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Post by morg on Mar 28, 2024 16:07:35 GMT
Absolute objective has to be to win our Nations League group now and hope we're then in the top 12 teams in Europe. Being top seeds and avoiding all the big hitters would be huge for us. Indeed though still depends on how they decide the seeding. At least we have a decent crack at it this time. Able to prioritise the NL and play our best team in every fixture as opposed to having to factor in our WC play off like we had to last time. |
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Post by allezlesrouges on Mar 28, 2024 18:04:45 GMT
Whilst I do agree we need to win the NL group, I'd like to see us do so with mild experimentation
Dasilva at LWB, cameos for Savage/Sheehan, Colwill coming in - we need to start trusting the squad more to ensure we have round pegs ready to go in round holes whatever system we play
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Post by jbt95 on Mar 28, 2024 19:01:32 GMT
Absolute objective has to be to win our Nations League group now and hope we're then in the top 12 teams in Europe. Being top seeds and avoiding all the big hitters would be huge for us. Don’t forget we were pot 1 for the 2018 edition and finished third behind Serbia and ROI, so we even have previous for messing it up being Pot 1. It’s extremely difficult to qualify for the World Cup. It’s very unlikely we will be in the top pot I would say given we have not qualified for the Euros, gives everybody else an advantage over us to climb the rankings as final tournament games are worth more points and we are getting a big fat 0. |
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Post by jbt95 on Mar 28, 2024 19:05:28 GMT
A play off through the UNL would mean winning our group and even then would most likely be an away tie against a best 8 runner up (with the 4 worst runners up and 4 UNL winners away).
We have to at least try and finish second in the qualifying group and hope it’s a best 8 finish to get a home tie semi again. It’s not been confirmed by UEFA / FIFA but I would expect that to be the case going off the previous cycle.
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Post by eppingblue1 on Mar 28, 2024 19:19:26 GMT
With 12 groups, I would guess we would be in Pot 2 for the draw (date tbc) (ranked between 13th and 24th) Stand corrrected, but currently I cannot see anywhere on what the seedings are based on? (FIFA or UNL) tbc I guess We need a bit of luck in the draw, finish 2nd and then another round of play offs decent draw would be against say 11th/12th ranked nation (Croatia again), then the 35th/36th ranked and a 48th ranked nation in a 4 nation group WC 2026 info on wiki en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_(UEFA)Yes, I can't see any confirmation of whether it'll be FIFA or NL rankings. So if the former, we'd have an outside chance of being Pot 1 and a very good chance of being Pot 2 and if the latter, we couldn't be in Pot 1 and would be in Pot 2 provided we finished in the top 2 in our NL group. There'll be English media outcry if it's based on NL especially if they do well in the Euros. The draw for the groups will be Fifa rankings. How the decide the 4 teams that enter the play offs via the nations league isn't clear although they'll almost certainly occupy POT 4 in the play off draw. I think we'll maintain our place in pot 2 for the main draw although its very tight between the top and bottom of pot 2. Unfortunately both Armenia results have probably scuppered any slim chance of pot 1, although had we won both those games we would probably be in 12th position currently. The danger lies in the teams promoted to league A in the nations league and qualified for the euros. A run of difficult fixtures for Scotland and Serbia this could see them both in pot 3 for the main draw. They have to have a complete overhaul as far as the timing of these play offs are concerned. They have to get them re programmed back into the November fixture window. Its a complete nightmare for the fans of those qualifying in March for a tournament in June. For the USA etc it will be nigh on impossible. |
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Post by cymruchris on Mar 28, 2024 19:34:32 GMT
Are Poland still in contention to be a pot 1 seed or have they dropped down after their poor showing in the actual qualifying group?
With Lewa declining and possibly retiring after the Euros I'd be fine getting them as obvious quick redemption and can't think of too many possibly weaker teams to play?
With the extra 3-4 teams due to the World cup expansion do a couple of second place teams get automatic entry or is it one big play off shootout?
Have to chuckle at Uefa mainpulating the system yet again. They clearly don't want to risk someone like Italy ending up in a group once more with France or Spain, finishing 2nd and flopping in the play offs and missing a third straight World cup.
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Post by morg on Mar 28, 2024 19:44:54 GMT
Are Poland still in contention to be a pot 1 seed or have they dropped down after their poor showing in the actual qualifying group? With Lewa declining and possibly retiring after the Euros I'd be fine getting them as obvious quick redemption and can't think of too many possibly weaker teams to play? With the extra 3-4 teams due to the World cup expansion do a couple of second place teams get automatic entry or is it one big play off shootout? Have to chuckle at Uefa mainpulating the system yet again. They clearly don't want to risk someone like Italy ending up in a group once more with France or Spain, finishing 2nd and flopping in the play offs and missing a third straight World cup. 16 places. So 12 group winners and then the other 4 via playoffs from 12 2nd placed teams and 4 from the NL. 4 pathways. Semis and Final. |
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Post by winsumluzsum on Mar 28, 2024 19:52:53 GMT
So the chances of qualifying are pretty small. Unlikely to top the group, then a 1 in 4 chance of qualifying via 2nd place. Makes missing out on the Euros tougher to take.
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Post by jbt95 on Mar 28, 2024 21:20:59 GMT
They have to have a complete overhaul as far as the timing of these play offs are concerned. They have to get them re programmed back into the November fixture window. It’s a complete nightmare for the fans of those qualifying in March for a tournament in June. For the USA etc it will be nigh on impossible. I was thinking this myself. They could try do it so the Nations League league phase begins in March of a tournament year, concluding in October and the play-offs for promotion / relegation and the final four happen in November. I guess as it doesn’t really affect the top nations they do not care too much. |
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Post by cadno on Mar 28, 2024 23:43:20 GMT
Dear Mr Mooney!
Bring match day programmes back, not the digital crap! Commission a graphic designer to make nice programmes, with info on the campaign / officials / opposition.
On the pitch we need to add depth in midfield, Lowery, Sheehan, Savage, Smith, Morrell?
And up front, Will Evans, Mullin, Bradshaw, Cullen? Give them a go.
We can’t rely on Ampadu and James to play every game, and I wouldn’t mind seeing Amps moved back alongside Rodon, and finding other midfielders to partner James.
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Post by eppingblue1 on Mar 29, 2024 9:43:37 GMT
Are Poland still in contention to be a pot 1 seed or have they dropped down after their poor showing in the actual qualifying group? With Lewa declining and possibly retiring after the Euros I'd be fine getting them as obvious quick redemption and can't think of too many possibly weaker teams to play? With the extra 3-4 teams due to the World cup expansion do a couple of second place teams get automatic entry or is it one big play off shootout? Have to chuckle at Uefa mainpulating the system yet again. They clearly don't want to risk someone like Italy ending up in a group once more with France or Spain, finishing 2nd and flopping in the play offs and missing a third straight World cup. Poland are currently a place and less than a single point below us. That will probably not alter much in next weeks new FIFA rankings. We had a higher scoring semi final win and a draw in the final where as they had half a win. However there's more chance of them being in Pot 3 than Pot 1 by the time the world cup draw comes round. 3 very difficult euro games followed by 6 League nations league games will probably see them a fair lower although there is of course the possibility that if they win games you'd expect them to lose they could be higher. With the current form of Austria I expect them to lose the 3 games at the euros and they'll be fighting Scotland for relegation from the Nations league. Could be some big teams in pot 3 for the world cup draw. There's nothing contrived by UEFA as far as the world cup expansion goes. Its FIFA anyway and works quite well in my opinion. Top 12 go through. All second places get in the play offs along with a few from the nations league. The timing of the play offs is a shambles though and UEFA certainly have their part in that. |
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Post by zserty on Mar 29, 2024 10:40:00 GMT
Leaving behind all the Page stuff now.
We have a few areas we really need to look at.
1. Getting a goalkeeper plaing football.
2. Finding a way to get the most out of Johnson.
3. Getting new players game time. We need to have a bench with a few caps under their belt who eould be able to fll in and be brought on when needed.
4. Settling on a pairing or 3 at cb, i know this can't be helped but a stable situation there would be massively beneficial.
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Post by eppingblue1 on Mar 29, 2024 11:01:22 GMT
Leaving behind all the Page stuff now. We have a few areas we really need to look at. 1. Getting a goalkeeper plaing football. 2. Finding a way to get the most out of Johnson. 3. Getting new players game time. We need to have a bench with a few caps under their belt who eould be able to fll in and be brought on when needed. 4. Settling on a pairing or 3 at cb, i know this can't be helped but a stable situation there would be massively beneficial. Agree with all of that. The goalkeeping situation is becoming critical though. Very few coming through. I don't think its unique to us though. Very few English goalkeepers starting in the prem these days. Trafford possibly going to the Euros, playing for Bolton last year and having a really difficult time with Burnley this year. Pickford 30+ and Ramsdale an occasional starter. That's coming from a population of 60 million. |
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Post by reyrey on Mar 29, 2024 11:23:29 GMT
Wards got years left for us at 31.
He just needs to move on from Leicester now.
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Post by cadno on Mar 29, 2024 11:39:59 GMT
Also take friendlies / nations league games to Swansea as well as Wrexham.
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Post by quetzal on Mar 29, 2024 12:09:55 GMT
Also take friendlies / nations league games to Swansea as well as Wrexham. Yes. 100% |
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Post by highbury06 on Mar 30, 2024 17:21:55 GMT
Leaving behind all the Page stuff now. We have a few areas we really need to look at. 1. Getting a goalkeeper plaing football. 2. Finding a way to get the most out of Johnson. 3. Getting new players game time. We need to have a bench with a few caps under their belt who eould be able to fll in and be brought on when needed. 4. Settling on a pairing or 3 at cb, i know this can't be helped but a stable situation there would be massively beneficial. Agree with all of that. The goalkeeping situation is becoming critical though. Very few coming through. I don't think its unique to us though. Very few English goalkeepers starting in the prem these days. Trafford possibly going to the Euros, playing for Bolton last year and having a really difficult time with Burnley this year. Pickford 30+ and Ramsdale an occasional starter. That's coming from a population of 60 million. likely be Pickford Ramsdale and Henderson |
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Post by llan123 on Mar 31, 2024 14:48:47 GMT
Are Poland still in contention to be a pot 1 seed or have they dropped down after their poor showing in the actual qualifying group? With Lewa declining and possibly retiring after the Euros I'd be fine getting them as obvious quick redemption and can't think of too many possibly weaker teams to play? With the extra 3-4 teams due to the World cup expansion do a couple of second place teams get automatic entry or is it one big play off shootout? Have to chuckle at Uefa mainpulating the system yet again. They clearly don't want to risk someone like Italy ending up in a group once more with France or Spain, finishing 2nd and flopping in the play offs and missing a third straight World cup. Poland are currently a place and less than a single point below us. That will probably not alter much in next weeks new FIFA rankings. We had a higher scoring semi final win and a draw in the final where as they had half a win. However there's more chance of them being in Pot 3 than Pot 1 by the time the world cup draw comes round. 3 very difficult euro games followed by 6 League nations league games will probably see them a fair lower although there is of course the possibility that if they win games you'd expect them to lose they could be higher. With the current form of Austria I expect them to lose the 3 games at the euros and they'll be fighting Scotland for relegation from the Nations league. Could be some big teams in pot 3 for the world cup draw. There's nothing contrived by UEFA as far as the world cup expansion goes. Its FIFA anyway and works quite well in my opinion. Top 12 go through. All second places get in the play offs along with a few from the nations league. The timing of the play offs is a shambles though and UEFA certainly have their part in that. This is a great point and its totally absurd that we potentially won't know until three months before the start of the World Cup if we qualify or not. Surely this has been raised by multiple FAs. If it's 4/5 to a group then that clearly benefits us particularly if we get a friendly top seeded team (which we have tended to get over the past 14 years). There is no reason why we can't win a four man group, we have the quality to do so. |
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Post by highbury06 on Mar 31, 2024 16:34:41 GMT
Wards got years left for us at 31. He just needs to move on from Leicester now. afraid that no teams will gamble on a player who was that poor in EPL and almost played no football in the other ten seasons |
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Post by zakbaby on Apr 30, 2024 9:27:12 GMT
Apologies if there is already a thread.
When is the qualifying draw and have they put out any seedings info yet?
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Post by daearegwr on Apr 30, 2024 10:44:18 GMT
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Post by eppingblue1 on Apr 30, 2024 10:48:51 GMT
Apologies if there is already a thread. When is the qualifying draw and have they put out any seedings info yet? End of this year. Thought I'd seen the date but cant find it right now. As for seeding it will be as the FIFA rankings are then. The Euros and Nations league will all play a part. We're mid pot 2 and with a decent performance in the nations league we should stay there. 12 teams in each pot but there could be some really tricky teams in pot 3. Particularly for the teams in league A who have difficult euros. Poland, Serbia and Scotland look vulnerable. |
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Post by neverever on Jun 7, 2024 22:06:24 GMT
Are these World Cup qualifying games played in June?
The last two Euro campaigns all 4 games played we have lost.......
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Post by cadno on Jun 8, 2024 9:10:16 GMT
What’s Aaron Ramey’s plan, has he signed a contract with Cardiff? Would be nice to see him stay for the WC qualifiers.
If he’s fit and it’s a big if, he can be an important player for us, many nations keep their world class lads involved for a long time, Modric with Croatia a prime example. It’s a bit different as he’s still at Real Madrid and pretty injury free but I hope Rambo stays involved.
Also, one of the main reasons in favour for a 3-5-2 is 1. Ben Davies gets to play in his best position and 2. Rambo would have a solid team around him with Jj and Ampadu especially protecting the back 5…
Wouldn’t mind seeing Isaak Davies and Mark Harries given a good go up top, as they add some pace and are decent at finishing. Moore remains our best option as a number 9 though probably.
Maybe a 4-4-1-1 could work.
Ward
Neco Mepham Rodon Davies
Wilson Ampadu James DJ
Rambo
Moore
Brooks / Wilson / Colwill can play Rambo’s role then too if he’s not available
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Post by hooky on Jun 8, 2024 9:59:40 GMT
Lets be honest - unfortunately our 2 best generational talents carried injuries through their late 20s and then became pretty crooked into their 30s. I do think we have been extremely unlucky - with Bale I can see that the extreme athleticism he executed when younger messed up his body, but Ramsey is far more unlucky and I blame that disgusting tackle from that Orc Shawcross as he was never completely right after that.
Ramsey must have played just a handful of games over the past 3 years. Much as it pains me I think that ship has sailed and we need to get on with it, hopefully with a new manager by the end of the year
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Post by cadno on Jun 8, 2024 10:07:37 GMT
Lets be honest - unfortunately our 2 best generational talents carried injuries through their late 20s and then became pretty crooked into their 30s. I do think we have been extremely unlucky - with Bale I can see that the extreme athleticism he executed when younger messed up his body, but Ramsey is far more unlucky and I blame that disgusting tackle from that Orc Shawcross as he was never completely right after that. Ramsey must have played just a handful of games over the past 3 years. Much as it pains me I think that ship has sailed and we need to get on with it, hopefully with a new manager by the end of the year Rambo’s old school teacher said he lost a yard of pace after that tackle, fair play he’s had an amazing career anyway |
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Post by iot on Jun 8, 2024 10:28:48 GMT
Lets be honest - unfortunately our 2 best generational talents carried injuries through their late 20s and then became pretty crooked into their 30s. I do think we have been extremely unlucky - with Bale I can see that the extreme athleticism he executed when younger messed up his body, but Ramsey is far more unlucky and I blame that disgusting tackle from that Orc Shawcross as he was never completely right after that. Ramsey must have played just a handful of games over the past 3 years. Much as it pains me I think that ship has sailed and we need to get on with it, hopefully with a new manager by the end of the year He actually played the most he has since leaving Arsenal when he was with Nice the season before last, think he played comfortably 30+ games. So with a bit of luck he could still have a part to play |
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Post by jbt95 on Jun 10, 2024 7:40:08 GMT
Are these World Cup qualifying games played in June? The last two Euro campaigns all 4 games played we have lost....... Five team groups begin in March, but a lot of teams will be involved in the promotion and relegation play-off games. If in a five team group and we finish 2nd or 3rd we will begin our campaign in June. If we finish 1st or 4th we could begin in March and have two friendlies during the campaign, unlikely both would be in June though. If we are in a four team group the campaign begins in September. There’s 12 groups, and should be 7 groups of 5. |
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Post by eppingblue1 on Jun 11, 2024 13:47:28 GMT
Are these World Cup qualifying games played in June? The last two Euro campaigns all 4 games played we have lost....... Five team groups begin in March, but a lot of teams will be involved in the promotion and relegation play-off games. If in a five team group and we finish 2nd or 3rd we will begin our campaign in June. If we finish 1st or 4th we could begin in March and have two friendlies during the campaign, unlikely both would be in June though. If we are in a four team group the campaign begins in September. There’s 12 groups, and should be 7 groups of 5. UEFA have done a right disservice to the fans of the teams in the play offs. Exactly 10 weeks from completion of the play offs and start of the tournament and probably the most expensive tournament in history. They should of move heaven and earth to get these play offs into the November window. All they need to do is put their play offs back to the next tournament. |
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Post by garynysmon on Jun 11, 2024 14:06:12 GMT
Ramsey must have played just a handful of games over the past 3 years. Much as it pains me I think that ship has sailed and we need to get on with it, hopefully with a new manager by the end of the year Agree re: Ramsey. The World Cup is 2 years away, Ramsey is surely not going to be playing regularly at a good level by then. I'd be amazed if he plays regularly for anyone again. I shudder at the thought of Page leading us into the Nations League, surely he'll have to go before then? |
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