Euro 2012 Quarter-final: England v Italy 24/06/2012, 19:45, Olympic Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine [R]

Please?!?!?!

 

Downing, stupid auto-correct on my phone. And it wouldn't let me edit my post. Weird.

 

Can you explain?

 

I'm guessing he's an Italian supporter who thinks it would be a bad idea. Well, bad for us... good for them.

Just a hunch.

 

I gathered that, I was curious as to why. Surely if we can stop Pirlo playing then that's half the battle won. Seems perfectly reasonable that it is something Roy might consider.

Edit: just to add, man-marking Pirlo with a willing but limited midfielder is exactly what SAF did to Milan with Park, and it worked a treat.

 

I would go with a 4-3-3

-------------Hart

Johnson----Terry---Lescott---Cole

---milner----Parker----Gerrard

----walcott---Carroll---Rooney


With Rooney having the license to drift around .

 

Park is quicker, has a better first touch, a better engine, and is more fluid than Milner. Park would serve England very well on Sunday. Milner is a decent player on a mid-level Premiership team, but not an international player. Milner would be booked inside of 20 minutes.

 

Park is quicker but Milner is quicker than Pirlo. Park may have a better engine he was a total freak but you're comparing a 10/10 to a 9/10 in that regard and his first touch doesn't really matter in that job, I've seen Phil Neville take (prime) Patrick Viera out of a game. If you put a terrior on Pirlo you can stop him playing.

 

Everyone on the field is quicker than Pirlo. Yet he still manages to find time and space on the ball. A Pirlo > Viera, I don't understand why the two are being compared. England need to worry about staying compact, and exploding on the wings trying to get behind the Italian back four, like Russia did in the preliminary exhibition. If England are going to try and get into some sort of tactical chess match with Italy, that plays right into Italy's hands. If England decide to use Milner to play Mackelele or Gattuso on Pirlo, that's fine, De Rossi and Marchisio are perfectly capable to finding space and finding Balotelli and Cassano. England are best served doing what they do best, which is keeping a shape, breaking with speed, and taking their chances with desire and athleticism in the box.

 

Not against Man U whilst being man-marked did he. He was invisible.

I was using an example of a player with a poor touch taking a superiour player out of the game, countering your argument that Milner can't play that role because his first touch isn't good enough,

I'm not suggesting he play's Makelele or Gattuso they were dedicated defensive midfielders. I'm suggesting he might play the sort of role P.Neville, Fletcher, park, Flamini (when he was at Arsenal) occasionaly played in big matches, i.e a right little shit that's job is to be a nuisance to the opposistions main player. let's be honest the other two players you mention whilst good certainly don't have Pirlo's quality on the ball.

Why can't England do both? Any way I thought you'd suggest that fast-counter attacking approach down the wings (as that seems to be what Italians are most scared of) Roy will be more cautious I think. If we start Walcott and Ox on the wing (for example) we could be 2-0 up in 20 but we could be 2-0 down in 20. As long as Roy doesn't get thrashed people will be happy with the job he's done.

I personally hope Roy starts Ox instead of Young. But I have no doubt he'll being lucking to nullify Pirlo. He's a reactive not a pro-active manager he looks at what the oppsition do and looks at way's of countering it. He's not the type of manager who say's "this is the best team we have, I don't care what the opposition have let's go toe-to-toe".

 

parker can pick up pirlo with that

 

I was starting to look through my rose coloured for a while. In reality I'm afraid it'll be a lot more of the same old though. Do we really expect Roy to let the team go charging out in the first half? Then knowing that we won't, can we keep those Ities from getting in among or behind our sometime ponderous defence.

Got to take the midfield, Got to make them shoot from outside, and Got to be able to find a guy with an English accent when we do come out, and pass the ball to him.

 

pirlo and vieira are nothing alike, pirlo is the better playmaker and passer but vieira completely owned games and bossed the midfield, pirlo is nothing compared to vieira as a cm but pirlo is the better playmaker

and btw, plastic american italians are more arrogant than REAL italians. if USA nt wasn't shit, surely they would be your team....

 

DNA, we are what we are.

 

And for the English Americans? If the US plays Italy I support the US 100% of the time. But the US isn't in Europe, and I have family in the old country, and my roots are there. I haven't been in here flaming. I respect your team. I expect a close game on Sunday, and my gut says England advance on PK's, hope I'm wrong. If you re-read the thread, I was not the person who compared the two players. I don't understand the hostility. Best of luck.

 

I was enjoying our little back and forth but that is a piss poor response.

 

He could but Roy won't play 4-3-3

 

fair enough treq, i think we can sneak it but italy are potential euro winners too imo

 

Why would anyone say England would win on penalties if they knew anything at all about football?

Not happening.

 

Because traditionally when Italy are eliminated from tournaments, it's on penalties, Spain last euro, France 98, USA 94, Italia 90. And you guys are due.

 

Do you know the last time England won on penalties? 1996 against Spain. 16 years ago. They promptly lost to Germany in the Semis.

 

Times are changin...Times are changin....

 

Not a fan of Milner's but he does play for citeh who just won the EPL so, on that basis alone, he's a 'decent players', (your phrase), on a top level EPL club.

In any event, like I said, he comes as a package with Glen Johnson. Y'know, a bit like large fries in a happy meal

 

Like I said, you're due. The English fans can do many things well, the one thing you will not be able to do is over pessimist Italians when it comes to our team. We are the greatest in the world at pessimism if that's a word.