I agree it’s unnecessary and overkill. I can understand the players finding it hard to get up for these games despite playing Germany tonight. We want players playing at their peak and they need some time to recover. next season is going to be so full on
Half century for Kane. Not quite Joe Root - although in footballing terms he is, of course. He’s going to finish with some crazy numbers
England are a conundrum of a team. On the face of it, it shouldn’t be that difficult to construct a good team, there’s plenty of decent players. But Southgate has become wedded to certain picks and it’s beginning to show. He’s falling into the same trap that he bought England out of at the start of his tenure. To be fair to him his options at LB/LWB are limited when Chilwell and Shaw are injured or out of form but I’m a firm believer that especially at international level it’s better not to play players out of position. He seems terrified to not take and play as many of his excellent RB/RWB options as possible. I don’t blame him for picking Maguire as he’s rarely let England down but he’s never settled on a consistent CB combination in a 2 or a 3 and when a player of similar attributes (Dier) is in far better form he doesn’t get a look in. England do lack a real option at LCB when they play a 3, but as they only do that to compensate for Maguire’s lack of mobility (as a 3 means they can have Walker’s pace on the right of the CB unit), you can’t help but feel that a different selection strategy would be more productive, especially as there are now alternatives available. Further forward, the consistent selection of Mason Mount, who is a fine player for Chelsea but IMO has never replicated that for England, and again an odd obsession (or concession to pressure) to pick from his plethora of other quality attacking midfield options for the wing positions, only hampers him. Especially when you consider that Kane’s strength is that he’s effectively a 10 and a 9 in one, so as long as you have direct, pacy runners in the wide positions. But the closest thing England have to Sonny is Rashford, who is justifiably out of the picture right now, and while Sterling is fast and can finish, that game isn’t his natural one. All in all, it seems like Southgate is tied in knots. The way to win tournaments is to play solid, well-drilled football and as long as you have midfielders in the pivot who aren’t complete donkeys (and England have plenty), and a coherent attacking strategy with a bit of mercurial genius thrown in, you can trouble most teams. England have all the ingredients to put in much better performances and while Southgate isn’t helped by the injury situation in some positions, some of his selections are also baffling.
QArsenal fans are being typically magnanimous, bleating that 15 of Harry Kane's England goals don't count as they were from the penalty spot Just a reminder, Harry Kane scored his penalty in the Euros final...
It's really looking like he reached the limit of autonomy and is now hearing a lot of "While we like your suggestions, Gary, the player you really should pick is..."
His managerial record; 3 years at Middlesbrough then 3 years as U21 England. So how did he get the England job based on that record? Look at the track record of the FA. Since the second world war they have chosen IMO 5 who were proven quality and showed it in the England job. Ramsey, Mercer, Greenwood, Robson, Venables. Then 15 who were doubtful and showed it in the job. Maybe Goran Eriksson could be argued as decent but I will stick him with the doubtful 15. A 25% chance of picking the right man is poor even by football manager standards, especially when you consider that they have the whole football world to choose from. They wouldn't take Clough and they wouldn't take Redknapp and there's the clue, before football credentials they concern themselves with demeanor and diplomacy. No way does Southgate's CV qualify him for England management , but he is well spoken and always diplomatic; standby for Nuno Espirito Santo as the next England manager.
An interesting article dropped on ESPN, where Southgate and The FA are leaning on the Premier League to not have any of the Big 6 play one another in the round of fixtures before the league takes a break for the World Cup The real question, of course, is which teams starts the season well but loses all momentum after the WC - and how will it be us?
Southgate is far from perfect but his record as England manager stands up there with anyone post-66 and stands way above most of them. While I agree he’s a ‘company man’ and the England manager appointment is definitely a political one as much as a footballing one, he did a great job refreshing the toxic atmosphere around the squad ahead of the 2018 World Cup and took us to the Euros final as well as strong performance in the first Nations League. I think he’s got a lot to work on ahead of the WC as I outlined in my post above but he’s proof that sometimes the right appointment doesn’t need the most glittering CV. International management is a different beast to club level entirely.
Troy Parrott puts Ireland 2-0 up against Spurfland: https://www.clippituser.tv/c/gwebzl Fantastic work by Obafemi. Great ball.
