ViewsFromTheMiddle Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 1 hour ago, Spanish said: It is to ensure that all teams have a similar rest time. Damn FIFA and their logical nature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanish Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 24 minutes ago, ViewsFromTheMiddle said: Damn FIFA and their logical nature. ah FIFA who have the drug cheat fat boy Maradona as a poster boy, a bit like Armstrong presenting prizes to the winner of the Tour or Ben Johnson presenting the 100m Gold medal. I agree it is logical but so out of character for them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sexydadbod Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 I'm also on the fence with this debate as the easier half of the draw would give us the best chance possible. However, even if we finish in the "tough" side of the draw, we have nothing to worry about. We shouldn't be scared of anyone but they should be scared of us after the football we have played in this tournament thus far. Other teams will be looking at it and thinking that they don't want to play England. Of course if we play a big nation then we could lose if they catch us on a bad day but equally on a good day, we could score 4 or 5 against anyone, I can't see another side in this tournament who would be able to rip a top side to shreds. The signs were there when we went away to Germany and dismantled them in their own back yard. England shouldn't fear anyone in this tournament as there are no outstanding teams having said that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsnip Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 If I was England manager I'd be going for a strong side and a good win. If Belgium want to throw the game, let them. Play Kane and let him boost his golden boot challenge. Win the group, send out a message that we won't be beaten, and we're not scared of anybody. Because sometimes Gareth, you need to lay your balls on the table and just start hammering away at them!!!. COME ON YOU LIONS! ... Anyway, imagine purposely losing to Belgium then limping out to Japan anyway? Ugh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaintRam Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 I don't really care, personally. But if I *had* to pick a side I'd prefer the supposedly "hard" route. If you look at it backwards and England winning is a certainty, you'd want to go the hard route. Play against better teams and probably have better games. Besides you only have to go back 2 years to everyone's delight at us avoiding Portugal and only facing the tiny Iceland. At least losing somewhere along the way is less likely to be embarrassing on the other side of the tournament. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyinLiverpool Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 Go out there and dick Belgium. Make the world notice and say, 'Don't want to play England' Had a moment last night where I was desperate to finish second, followed by a sense of shame at how cowardly that was. Besides, if we're not going to win the world cup, is it not better to go out with a bang against Brazil or France than a whimper against Switzerland? Let's carry on along this rather pleasant path we've been going on where it will end well regardless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Scarlet Pimpernel Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 Taking it to a ridiculous extreme, what happens when two teams, England & Belgium both want to finish second? Both start smashing in own goals as quick as possible? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyinLiverpool Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 1 minute ago, The Scarlet Pimpernel said: Taking it to a ridiculous extreme, what happens when two teams, England & Belgium both want to finish second? Both start smashing in own goals as quick as possible? This has happened if memory serves. Can't remember the teams or competition but I believe it involved teams in the South Pacific. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alph Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 Imagine being an England player and it going around the camp that the team want to finish second to avoid the good sides!! Germany just got knocked out by South Korea and Iran caused chaos for Spain and Portugal! Even a dominant England needed a 90th minute winner v Tunisia Why's it even a discussion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanish Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 7 minutes ago, Alpha said: Imagine being an England player and it going around the camp that the team want to finish second to avoid the good sides!! Germany just got knocked out by South Korea and Iran caused chaos for Spain and Portugal! Even a dominant England needed a 90th minute winner v Tunisia Why's it even a discussion? true Southgate will pick a side which is appropriate to his needs and the rest will pan out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanish Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 35 minutes ago, The Scarlet Pimpernel said: Taking it to a ridiculous extreme, what happens when two teams, England & Belgium both want to finish second? Both start smashing in own goals as quick as possible? Belgium appealing to VAR if England have a goal disallowed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Gnarly Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 19 hours ago, Frankie Goes To Derby said: Mexico out when Germany win. This didn't age well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bwash_Ram Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViewsFromTheMiddle Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gritstone Ram Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 If it was me I would want to win every game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyinLiverpool Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 3 hours ago, The Scarlet Pimpernel said: Taking it to a ridiculous extreme, what happens when two teams, England & Belgium both want to finish second? Both start smashing in own goals as quick as possible? Ok, not quite how I remember it but ridiculous all the same... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbados_4–2_Grenada_(1994_Caribbean_Cup_qualification) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cannable Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 59 minutes ago, ViewsFromTheMiddle said: To win the World Cup we’d need to win more knockout games than we have in either international tournament cumulatively since I’ve been born ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bris Vegas Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 12 hours ago, Jourdan said: It’s this kind of small-time mentality that will get us nowhere. What kind of ambition and what kind of belief are we showing if we are trying to avoid Brazil, Argentina or France in their current states? If we really want to win a tournament, we have to be bold enough to believe we can beat anyone on any given day. Not trying to engineer our way into second place to get an ‘easier’ draw. If we are too intimidated by the prospect of a knockout tie against any of the aforementioned teams, we should just go home now. For me, I want to see us going for the win against Belgium and putting in a creditable display whatever the outcome. I think a ‘convenient loss’ could be more damaging than people realise. Momentum and belief are so important in tournament football and if we get outclassed, it will be difficult to claw that back, especially because with an supposedly easier draw comes greater expectations to progress further. The reason these players are thriving is because there is no discernible pressure or expectation. We can just play freely without being weighed down. Games against the likes of Japan, Senegal, Sweden or Switzerland are the last thing we want because the ‘England Expects’ mentality would come flooding back and I just don’t know if this group of players can handle that added pressure. Yeah, sure it’s this small-time mentality which will get us nowhere rather than simply losing to a better team. I’m 29, so in my lifetime I’ve seen England lose knockout games to Germany (x2), Brazil, Portugal (x2), Italy and Iceland. In fact, I’ve only ever seen us win three, one against Denmark, another against Spain where we were ridiculously lucky and the last one I think was Ecuador 1-0. Playing good teams has seen us lose pretty much everytime. If we want to go far, our best bet is to avoid the better teams, obviously... It would be great if we can avoid the best teams and then fluke one win against them such as Portugal. Trying to be all brave and mighty will only likely see us disappointed again. And what an opportunity this World Cup is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViewsFromTheMiddle Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 Should be a good end to this group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spanish Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 51 minutes ago, AndyinLiverpool said: Ok, not quite how I remember it but ridiculous all the same... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbados_4–2_Grenada_(1994_Caribbean_Cup_qualification) haha they failed to score an own goal in 7 minutes? Even Beck would have managed that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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