England Ratings

My opinion of England's World Cup run.

Goalkeepers:
Jordan Pickford 8/10 Maybe not the greatest goalkeeper but performed really well on the big stage, certainly more confident with the ball at his feet than the others.
Jack Butland 0 Did not play,  
Nick Pope 0 Did not play

Defenders:
Kyle Walker 7/10 Got the pace to cover which has been lacking in England squads of the past, but still lacks composure under pressure. Could have been better.
Kieran Trippier 8/10 Hardly put a foot wrong in defence and was our best set piece taker and crosser.
Harry Maguire 7/10 Stepped up to the mark and doesn't lack confidence, needs to improve his passing and have a little bit more confidence when he takes the ball upfield.
John Stones 7/10 Apart from the error against Croatia he has been excellent, should be nailed down as a starter for many years.
Ashley Young 6/10 Did a job, the fact he doesn't like crossing with his left foot is the biggest downside to his game.
Danny Rose 5/10 Has the pace and talent to replace Ashley Young but still makes bad choices as a defender.
Eric Dier 6/10 Not really a fan but his versatility earns him a place in the squad. Looked better in the final game.
Phil Jones 3/10 No idea why he is in the squad?
Gary Cahill 6/10 Experienced and reliable.
Trent Alexander Arnold 7/10 The fact he's behind Trippier is the only reason he won't be an England regular for a while, Bags of confidence and ability.

Midfielders:
Jordan Henderson 5/10 Did a steady job but the Croatia game showed he doesn't have the ability to create chances where he just played a stream of long passes without picking out a player.
Dele Alli 6/10 Not at his best, didn't get forward enough. Most Tottenham fans will tell you he gives the ball away too easily but makes up for it with his ability to get in the box at the right time.
Jesse Lingard 7/10 Tried hard but things didn't really come off for him this time.
Fabian Delph 6/10 Has been used as a wing back by Man City but his cameo appearances at this tournament have been in midfield where he is very average. Played the wing back roll in the 2nd half against Belgium and should have moved in front of Young and Rose.
Ruben Loftus Cheek 6/10 Has potential but needs to work harder.

Forwards:
Harry Kane 7/10 Looked good in the early games but looks to be carrying an injury, hasn't been the same since the Colombia game where he appeared to be struggling.
Raheem Sterling 6/10 Does not deserve the criticism he receives, always a willing runner but confidence seems shot when he gets near the goal. Poor last game.
Jamie Vardy 5/10 England don't play to his strengths and struggled to make an impact.
Marcus Rashford 6/10 Will get better, has the pace and skill to be a big player in the future. Hopefully he will get more game time for Man Utd this season.
Danny Welbeck 2/10 Too many injuries and a lack of game time have blunted his instincts, might come back better if he can get regular football.

Gareth Southgate 7/10 Great to have an England boss who seems to care for a change, he got them all playing as a team and motivated them at the right times, showed some inexperiece with his substitutions in the Croatia game where it was obvious Kane was struggling and Rashford instead came on for Sterling who was still fun of running, also Trippier was left on despite being injured for the whole of extra time and Walker replaced instead?
The one big criticism you can level at Southgate is the original selection, Jack Wilshere and Jonjo Shelvey are both the type of creative midfielders we were missing throughout the tournament and especially against Croatia.
Why he couldn't find room for them in the squad is a mystery when he chose players like Phil Jones, Fabian Delph, Danny Welbeck and Ruben Loftus Cheek who weren't trusted to come on and make a difference.

World Cup 2018 Predictions (Part 6)

Only a week to go and the World Cup is over ... boo hoo!!
I like many others thought a World Cup in Russia could be a disaster with predictions of Russian hooligans, heavy handed police, racist chanting, VAR etc?
But from what I've seen it has been brilliant so far and not just because England have performed, the VAR has mostly been done really well, weeding out the cheating b'stards and letting teams get on with playing football.

Final Rounds of Predictions (please fill in teams for final and 3rd place)
(90 Minute rule again - extra time and penalties don't count)

Semi Finals
Belgium v France
Croatia v England

3rd Place
Belgium v England

Final
France v Croatia

Thought I was running away with this, but Paulo has put the pressure on ...
60 Games - Lee 43, Paulo 40, Paul 31, (Lawro 42)

Good Luck All :)

World Cup 2018 Predictions (Part 5)

Starting to get our hopes up, I think every English footy fan wants us to win the World Cup but after all these years of disappointment we've kept it in check :)
Injuries permitting we should be able to compete against Sweden, Croatia or Russia, but then the big 4 in the other half of the draw come into play.
Of course our history suggests we'll get a dodgy red card or one of our top players inured before then so don't count any chickens :)

8 Games left and it's Quarter Final time, games on Friday and Saturday.
90 minute rule applies for predictions.

France v Uraguay
Brazil v Belgium
Sweden v England
Russia v Croatia

Good luck All, and England :)