England Senior Team General Discussion Thread

We finished second didn't we? I think

 

Third, but 10 points ahead of Iceland in fourth.

 

He looks incredible. Some of those passes though.

 

Thanks bud. Was getting myself a bit confused. Is the draw for next groupings in December?

 

Yeah, he’s got so much more to his game than just a another wide man that beats his man as his main weapon. He has really good vision with his through balls and his link up play around the penalty area with others is also really impressive. Just really frustrating that he wasn’t used as much as he should have been by Southgate during the Euro’s and during the final in my opinion when he was needed.

 

Absolutely, unbelievable we played Mount on the right and then kept him on when it just wasn't happening for him. It's maddening to have these players and then use them so infrequently. Marcho so you think he will change going forward? I don't think we will ever play to our strengths under Southgate. So defensive, so slow to make changes when the momentum is against us.

 

I’d like to think so but I doubt it to be honest and in some ways he would be justified to go the same way since he got us to our first final in my lifetime so it would be hard to be really critical of him. However, you would just like to think his in game management in certain situations would be more proactive and braver when it really needs to be but I just have this feeling his pragmatic side will mean we will probably be having these similar discussions again in the future.

 

He was two missed penalties (or a bundled in set piece) away from handing England our first tournament win since the 60's. If he changes then the change won't be radical. I would instinctively like to see us play differently, but he has a great deal of reason on his side.

France won the World Cup by being conservative, Portugal the Euros before that, and even in this tournament we reach the final that way and Italy edge past Spain essentially parking the bus for most of the game. In truth, the only time a team ever seems to win a tournament without being very, very solid is if they just have a comfortably stronger squad than everyone else, which England doesn't have.

 

I really hated that we pushed mount left and Sterling to his weaker right and then didn’t pay sancho till very late

Southgate has done a lot of good things but may of wasted our best chance of winning

 

Marcho I agree we will be having these discussions again. But that is why I don't find it hard to be critical. Southgate deserves a ton of credit for turning us into a tournament team. I love him as a man but for me the similarities of the 2018 Croatia exit and the Italy exit show he hasn't and will never learn. Score early and then defend for our lifes. We had a the best start we could have hoped for and just handed back the initiative. Far too slow to make changes, despite having a much stronger team then in 2018, and then the actual changes he did make....

Those moments are never coming back. Our tournament record is terrible for various reasons so the fact we got this far is progress, but when you factor in the talent we have and the fact it was a home tournament. I think we should be looking for more.

Jenks I don't mind us defending a lead but not the way we did it for the entire game. No patterns of play, no counters. Grealish and Sancho sitting on the bench. Its hard to take. The what if's are horrible.

 

Really would love to see this up front:

RW: Sancho
CAM: Foden
LW: Grealish
ST: Kane

 

Although I do generally agree with this, it must be said that Spain were not clinical. Any team that can create that kind of pressure is going to get the better of the chances. The odds will favor them and it's really just a matter of getting it in. Even Italy struggled in the final to England a bit partly because of Immobile, he was very poor on the night, but Chiesa was threatening enough where he really could have scored a couple before Italy finally had scored. Italy were better poised to win the game. That's the danger with this approach.

 

Manchester City open Jack Grealish transfer talks with Aston Villa https://t.co/rLZfXeYWKJ

— Con (@allsports70) July 29, 2021

If he does sign it’s fantastic news for England

 

Agreed. Especially if he’s played as an 8.

 

Moving to a different club isn't going to change the characteristic of how he plays or make Southgate more confident in using a player like that.

 

Pep is arguably the greatest coach in history and would be working with him full time. Of course he can make him a better player.

 

More pressure on Southgate to play him. If he’s starting in the middle for city southgate will look silly not to play him

 

Joe Gomez was back for Liverpool tonight, he came on as a second half substitute. Hopefully he can now stay injury free and discover his pre injury form.

 

I really hope we sign him, he needs to be playing in the best competitions to showcase his talents otherwise I think Southgate will just use him sparingly and has an excuse to if he stays at Villa despite how good he plays for them when you have others like Mount playing against the best opponents.

 

He has to leave villa if he's serious about staying in with Southgate. If he can perform in the champions league Southgate will find it hard to ignore him

 

I like Gomez a lot but I do have severe concerns at this point that he's ever going to be able to maintain any fitness. He's had what, 4 serious and long term injuries since joining Liverpool now? And now missed what should have been the first two tournaments of his England career.

Shame because he'd be a real asset if he was fit and on form. Potentially our best centre back.

 

Sancho performed in the CL for years and Southgate ignored him

 

Ben White to Arsenal now confirmed!

✍️ Our third summer arrival

Welcome, @ben6white 🔴⚪️

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) July 30, 2021

 

Probably for the best to be honest as he really needs to sort out this injury otherwise it will just be a reoccurring injury and will be hard for him to get back to his best.