Topic: The Push Square Football (Soccer) Thread

England at least the biggest chinned CF pairing OF ALL TIME. Harry kane is punch(bruce forsyth) and vardy is judy (jimmy hill) i hope it's a good omen.

@themcnoisy it baffles me why you mention chris smalling the kid is garbage i've seen him terrorized on numerous occasions this season. Gary cahill is a way better option.

@Bazza78: Having watched every single game he's played, he's improved tremendously. He's certainly not garbage and probably the best option England have.

@ShadowofSparta: I would go one further and say he's the only option we have. Stones will truly come unstuck this tournament and we all know Cahill is only decent with a strong partner at the back.

This Portugal game will be interesting.

For once I'm glad RH has picked this team, attacking but full of crocks as backup and lacking defenders. We will have to throw caution to the wind. I can see us scoring 3 or 4 a game. The only worry is if the attack misses a few chances we wont keep a clean sheet against half the teams in the cup.

I agree with @ShadowofSparta. His improved a lot defensively but he still needs to work on his mid to long range passing, though.

@themcnoisy: Stones is puzzling. When I first watched him play, I was really impressed but his dip is really concerning. It's eerily similar to Evans' form at Utd a few years ago. He was playing in the Champions league one year, pretty poor the next but hopefully he recovers. It'll be interesting to watch his development.
Portugal will be interesting. I really like their squad. Their midfield is stacked. Andre Gomes is a monster talent, as is Sanches and Joao Mario was a supreme midfielder last season in, not to mention Moutinho and William (who I still rate). But, they have no strikers and the only stand-out names they have in defence are Pepe (Oscar nominee) and the very talented Raphael Guerreiro. Good litmus test for both sides.
@WanderingBullet: I don't know if he'll ever get that good at it. His technique leaves a lot to be desired but you're right, he could certainly improve. He's not too bad at bringing the ball out but he'll probably need a solid pssing partner. He's more a Barzagli than a Chiellini or Bonucci,

The fact that Hodgson only brought 3 centre-backs and about a million centre-mids is puzzling, considering we could've really used an extra one. Smalling is easily first choice, but it'll be hard to choose between Cahill's experience (but slight shakiness) or Stones' youthfulness - Stones is good on the ball, but he really needs to know when to clear and when to pass around in his own box.

@ShadowofSparta England vs Portugal should be a good game, but it'll be slightly marred by the fact that Ronaldo won't be there. Hodgson said that the whole point of the friendly was to play against Ronaldo because he thought that it would be a warm-up game similar to how Wales would play (Bale would be their star player, like CR7 is for Portugal)

Yeah, I'm really disappointed Ronaldo's not playing.

Well that puts the Smalling argument to bed. Great goal.

Vardys wasted on the left, Kanes wasted on the right. They cant play deep roles they both play forward. Milner was slow as usual and our best players were the Left and Right backs.

Come on England!

T'was a truly horrible match. I understand the desire to play all of England's best players, but feel like we'll get watered down versions of all of them if they're not played in their proper positions.

I personally wouldn't play Kane and Vardy - I think it's one or the other, unfortunately.

Yeah, as a last match before the tournament, it really didn't instill a lot of confidence for Euro 2016, but a win is a win. I feel like we shouldn't use the diamond formation ever again, considering Kane and Vardy were both wasted on the wings, and I feel like Alli would be better played as a CAM rather than in front of Dier. In terms of who should play against Russia, Henderson might just edge out Milner, while Stones will probably give Cahill a run for his money if his injury persists. Sterling and Lallana should get a shout too, and I wouldn't be surprised if Hodgson opted for Walker instead of Clyne.

To be honest, the diamond that Hodgson played was more of a cr*p 433, with Rooney in the middle and Kane and Vardy on the wings. Maybe a 442 would be a good formation, with Kane and Vardy upfront and wingers already provided so they're not forced wide. Then again, Woy packed the squad full of centre-mids, so that's unlikely too.

Koeman to Everton that could be the signing of the summer. Lets hope the press reports are correct.

@dryrain: More than Jose to Utd or Pep to City?? Maybe if you are an Everton fan as he certainly seems to get players to play to their potential but I don't think his name is a 'big' draw and Everton don't have the budget or 'history' to draw in the players like the 'top 4-5' clubs. I think it could be worth a position or two, maybe stop the late collapse that Everton suffered in a lot of matches too and maybe help in cup runs - although didn't do badly in last years FA cup...

Its no doubt a good signing for Everton and their fans but I don't think it will be THE signing of the season...

@BAMozzy: Everton don't have the budget or 'history' to draw in the players like the 'top 4-5' clubs.

Errrr yes we do. Watch out top 4 Everton are coming, the spirit of Dixie Dean, Big Nev and Liz from Atomic Kitten combined with Moshiris cash, Koemans management and The crowd who want to win something! Liverpool will finish below us next season, and so will Arsenal.

@themcnoisy: Spoken like a true 'toffeenose'

Time will tell....

...But I can't see it myself!

I'm still not sure why Koeman would want to go to Everton but... Well, I wish him all the best.

@Kyroki: I hear Will Grigg's on fire.

Defoe played brilliantly in the charity match, we've missed a trick leaving him out.

@get2sammyb He's coming for double the salary, £100 million kitty and were a bigger club than Southampton who attract more fans. Koemans not stupid and if he has a bad season next year in Southampton a known selling club, then he might not make another £6million in his career. With us he's got £18 mil banked regardless of his record with this new contract.

Plus we REALLY want him here.

I feel like we should have a Euro 2016 thread if someone wants to make it. Doesn't make sense burying the discussion in this thread when it's a major international tournament.

I'd do it myself but... E3.

@TripleGK: Legend, thanks. @Tasuki, we're splitting Euro 2016 discussion off into its thread. It's a major international tournament, so I think we should split it off from the general footie chatter here.