"and they were rescued by Harry Maguire.......

but only because of John Stones great ball back to him , Matterface you a complete pr1ck.

 

Took some finishing though. Stones did well to win the header, but it was hardly laid on a plate for him. It's always the goalscorer that takes the plaudits, rather than an assist.

 

In this case the assist can take the plaudits

Personally I think Maguire is a donkey. Just no one better to replace him with. I'd give Coady a game.

 

Hilarious that folk can watch that game and come to the conclusion that Maguire is the central defender who needs replacing.

 

I don't think that either of them needs replacing. That was a very rare error in recent times by Stones.

 

I like Stones and want him to do as well as anyone on here. I never watch him play for his club as I can't abide the Premiership circus but I'll accept he's been really good this season for City. He has, nevertheless, got a long list of glaring errors to his name as an international footballer to the point where it takes some work to justify his selection. Time and again he's caught out and, though that's partly as a result of how he's asked to play, common sense and self preservation should have made him more aware of the dangers by now. If he didn't have Barnsley connections he'd get ripped a new one on here on a regular basis.
We may or may not have anyone better but he scares me in an England shirt.

 

Last night when he made his error I thought you w@nker. That said the public execution being carried out by Matterface and Dixon was equally bad.

 

I was getting the rte commentary. Sounds like it was a lot more balanced, in fact for Maguire's goal you'd have thought Stones had scored it the amount of credit they were giving for the assist.
The analysis did focus on his error though. Everyone knows he's a good player but these errors seem to be part and parcel and they keep costing goals.

 

And the interview with Southgate afterwards was equally as OTT.

 

I turned it off mate. It was like a public lynching.

 

What tha gonna watch next season for entertainment then bud?

 

Listen to the wireless

 

For me the error was as much the fault of the style of play and the not great pass from the keeper. If we keep trying to pass the ball round our own penalty area, we're asking for trouble, any minor error can result in conceding. I just don't understand why teams do it.

 

I thought Poland were garbage but we were worse for making them look better. If we'd attacked them it could have been comfortable last night. I don't see what Phillips and Rice need to play together for. Offer absolutely nothing going forward. Maguire mops up anyway. It's like playing with nine men.

 

I decided to record the game and watched part of it later on, got to about 5 minutes before half time and I couldn't be bothered watching any more.

I thought Poland weren't bad at times, though Helik did look a little lost and not aware where to position himself. But it's his first time called up to the squad so it's going to take some time for him to feel like he belongs and a more permanent part of the national team. I was a bit worried a few times when the ball was played to him, but he showed decent touch and accurate passing or heading. Just a shame he lunged in and gave Sterling the chance to make out he'd been snipered.

But the thing that completely ruined the game for me.... the commentary. Patronising, biased, condescending, deluded. Just awful. From England lobbing a hopeful ball into a box and it being majestic, to sideways passing across the back 4 meaning complete control, to Poland comfortably playing out with first time passing seemingly making them awful.

I've always felt ITV sports coverage to be the worst of the domestic channels, but that felt on another level of dreadful.

 

Helik was playing wide right which he's not done this season playing for Barnsley. Makes you wonder what the manager's thinking.

I never watch the preamble, halftime hogwash and post match ballox on any channel. The commentary was getting on my wick as well. Compare that with Barry Davis in the footage from the City game in 1981.....

 

In the second half if Helik had trousers on his hands would have been in his pockets such was his demeanour out on the right. No team mates gave him the ball after the tackle either.

 

I noticed they barely passed to him after that .

 

I thought Sterling conned Helik, he had no intention of playing the ball, Helik went to block any attempted cross, Sterling felt the slightest contact and went down screaming. This is the modern game and for me it stinks. You can see here clearly that Helik didn't bring him down and it wasn't a "clumsy" tackle (whatever that is).

 

You did very well to get to 5 minutes before HT. I didn't manage that much