Decent analysis here:
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Thatās a very good analysis alright.
The lopsided nature of the French/Belgian tactics was confusing the life out of Ronnie in commentary on Tuesday night who couldnāt understand why the full backs werenāt aligned.
The central tenet of the piece anyway that England couldnāt afford to leave two up front seems correct. And thatās doubly so when Kane wasnāt involved at all in general play either on or off the ball.
Southgate has been wonderful as a man-manager but I donāt think heās a tactical genius or anything like it.
He made a great play of sticking with the same idea all through against Tunisia and not changing the game plan or tactics as if it was a strength. But he did that because England didnāt have another game plan or tactical approach.
The 3-5-2 very quickly became 5-3-2 through panic last night once Croatia started putting the pressure on, and the limitations of Englandās midfield became glaringly apparent. They were outnumbered, the ground they had to cover increased and they tired badly.
Kane and Sterling/Rashford became isolated and hopeful long balls became their only method of attack.
Southgate needs to develop another plan and find a ball playing midfielder or two.
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A few days ago you said he was an intellectual manager? Iām confused sid.
There you goā¦
He has brought an intellectualism and a humility to the preparation of the team that no England manager since Terry Venables did.
The amount of goals England have scored from set pieces is testament to him. England at this tournament have been probably the most effective set piece team Iāve ever seen. That involved painstaking preparation and work on his part.
The vast majority of the failings of previous tournaments were rectified, however it still wasnāt quite good enough. Thereās no shame in losing a semi-final in extra-time - England have gone further than all of Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Italy, Spain, Holland and Portugal in this tournament.
As a tournament it has still been an outstanding success for him and for England and itās a great base to work off for 2020 and beyond.
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He brought in a set piece coach. Presumably an intellectual one.
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He wore glasses, carried a clip board and used BIG words like dynamic.
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I think we can all agree Gareth Southgate is a top, top bloke and a fine manager who has made England fall in love with its national team again.
Meanwhile Eire fans have more dinosaur-era football under the dinosaur that is Martin OāNeill to look forward to.
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I just had this confirmed via whatsapp from Vrsi - āWe did it for our Irish brothersā
He wore a waistcoat and a tie
He has aspirations towards mid table mediocrity, but heās already been found out.
ātop blokeā, lovely!!
I didnāt say heās a top bloke.
I said heās a top, top bloke.
FFS sake.
@caoimhaoin , where did you think you got in wrong when you predicted 4-0 to England mid game
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He was banking on Englandās traditionā¦
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Thank God some of the lads on here dont bet on the outcome of sporting events. They wouldnt have a pot to piss in otherwise.
His S&C expertise informed him that Croatia were out on their feet after 15 min of the first half. What happened afterwards goes against all known sports science and has to be attributed to paranormal activities.
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Actually in hindsight it did have alot to do with their physical readiness.
They were clearly fucked early doors. This would indicate CNS and lactate fatigue. However they worked their way into it. Now they were fatigued from extended games and not necessarily poor preparation.however it did resemble how you see some GAA teams that are heavily Lactate trained by lunatic coaches. They are slow starters and almost fatigued from get-go.
But in time they work into game and finish strong if game has not got too far away from them.
Different prep reasons but I theorize similar physiological reasons
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Terrific insight mate.
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