I'd say so. He's been timid throughout the tournament and absolutely froze last night imo. That was reflected on the pitch and the players, after all his time in charge, didn't seem sure what they were doing. All the talk, in the next tournament would be whether he'd be more bold, just as it's been in this one. England have some excellent players but don't play excellent football.
Some might argue that bringing on a sub who scores within 2 mins of being on the pitch was a master stroke and the very opposite of freezing…
I see the scapegoating has been started in the media. Looking for things that arent there, in an attempt to revel in knocking individuals down and wallowing in failure. I am quite certain that a significant % of English media want to see us lose, and equally certain a % of the football loving population are happy to see us fail to win. I find it hard to fathom. Seems like in some quarters Bellingham is the problem. All about him etc. Apparently the advert Addidas did pre tournament created problems in the squad. Some journalists shouldnt have been allowed last the pencil at primary school to be honest. If there is one thing that has been crystal clear it is this has probably been the most together and committed squad we have had in many many years. There have been no cliques and no superstars, other than in the minds of folk looking for things to explain what they hoped they would see and havent.
To be fair people are entitled to give their opinions about where we failed and how things could improve. That's football mate, the media will try to catch the general mood because people want to read things they agree with. You, yourself, were doing the same earlier and giving your critique about Bellingham, Kane, Rice, etc. I don't think anyone's looking for things that aren't there but there's plenty that is there. Southgate had a great chance to go for Spain, after the equaliser, and failed to ... ... if that was a Sunderland manager I think there'd be a few things said tbh.
It is one thing to critique the play. Everyone can do that. When the media start printing guesswork about cracks in the squad because Bellingham was in an advert 6 weeks ago I dont think that is critiquing, it is scapegoating of the dullest type. And it is the sort of rubbish we have seen the media do for years and years to be honest with England, anything to undermine what should be something to be proud of so they can wallow in misery.
There's something strange in the English psyche that makes us more comfortable with undermining ourselves than taking pride in things.
I don't read the papers so I don't know about these stories but they can only be coming from disgruntled players. What really annoys me is that players earning multi-millions have to spend time filming money making adverts while complaining about how exhausted they are. This tournament was supposed to be vitally important to the players yet some can't just seem to buckle down and be totally involved in the team. It was the same when the WAGS were pushing their weight around and the players were backing them up ... ... in my mind the supporters are the ones who show real dedication, I'm not always sure about the players tbh. I haven't seen anyone else, anywhere, say it but, if I'm not mistaken Bellingham didn't celebrate Palmer's goal.
He definitely did. He went over later than the rest because he was on his arse from creating the goal, but went over and put his arm around him.
I noticed, at the time, he just sat on the ground and I've not seen any footage to contradict it ... ... no big deal, just seemed a bit odd. Then this Michael Beale impersonation appeared ... please log in to view this image
I'm not sure where that picture is from but I'm sure it just looks strange in isolation. He definitely celebrated with him, there's no issue between them. Edit: you can see it on this video:
I'm not saying there is but you can't say there definitely isn't ... ... it's not a big deal for me, I just don't like his general demeanour. Somethings isn't right in this clip, imo, Palmer ignores him, a black player on the floor does and some others don't look too impressed. If anyone should've gone round the players it was Kane, something doesn't sit right with me tbh.
Didn't realise Bellingham hasn't been speaking to the English press, choosing to ignore them throughout the tournament then to speak to the Spanish press after the final. That's interesting, wonder what brought that on.
The one thing I found odd with Bellingham was during one match, can't remember which one, his number was held up and he looked to say nah that's not right and after a bit someone else's number was held up and he stayed on
Subs are often pre planned. He would have known it wasnt him scheduled to come off, he wasnt giving it the bigun.
Some of the conspiracy theories about Bellingham are just that, conspiracy theories. I predict another Beckham situation in this country with him. Barmy stuff to be honest. In the car this morning and they are still banging on about this advert that was done 6 weeks and only mentioned when we lose. Genuiley bizarre.
