Euro 2012

[BaaBaa.]

I'm sure Britains Andy Murray will do us proud.

[Big Boy]

At least until he loses, at which point he becomes Scottish

[BaaBaa.]

At least until he loses, at which point he becomes Scottish

Yep!

[BaaBaa.]

“I thought we created some very good chances but Italy came at us time and time again. In some ways, you might almost prefer a goal from them in that time when they were playing well, because it’s not as cruel as penalties".

Roy Hodgson. England Manager.

[Big Boy]

In some ways, you might almost prefer a goal from them in that time when they were playing well.

Roy Hodgson. England Manager.

And he never had to sit up until 4:30am to watch it!

[JimmyGreaves]

“I thought we created some very good chances but Italy came at us time and time again. In some ways, you might almost prefer a goal from them in that time when they were playing well, because it’s not as cruel as penalties".

Roy Hodgson. England Manager.

Agree, we didn't want England doing a chelsea all over again. Playing no football and being jammy on penalties, that would have been a great injustice to Italy!

[Dannie Boy]

Nobody has specifically mentioned this, but it seemed that most of the time the Italians had at least 5 yards/metres of space to receive the ball and with their greater technical ability, had loads of time in which to pick out their next pass. By contrast, the English players were lucky to have more than 5 inches between them and a defending Italian and hence why they perpetually lost possession. I have no idea why we choose to back off so much and give the opponents so much space, but it seems to be a big factor for why we get outplayed so easily.

I must say though, that (penalties aside) all of the defence played to the utmost of their ability, but everywhere else, the gap in class was painful to watch and on last nights evidence, claims of "world class" for Rooney and one or two others, seem somewhat of a dream.

[BaaBaa.]

That's just how Hodgson sets up, 2 banks of 4 and hope a bit of individual skill gets you something on the break. He'll set up exactly the same if England are playing the Faroe Islands.

England had 4 Champions League winners on the pitch and he chose to leave 2 at home, it's not just about poor players.

[caller]

Quite frankly I'm amazed anyone can blame Hodgson!

He can only work with the raw material he has, and if thats not good enough? And in the few weeks he's been in charge? The England passing problem or missing penalties hasn't suddenly appeared, or have I missed something?

If I have a criticism, it is perhaps to do with Rooney's selection and the subs. Maybe its a lesson learnt, but Rooney has been crap at any tournament, whether through injury, suspension or whatever. He simply wasn't fit enough and it showed. And why wasn't he fit enough?

As for the subs, I didn't quite get the changes he made when he did? As by then, what little midfield we started with had gone, along with the legs of Gerrard and Parker. Presumably Walcott was on to feed Carroll, or cause some problems himself, but he got no service and he's hardly a ball winner.

Gerrard evidently doesn't have the fitness levels needed to play the number of games required in a short space of time and although Parker was recovering from an injury, he hasn't got the talent thats needed - why does he run so much with the ball when going nowhere in particuar? So Walcott received no service and Carroll relied on Hart!

And then with Parker off, we had no real options left and what were those options in the 1st place that were going to change the game? In reality the Ox and Defoe.

The absence of Barry and Lamps was a huge problem and never overcome.

The only real bonus for me was the form of Johnson, always strong going forward, he finally seems to have got it as a defender. Gerrard demonstrated his class and created goals, but cannot be expected to anchor the midfield. Ideally, he needs to be given a free rein, but he's what, 33? I expected Hart, Terry and Cole to be as excellent as they were, but was pleased Lescott stepped up to the plate.

Carroll created a nuisance yesterday, but unless provided with the tools, he isn't going to score. Either set the team up with him or without. But he's heading in the right direction.

What will be more telling about Hodgson will be his next squad selection with 2 years planning to think of.

[caller]

The Telgraphs rating for England players throughout the tournament (better turn away BaaBaa!)

Joe Hart 7
His aura has spread confidence throughout the England defence for most of this tournament. His reaction save against France to deny Alou Diarra was crucial in smoothing England’s path to the quarter-finals but would have expected to stop at least one of Italy’s penalties.

Glen Johnson 6
Right-back remains a position of relative weakness for England. Johnson was partially culpable for France’s goal and deserved most of the blame for Sweden’s two goals but improved against Ukraine and produced his best performance of the tournament last night against Italy.

John Terry 8
Selected for this tournament on “football grounds” and, although there was an argument that Rio Ferdinand could still also have been picked, the Chelsea captain performances have justified Hodgson’s faith. Commanding and dominant defensively but also a persistent threat from set-pieces.

Joleon Lescott 7
Had the occasional nervous moment but has emerged over the past year into a genuinely international class defender. Was also dangerous in the air, scoring against France and forcing a wonderful save against Sweden. Will take some removing from the team for the World Cup qualifiers

Ashley Cole 7
A constant in this England team over the past decade but another impressive tournament will be overshadowed by last night’s penalty miss. Forced to curb his attacking instincts over the past three weeks but utterly reliable defensively and now just two short of 100 caps.

Theo Walcott 6
May feel frustrated at his peripheral role as an impact substitute, particularly after delivering in such style against Sweden when his goal and assist effectively kept England in the tournament. Played the final 60 minutes last night, though, and was comfortably contained by Italy.

James Milner 6
Has been the embodiment of England so far under Roy Hodgson. Diligent, disciplined and utterly reliable but often laboured and lacking in attacking ambition. That was enough to carry England through a mediocre group but, against better opposition, England needed more of a creative threat.

Jordan Henderson 6
A surprise addition to the squad in central midfield following the injuries to Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry but could be satisfied with his substitutes’ performances against both France and Italy after Parker tired. Sensibly kept things simple and will have benefited hugely from the experience.

Scott Parker 7
Has played through the pain of an achilles injury and, given his lack of match fitness, performed admirably in his usual shielding position in front of the back four. Last night, though, was perhaps a game too far and, at the highest level, can look ponderous in possession.

Steven Gerrard 8
Has emphatically answered doubts about his capacity to cope with the physical demands of a tournament and also whether he is a natural England captain. His precise delivery created three goals in the group phase, while his tireless display against Ukraine rightly resulted in a man-of-the-match award.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 6
Started against France in an unfamiliar role to the left of England’s midfield and was disciplined in ensuring that the team retained a very compact shape. Has been used a substitute thereafter and, despite glimpses of his attacking flair, was also sometimes wasteful in possession.

Ashley Young 4
Began against France with a defence-splitting pass for Milner but got gradually worse as the tournament unfolded, culminating with his penalty miss last night. Was moved from a roaming striker’s role to the left of midfield after the France game but often left Cole exposed defensively.

Wayne Rooney 5
Delivered on his return against Ukraine to help England clinch Group D but his suspension for two matches was still costly. Short of match fitness – and the great shame for England is that he might have been close to his best by the time of a semi-final against Germany.

Danny Welbeck 6
Isolated for long spells and clearly still developing in the role as England’s most advanced striker but can look back on his tournament as a valuable learning experience. Scored a memorable back-heeled volley to seal England’s win against Sweden and was unselfish with his running off the ball.

Jermain Defoe 5
Only played for 13 minutes against France and made no real impression. He then suffered personal tragedy with the death of his father and was not subsequently used. Looks ill-suited to Hodgson’s system and hard to see him being much more than an impact substitute in the future.

Andy Carroll 6
Fully justified his selection against Sweden with a powerful headed goal but was peripheral thereafter. Had no real impact when he came on as a substitute against Ukraine and, while he clearly offers a useful aerial option, doubts persist about his mobility at international level.

Roy Hodgson 6
Deserves some credit for quickly imparting his own ideas and system on the squad. The players also seemed to like him and there was a sense that the team spirit had improved. Hodgson, though, was conservative with his selections and the actual quality of football was a regression on what England had produced in qualifying under Fabio Capello.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/footba ... me=2258295

[dtaai-maai]

Carroll ... But he's heading in the right direction.

[BaaBaa.]

Hodgson and his mates in the press have certainly managed to steer blame away from him. These statistics are not because we have poor players, they are because Roy Hodgson is the Manager.

30 Cristiano Ronaldo has had more shots in his first four games at Euro 2012 than the entire England squad (29) had at the tournament

20 Italy had more shots on target in their quarter-final match than England had in total in their four matches in Ukraine

88 England conceded more than twice as many shots to France, Sweden, Ukraine and Italy than they had against those teams

39 England had on average 39% of the possession in their four games, their lowest figure at a tournament since Euro 1980

29 Ashley Young and James Milner put in 29 crosses in the four games. Only three reached an England team-mate

300 England averaged 300 passes per match. The four semi-finalists have averaged 479

15 England completed only 15 passes in the 15 minutes of the second period of extra-time against Italy

18 England's most successful passing combination against Italy was the goalkeeper Joe Hart to the substitute striker Andy Carroll

115 Andrea Pirlo had more passes against England than England's four starting midfielders had against Italy

18 Mesut Ozil has created 18 chances in Germany's four games. Steven Gerrard, England's most prolific chance creator, has made six

102 England ran on average 102km in their four matches. Italy ran 7.5km further on average per match

86 England have had the most tackles in the tournament, with Steven Gerrard's 18 the most of any player

29 England have blocked the most shots at Euro 2012, 17 more than Italy, 19 more than Germany, 21 more than Portugal and 24 more than Spain

[Big Boy]

^I know, I sat through every minute of it - we don't need reminding.

[Zidane]

[quote="caller"]The Telgraphs rating for England players throughout the tournament (better turn away BaaBaa!)

How on earth can they give Milner 6 ? "Utterly reliable".....he was absolute rubbish and anyone with a brain who watched the matches would be hard pressed to give him even 4 and 2 of those would be for finding his way out of the dressing room onto the pitch and putting his shirt on the right way !
Terry did well but I thought Lescott was the best defender overall......a bit harsh on Johnson,only giving him 6.
Not much to get excited about upfront.....Rooney was very poor,Carroll did well against Sweden but achieved little against Italy.....Welbeck,probably the pick but still a bit of a raw talent.

[Terry]

I just can't wait to be underwhelmed by the England performance at the next World Cup - if we make it that is.................