He has but I don’t think he’s ever brought that form to England until now. And he plays better with Maguire, who wasn’t available until the Czech Republic game.
comment by Bãles left boot (U22081)
posted 1 hour, 9 minutes ago
comment by JustYourAverageFan (U21016)
posted 7 minutes ago
Regarding Southgate, I know somebody who is involved in the FA at county level but has also gone on to do his coaching badges and they went to Harrogate to watch a training session when Southgate was the manager of the Under 21 side and this particular person said that they were shocked by what they were seeing.
Common phrases Southgate used were "yes", "well done" and "very nice" which they said did not entice or motivate players because, even poor bits of a training session, was always met with a positive mantra. Now of course this is good for building morale but the case in point was that, because the training session was so poor, you would have expected different phrases to be used or potential interventions to be addressed because the players ultimately were not doing what the purpose of the training session was, but were consistently met with positive phrases and were not told that certain aspects were being performed wrong.
Now I'm convinced that Southgate wasn't immune to this and probably did have a word with the group after the session ended and potentially behind closed doors, but I think it was the quality of the session that shocked the particular person that viewed the session and this person I know spoke to others at the time that were similarly underwhelmed with many people saying that England's issues come through too many people being "yes men" as well as being concerned about the youth of England coming through if that training session was the standard they were performing to.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I'd question your mate here. Was he really 'shocked' that players were getting praise in training? Did he not ask why Southgate was doing that? There's almost certainly a good reason he doesn't understand.
While I take the point that endless praise is meaningless, is pretty clear the modern player is a different animal to even 10 years ago. You can't scream at them, kick boots etc. They'll just sulk and get you sacked.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
To be fair, I wasn't there obviously as it was out of my scope anyway and I'm sure there was more that convinced this person that something wasn't right for the coach and the standard they were coaching to.
I think the "shocked" element came about because they couldn't believe that the quality of session from the coach, the messages from the coach and the output from the players was "as poor" as it was for England Under 21 level.
Obviously both Southgate and the person I sourced this from know more about the day-to-day coaching/management side more than we do and yes, I agree, boot kicking and screaming is a thing of the past, but I think the understanding I got from what this person said was that, "for what me and Southgate have been told to do/learnt throughout our studies, I'm surprised the standard from players and coach was as low as what I saw on that day." Or something to that effect.
As I say, it could have been different and there are likely many things I, like many others, wouldn't know about so it's probably me miscommunicating some of the messages because my perspective is different to the person's I know, I won't deny that, but the overall feeling was that the session should have been better because of who it was, the who being both Southgate and the players.
comment by Bãles left boot (U22081)
posted 10 minutes ago
Wow that seems harsh. Mings is what, 22? No he not at the top level yet but he's been decent in an England shirt from what I've seen.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mings is 28, dirt and can't pass for sh!t. Teams target him when he is on the ball too and it's a problem
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 26 minutes ago
comment by Flamini'sShirtSleeves (U8186)
posted 14 minutes ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 9 minutes ago
Germany created a lot more chances against France (who were considered the most talented side in the competition) and eviscerated Portugal (who fielded more attacking and creative talent than us) than they did against England. So while it may not have been a tactical masterclass on Southgate's part, he certainly succeeded better than the managers of two of the most fancied teams in nullifying Germany's attack. We could certainly have taken a slightly more expansive approach to the game, which would have made us more entertaining and perhaps would have created more chances. However, that would have been at the expense of a certain amount of defensive control. As I see it, Southgate has looked at the risks vs rewards and concluded that if we minimise the chances of conceding goals, we have the tools to nick goals. Whereas if we open up to a greater extent, there are more variables: we might back ourselves in a shoot-out against a team that's not as good as us on paper, but then it comes down to the run of the ball, and you only need that to go against you once in a knock-out tournament.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
There were issues with our execution of his approach - for the first half and first part of the second half Luke Shaw was playing too deep as if he was a left back rather than a midfielder, and not only was that allowing Germany an extra man in midfield it was also confusing our back line in who they were supposed to be marking.
When Grealish came on, Shaw suddenly seemed to realise where he was supposed to be (perhaps because he's been more used to playing with Grealish than Sterling/Saka in the tournament so far), and Shaw started closing down in midfield and overlapping the wide player which led to both goals.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I've been wondering about this. There were maybe 3-4 occasions in the first half where Shaw ran forward on the overlap past Sterling, and the latter declined to pass to him, instead turning inside and 'starting again' or passing sideways toward the midfield. At the time I was berating Sterling, but I saw (football journalist) Carl Anka wondering whether the 'failure' of the Sterling-Shaw axis was down to the players not connecting or down to tactics. It's possible that Southgate initially wanted his wing backs to concentrate on neutralising Kimmich and Gosens as attacking forces (and a large proportion of Germany's chances in the previous games have come through those two), and deliberately released the handbrake in the final quarter of the game. Not only was Shaw advancing further towards the end of the game, but he was receiving the ball when he did.
No idea whether the masterplan explanation is right, or the 'Shaw gained in confidence / linked up better with Grealish' one. Hopefully someone will interview the relevant parties after the tournament and we'll get some insight into that.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I think Grealish just passed the ball to Shaw, it really was that simple.
How many times did Shaw look up for Sterling to be be central and Shaw was left with no option but to go backwards?
comment by Robbing Hoody - Legacy Fan (U6374)
posted 58 seconds ago
comment by Bãles left boot (U22081)
posted 10 minutes ago
Wow that seems harsh. Mings is what, 22? No he not at the top level yet but he's been decent in an England shirt from what I've seen.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mings is 28, dirt and can't pass for sh!t. Teams target him when he is on the ball too and it's a problem
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh shoot. When I wrote that I thought he might be 24/25. Yeah fair enough. I wouldn't say he's dirt but yeah not worth keeping in the squad after this tournament
Mings played well in the first two games. But I’m not really a fan, I don’t even think he’s the best cb at Villa. Given the world cup isn’t that far away I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s little change in the squad.
I still think yesterday's starting formation has one (or two) too many defensive players. With three CBs, two DMs and a striker who's either unfit or out of form, I was worried about our creativity.
The key moment in the game for me was Muller's miss at 1-0. It was a poor ball from Sterling, of course, but it almost automatically put Muller through on goal, which shouldn't really be the case given how many defenders we had on the pitch.
They say you shouldn't change a winning team, but which team won? The one that started or the one that ended the game, with Grealish etc? Either way, I doubt we'll see the same starting XI for Ukraine.
comment by Scott The King McTominay (U10026)
posted 43 seconds ago
Mings played well in the first two games. But I’m not really a fan, I don’t even think he’s the best cb at Villa. Given the world cup isn’t that far away I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s little change in the squad.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We had worse and I would have him ahead of Coady and probably Keane tbf but I'm not a fan of him when he actually has the ball. I think it's ends up putting Stones under more pressure.
Don’t think Stones has done much wrong at all all tournament tbh.
RR, on the wingbacks, I think a lot of it was down to switching Sterling to the right (which I’ve always preferred him on) created the space on the left for Shaw to be able to push forward. I can’t remember any overlaps on the left hand side that were genuinely into good space in the first half, likewise the right hand side wasn’t working offensively particularly well.
Once Sterling switched, he was also driving in more than Saka did, which attracted the German defence across and created the overload on the left hand side.
comment by Clockwork Red (U4892)
posted 3 minutes ago
I still think yesterday's starting formation has one (or two) too many defensive players. With three CBs, two DMs and a striker who's either unfit or out of form, I was worried about our creativity.
The key moment in the game for me was Muller's miss at 1-0. It was a poor ball from Sterling, of course, but it almost automatically put Muller through on goal, which shouldn't really be the case given how many defenders we had on the pitch.
They say you shouldn't change a winning team, but which team won? The one that started or the one that ended the game, with Grealish etc? Either way, I doubt we'll see the same starting XI for Ukraine.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Grealish has to start, yesterday and the game vs Czech show how he knits our attacks together. His speed of thought and weight of pass make all the difference, he also commits defenders which our other attackers having been doing enough of.
Sterling should always start on the right for England.
Robbing, yeah I agree with that. I just think that he’ll likely stick around for future squads. Though a year and a half is a long time in football. I don’t think many expected Dele Alli to lose his place in the England squad after the world cup, and he was usually a starter for us. Mings hasn’t commanded that level of status in the England squad so will be vulnerable to losing his spot to someone like Tomori, Konsa and Godfrey.
Tomori looks a player to me, quite surprised he was allowed to leave. Not really watched Konsa.
Maybe Ben White will kick on, he's decent with the ball but not the tallest. A lot depends on three or two at the back too I guess.
comment by Busby (U19985)
posted 5 minutes ago
comment by Clockwork Red (U4892)
posted 3 minutes ago
I still think yesterday's starting formation has one (or two) too many defensive players. With three CBs, two DMs and a striker who's either unfit or out of form, I was worried about our creativity.
The key moment in the game for me was Muller's miss at 1-0. It was a poor ball from Sterling, of course, but it almost automatically put Muller through on goal, which shouldn't really be the case given how many defenders we had on the pitch.
They say you shouldn't change a winning team, but which team won? The one that started or the one that ended the game, with Grealish etc? Either way, I doubt we'll see the same starting XI for Ukraine.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Grealish has to start, yesterday and the game vs Czech show how he knits our attacks together. His speed of thought and weight of pass make all the difference, he also commits defenders which our other attackers having been doing enough of.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, I think Grealish has done enough now to start the next game.
I do like Saka though and have no problem Grealish repeatedly making an impact from the bench (and no problem visa versa tbf).
comment by Robbing Hoody - Legacy Fan (U6374)
posted 51 seconds ago
I do like Saka though and have no problem Grealish repeatedly making an impact from the bench (and no problem visa versa tbf).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Saka earned the right to start against Germany, I think. But it was asking a lot of him to be arguably the main "creative" player.
comment by Clockwork Red (U4892)
posted 1 second ago
comment by Robbing Hoody - Legacy Fan (U6374)
posted 51 seconds ago
I do like Saka though and have no problem Grealish repeatedly making an impact from the bench (and no problem visa versa tbf).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Saka earned the right to start against Germany, I think. But it was asking a lot of him to be arguably the main "creative" player.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
He did fade but that knock on his ankle I think was deceptively serious. Stud got caught and although he didn't quite roll it it still looked nasty.
Nice problem to have between those two though.
Saka was great for the first 1/2 hour or so,but after Rudi had smacked him about a bit, he went off the boil.
I think it’ll take a lot for the Maguire and Stones partnership to be shelved, so most will be battling just to get a squad place after the Euros. But we’ll see, our squads usually change quite a lot from one tournament to the next.
If Saka is going to start again I really hope we move him to the left with Sterling to the right. Especially if we are going to hold the full backs deeper.
Yep Sterling on the right. The other positions I’m not overly fussed about who he plays. Grealish, Foden, Mount or Saka can all hurt opponents and whoever doesn’t play are good options off the bench.
Depends on how we use the full backs. If we are going to allow them to support the attack more then I think bringing in Mount makes sense. It not, Grealish needs to start.
If we lose against Ukraine then Southgate will be back to being a PE teacher.
I think people need to be realistic. We beat a weak Germany team at home. It was a good win and Southgate's selection worked albeit we could have been punished by Muller. For me it hasn't changed a great deal about Southgate. If we go all the way and win then he will have done very well but again he's still a negative manager and no more than a competent one who has had an awful lot of luck on his side.
I’m shocked at how people expect international teams to play expansive swashbuckling football just because you have talented players.
-------------------------------------------
I don't think anyone sensible is seriously expecting that but as I said yesterday, a bit more bravery wouldn't go amiss.
There wasn't an awful lot between the two sides. Before we scored I felt the game had began to drift and was there for either side to seize and win if they put a successful attack together. Thankfully it was us that made one of our better moments count.
I can understand why managers are more pragmatic in tournaments as it has obviously proven very successful in the past as it has done for us so far but it's still a risky strategy because we're constantly depending on coming out on top in games where the margins between winning and losing are incredibly fine.
That too, although switching Sterling to the right makes quite a big difference in itself, even more so if he also switches to a back four.
To be completely honest, given Ukraine’s exploits last night and who’s likely to be missing for them, I think we should beat them even if he doesn’t get the tactical tweaks bang on.
Sign in if you want to comment
Revising opinions
Page 3 of 4
posted on 30/6/21
He has but I don’t think he’s ever brought that form to England until now. And he plays better with Maguire, who wasn’t available until the Czech Republic game.
posted on 30/6/21
Mings is 28.
posted on 30/6/21
comment by Bãles left boot (U22081)
posted 1 hour, 9 minutes ago
comment by JustYourAverageFan (U21016)
posted 7 minutes ago
Regarding Southgate, I know somebody who is involved in the FA at county level but has also gone on to do his coaching badges and they went to Harrogate to watch a training session when Southgate was the manager of the Under 21 side and this particular person said that they were shocked by what they were seeing.
Common phrases Southgate used were "yes", "well done" and "very nice" which they said did not entice or motivate players because, even poor bits of a training session, was always met with a positive mantra. Now of course this is good for building morale but the case in point was that, because the training session was so poor, you would have expected different phrases to be used or potential interventions to be addressed because the players ultimately were not doing what the purpose of the training session was, but were consistently met with positive phrases and were not told that certain aspects were being performed wrong.
Now I'm convinced that Southgate wasn't immune to this and probably did have a word with the group after the session ended and potentially behind closed doors, but I think it was the quality of the session that shocked the particular person that viewed the session and this person I know spoke to others at the time that were similarly underwhelmed with many people saying that England's issues come through too many people being "yes men" as well as being concerned about the youth of England coming through if that training session was the standard they were performing to.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I'd question your mate here. Was he really 'shocked' that players were getting praise in training? Did he not ask why Southgate was doing that? There's almost certainly a good reason he doesn't understand.
While I take the point that endless praise is meaningless, is pretty clear the modern player is a different animal to even 10 years ago. You can't scream at them, kick boots etc. They'll just sulk and get you sacked.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
To be fair, I wasn't there obviously as it was out of my scope anyway and I'm sure there was more that convinced this person that something wasn't right for the coach and the standard they were coaching to.
I think the "shocked" element came about because they couldn't believe that the quality of session from the coach, the messages from the coach and the output from the players was "as poor" as it was for England Under 21 level.
Obviously both Southgate and the person I sourced this from know more about the day-to-day coaching/management side more than we do and yes, I agree, boot kicking and screaming is a thing of the past, but I think the understanding I got from what this person said was that, "for what me and Southgate have been told to do/learnt throughout our studies, I'm surprised the standard from players and coach was as low as what I saw on that day." Or something to that effect.
As I say, it could have been different and there are likely many things I, like many others, wouldn't know about so it's probably me miscommunicating some of the messages because my perspective is different to the person's I know, I won't deny that, but the overall feeling was that the session should have been better because of who it was, the who being both Southgate and the players.
posted on 30/6/21
comment by Bãles left boot (U22081)
posted 10 minutes ago
Wow that seems harsh. Mings is what, 22? No he not at the top level yet but he's been decent in an England shirt from what I've seen.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mings is 28, dirt and can't pass for sh!t. Teams target him when he is on the ball too and it's a problem
posted on 30/6/21
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 26 minutes ago
comment by Flamini'sShirtSleeves (U8186)
posted 14 minutes ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 9 minutes ago
Germany created a lot more chances against France (who were considered the most talented side in the competition) and eviscerated Portugal (who fielded more attacking and creative talent than us) than they did against England. So while it may not have been a tactical masterclass on Southgate's part, he certainly succeeded better than the managers of two of the most fancied teams in nullifying Germany's attack. We could certainly have taken a slightly more expansive approach to the game, which would have made us more entertaining and perhaps would have created more chances. However, that would have been at the expense of a certain amount of defensive control. As I see it, Southgate has looked at the risks vs rewards and concluded that if we minimise the chances of conceding goals, we have the tools to nick goals. Whereas if we open up to a greater extent, there are more variables: we might back ourselves in a shoot-out against a team that's not as good as us on paper, but then it comes down to the run of the ball, and you only need that to go against you once in a knock-out tournament.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
There were issues with our execution of his approach - for the first half and first part of the second half Luke Shaw was playing too deep as if he was a left back rather than a midfielder, and not only was that allowing Germany an extra man in midfield it was also confusing our back line in who they were supposed to be marking.
When Grealish came on, Shaw suddenly seemed to realise where he was supposed to be (perhaps because he's been more used to playing with Grealish than Sterling/Saka in the tournament so far), and Shaw started closing down in midfield and overlapping the wide player which led to both goals.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I've been wondering about this. There were maybe 3-4 occasions in the first half where Shaw ran forward on the overlap past Sterling, and the latter declined to pass to him, instead turning inside and 'starting again' or passing sideways toward the midfield. At the time I was berating Sterling, but I saw (football journalist) Carl Anka wondering whether the 'failure' of the Sterling-Shaw axis was down to the players not connecting or down to tactics. It's possible that Southgate initially wanted his wing backs to concentrate on neutralising Kimmich and Gosens as attacking forces (and a large proportion of Germany's chances in the previous games have come through those two), and deliberately released the handbrake in the final quarter of the game. Not only was Shaw advancing further towards the end of the game, but he was receiving the ball when he did.
No idea whether the masterplan explanation is right, or the 'Shaw gained in confidence / linked up better with Grealish' one. Hopefully someone will interview the relevant parties after the tournament and we'll get some insight into that.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I think Grealish just passed the ball to Shaw, it really was that simple.
How many times did Shaw look up for Sterling to be be central and Shaw was left with no option but to go backwards?
posted on 30/6/21
comment by Robbing Hoody - Legacy Fan (U6374)
posted 58 seconds ago
comment by Bãles left boot (U22081)
posted 10 minutes ago
Wow that seems harsh. Mings is what, 22? No he not at the top level yet but he's been decent in an England shirt from what I've seen.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mings is 28, dirt and can't pass for sh!t. Teams target him when he is on the ball too and it's a problem
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh shoot. When I wrote that I thought he might be 24/25. Yeah fair enough. I wouldn't say he's dirt but yeah not worth keeping in the squad after this tournament
posted on 30/6/21
Mings played well in the first two games. But I’m not really a fan, I don’t even think he’s the best cb at Villa. Given the world cup isn’t that far away I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s little change in the squad.
posted on 30/6/21
I still think yesterday's starting formation has one (or two) too many defensive players. With three CBs, two DMs and a striker who's either unfit or out of form, I was worried about our creativity.
The key moment in the game for me was Muller's miss at 1-0. It was a poor ball from Sterling, of course, but it almost automatically put Muller through on goal, which shouldn't really be the case given how many defenders we had on the pitch.
They say you shouldn't change a winning team, but which team won? The one that started or the one that ended the game, with Grealish etc? Either way, I doubt we'll see the same starting XI for Ukraine.
posted on 30/6/21
comment by Scott The King McTominay (U10026)
posted 43 seconds ago
Mings played well in the first two games. But I’m not really a fan, I don’t even think he’s the best cb at Villa. Given the world cup isn’t that far away I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s little change in the squad.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We had worse and I would have him ahead of Coady and probably Keane tbf but I'm not a fan of him when he actually has the ball. I think it's ends up putting Stones under more pressure.
posted on 30/6/21
Don’t think Stones has done much wrong at all all tournament tbh.
RR, on the wingbacks, I think a lot of it was down to switching Sterling to the right (which I’ve always preferred him on) created the space on the left for Shaw to be able to push forward. I can’t remember any overlaps on the left hand side that were genuinely into good space in the first half, likewise the right hand side wasn’t working offensively particularly well.
Once Sterling switched, he was also driving in more than Saka did, which attracted the German defence across and created the overload on the left hand side.
posted on 30/6/21
comment by Clockwork Red (U4892)
posted 3 minutes ago
I still think yesterday's starting formation has one (or two) too many defensive players. With three CBs, two DMs and a striker who's either unfit or out of form, I was worried about our creativity.
The key moment in the game for me was Muller's miss at 1-0. It was a poor ball from Sterling, of course, but it almost automatically put Muller through on goal, which shouldn't really be the case given how many defenders we had on the pitch.
They say you shouldn't change a winning team, but which team won? The one that started or the one that ended the game, with Grealish etc? Either way, I doubt we'll see the same starting XI for Ukraine.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Grealish has to start, yesterday and the game vs Czech show how he knits our attacks together. His speed of thought and weight of pass make all the difference, he also commits defenders which our other attackers having been doing enough of.
posted on 30/6/21
Sterling should always start on the right for England.
Robbing, yeah I agree with that. I just think that he’ll likely stick around for future squads. Though a year and a half is a long time in football. I don’t think many expected Dele Alli to lose his place in the England squad after the world cup, and he was usually a starter for us. Mings hasn’t commanded that level of status in the England squad so will be vulnerable to losing his spot to someone like Tomori, Konsa and Godfrey.
posted on 30/6/21
Tomori looks a player to me, quite surprised he was allowed to leave. Not really watched Konsa.
Maybe Ben White will kick on, he's decent with the ball but not the tallest. A lot depends on three or two at the back too I guess.
posted on 30/6/21
comment by Busby (U19985)
posted 5 minutes ago
comment by Clockwork Red (U4892)
posted 3 minutes ago
I still think yesterday's starting formation has one (or two) too many defensive players. With three CBs, two DMs and a striker who's either unfit or out of form, I was worried about our creativity.
The key moment in the game for me was Muller's miss at 1-0. It was a poor ball from Sterling, of course, but it almost automatically put Muller through on goal, which shouldn't really be the case given how many defenders we had on the pitch.
They say you shouldn't change a winning team, but which team won? The one that started or the one that ended the game, with Grealish etc? Either way, I doubt we'll see the same starting XI for Ukraine.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Grealish has to start, yesterday and the game vs Czech show how he knits our attacks together. His speed of thought and weight of pass make all the difference, he also commits defenders which our other attackers having been doing enough of.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, I think Grealish has done enough now to start the next game.
posted on 30/6/21
I do like Saka though and have no problem Grealish repeatedly making an impact from the bench (and no problem visa versa tbf).
posted on 30/6/21
comment by Robbing Hoody - Legacy Fan (U6374)
posted 51 seconds ago
I do like Saka though and have no problem Grealish repeatedly making an impact from the bench (and no problem visa versa tbf).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Saka earned the right to start against Germany, I think. But it was asking a lot of him to be arguably the main "creative" player.
posted on 30/6/21
comment by Clockwork Red (U4892)
posted 1 second ago
comment by Robbing Hoody - Legacy Fan (U6374)
posted 51 seconds ago
I do like Saka though and have no problem Grealish repeatedly making an impact from the bench (and no problem visa versa tbf).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Saka earned the right to start against Germany, I think. But it was asking a lot of him to be arguably the main "creative" player.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
He did fade but that knock on his ankle I think was deceptively serious. Stud got caught and although he didn't quite roll it it still looked nasty.
Nice problem to have between those two though.
posted on 30/6/21
Saka was great for the first 1/2 hour or so,but after Rudi had smacked him about a bit, he went off the boil.
posted on 30/6/21
I think it’ll take a lot for the Maguire and Stones partnership to be shelved, so most will be battling just to get a squad place after the Euros. But we’ll see, our squads usually change quite a lot from one tournament to the next.
posted on 30/6/21
If Saka is going to start again I really hope we move him to the left with Sterling to the right. Especially if we are going to hold the full backs deeper.
posted on 30/6/21
Yep Sterling on the right. The other positions I’m not overly fussed about who he plays. Grealish, Foden, Mount or Saka can all hurt opponents and whoever doesn’t play are good options off the bench.
posted on 30/6/21
Depends on how we use the full backs. If we are going to allow them to support the attack more then I think bringing in Mount makes sense. It not, Grealish needs to start.
posted on 30/6/21
If we lose against Ukraine then Southgate will be back to being a PE teacher.
I think people need to be realistic. We beat a weak Germany team at home. It was a good win and Southgate's selection worked albeit we could have been punished by Muller. For me it hasn't changed a great deal about Southgate. If we go all the way and win then he will have done very well but again he's still a negative manager and no more than a competent one who has had an awful lot of luck on his side.
posted on 30/6/21
I’m shocked at how people expect international teams to play expansive swashbuckling football just because you have talented players.
-------------------------------------------
I don't think anyone sensible is seriously expecting that but as I said yesterday, a bit more bravery wouldn't go amiss.
There wasn't an awful lot between the two sides. Before we scored I felt the game had began to drift and was there for either side to seize and win if they put a successful attack together. Thankfully it was us that made one of our better moments count.
I can understand why managers are more pragmatic in tournaments as it has obviously proven very successful in the past as it has done for us so far but it's still a risky strategy because we're constantly depending on coming out on top in games where the margins between winning and losing are incredibly fine.
posted on 30/6/21
That too, although switching Sterling to the right makes quite a big difference in itself, even more so if he also switches to a back four.
To be completely honest, given Ukraine’s exploits last night and who’s likely to be missing for them, I think we should beat them even if he doesn’t get the tactical tweaks bang on.
Page 3 of 4