Because they did it in training and did ok. Age has got nothing to do with anything. I feel totally pee'd off at the moment and almost robbed in some ways. The Referee was so lax it was embarrassing at times. From Referees who see everything to one who apparently sees nothing at all. I am all for letting the play go but this bloke took it to the opposite extreme. We sat back is what the problem was. We let Italy dictate the play for far too long and it eventually led to the equaliser. I told my son it was coming. You could just feel it if not see it happening. I am gutted for Gareth Southgate and I hope he stays and doesn't do the fall on sward thing. Penalties are a complete lottery and no way to decide a competition of this magnitude. No way is perfect but even a golden goal seems better than that. I'm gonna sulk all night long now.
You can't reproduce the condition in training...and experience certainly comes before youth at such a moment.....with the white heat of pressure you don't let 18 year old kids go through such a moment......also of the three we missed two players had played only 60 seconds before the final whistle blew....not good match management personally. It looked like Southgate was only picking his spot kickers seconds before the shoot out.....whilst Italy seemed to know in advance.
Because they volunteered when others didn't I imagine. Whether their offers should have been taken is another matter. Where was Sterling for example... The one having problems with is Rashford. He's been there, done it and has lots of tee shirts. Never mind the hop skip and jump routine, just hit the damn thing. Poor performance really. Maybe we scored too early but by half way through the first 45, we'd completely handed the initiative to Italy. They are too good to get that far onto the back foot. Clearly we weren't going to get control back but we could have brought on pace (Sancho or Saka) for Mount earlier on. At least that would have put the threat of quick breakaways into Italian minds. If I'd ref'd it Italy would have been down to 9 men. One off fir dragging Saka back by the collar and another for the "tackle" on Grealish. Unfortunately, I don't rule the world.
Fecking rubbish. How old was Stuart Pearce? How old was Gareth Southgate? It's a kick from 12 yards and if you are a professional trained footballer then you are the same as anyone else in the squad. Tell you what lets look for a scapegoat shall we. Gareth is crap and the two players who missed for England were black so that should be worth a critique or two. They would have practiced this in training as well as a shed load of other things. If they are old enough to get on the pitch and do all the other things they train for then they are old enough to take a penalty. We were a bit unlucky and that is the end of it. Any penalty shoot out is a lottery as we all know. Somebody had to miss otherwise the thing would never end. I agree about the Ref thing notdistant. I actually don't think the view is biased either. But we move on.
We dominated the first twenty minutes and the last 15 of extra time....other than that we were second best....Italy were regularly bringing on subs to bolster their efforts....and we did nothing until later on....in fact we nearly missed out on Sancho and Rashford coming on.....Rashford is generally good at penalties....but he played for 60 seconds and then missed the target. I agree that the Grealish tackle was a 100% red card....and the Saka neck yank was a typical "dark arts" moment....but the Italian new it was only ever going to be a yellow.
Yes we were second best but that doesn't answer the penalty question does it. Stop looking for a scape goat. Football is like that and in a knockout competition somebody has to lose and this time it was us. Have we now gone from blaming the youth to blaming the Manager instead. Should have could have but didn't. Every armchair managers answer. We should be proud of the team who at least kept us in it till the end.
Unsavoury scenes in London before the match yesterday and racial abuse of players after it. I shudder to think what's going to happen when the pubs and clubs reopen and the knuckle dragging scum are let off the leash.
And Luke Jephcott I'm the dog house with Argyle fans for joining in with Welsh crowing about England's defeat.
So unfortunate that the three missed penalties were all black lads....did Southgate ask for volunteers and some more senior players said no....including Sterling. So difficult for Southgate when subbing players....were some of the subbed better penalty takers ?
An ex England player on the BBC commentary team said a few days ago that when he played, volunteers were asked for. On the other hand, somebody said today that it would be on the basis of practice penalties in training. I also read that the current management had had sports psychologists working with each player to arrive at a personalised penalty taking plan. Some were encouraged to mix with their teammates while waiting as they took strength from their support. Others were to separate themselves because they picked up more on shared anxiety. There was advice on how quickly to start the run up after the ball was placed. Apparently going back over history, England players rush their kicks, taking far less time to breathe and focus than other teams do. That sounds like the Southgate way to me. So who knows? Southgate is saying now that it was his decision who took the penalties, made spontaneously on the night. I think that's just him trying to shield the players and that there was in fact a plan which unfortunately didn't work.
Just one more think. I was surprised and somewhat apprehensive when Harry Maguire was put up to take a penalty. Actually though he put it away emphatically and with some style. Who'd have thought that? Well, someone who'd done the research and found a penalty taker in an unexpected individual, which means the others knew they were on the list too.
Quite often it is the defenders who take the kicks.....Maguires penalty was neigh perfect...best of anyones on either side.....Rashford on the otherhand was stuttering...was it nerves or was he being too cocky......whatever you do don't miss the target and make the keeper at least save it.
Southgate has killed the argument of who when and where. He has stated that the choice of penalty takers was his an his alone. No volunteers or hiding away. No surprise that the racist bastards thought it was fair game to get onto their keyboards and post their crap. I despair at the people of this country I really do. They have the means to track down every one of those who posted their vile remarks and they should use it. Couple that up with what happened at the ground and in central London and you have to ask why anyone would want to play for England or give us another competition again. It also baffles me where the Police were in all of that. They knew it had the potential to kick off and they must have known that large groups had formed in those areas. Nowhere to be seen until too late again. How Cressida Dick has still got a job I just don't know. Funny how they managed to find so many to kick off against a bunch of women protesters not long ago. I think the Metropolitan Police have lost all credibility in the last 12 months if they ever had any in the first place.
The police said that the trouble at the turnstiles/entrances....was a problem for the stewards and not them.....so who was in charge down Wembley Way then the local council.
Just one comment to make to that. So breaking in and causing civil disorder is ok if it's on private land then? No Police involvement so next time I'm in her vicinity I can just pop into Cressida's house and do what I like. Actually one other question. Whose responsibility was it in Piccadilly Circus?
Gareth Southgate's Penalty list 1.....Harry Kane 2.....Harry Maguire 3.....Marcus Rashford 4.....Jadon Sancho 5.....Bukayo Saka 6.....Jordan Pickford 7.....Jack Grealish 8.....Kalvin Phillips 9.....Luke Shaw It seems that Raheem Sterling had not volunteered Jack Grealish was keen to take one but Southgate didn't include him in his first five. There was surprise from some of the Squad that Saka was so far up the list.....he had never taken a penalty in senior football. John Stones was the eleventh player on the pitch.
Today on the park outside my house a group of around 20 Travellers arrived with their trucks and caravans and merrily parked up. They had just been evicted from Tothill Park apparently. We had a visit from a Community Cop this afternoon to say don't worry they and the Council were on the case and they shouldn't be there for more than a "couple of weeks". Well that's ok then. I was cutting the grass in my garden when they arrived. I got nothing but shouts out of their truck windows as they went passed, "Hello neighbour" seemed to be the favourite. Such comedic talent. The comments continued all afternoon so now my wife and I along with most of the neighbours are virtually prisoners in our own house unless we want to run a gauntlet of semi abuse to go out and hope the house is in one piece when we get back. Sometimes I think some of the foreign countries have it right. The Police ask them to leave at the wrong end of a rifle. Funnily they usually go. The Community Cop said the Council have to serve a notice and then apply to a court once the notice expires. Then wait for a hearing and an eviction order to follow. Once obtained they have to wait for the Bailiffs to do the deed. Meanwhile there is already a pile of garbage in the middle of the park, a bonfire burning and cars being driven all over the grass.
Well I hope they're " moved on" within a fortnight for you. BUT there is an area of Orpington were travellers have taken over and have regular "turf wars" with local residents plus the odd killing....50% of all crime in Orpington is within a mile or so of their "settlement" they have developed the biggest dump you could image which smolders and needs the Fire Brigade to dampen down regularly.......many a stolen car has been stripped and left to rust away there.....the road past their site is a no go area for motorists....I could go on but there is no end to it....property has been devalued and they have moved in....they've knock out windows so the places are unliveable for most people....but they don't mind ?....years ago a group of us helped move friends out of the area.....before the council could redecorate the property the next tenants arrived before we had packed up the van to move out.....they were travellers....who immediately sledge hammered the road side brick wall down so that they could get their lorry into the front garden...... how long as this been going on....certainly not two weeks.....lets say a little longer....how about 50 YEARS.....Bromley Council have allowed them to move into the area and that helps the rest of the borough be free of them.....(they would deny that has happened). There not really "travellers" anymore because they've moved into "property"......(for want of a better word)..... and made the area look like a war zone.....thank your lucky stars that your road doesn't get taken over completely and will be yours again soon. PS.....last year the Met Police did one of there biggest raids of the year in London.....arresting people...recovering stolen goods,,,,,recovering drugs.....and recovering various guns and rifles.
Well I really feel better for knowing that. There are 16 houses in this street all privately owned. There isn't an option of moving somewhere else and letting them get on with it. If your local area has had problems with this for 50 years then I would suggest this isn't a "Traveller" problem anymore. 50 years ago the rules were far different from now and the "Human Rights" stuff didn't exist. Had the Council wanted to move them out they could have far more easily than these days. There is a site in Plymouth set aside for Travellers. They won't use it although it is quite basic. I have no problem with acknowledging that people have a right to exist etc. What I do have a problem with is that they don't give one fig for the rights of anyone else. If these people rocked up and behaved then I wouldn't have a problem with it. The snag is they don't behave and seem to think that their way of life is the only one and nobody else matters. When it comes to Courts though they expect everyone else to bow to their rights even if they don't care about others themselves. It gives them all a bad name and press and people get arssy before a problem arises. I have a perfect solution. Impound their caravans and motorhomes. They would soon run out of cash to replace. One laugh I have had is the signs on the side of their wagons. "Landscape Gardener". "Roofing Specialist" are but two of them. Yep right of course they are. I have just emailed a local councillor. In the local rag it says she visited the site and went door to door with the residents to say what PCC were going to do. Bollux she did. I was in all afternoon and never set eyes on her. She also is quoted as saying they seem pleasant enough. Really? We have had nothing but comments shouted at us since they arrived. The Police have visited once this evening. The fire brigade have also come as they lit two fires on the park having dragged wood out of the trees opposite. I wonder which one was the nice one because I haven't come across them yet. As we type they are on the park shouting to each other and as you can see from the timing of this post it is nearly half midnight.
