Must win game. It's time to start dispatching the demons. We must at worst tie and play bloody well. Infact, we must win. At all costs. IF, Southgate decides to quit.. I'd quite like Tuchel as manager. His ability to get results in cup competitions is second to none. He also has the gravitas that the players will follow. He can be negative somewhat, but, we're already struggling for goals in open play as is. A good set of attacking coaches plus Steve Holland with him would be ideal. We have a very good pipeline coming through, a very good team now. Time to put it to good use.
The one thing that concerns me with Tuchel, is his personality. I know there'll be Southgate detractors who will believe that the Mr Nice Guy approach isn't working and we need someone more steely, but I'm not sure. I worry that Tuchel could take the culture that GS has built backwards as he has an abrasive personality and he has had issues handling certain players in previous jobs due to his man management style. Maybe I'm incorrect but it is just my gut feeling.
This is my fear also if I’m honest and it will be a massive backwards step if we employ someone that basically cancels out that feel good approach that Southgate has installed. What I mean by that is that players actually want to turn up and play for the National side rather than with past managers it was known that excuses would be made for players not to turn up. Obviously that may still happen for some friendlies but when it comes to the serious tournaments they all want to be there. I mean just look at Reece James and how gutted he was that Southgate didn’t select him. We can’t be going back to the old days of players fearing turning up to play for the team so whoever is the next manager needs to be on board with what Southgate has built within.
We need to keep Southgate. Most importantly he cares, Tuchel would just be in it for the money and enhancing his reputation.
Staying on his loyalty to aging players might be an issue. Like Martinez with Belgium. Good chance Southgate won't consider who is the better keeper, Maguire's club form, Henderson's age etc.
I don't think Southgate would hesitate to drop any of them for a better option if he thought someone else would give him more. Henderson played almost no part in the last tournament, and didn't start this one in the team either. Pickford is in there because he's the best option we have, same with Maguire. He dropped Sterling and Phillips for Foden and Bellingham without much fuss.
Yeah, this narrative over Maguire being a “teachers pet” was silly even pre-tournament. He’s not keeping the likes of Terry, Ferdinand, Campbell or even players like Woodgate or Ledley King out of the team. As you say, he was there because he’s the best option we have in a position where we are bereft of quality.
Interesting to see Henry Winter’s perspective on Talksport. Fairly scathing of Southgate and the whole valiant losers narrative that the media has been going with in the last two tournaments. Basically says that if you look at this year from a results perspective it has been subpar or mediocre at best and that there needs to be more ruthlessness and killer instinct not just around the team but in the bigger picture as a nation.
🚨 PSG plan to offer Marcus Rashford a salary of around £850,000-a-week to convince him to leave Manchester United! 😳🤑 (Source: Mirror Football) pic.twitter.com/JgnXButxpV— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) December 13, 2022
He should take it. Good for him, he gets to move abroad with a new challenge and a spot opens up for a kid to come through the ranks. Mainoo possibly?
Yes it appears he expressed similar sentiments in an article for the Times yesterday calling for a new manager. Although I can't see all of it as its behind a paywall. Jeff Powell in the Daily Mail has also called for him to go. His points are he has wasted England's three best chances of a winning a tournament since 66, messed up again with the substitutions and took Maddison for nothing. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...-latest-World-Cup-failure-against-France.html
Mainoo is a CM. United have already got a replacement as a left inside forward in Garnacho who will be playing a lot more for the seniors. Sancho needs to give his head a wobble too.
I don't know why everyones so keen to drop Pickford. Hes been solid as a rock for England.Hes made less mistakes for England than David Seaman.
They do. There is no point in forcing out-of-form, old players. It would have been much better to do as Croatia did, who kept the core and built average but serviceable players around them. And you can see which is more successful.
If there is an argument for Southgate to go it is around his ability to positively alter games during a match. His starting game plans are always pretty logical in tournaments but he is found wanting when he attempts to adapt when it is needed (If he even bothers to adapt).
There's an argument we need a more fluid and joined attacking section of our play. Perhaps an attacking coach would help?
Croatia’s core has been more fortunate with injuries or maybe has been more durable long term than Belgium’s. Belgium’s core bar De Bruyne has been battered up.
Maybe just picks more players that can dribble in CM roles. Would be a start. It’s not as if we don’t have options playing in the PL. Not scapegoating but our CM profiles in the squad are all very similar bar Bellingham (Maddison too if he’s considered for that role.)
Here's one... move Foden into midfield, but not at the tip. At the back of the midfield in front of the defence. Turn him into Modric. He's got ALL the technical skills Modric does. Not the nous but that only ever comes with time, but the positioning can be learnt... he has all the skills Luka does though.
Regarding players playing abroad, I do feel we are still behind as a nation. Yes, we are seeing many players start their careers in Germany now and other countries, but we’re yet to see one of our main players move there in the prime of their career. As much as I like Kane for example, I do feel he maybe lacks the ruthless, winning mentality that he’d have if he’d spent the last few years at a Madrid or Bayern hoovering up silverware. If you look at French or South American players especially, they generally put success over sentimentality when making their big career choices. As a nation, we’ve had many players who had the ability to be mainstays in teams who win trophies consistently but they prioritised home comforts. Shearer and Gerrard are the obvious examples whilst Kane is heading that way. I feel like we romanticise this idea of players staying at their boyhood clubs, when in reality this mentality often leads to players not only not picking up the honours they deserve, but also obtaining the kind of ruthless, win at all costs mentality that can get you over the line in the tight, really big games.
That's mainly financial though. Unless you're going to one of the very top clubs, you'll generally get paid more in the Premier League.