England vs Romania

[kaymac]

So when did Henderson manage to play this supposed link-up for England? Suggest you watch him closely, he stands around in the centre of the pitch and when he does get the ball usually passes it straight back again. No great pace and no great contribution to the national team.

 

[Tribal Chief]

Those who think Henderson is the bee's knees are the same people who told us that Acquah was a good player.

 

[RHB]

Easy guys, this was an inconsequential friendly to give members of the squad game time. Southgate may be many things but he is not stupid, neither are his management team, They know which players will give them what they need and they are very aware of the fitness levels of the squad.

At the last World Cup the team gave us some moments to remember and that may well happen again in this Tournament. As ever, we get better as a tournament progresses and I genuinely think they will do it again. You all remember the last Euros in this country and those moments that had us out of our seats, well it could all happen again, only this time Southgate will NOT be allowed to take any penalties.

It's coming home, it's coming home..................................

 

[southendkid]

Those who think Henderson is the bee's knees are the same people who told us that Acquah was a good player.

Do we get compensation if Klopp signs Acquah?

 

[Tribal Chief]

Do we get compensation if Klopp signs Acquah?

I would wager everything that I own, everything that my extended family owns and everything I may ever own that this does not happen.

 

[Tribal Chief]

Easy guys, this was an inconsequential friendly to give members of the squad game time. Southgate may be many things but he is not stupid, neither are his management team, They know which players will give them what they need and they are very aware of the fitness levels of the squad.

At the last World Cup the team gave us some moments to remember and that may well happen again in this Tournament. As ever, we get better as a tournament progresses and I genuinely think they will do it again. You all remember the last Euros in this country and those moments that had us out of our seats, well it could all happen again, only this time Southgate will NOT be allowed to take any penalties.

It's coming home, it's coming home..................................

Agree with all of that except the part about Southgate being stupid.

 

[RHB]

Agree with all of that except the part about Southgate being stupid.

I said he's he's not stupid @Patch Boomhauer

 

[Tribal Chief]

I said he's he's not stupid @Patch Boomhauer

That's the bit I disagree with.

 

[RHB]

That's the bit I disagree with.

As maybe mate, but I'll wait until the Tournament is underway before passing an opinion. So for now you'll have to growl on your own.

 

[southendkid]

I would wager everything that I own, everything that my extended family owns and everything I may ever own that this does not happen.

It was tongue in cheek because you said people that rate Henderson also rate Acquah, and Klopp is someone that rates Henderson.

Obviously in reality Acquah will need a good agent to even be at National League level next season.

 

[Kris]

Fresher? Come off it. Henderson is not fit and nowhere near match-fit!! He has never proven himself a match winner for England for all this supposed great midfield play of which you speak - can‘t say I’ve ever witnessed it for England can you ? His style of play makes him a laboured luxury in the side.
He has the worst scoring record for England of any midfield player EVER for the number of caps he has attained. As for his flip comments regarding the missed penalty and why he decided to take it that was arrogance in the extreme, he should have been bothered about the miss, not just dismiss it out of hand.

Kante is a class above Henderson though I don’t expect you to agree, and he is creative not just a midfield blocker / ball-winner.

Btw, both Ceschamps and Dunga have scored goals for their respective countries….

Ouch. I'm quite happy to admit that Kante is a better player.

My point about being potentially fresher is based on the fact that those who have played an abnormal amount of games in a much smaller time period than usual are likely to be more knackered than someone who is coming back from injury. I did stress that it's a unique situation based on an unprecedented season. Like you said, Henderson isn't match fit but by the end of the group stage and carefully managed, he'll likely be ready.

As both myself and @southendkid have been alluding to, Henderson's main strength and role in the team is to break up opposition attacks, and he is the best English midfielder of that particular genre. That's why he plays and why I said that Ward-Prowse would be an excellent match. He's no world beater on the ball but football is a team game and you need someone to do the ugly things to bring the best out of those with flair. Hence why I mentioned Kante, Dunga, Busquets, Deschamps, etc. They aren't/weren't known for their goalscoring abilities but were equally celebrated for their contribution to the defensive/less appreciated side of the game. Cantona famously called Deschamps the water carrier but meant it as a compliment.

The way our midfield was opened up at times by two average teams this week was pretty frightening so we need more solidity in there, which is why Henderson is Southgate's first pick for England and Klopp's for Liverpool.

I should add for balance that I wasn't exactly thrilled with Henderson's attitude regarding the penalty yesterday either, and I swore at the TV when he missed against Colombia. But that's not what he's in the team for...

 

[Kris]

More generally, the starting line-up against Croatia will be interesting because all the pundits seemed to think we'll start with a back three, which is a bit weird as we didn't use it against either Austria or Romania.

I'd personally go with:

Pickford

Trippier
Stones
Maguire *
Chilwell

Henderson **
Rice

Mount
Foden
Grealish

Kane

* Coady if not fit.
** White if not fit.

 

[kaymac]

Seen nothing in him to change my opinion but each to their own views. Let’s hope (if / when playing) he does what is expected of him.…

 

[kaymac]

More generally, the starting line-up against Croatia will be interesting because all the pundits seemed to think we'll start with a back three, which is a bit weird as we didn't use it against either Austria or Romania.

I'd personally go with:

Pickford

Trippier
Stones
Maguire *
Chilwell

Henderson **
Rice

Mount
Foden
Grealish

Kane

* Coady if not fit.
** White if not fit.

Yep, fair selection that, just hope GS doesn’t take a more defensive stance. A good start v Croatia could set us up nicely for the rest of the tournament.

 

[RHB]

Yep, fair selection that, just hope GS doesn’t take a more defensive stance. A good start v Croatia could set us up nicely for the rest of the tournament.

And we owe those chappies big time for our extra time pain in the 2018 World Cup so I'd like to give them a damn good leathering.

 

[Holy Joe]

Easy guys, this was an inconsequential friendly to give members of the squad game time. Southgate may be many things but he is not stupid, neither are his management team, They know which players will give them what they need and they are very aware of the fitness levels of the squad.

At the last World Cup the team gave us some moments to remember and that may well happen again in this Tournament. As ever, we get better as a tournament progresses and I genuinely think they will do it again. You all remember the last Euros in this country and those moments that had us out of our seats, well it could all happen again, only this time Southgate will NOT be allowed to take any penalties.

It's coming home, it's coming home..................................

Has anyone arranged the helicopter and Uri Geller?