Off Topic International Break Thread

We’ve scored more headers than anyone else this season so far and equalled last seasons tally

I think they’ve been taught to use their heads

 

How many headers have England scored this season ??

 

Hearing some astonishing comments on radio today. Apparently many expect him to appear at the World Cup in a three with Walker and Stones, whether or not he plays for ManU in the interim or not. So forget Dier was our best defender in these last two matches, and forget Tomori who is also in good form, apparently Maguire played well last tournament, so sod current form. Also we are encouraged to look at the good things he did last night, because somehow they can be offset about being responsible for two goals. Clearly there is no end of apologists. Pathetic. Really what is the point of being good if you can't get a game for England, for example what was the point of calling up Toney? They also had the temerity on radio to suggest that if there is any injuries to the (alleged) First XI, they can't turn to Tomori, Toney etc, because they have not had enough experience, despite them never having the opportunity to get such experience!

 

Maguire is supposed to be a defender.

If he does not do that, then is he scoring at the other
end to easily offset being found wanting in his primary job ??

If he does not do that, then he can act as the rallying
point/personification of the resolve needed to get
thru the game when the team have their backs to the wall ??

If none of the above applies of late, than he has no
place in the starting XI.


Similar can be applied to every player in the team, for
the position they are playing in.

 

This is the problem. If England players aren’t playing well enough to be picked for their clubs - unheard of once upon a time - what do you do with them?
The pros with Maguire are that he is experienced at tournament level and has been a strong performer for England in the recent past when the defence has looked solid.
The cons are that he’s not in form, not getting games and therefore is unlikely to be able to find that level of performance needed on demand in the WC.
So should he be discarded?
Shaw isn’t getting games either but still looks good in an England shirt.
If Stones gets picked for City, he’s playing a right back, not at centre half.
Philips doesn’t get picked.
The problem is that the players who are getting games for their clubs don’t have international experience and it’s risky to throw them in and hope it works.
It is a team sport - it’s not just a question of throwing together the best XI on form and hope they gel. Defence is an area where the players need to have an understanding so they can play offside, know how to defend as a unit at set pieces, who’s picking up which opposition player etc.
I’m not sure what the solution is apart from
the players Southgate intends to pick finding top form! And soon..,

 

Even worse than that,

Not too long ago you would often have more than
one player on the pitch who were actually team
captains for their respective clubs

Picked on club merit, and a pool of leadership
experience to support the designated captain.

How far the PL has caused the national team to fall.

 

I don't think that is the right conclusion. The problem with English players is that they learn the wrong skill set when they are young....too much physicality and not enough skill. That has been true forever which is why we have never challenged much for any trophy except at home. Even now, with a majority of foreign trained players, the PL still tends towards physicality over skill and most of the English players are still there to provide the former. The only players in the England team who have appropriate levels of skill are Stones, Alexander-Arnold, Foden, Grealish, Mount and Kane and three of those play in essentially the same position (which doesn't even exist in Conte's system). So only Stones and Alexander-Arnold would really improve the Spurs squad.

 

This was originally Richarlison's goal, but it got deleted.
I'll post the England U21 highlights instead:

Skipp and Sessegnon started on the bench, coming on after 69 minutes. Nice.
Spence was an unused sub.
Skipp got the assist for England's 3rd with a very nice ball for Cole Palmer.
The move starts at around the 5.37 mark for anyone that wants to go straight to it.

Villa are going to have trouble keeping hold of Ramsey, in my opinion.
Looks a real talent.

 

Ireland best Armenia 3-2 with an injury time penalty after Armenia have two players sent off in the last minute.

 

Africans throwing bananas at an opponent in order to racially abuse them.
What the **** is going on?!

I don't know if it has any relevance, but the match was played at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
Yankified highlights:

Richarlison with Brazil's 2nd and an assist for their 4th.
Linking up very well with Raphinha.

 

2-0 up, threw it away in a couple of minutes, then nicked it in chaos at the end.
Penalty, yellow then straight red for dissent, then a 2nd yellow for the penalty handball!

 

Son and Nkoudou.

 

Well done Hummel

 

Not a phrase Spurs supporters of certain ages would ever expect to see.

 

Surprised to see any company being this outspoken about it, to be honest.

 

Refreshing

 

A quick browse on the Internet, and I am not too
surprised that company "bean counters" said yes to it.

I am more surprised that the Denmark FA have
not insisted that their logo must be visible on the shirts
(the vendors can do what they want with their own logo) .

 

Some of my favourite kits tbh but the deal with Irving Scholar and the club left a lot to be desired it nearly took use under

 

This looks uncannily like the age-old problem with England squads, which Southgate brushed away for the 2018 WC but has had foist upon him since: he's told the players he will choose and has to stick with them regardless of form, injury, or the fact that a mole trapped in the Greenland permafrost can see that Maguire clearly needs to be benched for England because he's a liability for club and country and has been so for some time

But because he plays for Man Utd, that obviously means he should be in the team because they are dominating the Premier Lea...oh wait, they're barely qualifying for the Europa League, let alone the Champions League