really think of him. Must feel like a wind-up going from the tactics used by Mourinho, Rodgers, Pochettino, Wenger and Van Gaal to Roy Hodgson.

But the FA wanted an English manager. **** their bed and now have to lie in it.

 

[sledger]

I bet next time they'll be desperate to get Rodgers, and he'll, quite sensibly, tell them to GAGF.

I really wish Roy was good, because you can tell he's a likeable and intelligent chap, committed and passionate about the job, and immensely proud to be doing it as well. Just a shame he's not much chop.

 

[Uppercut]

Yeah he comes across as a sort of adorable grandfather. A bit like Bobby Robson in his later years, except without any kind of track record.

He does invoke a bit of contempt too though. Like Moyes, but not as severe. His way of constantly underplaying the ability of his players to make himself look less hopeless is a real wanker move.

 

[sledger]

It's strange that he is so one dimensional and seemingly backward-thinking in terms of tactics and other footballing matters, I think. I mean, the guy can speak 5 different languages, and has worked in 7 (I think) different countries. I'd tend not to associate these sorts of characteristics and experiences with someone who is so unadventurous and cautious.

Edit: Or maybe he just really does believe that his players are genuinely that bad.

 

[Uppercut]

True, but in any field you get very intelligent and well-travelled old people whose methods have become a bit obsolete.

It's harsh to hold it against him in a sense. His methods were so good that they've become 100% standard, and so he doesn't have anything to add anymore. 99% of teams defend with two banks of four anyway.

 

[vic_orthdox]

True, but in any field you get very intelligent and well-travelled old people whose methods have become a bit obsolete.

It's harsh to hold it against him in a sense. His methods were so good that they've become 100% standard, and so he doesn't have anything to add anymore. 99% of teams defend with two banks of four anyway.

Haha, and the type of guy you'd love nothing more than to sit down on an afternoon with a beer and chat to him about the sport for a few hours. Just fallen off the peak of the industry enough for the layman to catch up, so it's all easily relatable.

 

[Cabinet96]

4-4-2 has kind of become hip again with a few sides playing really good football with it in Europe. But you just know with England it will be uninspiring as ****.

 

[Uppercut]

Yeah it's really not about the formation though. You get that from fans here all the time. Like the entire concept of "tactics" is just choosing between different number-combinations.

Reached a peak that time Hodgson claimed they play the same system as Dortmund because they nominally have the same number of players in each arbitrarily determined part of the pitch.

 

[Cabinet96]

That's kind of my point though. The fact they're using a 4-4-2 has got a bit of flack but in the end it will come down to a lot more than that.

 

[Pothas]

Anyway how much difference is there between a 4-4-2 with Rooney as one of the 2 upfront and a 4-2-3-1 with Rooney as the number 10? Not a lot I would say.

 

[GIMH]

Anyway how much difference is there between a 4-4-2 with Rooney as one of the 2 upfront and a 4-2-3-1 with Rooney as the number 10? Not a lot I would say.

The CW formation police will be all over you for that. But yeah you're right

Fundamentally, formations are different with and without the ball, will adapt throughout the game and are not rigid. Too much emphasis is attached to them by fans. In the lower leagues anything with one up front is seen as negative and if the team loses a few playing anything other than 442, they should go 442. If they play 442 and lose it's because the manager is a dinosaur.

Sorry, bit of a tangent there. I agree with you.