The fact Souness is speaking so highly of us speaks volumes A lot of paper talk about Guardiola but can you actually imagine someone of that ilk managing this squad. We’d be unstoppable
I'd say that he group in 2006 were equal, or at least comparable to this group - Ferdinand, Cole, Terry, Neville, Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard, Campbell, Cole, Owen, Rooney, Carrick etc How did that side never get passed the Quarter Finals of a major tournament? Take Kane out of the current England team and where are the goals coming from?
Hate to say it because he’s a black n white but Callum Wilson is scoring for fun at the minute he’d go straight in if Kane was injured. A choice of Foden/Rashford/Grealish/Maddison/Saka/Eze as the 3 behind. There’s not many, if any, nations have options like that,
Yeah i dont think any manager in my era has been so blessed with talent, and every tournament with Southgate in charge feels like another tournament wasted.
100%. The final against Italy was painful to watch. Battered by a team who couldn’t even qualify for the World Cup. The difference being the had a serial winner in Mancini as the manager.
Even scraping past teams like Denmark in the knockouts was painful aswell. I think we made our first sub around the 110th minute that match, and we got very very lucky with our winning goal. That tournament was ours for the taking
Bellingham showed tonight why he should be played in the number 10 role and have the team built around him for me. The double pivot allows Walker to be let off the leash as well which really adds another dimension to our attack. For me it's now Rashford/Grealish and Saka/Foden fighting for the wide spots with Maddison/Eze battling to be Jude's understudy. Then it's 1 of Ward-Prowse, Alexander-Arnold, Phillips or Dan Neil for the role alongside Rice. That one "functional" player allows us a lot more freedom as a team. It means less defensive responsibilities for our best attacking players. It creates a better structure and balance.
Do you think we need a double pivot in this team mate?? Not being arsey asking that btw even though it sounds it! I think it works in games we’re expected to win such as last night but against better teams it just seems to stifle us. Bellingham wasn’t a 10 at Dortmund, he played in the middle with Can and he’s not really a proper 10 at Madrid because he’s alongside Valverde in an advanced role without a 9 on the pitch. I think he’s much better as the 8 allowing us to get another creative midfielder in there instead of Phillips.
I think the double pivot actually frees up our best players rather than stifles us. Having 2 creative players in there has it's advantages certainly, but it puts the shackles on both of them as they need to do more defensive work against the better teams. Bellingham might not have been a 10 at Dortmund but we've seen how he can dominate a game in that position and he scores goals, which is the hardest thing to do in football. The double pivot allows him to receive the ball in much more advanced areas where he is most dangerous. I'd rather have someone behind him doing the defensive shift so that he can be 100% creative, rather than having 2 creative players with 60% focus on attacking and the other 40% doing their defensive duties.
Ego, allowing club rivalries to fester, and overestimated ability. They could very rarely do it against the big international teams. If anyone they considered beneath them turned up determined to have a go rather than rolling over they couldn't cope either. Basically a team of flat track bullies who were tactically inept. They were used to having the foreign players at their clubs do the thinking for them. Put me off England for over a decade. This group of players couldn't be more different though. I think what's holding this lot back is the manager, sadly. I like him as a person, he's an ideal technical director, but as a manager he's just too reactive. When it comes to the moments that decide big games he will ways step backwards rather than forwards. Sit and hold what we have rather than sending teams out to make things happen.
Massive difference is there wasn’t the quality behind them. We have 3 players most positions now and can already see the next 2-3 generations. The work on the youth and such (we copied Belgiums incredible model) is clear. We do need a striker to come to fore but we aren’t and never have been utterly reliant on Kane for goals. I personally rate all of Toney, Watkins, Wilson and the massively improving Nketiah. There’s also Tammy who is a very good 9 as well who’s a bit forgotten due to injury, and nailed on to return to Prem January if proven fit. Out midfield options are world leading, we have been a bit short CB but Stones is now genuinely world class (cheers Pep) and Colwill looks like being a monster. We need a couple CB to develop and ideally a LB but it’s not like we are **** there, we just aren’t as good as elsewhere. Its not that this set of players could win a tournament, it’s that they absolutely SHOULD.
As its been said in the thread about Bellingham, he is the kind of player that leads teams to world cup victory. He is the genuine real deal that makes football look piss easy. He is the best English footballer I've seen. He has it all, and from all accounts, a genuine down to earth lad. Seems family is important to him and I'm all about that before anything else.We're on the cusp of seeing someone very very special footballing wise with him and genuinely feel England could pick up something shiny while he is there. As for Maguire, at times some very harsh things thrown at him. It isn't his fault Southgate picks him, it isn't his fault Man U paid 80 million for him. Blokes getting dogs abuse that was started by his own "Fans" at Man U. And it was them that started it, so much so, that new nugget keeper the have jumped on it by giving him abuse on the pitch when it wasn't his fault in that friendly, just to pander to the fans. Of all the players on the pitch that could've scored an own goal last night, of course it would be him.
Just a bit mate. Could argue it wasn’t close to our best side and at times we just effortlessly took them apart. Mind, any team with Jude in is going to do bits. He’s the best CM I can ever remember in an England shirt. The lad is beyond outrageous his career is going to be special. He’s streets ahead of the likes of Touchameni, Camavinga and Wirtz who are the ‘other’ young midfield stars in Europe.
