We Beat the Germans

[EdRyan]

And nobody here has mentioned it.

What's wrong with you lot !

[terminal3]

It was 63 years ago! Get over it!

Just hope it's not a best-of-five...

[EdRyan]

Well, it wasn't just us 63 years ago !

[terminal3]

Originally Posted by EdRyan

Well, it wasn't just us 63 years ago !

France had nothing to do with it! Nor will they ever!

Canada on the other hand was teh awesome. We trained your pilots in our backyards and then we kicked ass and took names at Vimy Ridge. Oops, that was the 'other' World War. Well, we also kicked ass and took names at Dieppe and Juno Beach.

Unfortunately, Canada is ranked 84th in the world according to FIFA in that soccer-thingy you're PROBABLY talking about...

[I_Am_Bic_Pentameter]

Yeah I watched it.
We took it surprisingly seriously, which made it watchable.
If that's because of the manager then I like that. I'm not into 'matey' managers.

I like ruthless. While all football is about winning, international football is solely about winning 7-8 games in a tournament - you don't have to do it in style - you don't have to deserve it - you just have to win it.

Has a team worse than Greece ever won a tournament? And they were dreadful. There's hope for us as we are usually dreadful too.

It won't do anything for South Africa though. The World Cup will be won by a South American team as it is going to be el roasto. European teams nearly always win in Europe and South American teams win in South America, America or if it's boiling such as the Far East. That's the flaw in the World Cup. It's not always about the best team, but the climate. I think it's only been won once outside of that scenario - you'd have to check

Should we qualify then it'll be quarter final disappointment.

[EdRyan]

Capello has got a ruthless streak in him. Always willing to try new people out. Thats a good motivator for the people that do get to play each match. They know if they don't do well, they could well be out on their ears for awhile if Capello notices it during the match.

It was good to see anyway. The cockup that gifted them the goal was really avoidable though...

[Monarch]

Originally Posted by EdRyan

They know if they don't do well, they could well be out on their ears for awhile if Capello notices it during the match.

That is probably the single biggest factor in Englands recent results. Capello is certainly tactically astute as well. The players had the ability all long but not the right attitude... until now.

It's funny how even if a talented or lesser team loses a game you can always tell if they are really making a serious effort or not.

[EdRyan]

The germans were boasting about how they were going to beat our 'b team' as they like to tout it. I bet they got quite a surprise when we put two past them, with relative ease.

They are the first 'serious' team we've played that's worth judging ourselves against. On this basis, it could work out well under Fabio..

But as England fans know, it only takes one slip up to put you out on your arse. And its something we seem to be quiet good at !

[Monarch]

Originally Posted by EdRyan

The germans were boasting about how they were going to beat our 'b team' as they like to tout it. I bet they got quite a surprise when we put two past them, with relative ease.

Their (over) confidence comes with results against England sadly. The rest of the world must marvel at how inconsistent England have been over the years. Pretty much every German squad I have seen over the years since the 1990 world cup winning squad have been nothing spectacular. Yet they always seem to get to the finals or semis of most the WC's of EC's. How?

I remember hearing a commentator say the Germans have "bottle" when taking penalties...in a way the simply beleive they are the best in the world and play with that mindset. England believed it of themselves but without the mind set on the pitch for years..."and England have failed to qualify..."

I watched Spain beat Germany to win Euro 2008 but for all of Spains classy passing ability and slick one touch football the first 15 minutes they struggled to make any head way and the Germans really took the game to them...it's that confidence issue again. It lets Germany play above they level of technique IMO. If Germany had taken one of their earlier chances in that game it would have been a very different game. Spain were struggling to make a forward pass for the first 15 mins or so.

Capello...
I could never understand why it took so long for England managers to get the best out of Rooney. Even Capello had him playing wide, too far off a central striker in some of his earlier England games, far too wide.

Rooney is twice the player when tucked in close to a target man like Heskey. Just dropping off here and there like he does now.

Maybe now we are seeing the REAL England.

[sureno]