Ingerlund

[jts1882]

Southgate has trapped himself for choices. By experimenting with TAA in midfield in the first game, he can't really drop him now. TAA didn't look entirely comfortable but he didn't do badly. He has to play him to see if he can become more familiar with the role after a partial success, otherwise what was the point of trying.

The problem with experimenting in a major competition, is you have limited chances. There may not be time to look at an alternative left flank.

 

[Jurgen the German]

Southgate has trapped himself for choices. By experimenting with TAA in midfield in the first game, he can't really drop him now. TAA didn't look entirely comfortable but he didn't do badly. He has to play him to see if he can become more familiar with the role after a partial success, otherwise what was the point of trying.

The problem with experimenting in a major competition, is you have limited chances. There may not be time to look at an alternative left flank.

It’s not unusual for managers to mix things up and try different players in tournaments. Lautaro Martinez started the first two games of the last World Cup for Argentina but was benched for Alvarez after that.

 

[spurspinter1]

I agree to a point, but that's the way football fans are, nothing ever good enough. I get frustrated watching Trippier playing at LB just as much as I did watching LoCelso, my opinion is that any professional player should be able to use both feet to pass or cross a ball (including Messi). Playing Trippier on the left makes Englands play restricted and predictable and a manager should be able to resolve that problem.

I don't think anyone would say Trippier at LB is ideal but he did a job against Serbia, against top level opposition he'll probably suffer. Seeks like a gamble waiting on Shaw getting to full fitness without playing any football...

But you're not calling Southgate a useless taco for playing him there without suggesting anything else. We're not blessed with an abundance of quality in that position, Chillwell looked dreadful in the pre tournament friendlies.

 

[SpurMeUp]

Rubbish again. Got to blame the manager for not setting up the side well. The balance and shape don’t allow decent players to shine.

Rice was terrible. Saka possibly the best player and he offered not all that much.

 

[markysimmo]

Southgate has trapped himself for choices. By experimenting with TAA in midfield in the first game, he can't really drop him now. TAA didn't look entirely comfortable but he didn't do badly. He has to play him to see if he can become more familiar with the role after a partial success, otherwise what was the point of trying.

The problem with experimenting in a major competition, is you have limited chances. There may not be time to look at an alternative left flank.

SOS call for Hendo !!

 

[afsoc4life]

I’m not anti Southgate or anything and it annoys me that the manager always gets the blame whenever England lose and the players always get away with it but I do feel he should walk or the FA need to act if we don’t win the euros depending on the circumstances. You need to see progression and whilst our defence isn’t very good, there aren’t many nations who can compete with our forwards in terms of quality and strength in depth. I wouldn’t necessarily say we’re the clear favourites and whilst you can never discount teams like Italy that know how to win, I’d say it’s only really France that have a squad of similar quality to us. I don’t think that’s being arrogant, that’s just my honest assessment and it would be nice to see Southgate allow the players to play with more freedom and be more daring rather than the typical Safegate approach.

You overrate the England squad. Your squad isnt as good as you think especially in the forward areas. None of your players aside from Kane and Bellingham are scary on international level.

 

[glasgowspur]

You overrate the England squad. Your squad isnt as good as you think especially in the forward areas. None of your players aside from Kane and Bellingham are scary on international level.

Too many highlight reel players.
For every kane, walker, Bellingham and foden they have a bowen, maguire, pickford and grealish.
And that would be fine if they acknowledged that and played accordingly, but there's this perception that these players way better than they are.

 

[Jurgen the German]

You overrate the England squad. Your squad isnt as good as you think especially in the forward areas. None of your players aside from Kane and Bellingham are scary on international level.

I’m not saying we’re clearly the best but our front 4 is comparable to any team in world football. There isn’t a dominant team in international football anymore like Spain from 2008-2012. No one has a team full of world class players. Which team in this tournament would you say has a better forward line than us? I know we do overrate our players in this country but I genuinely feel this group of players, the forwards in particular are a match for any team in Europe.

 

[Jurgen the German]

Too many highlight reel players.
For every kane, walker, Bellingham and foden they have a bowen, maguire, pickford and grealish.
And that would be fine if they acknowledged that and played accordingly, but there's this perception that these players way better than they are.

France have Mbappe but who else? Thuram and Dembele who has flattered to deceive most of his career. Giroud isn’t better than what we have. I’m not saying all of our forwards are world class but they’re comparable to the elite nations like France, Germany and Portugal.

 

[Raziel]

hahaha, fudging seriously anyone is shocked that an England team led by Southgate is boring, uninspired and easily tactically outclassed?

But hey, we have a good team spirit .. guy should have been fired years ago ..

 

[glasgowspur]

France have Mbappe but who else? Thuram and Dembele who has flattered to deceive most of his career. Giroud isn’t better than what we have. I’m not saying all of our forwards are world class but they’re comparable to the elite nations like France, Germany and Portugal.

Never who they have, let's count the trophies.

 

[harr1984]

hahaha, fudging seriously anyone is shocked that an England team led by Southgate is boring, uninspired and easily tactically outclassed?

But hey, we have a good team spirit .. guy should have been fired years ago ..

Ah yes, whereas our performances by the top class Capello and Eriksen were on a different level? These performances have happened year in, year out for as long as I remember. Maybe just maybe the problem goes way beyond the manager, and I'll start with a lot of our players being over rated. The international game is very different to the hustle and bustle of the Premier league....

 

[Jurgen the German]

Never who they have, let's count the trophies.

Granted we haven’t had the success at international level but we have players who have won leagues at home and abroad and have won the champions league. There’s 4-5 teams at this tournament who could win it and are dangerous and I believe with the right manager we would be much better to watch than we are at the very least.

 

[Jurgen the German]

Ah yes, whereas our performances by the top class Capello and Eriksen were on a different level? These performances have happened year in, year out for as long as I remember. Maybe just maybe the problem goes way beyond the manager, and I'll start with a lot of our players being over rated. The international game is very different to the hustle and bustle of the Premier league....

I agree with that. We do overrate our players but the manager pretty much always solely gets the blame. And yes the PL is a different animal to international football. I’d say the managers have sometimes been at least part of the problem. With a manager like Ange we would be far better to watch and more likely attack minded. We’d be conceding goals for fun especially from set pieces but we would be playing to our strengths rather than being so cautious whenever we take the lead. I think it’s accurate and fair to have us as one of the favourites along with Germany, France and Portugal. Spain have honestly surprised me, I thought they wouldn’t be a threat.

 

[Legohamster]

I don't think anyone would say Trippier at LB is ideal but he did a job against Serbia, against top level opposition he'll probably suffer. Seeks like a gamble waiting on Shaw getting to full fitness without playing any football...

But you're not calling Southgate a useless taco for playing him there without suggesting anything else. We're not blessed with an abundance of quality in that position, Chillwell looked dreadful in the pre tournament friendlies.

Personally think Mitchell from Palace should have been given a few friendlies/qualifiers

Know he had a few knocks this season, but he's a decent player.

 

[parklane1]

You overrate the England squad. Your squad isnt as good as you think especially in the forward areas. None of your players aside from Kane and Bellingham are scary on international level.

I agree with that we have a squad of overated players and when i saw the squad named before the games started i was amazed that any English fan thought we would go and do well.

 

[harr1984]

I agree with that. We do overrate our players but the manager pretty much always solely gets the blame. And yes the PL is a different animal to international football. I’d say the managers have sometimes been at least part of the problem. With a manager like Ange we would be far better to watch and more likely attack minded. We’d be conceding goals for fun especially from set pieces but we would be playing to our strengths rather than being so cautious whenever we take the lead. I think it’s accurate and fair to have us as one of the favourites along with Germany, France and Portugal. Spain have honestly surprised me, I thought they wouldn’t be a threat.

Don't get me wrong, I don't doubt there is far better out there than Southgate but the problems are far more deep rooted than that and he is still statistically our most successful manager for many years.

I don't subscribe to us being one of the favourites at all, I keep hearing about this stellar squad but then it's really Kane, Bellingham, Foden is technically very gifted but can drift in and out for both club and country, Saka is a good player but not as good as some like to portray and I say that regardless of him playing for the Goons. Then you look at our keeper, defence, the fact that we don't have a proper playmaker in CM, we really aren't that good and have an imbalanced squad. The Germans, Spanish, French etc all look more balanced and we aren't in that bracket for me....

 

[Jurgen the German]

Don't get me wrong, I don't doubt there is far better out there than Southgate but the problems are far more deep rooted than that and he is still statistically our most successful manager for many years.

I don't subscribe to us being one of the favourites at all, I keep hearing about this stellar squad but then it's really Kane, Bellingham, Foden is technically very gifted but can drift in and out for both club and country, Saka is a good player but not as good as some like to portray and I say that regardless of him playing for the Goons. Then you look at our keeper, defence, the fact that we don't have a proper playmaker in CM, we really aren't that good and have an imbalanced squad. The Germans, Spanish, French etc all look more balanced and we aren't in that bracket for me....

I think we are, not clear favourites but I don’t think anyone is. International football is very competitive, even the smaller nations have caught up with the big boys and there isn’t one standout team that’s clearly better than everyone else. I’d say our forwards are on a par with the likes of Germany, France and Portugal. Granted France have a much better back four (for some reason they don’t rate Saliba) and goalkeeper but with the right manager our forwards would be functioning better. France have Mbappe but the rest of their forwards aren’t better than ours IMO; Thuram is good but not world class, Dembele has flattered to deceive his entire career. Germany have a very good young side but still unproven at this level. Spain are rebuilding. Portugal have some class players. I think we’re in the mix. We outplayed France and were unlucky to lose to them in the World Cup.

 

[glasgowspur]

Granted we haven’t had the success at international level but we have players who have won leagues at home and abroad and have won the champions league. There’s 4-5 teams at this tournament who could win it and are dangerous and I believe with the right manager we would be much better to watch than we are at the very least.

Every PL winning team since the wenger era has been littered with foreign players so not sure what your point is there.
I do agree with you that England are one of the teams that could/should be winning these tournaments, but they never get the blend of manager and squad right.
England need a manager that is allowed to sculpt the squad in his own way, no interference from the FA, the media or fans.

 

[Baleforce]

Every PL winning team since the wenger era has been littered with foreign players so not sure what your point is there.
I do agree with you that England are one of the teams that could/should be winning these tournaments, but they never get the blend of manager and squad right.
England need a manager that is allowed to sculpt the squad in his own way, no interference from the FA, the media or fans.

I think Southgate has that to be fair, he's worked himself into the position where he could take so many risks with the squad, although in his defence, nobody was complaining about Henderson or Sterling finally being dropped, the omission of Dier and Grealish raised my eyebrows, but seemingly not everybody's.

The talent just isn't there.