Anyone notice England's play is just....weird. Everyone takes at least two touches before moving the ball, and it's ALWAYS to feet and never into space. Apart from the fact Southgate's beyond useless, I wonder what the rationale is behind playing so insipid and dull? This has to be the managet telling the players to slow it down, keep possession, don't give it away, at almost any cost? This tournament is the worst I've ever seen England play. I can also guarantee the line-up will be exactly the same against the Swiss.
Oh yeah, for certain - he's not changing anything that's not forced by suspension or injury. Absolutely not.
Going to stick my neck out again and back Southgate. He's sticking to his guns, trying to build a team used to playing together rather than making wholesale changes. The challenge with international football is not picking the best team, it's getting good players, often stars for their clubs, used to playing together. That's what we're struggling with, and we're not the only ones in this tournament (France, Italy, Portugal). So, regardless of whether you think he picked the right starting XI to begin with, whether you change that when it's not working, or give the players more time to gel, is a judgement call - not the blindingly obvious decision the armchair pundits seem to think. Don't get me wrong - I'd love to see Gordon play, in place of Foden, - but understand that with a forced change (Guehi) or two (Trips) he might make the call that is enough disruption and not bringing in new players. If so, I'd back the manager and the team. I've never understood supporters who just rip in to a team - even when they are winning games and progressing through a tournament. Why don't we wait until we're actually out of a tournament to start the post-mortem?
You mean like when we had two easy runs in the last two tournaments, had a lot of insipid football and lost matches against Italy and Croatia due to inactivity and poor calls from the bench? We keep running post-mortems yet here we are staring at the same problems - I personally don't see the point in waiting when there's a few glaring things that aren't working. Anyway, as Shearer rightly says, this is how we're set up, this is how we'll play, so we have no choice.
The other element for me is the younger children who are losing out on an entertaining tournament that gets them hooked in to football for life. I vaguely remember the 1986 WC but Italia90 had me hooked and then wasn’t let down again by the 94 WC and the Euros in 96 were immense. What do they get now? Tippy tappy football that is turgid and is dull to watch. Yeah let’s turn over!
Anyone rethinking the Southgate hate after Portugal couldn’t score against Slovenia in 120 minutes? Southgate keeps getting “easy runs” at tournaments because hid team keeps topping the group. As Tiger Woods said - the more you practice the luckier you get.
I’m more of the mindset that Martinez is as bad a manager as Southgate. Couldn’t do anything with a superb Belgium team, now labouring with a star studded Portugal team. Spain look nailed on to win this. Germany might run them close. England might scrape to another final.
As a rule i dont watch england matches, i broke that rule and watched the Slovakia match. My god it was worse than i thought, an absolute mess of a "team". I knew southgate was a crap manager after taking Boro down, but to see how he sets ups and plays, some actually talented players, and makes them look like a pub team is something else. I do hope he drops Trips, partially because he's been rubbish and i'm sick of seeing him hold his hands up for choosing the wrong pass, but mostly so he's fit to be sold, and i hope Gordon doesn't play so he comes back to us in top condition. Anyway, would love to see a marauding Schar crack a 25yd screamer past pickford.
We’re not selling Trippier, he’s a character and a leader. That he’s dogshit doesn’t bother Howe that much.
Said about half an hour ago Austria needed to take Baumgartner off, he’s like the Austrian Foden, literally everything he touched turned to **** culminating in a dreadful miss (top save) right at the death.
