No sooner had I posted yesterday, than the announcement that Sokratis had landed as our brand spanking new defender.
What a day.
The 29-year-old has come in from Dortmund for £16m. He’ll bring leadership, fear, and prison yard bully-boy tactics to the dressing room. He’s so scary, he already has Aubameyang calling him Papa online. Total and utter dominance of other men is quite the skill.
I’d still quite like to see another young centre-back coming in. Someone with a touch more experience than Holding and Chambers. I’m not sure where the deal for Soyoncu has gone, but you’d imagine after the retirement of Per Mertesacker and the horrible injury of Koscielny, it’ll be something that’s top of mind.
I was also mulling over the new deals for Chambers and Xhaka. I know there’s a lot of love in the fanbase for both, but I’ve always been under the impression that they’re lacking in the pace department. Odd deals, but I guess you just have to trust in the new process.
The deal for Torreira has yet to happen, but I guess with Uraguay still firmly in the World Cup, it’ll be at least another week.
Mesut Ozil has finally picked up the number 10 of Jack Wilshere, which means he’s certainly playing an important role next season.
The other deal that’s still on the table is the Aaron Ramsey one. We’re pushing into ‘OH GOD NO PLEEEEASE SIGN DA TING’… you’d have to imagine there’s a deadline on this. No way we can let him head into the last year of his deal. According to rumour, he’s been rejecting deals like bad swipes on Tinder. As I mentioned before, his agent will be pushing for Ozil like money, because why not? He’s the best performer at the club. However, you can see it from the clubs perspective. You can’t level out that sort of money on a player who goes missing with injury… that said, you have Mesut who goes missing in big games and on random holidays when the going gets tough.
Tough times.
At least we know he’ll be floated out the back door if he doesn’t decide to stay on. We’re in a ruthless regime now. Though I do wonder what you do if he says he doesn’t want to leave? Do you threaten him with U23 football all year? That’d be mean. Let’s see where this goes, I don’t like the ‘he’s waiting to see what the squad looks like’ banter.
England is up a bit later this afternoon. We saw Belgium beat Japan after going 2-0 down. A lot of talk of Belgium being frauds, but the boys stepped up in the end and kept the flicker of the golden generation dream World Cup win alive. I love how the internet has rallied against people calling out Lukaku for lacking intelligence. It’s amusing to now watch it go the other way, people clamouring to be the first to congratulate him on intelligently passing the ball 3 yards into space. It was a lovely dummy for the final goal yesterday, but the genius post-rationalization commenatary is a bit much.
I also have to say, regardless of the ‘I need to be offended’ brigade online, the idea that it’s now a bit racist to comment on a player’s physical stature or attributes is next level. Sport, literally the one living in the world where being a genetic freak is exactly what lands you big dollars, is largely down to your power and pace. You think Per Mertesacker is making £90k a week if he’s 5ft5? You think Aaron Ramsey is anywhere near the Premier League without the engine he has?
I appreciate there are levels to this, and it’s certainly nuanced, but I think we lose our damn minds sometimes.
Right, England up in 4 hours, see you in the comments!
x
Yep – credit to the team for rallying in this second half of ET. Just a shame they went so passive and into full game-management mode after scoring on 60 mins.
Dier always sticks them wide with his head.
Must shut his eyes
It’s penalties isn’t it? I can’t watch them, I shall go and do the washing up instead.
Paulinho,
Cause you know he’ll miss?! Lol!
TR7
The opposite of me, I’ve good technique and reflexes but I’m limited by my large frame!
Elmo
“Yep – credit to the team for rallying in this second half of ET. Just a shame they went so passive and into full game-management mode after scoring on 60 mins.”
Can’t win either way though can you.
If they pelted forward and got done on the counter their would be criticism as well.
They tried to close the game out and came within a minute of doing that. Stopped by a good Colombian goal.
Raptora – Definite potential for comedy with Rashford. He will try some Ronaldo laces shot and it could be great or end disastrously.
Lads who do you thinks going to bottle their pens?
Peter Drury sounds so dejected……….have some confidence England!
England to win on penalties. Redemption for Southgate.
Henderson will bottle it
Ospina apparently has saved just 3 out of 39 penalties…
England have better penalty takers but it’s a matter of nerves.
Kane looks to be struggling as he came off.
Ospiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
London gunner
“Lads who do you thinks going to bottle their pens?”
From England? Plenty of takers.
Might be a more simple question to ask who will score their pen.
I’ve got a feeling Henderson may fail though.
Wouldn’t trust lingard or sterling
weird game from Colombia. started like they were scared of England, and took them until about 70mins before they began to play their football.
Lets see if we hold our nerves
Kane has little pressure no one will blame him if he misses now after scoring earlier
Falcao to miss.
WE
The “Falcao”
Good pen if you are going down the middle make sure it’s off the floor
Haha one wrong so! Kane scores.
What a pen from Kane
Good pen from Rashford
That short arse keeper from Arsenal isn’t saving shit
lol Henderson
I called it
You guys called that
Game over lads
Jinx
What a save, amazing stuff
Marble getting the lube .
What a knob
Got to put away the following penalty that the other team misses
Good save Pickford
Get in!!
Well done Ingerlund
And Pickford was the hero.
Very nice stop from him
Got a soft hand to it. Poor lad
Lol Ospina terrible for the last spot kick, midget couldn’t get his t rex arms on it
Well done England.
Well done to the team. I didn’t believe they would have the mentality to achieve anything once Colombia equalised. Credit to Pickford there.
After watching England, they will be beaten by Croatia
England shaded it, better team went through.
Lol T Rex arms, but glad England won. Cheating scumbags Colombia
That penalty shootout sums Ospina up. Great reflexes, good anticipation but too short to ever become a top goalie.
Well done England, Sweden is a nice reward
Fuckin’ hell!!!!! We are through on Pens!!! Who would have thought it??? C’MON ENGLAND!!!
Well done England.
Justice was done against the Masambula wrestlers.
Ospina had the wrists of an asthmatic vitamin deficient teenage girl there
Red, your man took one hell of a beating…… funny as, top class!
No way England winning this World Cup , average team
Sweden will beat England, you heard it here first.
TR7
“Sweden will beat England, you heard it here first.”
Another 50/50 match for England just like this Colombian match.
I think Sweden offer less upfront.
But who would bet on this one.
Silly to underestimate Sweden but if England take them seriously they should beat them.
England fans would have called it a wet dream before he tourney started to only have Sweden and then Croatia/Russia in their path for a place in the World Cup Final.
fucking hell
After that save at the end of 90 minutes,postman pat should offer up an apology,and keep his ugly mouth shut.
They only won because I did the washing up. I just could not watch.
https://metro.co.uk/2018/07/03/arsene-wenger-compares-former-arsenal-star-jack-wilshere-lionel-messi-kylian-mbappe-7681071/
Yep sure
the problem for england is the starting 11
alli could hardly run, sterling cant even control the ball
start with loftus cheek and rashford
England Will beat Sweden
You heard it here first
Gooner63
I believe we should get red of Raheem. He has produced nothing up front. I would rather have Rashford (or Vardy maybe) to try and actually threaten the goal. Raheem has done nothing to be an actual threat. 4 games and 0 goals so far.
Let’s not forget how low the expectations were going into this World Cup. Most experts predicted last 16 only. One question. Why wasn’t Vardy one of the penalty takers. Did he choke? Because no way would you ever have Henderson take one before him.
I thought Vardy looked sharp. I would give him a run a chance. Kane is quality but he can look a bit one-paced at times.
Peckobill
England may be an “average team” but who gives a shit.
We just won a penalty shootout and we’re in the 1/4’s!
TheLegendaryDB10
“I believe we should get red of Raheem”
Not just goals.
He is meant to be the England offensive man that adds variation to the attack with his dribbling but goals aside even his dribbling is not amounting to much for this team. Loses the ball many times.
May as well stick someone up there with Kane who is more of a goal threat.
I think Southgate will keep starting Sterling though just because of this variation he offers even if he hasn’t produced anything really noteworthy from it.
Pauline
Every one of your earlier comments was wrong
These are the current FIFA Rankings for the last eight in Tournament.
Brazil [2] v France [7]
Belgium [3] v Uruguay [14]
England [12] v Sweden [24]
Croatia [20] v Russia [70]
Question. Does anyone believe that Tournament will now go to form with England playing Brazil in Final.
Personally I doubt it.
Ishola
If that’s the case we are in another Rooney case of him being an automatic shoe in to the detriment of the team. Fuck that. If Gareth has any balls, bench Raheem and put Rashford in his place. He is just as much a threat with his attacking spirit. I see Rashford score more than Raheem would (for what I have seen so far).
Poor penalties from Colombia. Pickford is so easy to beat yet Colombia still managed fuck up.
Ospina on that last penalty looooooooool Marble explain yourself.
Thought the first 3 Columbian penalties were very well taken,just shit keeping in the end done for them.
Guy with that hit the cross bar bottled the job. It’s perfectly acceptable to have a penalty saved by the GK, but to be unable to hit the goal at all, you’re making it too easy for the opponents. Anyways 50/50 game as a lot of smart people in the blog said it will be. Both teams “deserved” equally to go through. Shit football nonetheless but there was plenty of drama. Tbh put a healthy James in this Colombian side and they win tonight. As it is both teams are not good enough and should not reach the semis of… Read more »
We need to beat Sweden. Simply as that.
They’re a resolute bunch, but like Colombia, it’s the cutting edge that should see us through.
I think Alli and Sterling will get another start, and if they do, they’re lucky
raptora
“Guy with that hit the cross bar bottled the job”
It was the same guy that hit the 30 yarder that Pickford tipped wide of the goal that led to the corner Colombia scored from in regular time.
Looks like with that pen he was trying to hit the same top corner of the net which he was trying to do with that previous 30 yard shot.
Likes to cane the ball.
Yeah James would have got Colombia over the edge tonight imo.
England were good value in the end though, felt they tried more than Colombia to win the game who were mostly negative and cynical throughout.
Ishola,
That was a monster shot. One of the saves of the tournament by Pickford surely.
Great save but looked like it was going wide didn’t it?
Not sure I saw a good replay of it, but it did look very impressive in real time. What a bullet.
Yeah the swerve on the ball would probably seen it go just wide.
Pickford wasn’t to know that at the time though. All he knew was that he had to deal with it.
Ospina played his part with an astonishing penalty save, shame his teammates couldn’t finish the job.
Less pressure on a penalty kick when it wins a game rather than when it loses a game.
I said England will not lose to Colombia.
England won’t lose to Sweden either.
Ospina will soon be gone from Arsenal- Alleluia! The worst goalkeeper we have had since Furnell
Lessons to be learnt from this game, but overall England played better than Sweden did against the Swiss.
Maybe we could make the final.
Good to see the unity spirit in the team.
I thought when Sterling and Ali went off Columbia felt more comfortable to attack in numbers.
Fyodor Cherenkov was English for a short period last night.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/world-cup-2018/6690634/england-statue-fan-arrested-moscow-vandalise-fedor-cherenkov-stadium/
http://russianfootballnews.com/fyodor-cherenkov-the-russian-hero-that-football-have-forgotten/
Redtruth
Are you English?
That was the equivalent to an away game last night.
The ref was crap.
Anyway, cheats and a win at all costs mentality should never prosper.
Southgate should be honoured.
Ospina will soon be gone from Arsenal- Alleluia! The worst goalkeeper we have had since Furnell”
Fabianski, Almunia?
Good result. Anything else from here and it’s been a successful world cup for these young players.
Sweden is organized but for me Colombia has more bite than Sweden so not worried about them so much.
I think Alli and Sterling will get another start, and if they do, they’re lucky”
I’m not really sure what Sterling’s bread and butter is. He’s a jack of all trades but a master of none.
Ok dribbler.(not nearly as good as he thinks he is).
Never strikes the ball with conviction on his shots.
Bad decision maker.
These are the current FIFA Rankings for the last eight in Tournament.Brazil [2] v France [7] Belgium [3] v Uruguay [14] England [12] v Sweden [24] Croatia [20] v Russia [70]Question. Does anyone believe that Tournament will now go to form with England playing Brazil in Final.Personally I doubt it.” I can’t believe I’m saying this but I hope France beats Brazil.Neymar is such a tw*t. Hard for me to see Belgium beating Brazil and I see France getting the better of Uruguay(without Cavani). On the England side of the bracket hard to see Russia lasting much longer and England… Read more »
“Ospina will soon be gone from Arsenal- Alleluia! The worst goalkeeper we have had since Furnell”
George Wood? Rami Shabban? Tony Burns?
I don’t get the overbearing criticism aimed at Ospina. Pedro started it and I guess some are just happy to be part of the bandwagon.
Ospina was good in his stint at first choice couple years ago and since then, he’s done a reasonable job whenever called upon. He hasn’t dropped clangers like Almunia, Szczesny, Fabianski et al and if you’re not blinded by agenda you’d see that he’s actually been a better signing than Cech.
“That was the equivalent to an away game last night.” “The ref was crap.” “cheats and a win at all costs mentality should never prosper.” “Southgate should be honoured.” lol English players diving all over the pitch. Ref giving every single 50/50 decision for them. England played have played a part in 2 of the top 3 ugliest games so far in the tournament. Didn’t show more than being good at set pieces. If anyone tells me that when you were taking your seat to watch the game you were hoping to watch this pile of dump game we watched… Read more »
I’m sorry guys, but the way England qualified last night was a disgrace.
And there’s a huge opportunity for Sweden to beat them in the next round.