The General Football Thread

ABK KLAXON

 

I'd happily take a 3-4 loss if ABK scores the winner

 

As soon as Germany scored the second goal,I turned the match off. Then there are 4 goals! Just as I turned the match back on, Germany equalise. I need a better TV.

 

Or to keep it off during the WC

 

I think I'd take 3-4 if Maguire headed into his own net.

 

No goals scored with ABK on the pitch. MOUNTAIN.

 

England probably did enough to win but the issue is I am not sure we have learned too much about England's best team or formation is!

 

Not if Maguire plays.

 

Southgate excellent at picking up points from losing positions

 

Fair play Grimsby https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/62996172

 

The Southgate-outers are just as bad as the Ralph-outers. Last few pages of this thread are hilarious.

 

Puel defeated Liverpool twice in the semi-finals. So Utd weren’t the first half-decent team on that cup run. And we beat Arsenal away in the quarters. AND we beat two other Premier League sides in the earlier two rounds (Palace and Sunderland). AND, if VAR had been around, the final would have been a different story anyway. It's mad to try and paint that cup run as 'lucky'.

And regarding losing to Italy in the Euros (we didn't lose of course, we just didn't win). Everyone at the time agreed that Italy were the best side of the tournament. What they achieved several years before or after is insignificant. They smashed their way through a very tricky-looking group, and then beat Belgium and Spain before we played them. Anyone suddenly deciding that Italy 'weren't that good' at the Euros is deluding themselves, and simply changing the narrative to fit in with their agenda.

I'm willing to agree that we were 'lucky' in the 2018 World Cup, if you want, but not the Euros. That is a very tough tournament no matter who you are drawn against. Any other year we would have lost to at least one of Croatia, Denmark, Germany, or Italy.

 

While I don't think Southgate is particularly the greatest coach England could have right now, going into the World Cup, there are several things that he does, that in principle I agree with. He is loyal to players that he knows can play the international game, and he has always tried to create a team. If we allowed the press/fans to choose the team, then it would be a revolving door of whoever happens to be in form for their club side at that moment. That is not how you are going to get success in a big tournament. Every other nation knows this. Olivier Giroud wouldn't have been picked for England for at least the last 5-6 seasons, if it was based on form, and yet he gets into the France team even now.

Not only that, but the team under Gareth have always had a good team spirit about them, which seemed to be lacking with the previous half-dozen managers. Not saying team spirit will win us the World Cup, but we all know what happens to even the most-fancied teams, when the spirit isn't there.

 

That's fair enough mate. I was perhaps being a bit too vociferous, but the point re Puel is even stronger - he wasn't good enough long term as a PL manager, yet managed to get us to a cup final, the first since Strachan. Football is a funny old thing. I agree re team spirit with GS, but I don't see he has too much else to recommend him.

 

This is a weird thing to say, but (not for England), but Puel has all the attributes to be an International manager.

 

You are right, there is a balance between form and selection consistency in international football, people always refer to this as loyalty but there is more to it than that. When you assemble a squad for just two games every couple of months there needs to be some kind of familiarity and consistency.

However when you get to the point that players are flat out getting no game time for their clubs it has to be questionable when a player remains one of the first names on the XI. I see benefit from keeping Maguire in the squad, but the fact he isnt playing for his club and his poor form throughout the entire Nations League campaign surely mean he should have been dropped for at least one of these games to give the team a chance to play without him, as you never know he may not start another game between now and the World Cup given his sidelining at Man U. Ten Haag isnt even playing him in the Europa League.

Also I can understand the logic behind Southgates tactics, defence first is a solid plan for international football, especially when you have a weak defence and a very talented forward line who in the past have shown they can produce with little service. Unfortunately this tactic has now failed for 5 of the last 6 games and does not look viable for the World Cup as our only strategy. We needed to develop a Plan B during this Nations League campaign but we have stood by the same set up throughout, meaning our options are limited to one discredited set up.

 

I think sacking Southgate, simply because of a few bad results in - let's face it - glorified friendlies, after he took us to a WC semi and a Euros final, would just be one of those things that, in hindsight several years from now, people would look back on and regret. Until he f*cks up in games that actually matter, I can't see that he deserves to lose his job.

It would be like firing Ralph because we had a poor pre-season.

 

Yeah, basically agree with all you've said. Southgate has his faults, for sure. I just don't think they are big enough that they warrant him being sacked.

These Nations League games are just not that important. The players don't seem to think so anyway. So I'm not gonna judge Southgate too harshly when the games are largely irrelevant. RE; loyalty. Yes, Southgate should be experimenting with more players, absolutely. But when there are so few games to prepare for big tournaments, I can understand why he selects the same team. It's the only way they are going to get used to playing together. Do you switch Maguire for White one game, Tomori the next, and Guehi for the third, or do you just try to give Maguire as much game time to get him back to full sharpness? It's a tough one. But I fully understand Southgate choosing the latter option.

 

Frankly Southgate could put a shirt on and be better than Maguire.