As long as diving Deli Ali stays fit we've got the best diver in the world at the moment

he might get gold in the pool but that would be it.

Wouldnt want to like that.

I suspect international refs won’t ‘fall’ for his routine.

Plus we have a terrible team with an even worse manager.

We can’t score penalties at international level

That's been our downfall in past years
Now we have a cheat to match the best
Go Deli Fifa will love you
Klinsmann is back

Rick_Muller wrote:We can’t score penalties at international level

I doubt we’ll get to a point where penalties are required.

Harry Kane scores the penalties

I doubt we'll be capable of getting the ball to him in the box

NEILTHO61 wrote:Harry Kane scores the penalties

He can’t take all 5 in the Semi against zee Germans can he?

NEILTHO61 wrote:As long as diving Deli Ali stays fit

And Spain, Portugal, Brazil,Italy, Germany and France all get a nasty cold and can't stop sneezing.

I actually think we can do very well in this world cup. I am not saying we will win it but it is more than possible.

PhiladelphiaChris wrote:I actually think we can do very well in this world cup. I am not saying we will win it but it is more than possible.

I'd like to know the stats on how often we suffer an injury to a key player prior to the World Cup.

Kane is our best player - the only "World Class" player we have. The only player I expect other teams will be worried about. The rest are far too inconsistent for teams to worry too much about.

But.. like you said, I do think we can get to the Quarters.. IF.. Kane avoids an injury towards the end of the season.

How many more games are Spuds going to get dodgy penalties in.Alli needs a retrospective ban for the best dive seen in the 5th round games.Bobby Madley turned down two for Dale yet awarded this cheat a non penalty.At least Dale got a draw which is the least they deserved.

I dont recall any complaints from the English when Gary lineker dived for two penalties against Cameroon when 1-2 down in the world cup finals.
Another spurs cheat, of course.

'We can win the world cup'

I think this has got to be the first World Cup with the lowest expectations, I've ever seen. 90% of us don't expect us to do anything of note.

Ironically - we've probably got the best striker in the last 30 years. It's just the rest of the team that's not good enough.

If we can keep it tight at the back and Harry Kane plays the 6 or 7 games of his life then anything can happen....

I.e. No f*****g chance

CoolClaret wrote:If we can keep it tight at the back and Harry Kane plays the 6 or 7 games of his life then anything can happen....

I.e. No f*****g chance

More likely we’ll leak goals for fun with the likes of Smalling and Cahill at the back. The midfield will be non entities as usual and Raheem Sterling will fade back into being himself. Finally Harry Kane will finish up hammering free kicks all over the show from various distances whilst we all ask why we bothered to watch in the first place.

Basically the same as the last tournament we were involved in.

On the subject of Dele, file him under Suarez for players I’d love to see with their knee bent at 90 degrees in the wrong direction. The footballing manifestation of cock rot.

Back three of Tarks, Keane and Mee in front of Heston or Pope then defensively we may have a chance. Defend the Burnley way and attack the Spurs way (I.e - cheat and counter attack at speed)

It would mean that I'd see 3 England games this summer.

I made a vow after the Iceland game never to watch England again unless they reach a Quarter final, and I'm sticking to it.

boiledclaret wrote:I made a vow after the Iceland game never to watch England again unless they reach a Quarter final, and I'm sticking to it.

We all know that's not true.

International football is dead.
Burnley players will not feature in the squad any time soon.
What is there that grabs the imagination?

PhiladelphiaChris wrote:I actually think we can do very well in this world cup. I am not saying we will win it but it is more than possible.

More than possible? A tiny, tiny bit possible more like.

FactualFrank wrote:We all know that's not true.

What? me not watching 3 England games this summer. You're probably right.

Be interesting to see the outcome if Southgate was to pick a GK/CB combination of Heaton, Mee & Tarks. Even shove Trips at RB for good measure. Instead of the usual, disjointed Stones, Cahill and Hart.

Get Sean in for the summer as the defence coach whilst we're at it.

The attackers have potential to be brilliant but we're clueless at the back and consistently pick the big names over the form players

I'd rather we lose every game 8-0 than have that ****** Ali cheating his way to the next round. I despise the little ****

ClaretJimmy wrote:Be interesting to see the outcome if Southgate was to pick a GK/CB combination of Heaton, Mee & Tarks. Even shove Trips at RB for good measure. Instead of the usual, disjointed Stones, Cahill and Hart.

Get Sean in for the summer as the defence coach whilst we're at it.

The attackers have potential to be brilliant but we're clueless at the back and consistently pick the big names over the form players

Interesting, but it will not happen.
The only player with any vague BFC connection who will get picked is Michael Keane. And right now he is a long shot for it!

timshorts wrote:I dont recall any complaints from the English when Gary lineker dived for two penalties against Cameroon when 1-2 down in the world cup finals.
Another spurs cheat, of course.

Because it's not as if Roger miller and his dancing friends were steady on their feet either

A fair argument that England are so dire we need Dyche or an equivalent (i.e. solid defensive shape to offset limited defensive player quality) in charge, which means the back five have to be familiar to each other, at least most of them do, because coaching player position and blocks to fit a framework can’t be done in a few weeks.

On that basis, if we had Burnley’s back five (with Taylor not Ward obviously) would it do better, and give the likes of Kane a fighting chance?

I’m being cheeky obviously, but it does make you wonder. That’s how poor England’s defence is.

As for Alli, if he plays, I don’t watch. That’s how much I detest that style of football.

Look at the spine of the side, ie the goalkeeper, centre backs and midfielders, and tell me that England are going to win the World Cup. Laughable. If we make the last 8 we’ll have done well.

boiledclaret wrote:It would mean that I'd see 3 England games this summer.

I made a vow after the Iceland game never to watch England again unless they reach a Quarter final, and I'm sticking to it.

I stopped watching games after the world cup in Africa.
I catch the odd bit here and there, but I find tournaments more enjoyable if I ignore England.

NEILTHO61 wrote:As long as diving Deli Ali stays fit we've got the best diver in the world at the moment

Imagine winning the bugger after an injury time dive and penalty conversion, I'd have to have a shower straight after all the cheering and scrub till' I bled.

Just remembered, another summer of boring international football with the world cup. Only games I will watch are the England ones, other than that I will be nowhere near the box when the football is on.

As I can't see us progressing very far in the finals, my biggest hope is that Dele Alli is made the scapegoat by the press and pundits for our elimination, by getting a second yellow card for diving and reducing us to 10 men.

Love World Cup summers. Keeps my football rush up to the start of next season

Goals win games. And in Harry Kane we have a striker who can score any type of goal in any type of team.

With his understanding with Alli, Walker, Dier and one or two others it looks like the total is better than the sum of its parts. Southgate is also proving to be a manager who understands international management, comes across well and think will be a good manager for us.

Do we have better players than 1998, 2002, 2006 or even 2010? No. But we could have better partnerships in the team and balance.

Usually we are well covered at the back and in goal. And thats my main worry this time round.

Sterling, Alli and Kane like them or not would get into any other international team.

ClaretJimmy wrote:Be interesting to see the outcome if Southgate was to pick a GK/CB combination of Heaton, Mee & Tarks. Even shove Trips at RB for good measure. Instead of the usual, disjointed Stones, Cahill and Hart.

Get Sean in for the summer as the defence coach whilst we're at it.

The attackers have potential to be brilliant but we're clueless at the back and consistently pick the big names over the form players

Charlie Taylor left back?

GK TBA
Walker Stones TBA Rose
Dier Henderson (wilshere if fit)
Sterling Alli Rashford
Kane

Looks a pretty good team to me. Especially going forwards.

Walker, Stones and Sterling key players in what looks like a record breaking city side.
Dier, Rose, Alli, Kane (and Walker) all have a great understanding at club level for the second best (and most english) side in the league.

I look at that side and think "meh" - not because of your selection, but because that is not good enough to beat the likes of Germany, Brazil and Spain.

I'd actually have Trippier over Walker, too. Walker was the better player but I think since Walker left Spurs, Trippier has got better and better.

FactualFrank wrote:Charlie Taylor left back?

Why not! You you could stretch it to that degree. Cork sat in front of Tarks and Mee with Heats in behind would bring the defensive ridigity. Leaving the flair players in other positions to get on with scoring.

Wouldn't happen in a month of Sunday's of course but I think it's an interesting idea. Just the same as using the Alli & Kane combination. You want to make a squad of players who know each other's game to make a team. Rather than throwing the 11 best players on paper in and watch them fail to function.

You could do a lot worse for England than Taylor at left back. I don't think we've had a quality LB since Ashley Cole.

FactualFrank wrote:I look at that side and think "meh" - not because of your selection, but because that is not good enough to beat the likes of Germany, Brazil and Spain.

I'd actually have Trippier over Walker, too. Walker was the better player but I think since Walker left Spurs, Trippier has got better and better.

Sorry, but I cant agree with that. Trippier has improved maybe. But Walker at city has gone to another level. Easily the best right back in the world right now. Has everything.

Deli alli the new Tom Daley I would sit down with and explain to the little cheat if caught diving again 10 game ban for spurs and not pick I'm for the World Cup simply as utc

cricketfieldclarets wrote:Sorry, but I cant agree with that. Trippier has improved maybe. But Walker at city has gone to another level. Easily the best right back in the world right now. Has everything.

You might be right. And I do rate Walker a lot. I still think Stones is overated though in the centre. His price tag flatters him.

I will be in Germany again for the World Cup Final: Germany v Belgium ?
I remember watching the Germany 7 Brazil 1 semi-final in Germany with my German friends.
We lost count of the goals and thought that some of the goals were replays of the previous goal !!
For their Happy New Year greeting at the start of 2017 my German friends texted:
2 +0+Brazilian flag+German flag !!

FactualFrank wrote:And Spain, Portugal, Brazil,Italy, Germany and France all get a nasty cold and can't stop sneezing.

Well we know one of those teams has already got Aussie Flu and will definitely not be winning the 2018 World Cup !!

MT03ALG wrote:I remember watching the Germany 7 Brazil 1 semi-final in Germany with my German friends.
We lost count of the goals and thought that some of the goals were replays of the previous goal !!
For their Happy New Year greeting at the start of 2017 my German friends texted:
2 +0+Brazilian flag+German flag !!

I remember that game. I put a £50 bet down because I think Germany were something like 5/1 - amazing odds given how good Germany were and still are.

I was down at a friends near Coventry and we were out during the day and ended up missing the first half. I think it was something like 5-0 at half time? I remember thinking my bet was safe so bought everybody a round.

Picking the best league back four is a great idea (if all English).

I seem to recall Italy did similar in a recent tournament. Basically picked the Juve defence even though they had some other defenders considered world class. The manager explained he'd picked it because it was the best unit that worked well together week in week out.