One reason some football players and their agents and associates leak stuff to the press in general is because in return that media outlet hides a personal story about them.
The Germans are probably using AI. Explains their sudden massive improvement from previous tournaments. Not good enough to win this tournament, but might be enough to win the world cup 2026.
I would do it the Italian way and give it to the player with the most caps. That's a freebee has worked for Italy for 100 years. Probably Stones? who will be 32 and maybe on his last tournament in 2026 unless he does a Chiellini/Pepe and continues to start for England into his mid 30s which he very well may.
I’m not sure it works as well now the captain actually does have to lead on the pitch and in recent years also take various press conferences (A captain has to take certain ones by tournament rules). You could end up with someone who wasn’t massively suitable due to personality. Stones is a possibility but it’s telling he is not part of the squad leadership group. The FA has been under the working assumption for years that it will be Rice.
Probably worth looking at some of the positives coming out of this tournament amidst the fallout: - Now reached two consecutive Euro finals without really playing that well in either tournament. Yes, an easier run than usual, but look at some of the sides the "big" nations have lost to in recent tournaments and you can see it's not that easy. Plenty of room for improvement. - Emergence of Marc Guehi. Has now proven himself to be a top international CB who we should be able to rely on for years to come. - Saka and Jude further proving they've got the ability and mentality to drag the team through tough moments on the biggest stage and in high pressure moments. Essential for tournament football. - Similar with Palmer, who in limited showed he's likely going to be able to translate what he's doing at club level to the international stage, even if it's just in the shape of big moments. - Quiet in the final, but Mainoo's tournament after less than a season of pro football under his belt bodes very well for the future. - The general ability of this group to respond to set backs and succeed in less than ideal environments. The players just appear to be much more mentally strong than previous generations.
Maybe, but if this is the case. Shame on the Press. They should not "blackmail" players/agents like that. And even if they have the information anyway, they should certainly not share it with the opposition, and put England at an disadvantage.
I'd be very carefull about writting off Kane. He has been poor this tournament but was still joint top scorer and was playing in a system that didn't suit him.
Just wanted to mention that yesterday, for the 7th tournament (Euros and WCs) in a row the team who played the semifinal on the first day won the final. The last team to win a tournament after playing their semifinal after their opposition in the final was Spain in 2010. Having the semi finals on different days is very unfair.
An extra day's rest can make a genuine difference after a long season. They're never going to change it because they'll want prime slots for both semi finals. Maybe they need to have a week between the semi finals and finals. An extra day has less impact then.
Declan Rice played 61 matches this season 51 for Arsenal and 10 for England. He was obviously fatigued. The FA should lobby the politicians for a law that no professional football player in British clubs should be allowed to play more than 40 club matches in one season ...
Correlation does not always equal causality... And as long as you have large tournaments where Group A starts play 3-4 days before Group H, you're always going to have semis on different days. England had/has enough depth that Southgate could have rotated his players more in order to keep key guys rested.
The problem is that the player's union does not seem to be interested in pushing for any restrictions on the number of matches due to potential reductions in earnings. Fans and pundits have pointed out that the fixture calendar is bloated ad naseum, but it's up to the actual labor (i.e. the players) to push for better working conditions (i.e. fewer fixtures).
True, but sometimes it does Only because this is what FIFA and UEFA wants. It does not have to be like this. They can play the same day. In 1996 they did. Yes, he should have. Southgate have become better at utilizing more players, but not good enough.
There's sensible reform available but none of the clubs would ever consider it. Reduce the Premier League to 18 teams. Make a reduction in the other leagues as well Abolish the League Cup or restrict it to Under 21s or similar. Even if this happened, some governing body would find a way to add more matches. There are too many games.
That's why we need the Politicians. They can make a law. I mean, their job is to make the people happy, right? And nothing would make the English people happier than England winning a trophy. And any political decision that helps is a decision you make. Oh, well the Scots and Welsh would probably be against it. Maybe they can just have their independence ...
England's fundamental problem is it's footballing culture is not distinct enough, and this has always been the biggest issue preventing success at tournaments. Italy and Germany (as examples) are more likely to drop players for the greater good, because they have stronger traditions which they adhere to before any individual. Even if it holds them back in some cases, it will eventually payoff (at some point). England's lack of a collective philosophy has always been a problem. Because when teams dont have a strong identity, managers are more likely to try force all their best players to the team. Italy/Germany are more reluctant to do this, some may call it stubbornness in Italian/German coaches, but putting systems before individuals will bring more success over a long term in international tournaments. Southgate pretty much undone all the progress that was made (in 6yrs) in just one tournament. I don't care if we reached a final, everything about the team went backwards in this tournament and deep down, this is what has annoyed most of the fans.
Yes whether or not Southgate was progressive or negative in 2018 and 2020 he picked the players that fit the system better. He built the team around Kane and played Sterling who was not a player fans rated at that point and played Saka who no one believed in yet. But he wanted wingers for Kane to send forward. He had Phillips and Henderson to play specific roles . It is clear he has no idea what to do with Jude and Foden just like he had no idea what to do with Grealish and it completely messed up whatever cohesion he had built up to that point. Did Jude and Foden make England worse? Yes. At least Southagte's England. It was a FIFA - esque lineup oh well too late now.
The FA would have zero chance of doing that. And if the UK did it alone every player would leave because the PL would collapse in value.