I had similar drinking outside Jack Straws Castle on Hampstead Heath decades ago when it was a pub, when some lovely chaps came driving past slowly and hurled an egg at my group. It hit me with some force full in the chest - and didn't break. It bounced off and broke on the ground. Waste of a good egg.
Troy Paŕott off to AZ Alkmaar on a permanent deal, as per Fabrizio Romano... "Here we go'!". Addendum: it's in the wrong thread and I'm still asleep!
To Kane or Not to Kane, that is the question.... Despite a couple of goals to his name, I think that it's fair to say Harry's performances - whether due to form / fitness / tactics - have been underwhelming to put it mildly. So, does he start on Sunday or not? I'm betting he will, but should he? I imagine that Spain would fear him more than Toney or Watkins and there's an argument that dropping your captain for one of the biggest games in the country's history sends out all the wrong messages. But there is a strong case to suggest that he shouldn't - and one of those arguments is our experience of the 2019 CL Final. Is Watkins the 2024 version of Lucas Moura?
I thought he played better in the semi, but having advocated dropping him earlier in the tournament, I do agree that he barely warrants his place currently. However Gareth has shown that he is prepared to take him off in order for other strikers to have an impact which they both have as subs and whilst I still wouldn't be averse to Watkins starting on Sunday I do thing that we will see less of the ball and neither Toney or Watkins hold the ball as well as Harry does. I would also point out that there has been a lot of moaning about Harry not being in the 6 yard box for Sakas crosses, but if Saka actually looked up he would on at least 2 occasions have found that Harry was unmarked around the penalty spot which was where the ball needed to be played rather than just looking for an area hoping someone would be there.
Well I flew out to Turkey the morning of the semi finals for a family holiday and I was dreading the possibility of a Turkey clash! Avoided that, but now literally only 10 Brits here surrounded by an oasis of Germans! Apparently the place was a morgue Wednesday morning but we livened the place up in the evening.. All the locals are behind the English now, especially after we adopted all of them in our post match celebration....
Years ago while standing in the Shelf a mate was hit on the head with one of those tomato shaped ketchup dispensers, we all thought it was blood , covered in sticky gore , relief it was ketchup, the lad that received the head shot had flashbacks when passing a Wimpy bar for years
The England debate over Kane starts next week. 8 years at tournament finals seems to be a natural lifespan for most players, so the next qualifiers is where his successor needs to be addressed.
Palmer and Foden aren’t strikers and can play in the same team as Kane. Watkins is 28 so I’d hardly say he’s the successor to Kane. Watkins is a good option off the bench atm. Kane’s never been about pace so I don’t see him as on the decline like some in the media have saying.
He scored 36 Bundesliga goals in 32 games and 8 in 12 in the Champions League last season. Barely had a sniff in this tournament and he's still joint top scorer with 3. I don't think he's fully fit, but the team isn't using him properly, either. Decline, though? No.
Lineker's lack of understanding of Kane's game is quite surprising. The comments about Kane being off the pace shows how little they must have watched as he broke goalscoring record after record.
The same with Shearer. He's broken their records. I think that two things are at play here. The first is that he plays the game very differently to how they did. Dropping deep to pick out another attacker with a superb pass wasn't their game. The second is that I think that they've been told that he's not 100%. It colours their opinion of how he's playing, even if it's not the problem.
He will start. He’s the captain, has big game experience and is still clinical if he does get chances. There is no way Toney or Watkins would suddenly start, having played few minutes so far. Both have the potential to make an impact as sub, as we’ve already seen, to great effect. Harry has not had much service, looks a big leggy after a long season and is being asked to play as the sole striker in an advanced position - which isn’t the game he wants to play as he likes to drop deep at times. I would have like to seen two strikers in a 3-5-2 (as I posted earlier), but that wouldn’t be tried in a final. England look better playing an English style game with wide runners and crosses into strikers. But the same team will probably start with, hopefully, the possibility of early subs if the team shape or dynamic needs to change.
