I also wonder would Bellingham be best served as an out and out striker.
Heās a bit like a way more athletic version of Frank Lampard. He comes up big moments and big goals but he isnāt going to be a controlling midfielder and Iām not sure heās the stamina for a box to box mid fielder.
It isnāt. Palmer should definitely have been starting which would have helped but theyāre no closer to finding a controlling midfielder, the likes of which grow on trees out in Spain. Because of this theyāll always be relying on counter attacking against the best teams
My suspicion is if palmer starts itās Foden who makes the impact coming on.
Itās always way easier coming on as a sub against tired opponents as opposed to starting.
Would Rice have had half the career without the hype of the Ireland to England switch? I do not see it at all with Rice. Totally overrated.
At the top level heās a loser. Heās done well in symbolic and man-manager respects - heās fulfilled a sort of statesman role - and been a good figurehead for English football because he seems like a lovely fella in general but when it comes down to it tactically heās not at the level.
Heād be perfect for Manchester United - if he was a cunt, which he isnāt.
Graham Potter will surely get the gig now. Heās tactically more knowledgeable than Southgate but he smacks of being a wally with a brolly and the players might not respect him.
Watching BBC after the game and youād swear they were the raging hot favourites to win the tournament from the start. I donāt get it.
Rice is a good player but I think the English media have tried to portray him as something heās not and, like a lot of other English players, is a victim of hype.
He can pass a bit but heās nowhere near as comfortable in tight spaces as any of the Spanish midfielders. Heās able to carry the ball but his best attributes are as a pure DM. Winning the ball back, making interceptions. He canāt run a midfield.
Now, he had a fairly poor tournament on top of that and they had absolutely no replacement for him.
Southgate would be perfect for Liverpool if you think heās a loser surely.
It reminded me bumping into a Kilkenny chap I went to Cheltenham with a couple of years after the 2022 hurling final and he was totally disgusted with his teams effort and Iām there thinking to myself Kilkenny just arenāt that good boss.
I guess the expectations are different. They have forgotten how bad they were pre Southgate as well.
I love what you have done with your curtains
Rice is after poor tournament. I think he was left on in every game. He is so slow to move the ball on and he doesnāt have the confidence or maybe the capability to pass the ball quickly through the lines of midfield. He slows it down too much when all it needs is one quick ball.
He played really well for the most part at Arsenal last season but maybe he hit a wall mentally,
Last season every game was a big game for him as Arsenal looked to win the league. At West Ham the same expectations werenāt on him and probably not the same scrutiny on him if he or West Ham were poor in a game.
If only they had Kalvin Phillips.
Thereās a serious point here. For most of their history England were not serious contenders for tournaments. Theyāve been to fewer international finals than the Dutch and even Croatia have outperformed them recently. England, for most of my life, were a āquarter-final at bestā proposition.
That said, they were shite at this tournament and wound-up in the final due to an incredibly lopsided draw
They missed him for sure, I thought they would give young Wharton a go as he seems quite cool and understated on the ball in the way Phillips was.
They missed Phillips long passes especially.
No way. Building your team around a lad only works if itās messi.
They need to decide on a style of play and try to, you know, practice playing it, and then commit to it. The most bemusing thing was how utterly lacking in a plan England were all tournament. The closest they got to fluency was their first half against the dutch probably. Most of the tournament they were devoid of attacking intent. His thing of making them solid and having attacking wing backs is a decent plan but they used to use regular overlaps and pace to create things. They are flat as fuck and slow as hell at the moment.
There is no quick fix either. They lack smart and technical players. Mainoo is the closest they have to a spanish midfielder. Him and Rice could barely get near the ball and anytime mainoo got on it his options were very limited. Completely outclassed. The epitome of boom and bluster. Bellingham with a lovely turn then blasting 2 yards wide from 20 yards like he was the only one who can make a difference. Spain were happy to keep working it through trusting it would happen. Loads of them chipped in with 2/3goals throughout the tournament. Cos they can all be the man at vsrious different moments. Build your team as a team and you have a chance.
When was the last time England had a proper top tier manager.
Southgate had been an incredibly lucky general on the draw frontā¦
The world cup he got to the semis was a piss handy group then sweden and columbia ffssake. Their big chance was the last euros. They completely shat it. And it was his fault.
In fairness, it would have been a travesty if spain hadnt won this tournament.
Fabio Capello.
Yeah I agree. The last euros was the chance. Coming against an Italy team that wouldnāt qualify for either of the World Cups before or after the tournament, at home, and going 1-0 up within a few mins looks more and more like a bottle job.
