We are about as close as we have ever been and 3 out of our 4 best players (in my opinion) are under 23 with many of our other better performers still having at least another 4-6 years of international football in them. My main areas of concern are lack of central defensive prospects and no clear successor to Kane emerging (well except one talented young striker who is likely signing his next contract at King Charles’s pleasure), but there isn’t an international side without a weakness somewhere. In Football competition is so tight that it’s best to never assume anything though, at least we are competitive these days. Although I have to say since we have stopped being **** the hangover from a tournament loss lasts longer and genuinely puts me off of football for a while, it was almost easier when we were an international embarrassment.
I enjoyed the football this weekend apart from the results! In my opinion, yesterday was a fair result and the match turned out pretty much as I had anticipated. The first half was a bit flat and the second was more entertaining. France seemed to play with more panache and Egland were mpre rugid. Kane's penalty miss made the conclusion seem worse but there can be no real complaints. England had a good tournament and progressed as far as I had imagined we would. I don't think we are "Top Four" material but I think everyone will be amazed that Croatia and Morocco have gone as far as they have. I have to be honest as say that the Argentina v Holland game is the one that has fascinated me the most in this competition. This was because it was staggering to see another country falling foul of Argentina's dirty tricks. There have been comments regarding the Dutch antagonising the Argentinians during the penalty shoot out and the reaction a reaching the semi's has caused a lot of bad press. Worse for me was the tackle on the Dutch payer which culminated in the balls being kicked towards their dug out. It was not difficult to sympathize with the Dutch after the match on Friday but i think the Argentina team has their name on the cup. I can see it being Messi's final.
I genuinely don’t feel too down this time. We played really well, the players all actually care about the shirt and the fans and you can tell they gave their all. We lost due to a **** ref, a **** pen and a bit of bad luck - but at the very highest level it’s always small margins. Nice to be genuinely proud of an England team. We are now in the top tier of world football and a team to be feared. Bellingham is an unbelievable talent
Although being English and would normally want any English team in any sport to succeed, there's been so much hypocrisy shown by our players, our manager and the football authorities that I'm almost pleased they've failed. Throw the BBC into the mix and you've got the biggest bunch of duplicit fraudsters you are ever likely to see. Sanctimonious twats, the lot of them.
Yeah I am interested too. And is it uniquely us who have done this? Because if you mean things like waxing lyrical about lgbtq rights and than caving to Qatari pressure regarding any show of support - we weren’t the only ones. It’s not like any team actually pulled out
Yeah, how dare a football team, consisting of football players and football coaches, travel to play in an international football tournament and then have the audacity to choose to put their primary focus on... football!!
These players have been taking the knee since the BLM protests in 2020. Their reasoning for these displays was to show that they wouldn't accept intolerance to equality, inclusivity and to oppose racial injustice. They wear rainbow laces and jazzy shirts to prove their righteousness. ............................................................................................................................................................................. Incidentally, I have never heard any racist language at St Mary's in the 20+ years I have held a ST, and what's more, I'm convinced that anyone who had heard such language would report it. Despite what you may think or have read, football clubs had that pretty much under control even before the BLM protests. The real problem lies within social media, but still it was flaunted to a blameless crowd every week. I resent the impression they have given that football fans who attend matches are racist yobs. ............................................................................................................................................................................. The manager has made countless comments supporting the player's stance even publishing an open letter to the whole country emphasising his and his players role in society. Our players are role models. And, beyond the confines of the pitch, we must recognise the impact they can have on society. We must give them the confidence to stand up for their teammates and the things that matter to them as people. I have never believed that we should just stick to football. I know my voice carries weight, not because of who I am but because of the position that I hold. At home, I’m below the kids and the dogs in the pecking order but publicly I am the England men’s football team manager. I have a responsibility to the wider community to use my voice, and so do the players. It’s their duty to continue to interact with the public on matters such as equality, inclusivity and racial injustice, while using the power of their voices to help put debates on the table, raise awareness and educate. Gareth Southgate before the Euros 2020 https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts/dear-england-gareth-southgate-euros-soccer "Raise awareness and educate", the pompous ****er. Fifa, Uefa, our FA, the PL and the clubs have all made statements condemning what we all agree is unacceptable behaviour, and is written into their policies. The BBC regularly posts articles on their website highlighting instances of abuse. They rake up historical events to stress where they stand and make statements on TV whenever they can. There's not much of the above that can be disagreed with, they are all worthy statements. However, those people and organisations have made their stance well known in a very public manner. And this is where the outrageous hypocrisy lies, if you make a public stance you are accountable for it. They have all known about conditions in Qatar for a long time and the very issues they claim to be against have been prevalent for even longer. Yet despite all their self righteous announcements they tip up to Qatar conveniently forgetting all their principles. Taking the knee while there and their intentions to wear an armband doesn't cut it and nor does the mealy mouthed excuses from the likes of Lineker or Gabby Logan. Lineker even worked for Al Jazeera in Qatar a number of years ago ffs. God knows how many staff the BBC sent out there, they are beneath contempt. Not forgetting the many immigrant workers who died while building stadiums specifically for the World Cup. That in itself should have been a matter of concern to everyone involved but again put to one side in order to stage a football tournament. PS @Ronnie Hotdog (MLsfc) I hope this answers your question.
Lallana writing his column in The Times about how he’s now supporting Argentina because his team mate Alexis Mac Allister plays for them: “I also have a soft spot for Croatia due to Dejan Lovren, my former Liverpool team mate”. Sigh…
Lovren has been brilliant in this competition, sadly. Would love a Croatia v Morocco final, personally.
Isn’t it a bit odd that we have a team in the semi final, that has only won one game in the whole tournament?
Neither team look particularly great. I think England would have comfortably despatched both of them.
