29 Aug 2016 03:52:43
The next 10 days training with Allardice or the next 10 days training with Koeman. I know which one I'd prefer.

I really couldn't care about the England squad at this stage and TBH it's a break to our good rhythm right now. So I'm strangely pleased that Ross stays with us, and is sure to benefit by it.

Bring on transfer deadline day, bring on Sunderland. Internationals? No ta.

{Ed001's Note - I think he needs to be left out, keep his feet on the ground and remind him he is not the finished article yet. Sometimes players get it all too soon and fade away due to believing they have made it and not working so hard on their game. Barkley had shown signs of that recently, he needed a kick up the arse, which Martinez was never going to give him. Now he will get that from both Koeman and Allardyce.}

1.) 29 Aug 2016
29 Aug 2016 06:38:58
Allardyce is a joke of a manager tho isn't he let's be honest. England are an embarrassment.

2.) 29 Aug 2016
29 Aug 2016 07:44:06
Sometimes younger players have too much responsibility placed on them Ed. Managers say it all the time. There is 2 ways of looking at it. Some managers "blood" players young. I think Martinez wasoneof those. other managers "blood" the players more slowly. I think Moyes was one of those. It does do what you say and keeps their feet on the ground. but some fans don't see it that way. they see it as a manager holding back the player.

{Ed001's Note - agreed. You just have to hope that the right choice has been made in this case. Sometimes the best thing is to hold them back and build a fire in their bellies, once they have had a taste of first team football. You just have to be careful not to hold them back too much as they need experience that they can only get from playing. Italy has suffered in recent years because their youth players barely get a look in until they are mid-20s.}

3.) 29 Aug 2016
29 Aug 2016 08:02:25
I agree Ed but shouldn't that also be the case with other younger players who didn't perform in France and aren't doing it now. Where as Ross didn't get a chance and is at least doing it now only but for a few games I admit. But it's a few games more than others.

{Ed001's Note - personally I don't think Allardyce has a hope of getting the first squad right. It has come too soon in the season for him to really have a chance to see who is performing.}

4.) 29 Aug 2016
29 Aug 2016 08:10:23
There's no point having a creative midfielder under Allardyce as the ball never spends any time in the midfield. Only positive we have is, Vardy should get a hat full, with the ball over the top.

5.) 29 Aug 2016
29 Aug 2016 09:25:30
Degsy, Messi wasnt held back nor Ranoldo nor Pele nor Maradona nor Gazza nor Ball. If you're good enough you're old enough. How old should he be before being played.

The problem Barkley has had is the same as the rest of the squad. They had Martinez as a manager. You can build a player up but you have to knock him down when he needs it as well. Koeman already sounds like he knows what's required for him to develop.

As for England. I think Sam is the man to win us the world cup. His CV is second only to a shed load of other managers over the past 20 odd years and I agree that if you can only find rubbish English managers the you should get one of them rather than a good foreign one.

I hope he's a success as I love England but personally I can't stand him or his brand of thuggery sorry football.

{Ed025's Note - big (head) sam,s claim to fame is that he has never been relegated ....big deal!..never actually won anything and his brand of football is from the dark ages, im with you john i cant stand him either mate..

6.) 29 Aug 2016
29 Aug 2016 09:51:41
Peronally I'm keeping an open mind as far as SA is concerned #1 because he has wanted this job for a long time and maybe has answers to problems others wouldn't dare to even consider #2 we have had a plethora of England managers since Sir Alf Ramsey's departure and seen them all come and go without presenting any tangible proof that we as a nation are or should be regarded as a top tier international football country!

Who knows maybe Sam can bring in a reality check and end the myth that we have to play in some kind of utopian style before we can even think of winning tournaments!

{Ed025's Note - im afraid my mind is firmly shut 247, the guy has spent the last 20 years in alex fergusons back side and his sides play hoof ball plus his persona is that of an oaf...but besides that.. :)

7.) 29 Aug 2016
29 Aug 2016 09:52:49
Allardyce LOL same rubbish managers getting top jobs, as Browner said England are an embarrassment.

8.) 29 Aug 2016
29 Aug 2016 10:25:09
The England debate is a simple one. The team are conditioned by past experiences to fail. So either get a manager strong enough to change the mindset. Not sure SA is that person. Or change the failing players for fresh ones. And finally they will probably need a winter break.

{Ed001's Note - why a winter break? I have never understood this argument, it has absolutely no basis in reality. England have crap players, it doesn't matter whether they have a break or not. The Premier League provided a huge number of players for other nations that did much better, despite those players not getting a winter break either. If your players are on form and playing well, the last thing they need is a break. The problem is that English players are not good enough, nothing to do with breaks.}

9.) 29 Aug 2016
29 Aug 2016 10:33:13
247 I'm not after utopian football. I want us to compete though which when you look at the players we have, we should be doing.

Hoddle, Sven and even Capello did do that and it was the top teams that knocked us out. Germany, Argentina, Portugal. McLaren and Hodgeson were a dissaster because they weren't good enough. SA is no better and has a brand of football that is about threatening the opposition off the pitch. Not in a simeone fasion but in a Kray brother fasion.

Athletico still play good football. Can't say the same for an SA team that I've seen.

He's just brought in a lad that scores from headers mainly. Tells you what he wants do already.

10.) 29 Aug 2016
29 Aug 2016 11:16:57
John like I said 'I'm open minded' in other words I'm 'hedging my bets' type of thing, however I will say this if you think we had had managers who gave us world beaters mate then I must have missed it, just sayin like 😑.

11.) 29 Aug 2016
29 Aug 2016 11:21:45
So reading between the lines Ed 001, you're not fussed on the winter break idea then. 🙄😂.

{Ed001's Note - damn, I didn't think anyone would notice....

Personally I just think people are making excuses to avoid the real issues in the game. You could have a hundred breaks, but if you are not as good as your opponent, then you are going to struggle, even if they have played a match every day for the last year. Fix the quality, then worry about the rest when you have a fair comparison. Having seen how the winter break is used by the clubs on the continent, they usually end up out here in the Middle East playing money spinning friendlies and doing a mini-preseason training schedule. It is not really a break at all. If they needed a rest, they should just let them have some time off training between games. Ranieri would just decide to give them a day or even a week off when they had gaps in the schedule, if he felt the players looked jaded. There is no excuse for being tired, they can easily find time to rest them. This is just about English clubs being excluded from the big bucks available for the winter games.}

12.) 29 Aug 2016
29 Aug 2016 12:38:43
Flippin heck Bluejohnuns. do you ever read my posts properly? I actually gave Rooney as an example of where you get someone really extra special and can throw them in at any age. I agree that Messi, Ronaldo etc are in the same category. but everyone could see Barkley is not in this category last season. He is a good player yes. But not one of those in the same group as the ones you list. He OBVIOUSLY lost confidence last year and did not have the maturity to deal with it. I would have dropped him mid season if I was in charge and explained to him that he needed to start getting consistency. Rooney came in with us and was our best player by a mile. Even Stones dealt with things up until the last 10 games when his head was turned. Like I said, he needed to be blooded more slowly in my opinion. Yes given games. but not to be a first team automatic. and I think his performances overall last season substantiate my thoughts. He played well in some. but looked abysmal and lost in others.

13.) 29 Aug 2016
29 Aug 2016 16:09:34
The only issue I had was you said it was to do with blooding youth. What you're saying is nothing to do with that it is to do with poor form which i agree with. Although his poor form coincided with many others and there were much worse playrrs on the pitch. No one called for lukaku to be dropped.

At 21/ 22 I wouldn't consider youth being any kind condition at all. You can only get stronger by coming through adversity and you learn hoe to deal with things.

14.) 29 Aug 2016
29 Aug 2016 16:48:47
Now you are making sense BlueJohnUns. Yes I see Barkley as a 19 / 20 year old because of his time out through injury. that's my mistake. apologies. Nevertheless, he did look like a "little boy lost" at times and yes. this is another thing to level at the last manager. But I guess he was desparate to have some sort of forward midfielder at any cost. and that cost was Barkley's confidence. After signing Cleverly, Barry, Besic and McCarthy, he almost had to play Barkley because none of those could play a killer pass or score more than 2 goals a season. So Lukaku and Barkley had to be the first names on the teamsheet. I would still say Barkley has some maturing to do and I remember having a debate where someone told me Moyes had held back Barkley's development and Martinez was giving youth the chance. I said at the time that Martinez was indeed giving the youth a chance. but I also questioned whether the youth was ready for the chance. let's leave it at that mate. I get your point now.