England National Team - Three Lions On The Shirt

Southgate is a low grade manager. Players available could conceivably mount a challenge. But Southgate will make baffling selections like awful Pickford and also play two defensive mids irrespective of opposition.

 

Paging @wimbornet to the England thread.

 

He’s not even picked himself. FFS Southgate !

 

There is no evidence so far that he is a low grade manager considering how some of the ones performed before him. The World Cup run was decent.

Team selection is a personal thing. The squad has a bit of depth to it so not everyone will agree with his choices. Let's see how the tournament plays out before judging him.

Funnily enough a runner up spot in the group is potentially an easier route to the quarter finals. If they win the group they face the runner up from the France group.

He could end up resigning/sacked for winning the group and not beating a France or a Portugal in the last 16 who look like one of the best teams in the tournament if you look at their players on show. That would be a shame but that is football.

 

We’ve had managers in previous World cups who have beaten tougher opposition on the way.

We lost to Belgium twice and Croatia once. Our biggest achievement was beating Columbia on penalties.

We got given the kindest run we’ve ever had and ever likely to have to get to a WC final again and we couldn’t.

The draw this year is obviously harder but more realistic, if he doesn’t make it through and resigns it will be the correct thing to do, not a shame.

If he couldn’t do it with the easiest draw we’ve ever had, or a harder draw, what precisely are you waiting for?

 

His track record before England was a low grade manager and in the World Cup he was outmanoeuvred every time he faced a team of note.

That’s not to say he is any worse than some previous incumbents.

 

Don't matter anyway, Southgate has set his own bar and told the media. Semi finals or bust.

 

The stuff with TAA is weird as well, he dropped him now he’s having a go at the media for the rumours suggesting he wouldn’t be in the final 26. He created those rumours by dropping him in the first place.

 

In the last world cup, we lost all three matches against the only other top 10 sides we faced, and had to rely on penalties to beat the only other side played in the top 15 on penalties. Everything else in his career suggests he's a pretty poor manager.

Given he has a squad of Kane, Rashford, Sterling, Foden, Mount, Sancho and Grealish, plus 6 excellent wing backs, he has the best attacking options of any England manager in a long time.

If Maguire and Henderson are fit, I'd expect a good manager to get to the final with our side (before being outclassed by France). With Southgate in charge, my guess is we'll lose lamely in the first knockout round (1 nil down but we'll retain 3cbs and 2dms).

 

To be fair, he was on pretty poor form. His form picked up massively over the last 5-10 games of the season.

Hopefully dropping him spurred him on.

 

Trippier is the strangest selection. Whether we play with wing-backs or full-backs, on either side, he's 3rd best choice in every conceivable position he can play. He should clearly have been jettisoned for another attacking option further up the pitch. But he's benefitted, much like Pickford always being No.1, from Southgate having his favourites.

I guess the fact you can make unlimited squad changes right up the date of your first game means that yesterday's announcement still isn't the final squad really. Plenty of time for 'injuries' to occur and for Henderson/Maguire not to make it.

As for Southgate - never rated him and think he was lucky to ever get the job given the pedigree of his managerial career to that point. The World Cup run was good fun and the whole country got swept up in it - but when it all died down and you looked at it on reflection, it wasn't that impressive. Poor twice against Belgium, scraped past Tunisia with an injury time winner, ran ourselves close against Colombia and then ran out of steam against an average Croatia team that had played more minutes than us to that point in the tournament. We only really looked good against Sweden - and obviously beat Panama with the ease that was expected.

Southgate is too 'safe' as a manager and is terrified to attack teams for whatever reason. Yet our best players are our attackers and playmakers.
He literally needs to do a 'Xisco' - pick the best players, in the best system, and just work on creating a positive atmosphere. The players are good enough without him having to over-coach them.

 

Nananananananana
Nananananananana
Nananananananana
Bachmann!!

 

England are absolute sh*te. The Swansea of International football.

I don't watch them normally but can someone tell me what Bellingham has done to be in the squad. Other than join a moderately big German team?

 

I truly despise watching England. Southgate is an absolute joke of a manager.

 

Agreed on all counts. I never bother watching the national team as the football is so poor and can’t stand Southgate. I’m rooting for a convincing win for Bachmann and his team tonight.

 

You mean the defence in front of Bachmann?

 

Only watching to see how Bachmann does. He's had very little to do. Southgate is going to be painfully negative in the Euros isn't he?

Also, Grealish is a ****. Has he ever not thrown himself to the ground after losing the ball?

 

Fantastic. Dixon accused a Austrian player of causing an injury to Alexander-Arnold, turns out there wasn't a player near him.

I thought BT Sport were bad.

 

I get it's a meaningless game, but if Austria had a decent striker they'd be level here

 

Looks like TAA is dead. Southgate will be panicking if he’s down to only three right backs.

 

Get ready for the media to basically say England's tournament is over due to this injury, despite the fact Southgate only picked him because he was forced by the higher ups.

 

Another classic ITV Sport moment there.

 

I'm worn out by Engalnd to the extent I really have no feeling as to whether we win or lose.
That has to be wrong.
Thank you messrs Hodgson,BFS and Cockfosters.

 

Yep, he's total garbage. Obviously the warning signs were there when he was appointed without ever really being a success anywhere but he has no discernible footballing philosophy or style. He's a follower - played 4-2-3-1 when that was en vogue then Conte won the league with Chelsea playing 3-4-3 so lo and behold he switched to that. He's the kind of crap automaton manager that English coaching courses produce, not an original thought in his brain, just a pale imitation of successful coaches but without any understanding of how or why they became successful.

Might as well let an algorithm manage England.

 

Get Totteridge and Whetstone in now!

 

I thought we were **** tonight

 

He just looks and sounds like the establishment would expect of the England manager.
White. Polite. Carefully, blandly spoken. Diplomatic. Dresses smartly, like a 1930s bank manager. Whether he can actually get a performance from a team or has any track record of success isn’t relevant. Sir Eddie of Howe would be the perfect replacement. Aidy ticks many boxes (note the England role came after sackings by Coventry and Northampton) but perhaps a bit too northern and has links 15 years ago to kick and rush football.

 

Beautiful post

 

Or a cardigan?