England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread 23:10 - Jun 25 with 31497 views | Ned_Kennedys | We’ve had three match threads from a Southgate fan and three terrible England performances so surely it’s time to have one from a Southgate critic? Walker switched to LB, TAA in at right back, Bellingham dropped back next to Rice, Foden central, Gordon on the left and Palmer on the right. Come on Gareth: you can do it! [Post edited 27 Jun 15:28]
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England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 23:01 - Jun 28 with 2120 views | Snipper | When Southgate became England manager, he ditched the likes of Rooney etc….. It was a breath of fresh air when we had a good mix of youth leading into the 2018 World Cup. There was a feel good factor in the country as players were no longer picked on reputation, and the people got behind them. It was a píss easy group to get out of, and we ended up in the ‘easy side’ of the draw. We played an average Colombia in the last 16 and an even more average Sweden in the last 8. We lost to Croatia in the semis, but I gave Southgate credit for galvanising the nation, and rekindling the love for the national team again. In the Euro’s in 2021, we had another easy group. We then had to play the second worst German team in my memory at home in the last 16, followed by an absolute bang average Ukraine in the last 8, followed by a slightly impressive Denmark in a home semi final. The final vs Italy still boils my píss to this day. Going 1-0 up after 2 minutes against an ageing defence, Southgate should’ve gone for the jugular. But no, we went all defensive, and tried to defend our way through to 90 minutes. Southgate shít the bed that night so to speak. We’ve never really recovered from it either. World Cup 2022 we had yet another easy group. We then came up against Senegal in the last 16, and then France in the last 8. Southgate’s substitutions baffled me vs France. He took Saka off who was giving their left back a torrid time. We lost impetus after that. We still had a late penalty to take it into extra time though. Onto Euro 2024. Southgate hasn’t got a clue what his best team is. His squad is unbalanced. He named a crock left back, with no back up left back named. He then played Trent Alexander Arnold, who’s actually a right back, in midfield vs Serbia & Denmark. He actually called it an experiment. In an interview after the Denmark game, Southgate said we’ve never found a replacement for Kalvin Phillips. Jesus bloody wept. 😡😡 Phil Foden is absolutely wasted out on the left as he has no proper left back to support him. Nearly every tv pundit, be it Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, Ian Wright or Gary Neville, have said that Bellingham should drop into the middle with Rice, and Foden should play the No10. We’ve made bloody hard work winning the group, and we’ve been extremely lucky with the side of the draw we’re on. Unless he grows a backbone and makes some changes, it’s going to be dire again vs Slovakia on Sunday. Slovakia will play with 2 banks of 4 behind the ball, and try and hit us on the break. We’ve struggled to break teams down thus far. I can see extra time and penalties. If he’s brave, and changes it up a bit, I think we’d win comfortably. The upshot is, England have some fantastic players, and they should be one of the best teams to watch. Southgate gets paid around £5-6m per year to pick the best team and system, but he’s sadly lacking in this department. He’s fallen into the trap of most England managers of the past by trying to pick his so called best players. In doing so, he’s putting square pegs in round holes. The team is very unbalanced as a consequence. I’ll just finish with a story Jack Charlton told years ago. When he was being picked in the lead up to the 1966 World Cup, Jack knew he wasn’t in the top few best English centre halves in the country. He actually asked Alf Ramsey why he was being picked. Alf Ramsey told him that he knows he’s not the best centre half in the country, but he was the best for what he wanted him to do. You can see why Alf Ramsey won a World Cup. But for Gordon Banks suffering from food poisoning, he could’ve won us back to back World Cups. It shows that the best players on paper are not necessarily the best players for the team. | ![](/images/avatars/1293.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
England v TBC last 16 Match Thread on 23:35 - Jun 28 with 2038 views | stainrods_elbow |
England v TBC last 16 Match Thread on 11:37 - Jun 26 by Malintabuk | Think he as literally painted himself into a corner here and he won't get out of it If he goes for wholesale change, ie 3 or 4 changes, then he hasn't the time to change the system or bed in players. I would be amazed if Sunday there is more than 2 changes to that team. Surely he must know we need to balance it up and will play hopefully Gordon on the left and possibly Palmer..... That would be Saka and Foden for me left out |
He hasn't literally painted himself into a corner, has he? To do this he'd have to be (literally) a painter with some kind of weird complex or who hadn't thought the job through! | ![](/images/avatars/24775.gif) |
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England v TBC last 16 Match Thread on 05:07 - Jun 29 with 1918 views | SouthAfricanRanger |
England v TBC last 16 Match Thread on 09:53 - Jun 26 by paulparker | Poor management not taking an actual fit left back We don’t attack at all down the left , we are so unbalanced As for Slothgate he is becoming unbearable, the arrogance of him and that interview after the game The sooner he fcuks off the better |
I’m happy to do the final 🕺 | ![](/images/avatars/24982.gif) |
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England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 09:52 - Jun 29 with 1765 views | daveB |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 23:01 - Jun 28 by Snipper | When Southgate became England manager, he ditched the likes of Rooney etc….. It was a breath of fresh air when we had a good mix of youth leading into the 2018 World Cup. There was a feel good factor in the country as players were no longer picked on reputation, and the people got behind them. It was a píss easy group to get out of, and we ended up in the ‘easy side’ of the draw. We played an average Colombia in the last 16 and an even more average Sweden in the last 8. We lost to Croatia in the semis, but I gave Southgate credit for galvanising the nation, and rekindling the love for the national team again. In the Euro’s in 2021, we had another easy group. We then had to play the second worst German team in my memory at home in the last 16, followed by an absolute bang average Ukraine in the last 8, followed by a slightly impressive Denmark in a home semi final. The final vs Italy still boils my píss to this day. Going 1-0 up after 2 minutes against an ageing defence, Southgate should’ve gone for the jugular. But no, we went all defensive, and tried to defend our way through to 90 minutes. Southgate shít the bed that night so to speak. We’ve never really recovered from it either. World Cup 2022 we had yet another easy group. We then came up against Senegal in the last 16, and then France in the last 8. Southgate’s substitutions baffled me vs France. He took Saka off who was giving their left back a torrid time. We lost impetus after that. We still had a late penalty to take it into extra time though. Onto Euro 2024. Southgate hasn’t got a clue what his best team is. His squad is unbalanced. He named a crock left back, with no back up left back named. He then played Trent Alexander Arnold, who’s actually a right back, in midfield vs Serbia & Denmark. He actually called it an experiment. In an interview after the Denmark game, Southgate said we’ve never found a replacement for Kalvin Phillips. Jesus bloody wept. 😡😡 Phil Foden is absolutely wasted out on the left as he has no proper left back to support him. Nearly every tv pundit, be it Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, Ian Wright or Gary Neville, have said that Bellingham should drop into the middle with Rice, and Foden should play the No10. We’ve made bloody hard work winning the group, and we’ve been extremely lucky with the side of the draw we’re on. Unless he grows a backbone and makes some changes, it’s going to be dire again vs Slovakia on Sunday. Slovakia will play with 2 banks of 4 behind the ball, and try and hit us on the break. We’ve struggled to break teams down thus far. I can see extra time and penalties. If he’s brave, and changes it up a bit, I think we’d win comfortably. The upshot is, England have some fantastic players, and they should be one of the best teams to watch. Southgate gets paid around £5-6m per year to pick the best team and system, but he’s sadly lacking in this department. He’s fallen into the trap of most England managers of the past by trying to pick his so called best players. In doing so, he’s putting square pegs in round holes. The team is very unbalanced as a consequence. I’ll just finish with a story Jack Charlton told years ago. When he was being picked in the lead up to the 1966 World Cup, Jack knew he wasn’t in the top few best English centre halves in the country. He actually asked Alf Ramsey why he was being picked. Alf Ramsey told him that he knows he’s not the best centre half in the country, but he was the best for what he wanted him to do. You can see why Alf Ramsey won a World Cup. But for Gordon Banks suffering from food poisoning, he could’ve won us back to back World Cups. It shows that the best players on paper are not necessarily the best players for the team. |
I think your being really unfair on that Germany game. That was a 50/50 game given the pressure on it and the history of England not beating them or any of the top nations in a knockout game since 66. That win was massive and sparked the rest of the tournament He gets blames for the Euro final as if the players can't think for themselves and attack for the 2nd goal which they did for much of that first half and missed chances to kill the game off. The manager can't play the game for them People go on about the kind draws for Southgate but there are not that many good sides. France in 2022 had Poland, England and Morocco to get to the final Argentina had Australia, Holland and Croatia 1 tough game for both on the route similar to us in 2021 2018 World Cup Croatia got to the final beating Denmark and Russia on penalties and then England 2016 Euros Portugal got to the final beating Poland, Croatia and Wales England route this time is likely to be Slovakia, Italy and Holland, personally don't see that as easy but does give us a better chance than Germany, Spain and France which is the other side of the draw The thing about the current set up is that just because all the pundits see it one way does not make them all right. Southgate was right we haven't replaced Phillips and found a natural balance in midfield, he has played Bellingham there before but he's looked better in a more advanced role although gone missing since the first half against Serbia. All this talk about him being brave to change it up isn't that just giving in and doing what everyone else wants him to do. He should stick to what he wants to do and the players need to step up because the team he's picked in the last 3 games has been more than good enough to perform a lot better. It's not as if Palmer would be replacing Emile Heskey he's coming in for Saka who is just as good as Palmer if not better Getting the balance right is the key and some of his senior players have made some really stupid decisions during the 3 games and have gone missing when we need someone to grab hold of it | ![](/images/avatars/1922.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 10:31 - Jun 29 with 1705 views | BazzaInTheLoft |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 09:52 - Jun 29 by daveB | I think your being really unfair on that Germany game. That was a 50/50 game given the pressure on it and the history of England not beating them or any of the top nations in a knockout game since 66. That win was massive and sparked the rest of the tournament He gets blames for the Euro final as if the players can't think for themselves and attack for the 2nd goal which they did for much of that first half and missed chances to kill the game off. The manager can't play the game for them People go on about the kind draws for Southgate but there are not that many good sides. France in 2022 had Poland, England and Morocco to get to the final Argentina had Australia, Holland and Croatia 1 tough game for both on the route similar to us in 2021 2018 World Cup Croatia got to the final beating Denmark and Russia on penalties and then England 2016 Euros Portugal got to the final beating Poland, Croatia and Wales England route this time is likely to be Slovakia, Italy and Holland, personally don't see that as easy but does give us a better chance than Germany, Spain and France which is the other side of the draw The thing about the current set up is that just because all the pundits see it one way does not make them all right. Southgate was right we haven't replaced Phillips and found a natural balance in midfield, he has played Bellingham there before but he's looked better in a more advanced role although gone missing since the first half against Serbia. All this talk about him being brave to change it up isn't that just giving in and doing what everyone else wants him to do. He should stick to what he wants to do and the players need to step up because the team he's picked in the last 3 games has been more than good enough to perform a lot better. It's not as if Palmer would be replacing Emile Heskey he's coming in for Saka who is just as good as Palmer if not better Getting the balance right is the key and some of his senior players have made some really stupid decisions during the 3 games and have gone missing when we need someone to grab hold of it |
Got sent a meme of Southgate mocked up as Bin Laden this morning. I wonder if other nations self sabotage the way we do. | ![](/images/avatars/6600.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 10:39 - Jun 29 with 1686 views | Ned_Kennedys |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 09:52 - Jun 29 by daveB | I think your being really unfair on that Germany game. That was a 50/50 game given the pressure on it and the history of England not beating them or any of the top nations in a knockout game since 66. That win was massive and sparked the rest of the tournament He gets blames for the Euro final as if the players can't think for themselves and attack for the 2nd goal which they did for much of that first half and missed chances to kill the game off. The manager can't play the game for them People go on about the kind draws for Southgate but there are not that many good sides. France in 2022 had Poland, England and Morocco to get to the final Argentina had Australia, Holland and Croatia 1 tough game for both on the route similar to us in 2021 2018 World Cup Croatia got to the final beating Denmark and Russia on penalties and then England 2016 Euros Portugal got to the final beating Poland, Croatia and Wales England route this time is likely to be Slovakia, Italy and Holland, personally don't see that as easy but does give us a better chance than Germany, Spain and France which is the other side of the draw The thing about the current set up is that just because all the pundits see it one way does not make them all right. Southgate was right we haven't replaced Phillips and found a natural balance in midfield, he has played Bellingham there before but he's looked better in a more advanced role although gone missing since the first half against Serbia. All this talk about him being brave to change it up isn't that just giving in and doing what everyone else wants him to do. He should stick to what he wants to do and the players need to step up because the team he's picked in the last 3 games has been more than good enough to perform a lot better. It's not as if Palmer would be replacing Emile Heskey he's coming in for Saka who is just as good as Palmer if not better Getting the balance right is the key and some of his senior players have made some really stupid decisions during the 3 games and have gone missing when we need someone to grab hold of it |
Sorry Dave but your idea that Southgate should stick with his team and tactics despite there being three full games of evidence to show it’s not working is surely just blindly supporting him. His well paid job is to get the best out of his very talented squad. It’s his job to work out a way to replace his beloved Kalvin Phillips, not throwing his hands up in the air bemoaning the situation. Regardless of how the rest of the tournament goes the way England have played so far as they bored everyone whilst scraping through the easiest group has been immensely disappointing and frustrating and has been rightly called out by the vast majority. | ![](/images/avatars/24226.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 10:42 - Jun 29 with 1681 views | BazzaInTheLoft |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 10:39 - Jun 29 by Ned_Kennedys | Sorry Dave but your idea that Southgate should stick with his team and tactics despite there being three full games of evidence to show it’s not working is surely just blindly supporting him. His well paid job is to get the best out of his very talented squad. It’s his job to work out a way to replace his beloved Kalvin Phillips, not throwing his hands up in the air bemoaning the situation. Regardless of how the rest of the tournament goes the way England have played so far as they bored everyone whilst scraping through the easiest group has been immensely disappointing and frustrating and has been rightly called out by the vast majority. |
I think you are getting evidence and opinion mixed up. | ![](/images/avatars/6600.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) | Login to get fewer ads
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 10:50 - Jun 29 with 1662 views | daveB |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 10:39 - Jun 29 by Ned_Kennedys | Sorry Dave but your idea that Southgate should stick with his team and tactics despite there being three full games of evidence to show it’s not working is surely just blindly supporting him. His well paid job is to get the best out of his very talented squad. It’s his job to work out a way to replace his beloved Kalvin Phillips, not throwing his hands up in the air bemoaning the situation. Regardless of how the rest of the tournament goes the way England have played so far as they bored everyone whilst scraping through the easiest group has been immensely disappointing and frustrating and has been rightly called out by the vast majority. |
I think he should pick the team he wants to and succeed or fail that way. I've heard pundits this week say he has to play Walker left back or Saka left back or Saka left wing or Trent in for Walker or Bellingham deep, he should ignore all of them and do what he wants to do. That may end up being wrong but I don't see all the other experts being 100% right either He's not bemoaning the situation with Phillips he's tried to find a solution with Trent, Gallagher and now Mainoo and was explaining why Trent was in midfield. I agree we've been poor so far and if that continues we'll be coming home on Monday It's a weird atmosphere this tournament, fans seem to just be waiting for it to go wrong so that can say see I told you he was rubbish. This way well be a tournament too far for him and feels that way at the moment but the relish some people seem to be taking in attacking Southgate is quite sad to see | ![](/images/avatars/1922.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 11:47 - Jun 29 with 1615 views | Snipper |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 10:50 - Jun 29 by daveB | I think he should pick the team he wants to and succeed or fail that way. I've heard pundits this week say he has to play Walker left back or Saka left back or Saka left wing or Trent in for Walker or Bellingham deep, he should ignore all of them and do what he wants to do. That may end up being wrong but I don't see all the other experts being 100% right either He's not bemoaning the situation with Phillips he's tried to find a solution with Trent, Gallagher and now Mainoo and was explaining why Trent was in midfield. I agree we've been poor so far and if that continues we'll be coming home on Monday It's a weird atmosphere this tournament, fans seem to just be waiting for it to go wrong so that can say see I told you he was rubbish. This way well be a tournament too far for him and feels that way at the moment but the relish some people seem to be taking in attacking Southgate is quite sad to see |
Dave, no proper England fan is wanting the team to fail to say I told you so. If and when they do eventually go out, that will be the time for that. At the end of the day, we’re all fans who desperately want England to win something. As I alluded to in a previous post, Southgate is paid £5-6m per year to manage England. He’s gone into this tournament not knowing his best team. Admitting playing TAA in midfield in the first two games was an experiment was downright embarrassing. As I also said, he’s fallen into the trap of trying to pick the best players. Square pegs in round holes won’t win you any tournaments. In my opinion, the majority of pundits have got it right with their criticism. After the Denmark match, Alan Shearer was rightly angry with the performance. Gary Lineker, unusually for him, also laid into them. On the way home from the Slovenia match the following morning, we had a discussion whether England could bore their way to the title. We all agreed it’s not impossible, and none of us would moan about it if they did. Owing to Southgate’s record when England play tougher opposition, it’s a very slim chance they could win it playing the way they are. | ![](/images/avatars/1293.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 12:07 - Jun 29 with 1573 views | Lblock |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 23:01 - Jun 28 by Snipper | When Southgate became England manager, he ditched the likes of Rooney etc….. It was a breath of fresh air when we had a good mix of youth leading into the 2018 World Cup. There was a feel good factor in the country as players were no longer picked on reputation, and the people got behind them. It was a píss easy group to get out of, and we ended up in the ‘easy side’ of the draw. We played an average Colombia in the last 16 and an even more average Sweden in the last 8. We lost to Croatia in the semis, but I gave Southgate credit for galvanising the nation, and rekindling the love for the national team again. In the Euro’s in 2021, we had another easy group. We then had to play the second worst German team in my memory at home in the last 16, followed by an absolute bang average Ukraine in the last 8, followed by a slightly impressive Denmark in a home semi final. The final vs Italy still boils my píss to this day. Going 1-0 up after 2 minutes against an ageing defence, Southgate should’ve gone for the jugular. But no, we went all defensive, and tried to defend our way through to 90 minutes. Southgate shít the bed that night so to speak. We’ve never really recovered from it either. World Cup 2022 we had yet another easy group. We then came up against Senegal in the last 16, and then France in the last 8. Southgate’s substitutions baffled me vs France. He took Saka off who was giving their left back a torrid time. We lost impetus after that. We still had a late penalty to take it into extra time though. Onto Euro 2024. Southgate hasn’t got a clue what his best team is. His squad is unbalanced. He named a crock left back, with no back up left back named. He then played Trent Alexander Arnold, who’s actually a right back, in midfield vs Serbia & Denmark. He actually called it an experiment. In an interview after the Denmark game, Southgate said we’ve never found a replacement for Kalvin Phillips. Jesus bloody wept. 😡😡 Phil Foden is absolutely wasted out on the left as he has no proper left back to support him. Nearly every tv pundit, be it Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, Ian Wright or Gary Neville, have said that Bellingham should drop into the middle with Rice, and Foden should play the No10. We’ve made bloody hard work winning the group, and we’ve been extremely lucky with the side of the draw we’re on. Unless he grows a backbone and makes some changes, it’s going to be dire again vs Slovakia on Sunday. Slovakia will play with 2 banks of 4 behind the ball, and try and hit us on the break. We’ve struggled to break teams down thus far. I can see extra time and penalties. If he’s brave, and changes it up a bit, I think we’d win comfortably. The upshot is, England have some fantastic players, and they should be one of the best teams to watch. Southgate gets paid around £5-6m per year to pick the best team and system, but he’s sadly lacking in this department. He’s fallen into the trap of most England managers of the past by trying to pick his so called best players. In doing so, he’s putting square pegs in round holes. The team is very unbalanced as a consequence. I’ll just finish with a story Jack Charlton told years ago. When he was being picked in the lead up to the 1966 World Cup, Jack knew he wasn’t in the top few best English centre halves in the country. He actually asked Alf Ramsey why he was being picked. Alf Ramsey told him that he knows he’s not the best centre half in the country, but he was the best for what he wanted him to do. You can see why Alf Ramsey won a World Cup. But for Gordon Banks suffering from food poisoning, he could’ve won us back to back World Cups. It shows that the best players on paper are not necessarily the best players for the team. |
Absolute poetry Agree with every single word | ![](/images/avatars/4057.gif) |
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England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 12:15 - Jun 29 with 1564 views | Lblock | Maybe I’m too old for this Shiite now and maybe it’s just me but I just feel this tournament has never captivated the supporting England nation. I’ve only spoken to one diehard England fan (you know who you are) who went into this thinking we could win it. Most saw the abortion of a squad that was picked, the demeanour of the Manager and thought the media hype was mental. I’ve gone back 14 years in my feelings towards the national side. Mad really as a lot of my reconnection was down to Safegates early years At the moment I’m not hankering to get over there and enjoy a bit of “follow England away”…. I probably would for old times sake if the chance landed in my lap though!!! Good luck to the lad’s tomorrow and hopefully the shackles come off and we get a show but I’m going 1-1 at FT and what happens after that is anyone’s guess. Got an Iceland feel to it…… | ![](/images/avatars/4057.gif) |
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England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 12:32 - Jun 29 with 1528 views | Ned_Kennedys |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 10:50 - Jun 29 by daveB | I think he should pick the team he wants to and succeed or fail that way. I've heard pundits this week say he has to play Walker left back or Saka left back or Saka left wing or Trent in for Walker or Bellingham deep, he should ignore all of them and do what he wants to do. That may end up being wrong but I don't see all the other experts being 100% right either He's not bemoaning the situation with Phillips he's tried to find a solution with Trent, Gallagher and now Mainoo and was explaining why Trent was in midfield. I agree we've been poor so far and if that continues we'll be coming home on Monday It's a weird atmosphere this tournament, fans seem to just be waiting for it to go wrong so that can say see I told you he was rubbish. This way well be a tournament too far for him and feels that way at the moment but the relish some people seem to be taking in attacking Southgate is quite sad to see |
He’s picked the team he wants to for three games and we’ve been very poor in all three. He has quality players who could step in and make a difference: a few have already shown this in the few minutes they have played. A quality manager makes changes when things are not going well and learns from his mistakes, not continue doing the same things over and over. England fans want to see a decent and entertaining performance from their team in the tournament: that’s not too much to ask from a highly rated team who have so far played three much lower rated teams. One good performance will take a lot of pressure off Southgate and he’s very lucky he’s still got the chance to turn it around. | ![](/images/avatars/24226.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 12:44 - Jun 29 with 1482 views | Hoopsie | Just a question, who could have replaced Kalvin Phillips? | ![](/images/avatars/16610.gif) |
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England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 12:48 - Jun 29 with 1473 views | daveB |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 11:47 - Jun 29 by Snipper | Dave, no proper England fan is wanting the team to fail to say I told you so. If and when they do eventually go out, that will be the time for that. At the end of the day, we’re all fans who desperately want England to win something. As I alluded to in a previous post, Southgate is paid £5-6m per year to manage England. He’s gone into this tournament not knowing his best team. Admitting playing TAA in midfield in the first two games was an experiment was downright embarrassing. As I also said, he’s fallen into the trap of trying to pick the best players. Square pegs in round holes won’t win you any tournaments. In my opinion, the majority of pundits have got it right with their criticism. After the Denmark match, Alan Shearer was rightly angry with the performance. Gary Lineker, unusually for him, also laid into them. On the way home from the Slovenia match the following morning, we had a discussion whether England could bore their way to the title. We all agreed it’s not impossible, and none of us would moan about it if they did. Owing to Southgate’s record when England play tougher opposition, it’s a very slim chance they could win it playing the way they are. |
Thats how it feels to me that this has been brewing for a while with a lot of England fans over Maguire, then Henderson/Phillips now something else. If we win it of course everyone will be delighted but it feels to me that anything other than perfection is going to be slaughtered and people can't wait to do it Lineker was saying 2 years ago we have to try Trent in midfield, he's conveniently forgotten that now and that Trent played in midfield for a chunk of the qualifying group has also been air brushed. He tried it explained why and was slaughtered anyway. Pundits and fans have every right to be angry with how it's gone so far but it does all feel a bit over the top, Sky keep showing images of us losing to Iceland almost desperate for it to happen again I agree he doesn't know his best team but the team's he has put out have on paper been more than good enough to win those games and the pundits plan to play Bellingham deep and Foden in the middle would see 10 of the 11 picked for the first game starting We have to play a lot better to win the tournament, I don't think we will but England going back forever have fallen short and will do again when Graham Potter takes over next month | ![](/images/avatars/1922.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 12:53 - Jun 29 with 1467 views | daveB |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 12:32 - Jun 29 by Ned_Kennedys | He’s picked the team he wants to for three games and we’ve been very poor in all three. He has quality players who could step in and make a difference: a few have already shown this in the few minutes they have played. A quality manager makes changes when things are not going well and learns from his mistakes, not continue doing the same things over and over. England fans want to see a decent and entertaining performance from their team in the tournament: that’s not too much to ask from a highly rated team who have so far played three much lower rated teams. One good performance will take a lot of pressure off Southgate and he’s very lucky he’s still got the chance to turn it around. |
What I mean is he will live and die by his decisions so he should do what he wants and not change things because fans or pundits think he should. He may well end up being wrong and think he has got a fair bit wrong so far but really that 11 he has been picking can play a lot better and even in most fans team at least 8/9 of the 11 would be starting. Just maybe not everything in our performances is down to the manager and players could quite possibly take some responsibility for what they do on the pitch. | ![](/images/avatars/1922.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 13:04 - Jun 29 with 1430 views | Hoopsie |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 12:53 - Jun 29 by daveB | What I mean is he will live and die by his decisions so he should do what he wants and not change things because fans or pundits think he should. He may well end up being wrong and think he has got a fair bit wrong so far but really that 11 he has been picking can play a lot better and even in most fans team at least 8/9 of the 11 would be starting. Just maybe not everything in our performances is down to the manager and players could quite possibly take some responsibility for what they do on the pitch. |
But would you agree “everything” in our performances was down to the manager when Cifuentes took over. At least for me 100% I can recall just here how we felt about our players no so 7/8 months ago Perhaps the same for England players? | ![](/images/avatars/16610.gif) |
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England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 14:07 - Jun 29 with 1371 views | daveB |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 13:04 - Jun 29 by Hoopsie | But would you agree “everything” in our performances was down to the manager when Cifuentes took over. At least for me 100% I can recall just here how we felt about our players no so 7/8 months ago Perhaps the same for England players? |
I think the manager has a big influence over how the team sets up and how they play but he's not responsible for individual mistakes on a pitch and at the highest level these players we keep being told are world class should be able to perform much better, not as if hes asking them to do anything they haven't been doing for England in recent years If we're gonna compare to QPR we had some pretty abject performances under Cifuentes as well, does that make him a terrible manager or on those days did the players just not play very well. | ![](/images/avatars/1922.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 14:33 - Jun 29 with 1342 views | DannyPaddox | | ![](/images/avatars/17496.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 03:54 - Jun 30 with 1140 views | Benny_the_Ball |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 12:44 - Jun 29 by Hoopsie | Just a question, who could have replaced Kalvin Phillips? |
Kobbie Mainoo Adam Wharton Jude Bellingham Gareth has plenty of options and made himself look very foolish by bemoaning Kalvin's absence. | ![](/images/avatars/18320.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 13:20 - Jun 30 with 932 views | daveB |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 03:54 - Jun 30 by Benny_the_Ball | Kobbie Mainoo Adam Wharton Jude Bellingham Gareth has plenty of options and made himself look very foolish by bemoaning Kalvin's absence. |
England best two performances in qualifying was the wins over Italy when he had Phillips in midfield. Mainoo has only been available the last 2 camps and he has played him but time will tell if he'll be able to hit the ground running as strike up the partnership Rice/Phillips did before. he is capable so hopefully he can | ![](/images/avatars/1922.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 14:29 - Jun 30 with 840 views | DavieQPR | Needs to pick his best team not his best players. Always sets up not to lose rather than to win. That's alright in group stages but not in knock out. I know I would be very underwhelmed if he was ever Marti's replacement. | ![](/images/avatars/21942.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 14:36 - Jun 30 with 827 views | Benny_the_Ball |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 13:20 - Jun 30 by daveB | England best two performances in qualifying was the wins over Italy when he had Phillips in midfield. Mainoo has only been available the last 2 camps and he has played him but time will tell if he'll be able to hit the ground running as strike up the partnership Rice/Phillips did before. he is capable so hopefully he can |
Phillips' form has dropped off a cliff since those qualifying games so Southgate decided not to select him for this tournament. Before reaching that decision, he should have established whether he has a ready-made replacement lined up or is willing to alter his tactics to suit the players he selected. The bottom line is the question was asked and I've answered it, unequivocally. Gareth has 3 viable options available to him in the squad. The time has come for Gareth to stop making excuses and put his best foot forward. The footballing gods have once again smiled upon him with a very favourable draw. If he doesn't make at least the final with this group of players then he deserves all of the criticism that will inevitably come his way. [Post edited 30 Jun 14:45]
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England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 15:19 - Jun 30 with 750 views | eastside_r | England 1 (Kane pen. 22) Slovakia 0 | ![](/images/avatars/1421.gif) | | ![](/images/icons/ignore-user.png) |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 15:39 - Jun 30 with 720 views | johncharles |
England v Slovakia last 16 Match Thread on 14:29 - Jun 30 by DavieQPR | Needs to pick his best team not his best players. Always sets up not to lose rather than to win. That's alright in group stages but not in knock out. I know I would be very underwhelmed if he was ever Marti's replacement. |
The group stages are the banana skin stages. So many top teams have slipped and fallen over the years. Southgate’s job was to guide England safely through these early rounds when you’re never sure what opposition will be like. He’s done the job very well. Now all you guys wanting Southgate to be more adventurous make sure you’ve explained this to Slovakia. | ![](/images/avatars/13091.gif) |
| Strong and stable my arse. |
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