So England  started... Pity they just cannot finish with goals...

Unbelievable. Would you ever see Mourinho saying something like that?

He may be the FA's "yes man", but hardly a manager who can motivate and inspire

I don't get the issue here. It was a very good performance. Certainly a massive improvement on the lack of adventure of the Capello years. Of course there is a lot to work on, but this was not the boring, lacklustre England with no skill levels of yesteryear. I don't get where this "he can't motivate" line has come from.

He seems to think the performance was good enough.  I know England are probably not good enough to win the tournament, but he should be aiming higher (at least in public) than another "heroic failure"

Well, I suppose it's better than 0-0 against Honduras. And he's not got the personality for the 'hairdryer' approach - but does he realise that substance, in the shape of winning results, is what counts , and style gets no credit.

It's a group of three matches. It was unlikely we were going to beat Italy, but a defeat is not disastrous and the fact it was only 2-1 may be important in the final placings.
On the strength of last night there is quite a bit to be optimistic about IMO. England will deliver on Thursday night I am confident - perhaps by 2 goals or more -  Costa Rica will be beaten by Italy and then a draw next Tuesday will be enough.

TBH, the Italians looked more knackered at the end when they were under the cosh as they by and large parked the bus.

Lack of clinical finishing aside a good performance from England. Thank God Woy didn't take the cautious approach and went for it.

We have Oxlade-Chamberlain to come back and I expect to see more of Barclay. Going forward we're sorted. It's the back - especially Johnson - that worries me. But we already knew that anyway.

Not at all - this Italian side isn't as good as the one back in 2012 and I think the England team, compared to 2012, is better.

Indeed, Hodgson's right. It was the best performance by an England team under his tutelage, which is what the original quote was about.

If we keep going it won't be long before the Italian 2012 team is being put on a pedestal alongside the Brazil 1970 side. Both the 2012 and 2014 teams seem 'good' to me but nothing more. If England wants to be considered a major footballing power it should be beating the likes of Italy, France, Germany, Holland and Spain more often than it does.

LOL, there is absolutely no danger of that. The Italian Euro 2012 team was a good, but certainly not a great team. The England Euro 2012 team was a resonable if not a great team.

So basically a good team plays out a 0-0 draw with a resonable team - nothing more nothing less.

As for the other teams you list I wouldn't describe France as a major footballing power - indeed it hasn't been for some time. Meanwhile, we'll see whether the Dutch result against the Spanish the other night was a fluke or not, because on paper the Dutch haven't been a major footballing power for some time either.

Maybe you're trying to say we should be beating the French and Dutch (most obviously) because they aren't major powers.

He could replace the young squad with the over 60's.

France's best years as a football power were during the 80's (won Euro 1984 plus two World Cup semis) and then the World Cup '98 win followed by Euro 2000. Other than that they haven't done a great deal, apart from that is finshing as runners-up the the Italians in 2006. Holland have only ever won one major tournament; Euro 1988. They've lost three World Cup finals; two in the 70's and of course 2010.

To me, that's an indictment of Hodgson's tenure...

I was absolutely hammered last night - at a BBQ/footy watching party and barely remember posting what I did (I probably made more sense than normal, though!)

Edit: And I'm so suffering today. Wearing out the 'it's Fathers' day' excuse not to do anything...

I think the Hodgson quote is exactly what he needed to say. Personally I agree it is the best performance under his tenure, so most of all he needs to communicate to his players that they put in a good game and pick up what I suspect will be some disappointed lads.

When I play football in my local league, rather than hammer our goalie for letting in a goal with a flap (which happens allthe time), we tell him it happens and to pick himself up.  Whilst it is not the high pressure, everything at stake game of the premier league or world cup, it is still the same principle.  There's some young lads in that dressing room who put in a shift (e.g. Sterling) who need to carry forward some confidence and positives into the Uruguay game. Simples.  They don't need the fear of failure hanging over them.

As for Rooney, he's not in my preferred XI but I'll leave the knives in the drawer until after the next game or two.  Afterall, by all reports he's been putting in a lot of extra training which suggests this world cup does mean something to him. 

what? 

I wouldn't disagree. I've long bemoaned Woy's cautious approach to matches. Last night was different.