Euro 2024

[bigfluffylemon]

Portugal are also struggling to break Slovenia down.

I do feel as though it's not just England. Other than Spain, no team has been particularly impressive yet.

[bigfluffylemon]

I have some sympathy for Southgate as summed up in that article. We went from one point in the WC in 2014 and out to Iceland in 2016 to semi then final and one dodgy penalty from a trophy, and all anyone remembers is how Southgate's tactics could have been better in the games we lost, rather than giving him any credit for turning around what had been a pretty dismal 10 years on the international stage. And it's not as if the 2018 squad was amazing. We over performed in a good draw in that tournament.

[bigfluffylemon]

Ronaldo has a penalty saved.

Come on Slovenia, knock that b3ll-3nd out and make him cry some more.

[bigfluffylemon]

Penalties.

Four draws in a row for Slovenia.

[bigfluffylemon]

And Slovenia miss three penalties. What an anticlimax.

[bigfluffylemon]

Maybe it's British emotional repression talking, but I hate the modern trend of sportspeople constantly crying. You are professionals, get it together.

That also goes double for reality television. I don't watch much, as a rule, but occasionally I have ended up watching some 'talent' shows like MasterChef (I had a friend who went on the Australian version so I watched his series, it was like pulling teeth) and Lego Masters (BFL junior loves his Lego). It seems as though every time the judging comes up, half the contestants burst into tears. FFS people, you've just cooked a sub-par spatchcock. Nobody died (except the chicken). Get a sense of proportion.

[Durhamfootman]

I confess to thoroughly enjoying watching the winker crying like a baby. I always have

[bigfluffylemon]

Yes, I did enjoy that.

[sussexpob]

And it's not as if the 2018 squad was amazing. We over performed in a good draw in that tournament.

Can you point to a particular moment where you consider England to have over performed?

For top 20 ranked sides in this tournament..... England lost to Belgium, then drew with Colomba (winning on penalties), then lost to Croatia, then lost to Belgium again.

For teams outside the top side they beat Tunisia and Panama, ranked the joint lowest/2nd lowest teams in the competition, then beat Sweden.

So do we consider the win against Sweden as over performing? The team whose main creative force had just been released by Championship side Hull City and couldn't get a contract anywhere else? Or whose defence was built from a couple of players who played in the midtable of the Russian Premier League? Or maybe their striker who couldnt get a game at Anderlecht and was sent out as a gift loan to a near bankrupt Waasland-Beveren to help them form a squad?

Based purely on rankings/objective favourites based on betting odds of the time, England failed to win 2 games they were favourite in, lost 2 they were equal/slight underdogs, and won against teams they were comfortably favourites.

They did in fact underachieve on every objective measure. The fact they had the easiest route to the final in the history of the tournament makes it look good, but lets not kid ourselves that beating Colombia on penalties and an average Swedish team was some wonderful achievement.

[sussexpob]

Boil it all down in three major tournaments, the only top tier nation we have beaten under Southgate was Germany....who we played at Wembley.

I say top drawer side..... they were beaten in major tournaments either side of this match by South Korea, Japan and Mexico, had just lost a Nations League game to Spain 6-0, and the last game before the tournament were beaten at home by North Macedonia in a Qualifier for the WC...

But yeah, lets give Sir Gareth that..... he did was North Macedonia had just done and conquered German's worst ever side.

Yay to Gareth

[sussexpob]

and I say that as someone who has, over the years of his tenure, repeatedly acknowledged his many qualities. He has always been a very decent man, he's always believed in giving young players a chance, the players like him, the FA like him, he's a safe pair of hands who will never be stung by a Sunday paper and a fake sheik. But he is tactically inept, he has demonstrated that over and over again

Most people seem to think that ex-footballers must understand the game deeply to have played at such high levels, but its simply not true. Anyone who has heard Rio Ferdinand talk about the game knows that despite being the best CB England have had in my lifetime, its like he has never seen a football field when talking about the game. Its a bit like trying to argue that being a competent lowest ranked foot solider in an army makes you a great General. Following strict orders someone else creates does not in anyway prove you have the ability to do it yourself.

Your point about his stubbornness for me is wrong. I dont think its stubbornness, its a total lack of fundamental comprehension in football. Its like languages - I could write the easiest question in a language that you cant understand, and you wont be able to answer it, because all you see is words on a page that have no meaning. To Southgate, watching a football match with all its tiny nuances and tactical innovations is like starring at a page written in Cyrillic. He doesn't answer the question because he can't even begin to decode what the question is... to him he just sees a load of gobbledigook.

[Durhamfootman]

his last game as England manager is on Saturday.... then we can all move on

[Gingerfinch]

his last game as England manager is on Saturday.... then we can all move on

Let's hope not!

[mikesiva]

Netherlands 3-0 Romania

Rounding into form at the right time?

[Gingerfinch]

What a game that was and that save at the end was as good as I've seen.