Last 16

[Kenneth]

Looking at how the WC has gone for far, it's all about pace. Wallcott would probably have been a very useful option looking back, although I didn't think so before.

[PTP]

i think capello made a few major mistakes - that said, there was still some top players on the pitch for the 4 games and they looked like a ****ing shambles - granted germany were good, but it was the shocking group performances were the damage was done.

I mentioned it when we had the thread were we tried to pick the 23 from the 30 - as others mentioned here, Adam Johnson had to be in the squad, and i also felt that parker and bent should have had more of a look in....

I'm not saying they would have turned us into world cup winners, i'm not even suggesting that they are superstars - just that they were the form players for the positions they play in over the likes of Carrick, SWP and Heskey. - Now bent and parker i could understand why, but no Johnson really shocked me and was the first mistake.

Secondly - i don't know if this was down to the players or the management - but there just seemed to be zero game plan and cohesion....almost as if they all thought - "we're england superstars, we'll cruise this to the finals" - Talking about this last night in the pub and we reckoned an England 'b team' would have performed better because they probably would have wore the shirt with a bit more pride, felt like they had a chance and something to prove and gone out there giving it all. The 'superstars' just didn't seem that arsed - it's like everyone of them wanted to be the hero and were more bothered about themselves than the team. - It wasn't a team - it was a 11 spoilt individuals.

I also think, that england suffer with the premier league - it's hype, glamourised super stardom. I think england would be a better team if they had 3 or 4 players playing in say spain, italy, germany.

On to the team selections - a lot of strange decisions there - and whilst granted we don't know what goes on behind the scenes - ie everyone wanted cole to play more but he could have been shocking in training etc - there was still no excuse for not learning from mistakes and not taking a bit of a gamble. - Algeria being the game that really stood out as clueless - it was obvious at half time something was not working, but they took no gamble to go and win the game, the shape and system should have changed at half time, not with 5 mins left.

Finally - i was convinced that, once we had scraped through the group, the first 'big game' we had capello was going to change it to a 4-5-1 - when i saw the starting XI i just thought hmmm, this is wrong - i really can't believe he didn't think right, germany, tough game good team, lets get organised, lets play the players in their strongest positions, lets keep it tight and compact, and look to break - gerrard in behind rooney, say milner and lennon/cole on the wings, barry and lampard in midfield.

[paulg]

Maybe some of our players would learn how to keep the ball, if they played abroad.

Capello said, when he took the job, that he would pick players on form and not reputation. Hmmm, think you changed your mind there Fabio.

Terry should have been dropped as soon as he started his I'm bigger than that manager crap.

[Bender]

Harry Redknapp just been quoted on sky sports saying he would jump at the chance of being England manager should Fabio Cappelo resign

[dww]

The worst thing England could do now would be to sack Capello, and they should look at us as an example. You don't sack your manager if there's no-one better to replace him, and England sure as hell aren't gonna get anyone better than Fabio. Yes he's made some bad decisions (Gerrard, formation etc) but he's too good not to learn from them.

I think it depends on what we ant to do going forward - I think he is as good a choice of coach as possible if what we want is to perform as well as possible in the next qualification and tournament cycle. If however we want to institute a change in philosophy where we look to the national team to shape a style of play and the development of younger players, aiming to leave a long term legacy, then I suspect their may be better options.

It is a very interesting period in a lot of ways and the decision could have a big impact on the game in this country. The Euros will be the last hurrah for the Gerrard/Lampard generation of players yet the younger teams (U21 and U18) are performing as well as they have for a long time despite not that many players getting a lot of PL experience. Things may change at the PL level as the economic climate around Europe and the attitude to debt changes.

This tournament has shown how big a divide there can be about the requirements of club and international football. An example being the continued success of Klose in the national team even when having a 'mare domestically.

[Shaggy]

Alan Mullery feels he along with everybody else is owed an apology from Capello

[Craig_H]

Alan Mullery feels he along with everybody else is owed an apology from Capello

I absolutely ****ing hate this arrogant bollocks which is so engrained within the english mindset.

Alan ****ing Mullery. **** off.

[Shaggy]

Me too, he's such a flag-waving cunt. He's wearing a black tie on SSN and he was sat there all pseudo-sombre. Asked why he's wearing a black tie, he says, as though he's addressing a funeral congregation, "because my football team died yesterday"

FLMAO what a cunt.

[Shaggy]

Also, describing England's tournament, he said..."...then we played a team called Algeria......AND THEY WERE BETTER THAN US!!!"

"A team called Algeria"

[Craig_H]

Me too, he's such a flag-waving cunt. He's wearing a black tie on SSN and he was sat there all pseudo-sombre. Asked why he's wearing a black tie, he says, as though he's addressing a funeral congregation, "because my football team died yesterday"

FLMAO what a cunt.

Dya know, i've spent the best part of the last four weeks trying to think of a term which rolls off the tongue, but also describes this certain phenomena aptly enough for people to know eactly what i'm on about - and i struggled.

But you sir have just hit the nail on the head, right on the money.

I give you the 3 word term which sums up what's been irking me in this country of late.

The FLAG WAVING CUNT syndrome

[Shaggy]

[Craig_H]

Also, describing England's tournament, he said..."...then we played a team called Algeria......AND THEY WERE BETTER THAN US!!!"

"A team called Algeria"

He's an old-school, 'not far from Big Ron' type isnt he? These funny foreigners with their funny names. Idiot really.

Someone made a similar point about the Ghana v USA game, regarding whether more americans knew what FOOTBALL was or what GHANA was. He reckoned it to be about 50/50. And also took amusement in how some Americans will feel at having been dumped out of a tournament for a sport they've barely heard of, by a country they've never heard of "Oh well, back to the World Series then" for many

[paulg]

Well we English got just as far as the USA, a country that doesn't care about football. They have the World Series to console themselves, we have Wimbledon. Oh.

[Shaggy]

He's an old-school, 'not far from Big Ron' type isnt he? These funny foreigners with their funny names. Idiot really.

Someone made a similar point about the Ghana v USA game, regarding whether more americans knew what FOOTBALL was or what GHANA was. He reckoned it to be about 50/50. And also took amusement in how some Americans will feel at having been dumped out of a tournament for a sport they've barely heard of, by a country they've never heard of "Oh well, back to the World Series then" for many

Mullery has now just said "we're coming off a hiding by the West Germans"

[The_weatherman]

Mullery has now just said "we're coming off a hiding by the West Germans"

At least you didn't get battered by the Prussians.