G STAR RAM

But we aren't a contender despite reaching the semi final of the World Cup and final of the Euros 😂 You don't half come out with some crap

I think 'Derby are massive everywhere they go' is way more tinpot.

You don't have to join in with it. Celebrate a goal however you like. Me personally, didn't even realise music was played when we scored. Also, though the atmosphere was quite flat today.

Croatia and Belgium are clearly the teams to try and emulate then. Although I thought we lost to the eventual champions in the Euros final, my mistake.

Nor did beating Portugal and Brazil, for Croatia and Belgium.

I imagine if England had beaten Portugal and Brazil you would be pointing out that they were the worst Portuguese and Brazilian teams in decades...

Are group games not competitive games then? It doesn't matter who we beat, it will never be good enough for the people sat there waiting to say how rubbish we are the moment we lose a game. Who are the 'contenders' that Croatia and Belgium have beaten? And why is it crazy? They are 2 decent footballing nations.

Anything about it taking a while for strikers to start scoring goals though?

At least we are used to that sort of thing on this forum!

Just out of interest, is there anything to back this up or is it just a guess?

Holland 1996 Argentina 2002 We've also beaten plenty of good South American and African teams in that time but because they aren't Brazil, Germany or Italy, people just assume they can't be good teams.

It wouldn't surprise me if half of the people that make comments, like the ones above, haven't even watched the game.

Regardless of the social media inspired pile on, Harry Maguire has hardly ever put a foot wrong in tournament football for England.

I asked someone beating the Tomori drum how many times he has actually seen him play. They said in his last 6 games since he returned from injury and he had been brilliant in all of the matches. Went away to look how he had done, to find out he has only played in 5 matches since his return. 9 minutes in the first match, 45 in the next 2, 63 in the 4th and 82 in the last game 😂

Tomori has played 156 minutes in the last 3 months.

Sibley looks like walking based on?

Players can usually tend to command a higher wage when there is no transfer fee involved. As stated, most of our freebies are in the twilight of their careers and, as such, come with added risks attached. Off the top of my head there is only Nelson who has not had any period on the sideline with injury.

The fact that all of them are ageing and have dropped down a level would seem to indicate to me that there was no big queue for their services. All decent at this level, but all still bargain basement signings by definition.

Yeah but that's only because we are in the worst division ever and should already be on 117 points

That's probably only because it takes Warne 75 minutes to stumble across a formation or tactics that work. I'm getting quite good at this.

Bargain basement refers to the price paid for goods and them being cheap. With all of out signings being freebies, I'd suggest they are all bargain basement. I'd add that there is usually a reason players are available on a free, and it's probably reflected in our current injury list.

We are unable to sign anyone for a transfer fee and, therefore, at a disadvantage to other teams in the division, that's just a fact. Not being able to pay fees puts you into a different market, with different problems. Nobody could say how things would have played out had Gayle not got injured early on, its all theoretical.

Yes even more so when you have one hand tied behind your back, so suck it up and get on with it. To suggest we should be playing players but asking them not to put 100% would be criminal in my opinion and is a sure fire way to get fans on their back.

Or it could be that having a squad made up of bargain basement freebies and players in the twilight's of their careers, due to the financial constraints we were under, means that we are prone to injuries which in turn necessitate changes in formation and tactics. Of course when they work it is because Warne is lucky and when it doesn't work it is because Warne is a tactically naive PE teacher. Think I've got that right.

We shouldn't be playing him at all if running is putting him at risk of injury.