WTF are the FA thinking?

[Dr Bob]

Is there a case for the FA to hire a decent manager on a short term contract next summer or do we all put our trust in Uncle Roy to get England beyond the quarter finals?

What makes you think anybody is capable of getting this side beyond the quarter-finals? In the grand scheme of things, that is as far as we can, realistically, expect to get.

[A-Ro]

there will be signficantly more Poles at Wembley tonight as they have been calling up telling Talksport for example, how they have got tickets in the home areas too (I hope the stewards eject them to protect the safety of english and polish supporters - plenty of which will be children)

Yes there were plenty of Poles in with the home supporters and there was a special set of stewards given the task of ejecting the idiotic ones. I thought it was going to kick off in the section I was in when half a dozen Poles down the front spent the first 20 minutes stood up facing backwards, waving their scarves and singing. The stewards ushered away those that chose to comply and literally carried off those who didn't, any Pole that was sat down watching the game was left alone.

It did make for an enjoyable atmosphere.

[Paul Cooper]

Is there a case for the FA to hire a decent manager on a short term contract next summer or do we all put our trust in Uncle Roy to get England beyond the quarter finals?

Call me old fashioned but this whole thing about sacking relatively successful managers (Martin Allen being the most recent) doesn't seem right.

So Hodgson has done what he had to do in the qualifiers and has introduced Townsend, Sturridge and Berkley, so he seems to be mixing youth and experience.

My view is that I would trust no manager to get us beyond the quarter finals. As Mike Ingham rightly said on 5 Live this morning we are not on the same level as Spain, Germany, Holland, Brazil and Argentina. We are probably in the second tier alongside Belgium, Russia and Columbia.

So to get beyond the quarter finals, we need a little luck and probably to sort out the penalties.

Just a thought watching yesterday. When Roy does retire or gets fired, maybe Gary Neville is a possible successor (despite his lack of managerial experience)?

[Brahma Bull]

It is going to be very difficult to see us progress to the QF stages but that would be more than acceptable. I am concerned about the weather conditions and suspect that will be the downfall of most of the European sides.

One point I do think is worth noting is the progression and evolution of the side since Roy took us "out of" the Euro's in 2012. For the past 18 months we have been fed the line we have no youth coming through, the future is bleak, we need an overhaul. I don't think we do.

The main public speaking individual was taken on and his ideas implemented (in 7 and U8 football - playing from the back, the oppo side having to retreat to the halfway line when an U7 goalkeeper takes a kick etc) and his now in charge of the U21's. I have alot of time for Nord.

We have seen in the last month or so a crop of youngsters coming through as the next generation. The newbies being Andros, Barkley and Forster. These to be added to the Ox, Theo, Sturridge, Wellbeck, Wilshere, Smalling, Cahill, Jones, Hart et al. We only have a few mature players left, Baines, Stevie G, Lampard and Cole. I think the future is bright.

Based on the evolution in the last 12 months and a new style of play, I can see further progression in the next 8 months. Time to get the kids in the side for the upcoming friendlies and we look to be in a wonderful place to mount a serious Euro 2016 campaign.

[Brahma Bull]

My wildcard for the WC would be Ravel.

[Mooro]

Is there a case for the FA to hire a decent manager on a short term contract next summer or do we all put our trust in Uncle Roy to get England beyond the quarter finals?

Call me old fashioned but this whole thing about sacking relatively successful managers (Martin Allen being the most recent) doesn't seem right.

So Hodgson has done what he had to do in the qualifiers and has introduced Townsend, Sturridge and Berkley, so he seems to be mixing youth and experience.

My view is that I would trust no manager to get us beyond the quarter finals. As Mike Ingham rightly said on 5 Live this morning we are not on the same level as Spain, Germany, Holland, Brazil and Argentina. We are probably in the second tier alongside Belgium, Russia and Columbia.

So to get beyond the quarter finals, we need a little luck and probably to sort out the penalties.

Just a thought watching yesterday. When Roy does retire or gets fired, maybe Gary Neville is a possible successor (despite his lack of managerial experience)?

There may be a case, Snake, but it would be a very weak one in my opinion.

Instead, I think it is high time that we accept our place in the wider scheme of things, and that we are not among the top sides in the world. So, instead of expecting to win the damn thing, if expectations are set lower with anything beyond that an absolute bonus, then the whole tournament will just seem to be far more enjoyable...

[Snake]

My case is that someone like Mike Ford could probably have got England through that group. Even people who use this board would have more or less picked the same squad as Roy did, stuck in a 4-4-1-1 formation and let them get on with it. He just doesn’t inspire me and on that performance last night we ain’t going to get far in Brazil (and look at how well West Brom have done since Roy left them!). I’ve always thought that there should be a case for hiring a manager to get England qualified for a major tournament (and no more) and then bringing in a top EPL manager for six weeks during the summer break for the actual tournament. I know I’d rather have a Mourinho, Wenger, Moyles - or even Harry or SAF for that short spell to train and motivate the players that make up 31% of the best League in the world.

Edit - Oh, and maybe with Luadrup and Martinez as assistants to help keep the ball on the floor.

[Eric Pollard]

My case is that someone like Mike Ford could probably have got England through that group. Even people who use this board would have more or less picked the same squad as Roy did, stuck in a 4-4-1-1 formation and let them get on with it. He just doesn’t inspire me and on that performance last night we ain’t going to get far in Brazil (and look at how well West Brom have done since Roy left them!). I’ve always thought that there should be a case for hiring a manager to get England qualified for a major tournament (and no more) and then bringing in a top EPL manager for six weeks during the summer break for the actual tournament. I know I’d rather have a Mourinho, Wenger, Moyles - or even Harry or SAF for that short spell to train and motivate the players that make up 31% of the best League in the world.

Edit - Oh, and maybe with Luadrup and Martinez as assistants to help keep the ball on the floor.

My main game is rugby league but by gum doesn't this Welsh multi team supporting football follower speak a load of tripe! Was he actually watching the Poland game? None of the managers he mentions have ever managed at national level. Hodgson has.

I was at the home of Wembley on Tuesday night and I was very impressed with our team's speed of mind and fleetness of foot. Hodgson has definitely improved the national team (far more than Mike Ford could ;] ;] Our defence is of course, admittedly, modest and therefore a positive gung-ho attitude is the way ahead.

Nonetheless, I digress, the real World Cup starts very soon.

'Oop the Warriors!, Campeones!!

[Dr Bob]

He just doesn’t inspire me and on that performance last night we ain’t going to get far in Brazil[/size]

He does not have to inspire you, he has to inspire his players. His record at club and international level across several countries and many years shows he does this very well. I think it is a very (word carefully chosen) British comment to think he has to do this in a way that inspires, entertains, or otherwise amazes the population at large.

As for not getting very far in Brazil - this is a separate issue. We have players who, at best, will get to the quarter finals. Twas ever thus and to expect more from Hodgson or anyone else is to expect too much. Hope, yes, but not expect. I still reckon the worst thing England ever did was win the World Cup in 1966. It is a factor that, for some inexplicable reason, still distorts people's expectations of the national team.

[A-Ro]

Dear FA I think the atmosphere was massively enhanced on Tuesday by letting the Polish fans sit where they like, drink lager from cans that they bought into the stadium and smoke and drink in sight of the pitch. Allowing them to bring as many flares as they wanted into the stadium and let them off during the National Anthem was also very innovative. The stewards were still doing their remarkable job of taking bottle tops from small children and i think that if the relaxation of regulation afforded our Polish visitors were extended to the home fans the whole match day experience would be extraordinary.

[Kernow Yellow]

He just doesn’t inspire me and on that performance last night we ain’t going to get far in Brazil[/size]

He does not have to inspire you, he has to inspire his players. His record at club and international level across several countries and many years shows he does this very well. I think it is a very (word carefully chosen) British comment to think he has to do this in a way that inspires, entertains, or otherwise amazes the population at large.

As for not getting very far in Brazil - this is a separate issue. We have players who, at best, will get to the quarter finals. Twas ever thus and to expect more from Hodgson or anyone else is to expect too much. Hope, yes, but not expect. I still reckon the worst thing England ever did was win the World Cup in 1966. It is a factor that, for some inexplicable reason, still distorts people's expectations of the national team.

Agree with a lot of that. Further, the first half on Tuesday was one of the more entertaining 45 minutes I've seen in an England game for some time. I could even warm to some of the younger players coming through enough to care a bit about this team (save Sturridge, whose arrogant, spoilt-kid act just grates too much).

I see that the attendance was 5,000 or so below capacity, and even the home areas had plenty of Poles in, so I think the FA's decision to give them an increased allocation was fully justified. Their constant booing and whistling was more than a little tiresome though.

Regarding flares, even the commentators seem to welcome their presence in these big games now, and many European club sides seem to bring them into our stadia. Is it only lower down the leagues where they are considered so dangerous as to be punishable with banning orders and prison sentences?

[Snake]

Dear FA I think the atmosphere was massively enhanced on Tuesday by letting the Polish fans sit where they like, drink lager from cans that they bought into the stadium and smoke and drink in sight of the pitch. Allowing them to bring as many flares as they wanted into the stadium and let them off during the National Anthem was also very innovative. The stewards were still doing their remarkable job of taking bottle tops from small children and i think that if the relaxation of regulation afforded our Polish visitors were extended to the home fans the whole match day experience would be extraordinary.

At Wolves because the away concourse is on the same level as the pitch there are yellow lines on the floor so you can’t stand in some parts with your half time pint as it’s illegal and strictly enforced. When I just put one foot on the yellow bit with a brew in my hand to test the system within seconds I was approached and told off by a steward. Well, the heady mix of seeing the pitch and drinking at the same time is highly dangerous isn’t it, unlike this recent H&S issue - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2sMMo3XTwk and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7J4uL6apP8

The beer thing is a rule that developed during the Thatcherism era of ‘football=hooligans=bad’ and ‘Rugby=good’, but although the fences have come down this particular piece of legislation still remains.

[Kernow Yellow]

At Wolves because the away concourse is on the same level as the pitch there are yellow lines on the floor so you can’t stand in some parts with your half time pint as it’s illegal and strictly enforced. When I just put one foot on the yellow bit with a brew in my hand to test the system within seconds I was approached and told off by a steward. Well, the heady mix of seeing the pitch and drinking at the same time is highly dangerous isn’t it

This happened to me at half-time during the JPT tie at Home Park last season too, and there was precisely NOTHING happening on the pitch at the time and no more than a small handful of Us fans in the concourse at the time. To be fair the stewards were fairly good-natured when faced with our incredulity at being asked to move, but they politely enforced the rule nonetheless.

The beer thing is a rule that developed during the Thatcherism era of ‘football=hooligans=bad’ and ‘Rugby=good’, but although the fences have come down this particular piece of legislation still remains.

Did anyone else hear the Saracens (I think) CEO on the Today programme this morning, saying basically that any right-thinking father would prefer their son to become a rugby player rather than a football player due to the strictly enforced moral code in place in the former sport? Gary Richardson just laughed along jovially. Well maybe some lawyers and investment bankers are happy for their kids to risk life-changing injury in order to get some decent corporate hospitality at Twickenham (or Wembley, as was the original point of the interview), but count me out thank you very much...

[A-Ro]

Well maybe some lawyers and investment bankers are happy for their kids to risk life-changing injury in order to get some decent corporate hospitality at Twickenham (or Wembley, as was the original point of the interview), but count me out thank you very much...

I'm not sure of the correlation between a child playing Rugby and it's father gaining access to corporate hospitality. IME Corporate hospitality has more to do with who your company spends money with rather than what your children do in their spare time.

Otherwise I get your point.

[Radley Rambler]

At Wolves because the away concourse is on the same level as the pitch there are yellow lines on the floor so you can’t stand in some parts with your half time pint as it’s illegal and strictly enforced. When I just put one foot on the yellow bit with a brew in my hand to test the system within seconds I was approached and told off by a steward. Well, the heady mix of seeing the pitch and drinking at the same time is highly dangerous isn’t it

This happened to me at half-time during the JPT tie at Home Park last season too, and there was precisely NOTHING happening on the pitch at the time and no more than a small handful of Us fans in the concourse at the time. To be fair the stewards were fairly good-natured when faced with our incredulity at being asked to move, but they politely enforced the rule nonetheless.

The beer thing is a rule that developed during the Thatcherism era of ‘football=hooligans=bad’ and ‘Rugby=good’, but although the fences have come down this particular piece of legislation still remains.

Did anyone else hear the Saracens (I think) CEO on the Today programme this morning, saying basically that any right-thinking father would prefer their son to become a rugby player rather than a football player due to the strictly enforced moral code in place in the former sport? Gary Richardson just laughed along jovially. Well maybe some lawyers and investment bankers are happy for their kids to risk life-changing injury in order to get some decent corporate hospitality at Twickenham (or Wembley, as was the original point of the interview), but count me out thank you very much...

That'll be the strict moral code where stamping, raking with studs, eye-gouging and general punch-ups are all 'part of the game'? I always find this holier than thou rugby attitude amusing - they'd go loopy if any of those occurred on the football field citing the yobbish like behaviour of the players.

Don't even get me started on Bloodgate - another lovely example of the strict moral code.

One thing they have got right though is respect for referees - football really could learn from that.