Match Day Thread General matchday thread.

England the only country ruining it

 

Spain v Italy and this game

 

If only we had Kalvin Phillips.

 

Slow and steady.

 

I honestly didn’t think we’d be able to persuade the second best manager in world football to come to Sunderland but we’ve somehow pulled it off.

 

Hilarious comment.. perhaps another experiment in the real event ?

 

That's exactly the impact of Southgates experiments.

 

August 2023. They then promptly got relegated.

Interesting appointment though, better than just getting a Hughes/Pardew/Bruce/Pullis/etc. The club often seem to be open to finding people/players who you wouldn't think of to try and progress rather than just making the "easy" appointment. I think that's a good thing.

 

Bit of Calvin Harris in the dressing room before they take to the pitch might be of more use

 

No games all day. Woke nonsense. If you’ve only got one slot then 9pm local time is silly.

 

IKR, people losing their **** because England have pretty much qualified for the knock-out stage, but didn't do it in the style of Pele's Brazil (who went out in the group stage in 66)

 

I think it’s fair. If it looked like there was a style of play but it wasn’t quite working that would be one thing but there’s no plan. We aren’t dominating possession or pressing. It looks like a team which has been thrown together despite the bloke being in the job for six years. We’ve seen nothing good from the big players bar half an hour from Bellingham.

There is some overreaction but I think it’s fair to be very critical based on the performances. The results are the bare minimum expected so far.

 

If you think that's all it is then you are way off - they were jeered by their own travelling support at the end of the Denmark game ... it's about effort, passion and commitment as well as results ... the fans had it ... the players seemingly not ...

... the manager's comment that '... we're missing Kalvin Phillips' was the icing on a footballing bake-off disaster

 

Qualifying for the knock-out stages whilst playing low intensity football and suffering no injuries is a 'disaster'?

 

Employing Southgate in the first place was the disaster. The country would have celebrated winning a trophy if he wasn't carrying out experiments or taking penalties himself.

 

If we win the group and get a soft draw as a result then fine. Play like we have and it’ll be another poor loss to the first top team we play. Obviously if we go and smash France/Germany/Portugal/Spain or even Italy/Holland then all is forgiven and no one remembers the dross so far if we play well when it matters.

This tournament is a huge chance though. There’s not a team of the calibre of the best France/Spain teams of the recent past.

 

Can thank the self-proclaimed guvnor Paul Ince for Southgate having to step up in 96. McManaman and Anderson must have not fancied it either. And Venables for not making a sub in two hours of football.

 

Southgate stepped up ! If anyone should have known he'd miss it was himself.

 

Someone had to but Ince should have wanted it. Adams even but he was getting a round in.