Rousseau

England should've been 2/3 goals up at Half-time, but then when Croatia changed it they should've scored a couple. England couldn't adapt, giving Croatia too much time on the ball. They should've went to a back-four, pushing another into midfield which would've helped to press a bit better. They lacked creativity, though.

Belgium 3 - 1 England France 1 - 0 Croatia

Here are the fixtures for the Third Place Play-off and Final: Belgium - England France - Croatia You have until 15:00 on Saturday 14th July to get in your predictions. @Malangsob @Franc Ergs @craig @TheUKCrazyhorse @Whosthedado @lenny3k @Crimson Dynamo @johnnyk @Gaffer @forlanssister @onevision @buster. @Sindarin @Bill @der Berliner @BEARGER @Bluedell @compo @Barebear @Tannochsidebear @cooponthewing @Yorkie Bear @ranger_syntax @Gonzo79

Quite a few Correct Scores in this one! Craig, CD, r_s and BEARGER gained 1 point for the Correct Result. Rousseau, lenny, gonzo, Yorkie, Johnnyk and Malangsob gained 3 points for the Correct Score. Change at the top again, with 2 games to go! Latest Standings:

Sorry Coop -- as much as I like to "diddle" Gonzo, I do take the scores After Extra Time. Especially since I predicted 2-1 Croatia!

Oh no...

Shots fired!

Rousseau, Bill, Whosthedado, Craig, Franc, Gonzo, Yorkie, CD, Barebear, UKCrazyhorse and TB gained 1 point for the Correct Result. Onevision gained 3 points for the Correct Score. We have a new leader with 3 games (3rd place play-off) to go! Latest Standings:

I'm still not sure it's too many. You can't just have 2 players for each position, each carbon copies of each other in terms of role. We have options now. Halliday will be on his way, and Dorrans and Rositter will be bit-part players. We can agree do disagree there. I agree, we most definitely need more options up front; we're very short. Is Rudden ready? He looked OK on Thursday, a penalty-box striker.

I can't comment on his quality, as I've never seen him play. I should check out some of those videos. He was a promising youngster, signed by a newly promoted Ligue 1 side, so I wouldn't have expected him to be playing lots at that level, at that age. (They were actually 12th with 10 games to go, so I don't think they were in danger. It's irrelevant anyway, IMO.) I don't think it's worrying. I think the player profile is encouraging. I doubt he'd be in our league if he was playing every week for a mid-table Ligue 1 side.

Yes, you're right -- I had somehow thought we had skipped it last season, but then that was probably because we only had one round. I'll get it posted now. Thanks for reminding me.

He played in 19 league games, which is not bad. I think they were comfortable in the end, finishing 14th. It's arguably better than playing over 30 games for Bastia the season prior, when they finished bottom. It's certainly a step up. I think he's a Ligue 1 player, albeit around the bottom. I'm not sure how that translates into our league, though.

You can never have too many midfielders. I don't think there are too many, when we break it down, assuming it's a 4-3-3. #6/DM: McCrorie, Rossiter #8s: Jack, Docherty, Arfield, Coulibaly #10s: Ejaria, (Windass?) (Both these guys could/will play in the front line too). Crocked: Dorrans (could play any of the above positions). Probably Off: Halliday Rossiter will be injured too, so we have 1 DM, with Jack, Coulibaly coming in when needed. Docherty and Arfield can play #10 too. I think we have good options, covering multiple roles. We can go more defensive when needed, using a midfield trio of McCrorie, Jack/Coulibaly, Arfield, or more offensive with McCrorie, Arfield, Docherty/Ejaria.

I don't know. Perhaps.

You think? I thought crossing a few balls into him repeatedly so he can get the timing right would improve it a bit.

I think it's his (Morelos) timing: he's either jumping too early or too late, so he never gets a good contact on the ball. The goal he scored against Bury was a header, but he didn't actually jump for it. That has to be easy enough to correct?

Now we have a battle on!

Whomever comes last, I'm changing their avatar to a Celtic crest. Sindarin and BD don't count, as they've pretty much pulled out.

Solanke? Good point; he's not even a 'top' player at that level. It's his only redeeming attribute, for me; I don't think he's that great. I think Defoe would be good, though. His movement and natural goal-scoring ability could be a good asset for us. I'm not sure how likely that is, with his wages.

I'm not keen on the loan signings of Ings and Solanke -- the former is injury prone, and I doubt he'd take the pay cut at 24/25; and the latter is not a great striker for me -- but Defoe would be a good signing, IMO. He's an exemplary professional, and a natural goalscorer with a wealth of experience. Wages may be an issue. (However, going by the game against Bury, the high energy, pressing game, I can see a Solanke type forward fitting in nicely. And, to be fair, he may do well at this level.)

For me, Belgium are the only side that have been consistently 'good', with good attacking football and tactical flexibility. But they do have a fragility at the back. France were superb against Argentina, but Argentina were poor. The other games they scored from a set-piece and were gifted a goal against a Uruguay side set-up to defend; Once they scored Uruguay were screwed, doubly so without Cavani. England have been good in spells, but have had a fortunate run. I expect any side that plays well to beat them; the rest have the quality to do so. Croatia are a solid side, but they've not played well since the opening games. They are solid in possession, without cutting teams open. They are solid defensively from open-play, but have conceded sloppy goals from set-pieces. (England have been the best at set-pieces.)

Initially, yes, they looked very good. But the last few games have been poor: 2 penalty shoot-outs!

France 2 - 1 Belgium Croatia 2 - 1 England

Here are the fixtures for the Semi-finals: France - Belgium Croatia - England You have until 19:00 on Tuesday 10th July to get in your predictions. @Malangsob @Franc Ergs @craig @TheUKCrazyhorse @Whosthedado @lenny3k @Crimson Dynamo @johnnyk @Gaffer @forlanssister @onevision @buster. @Sindarin @Bill @der Berliner @BEARGER @Bluedell @compo @Barebear @Tannochsidebear @cooponthewing @Yorkie Bear @ranger_syntax @Gonzo79

I don't know how Croatia keep getting through. They look so poor and ponderous; they look flat on their feet with 20 minutes to go. So different from the first couple of games.