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UEFA Euros 2024

roman said:
I would like to make room for Palmer but if possible not at the expense of Saka, though i can see that last night's game might have suited Palmer. I think Palmer is less predictable and more skillful but Saka is an output machine, at least for his club, and frequently handles two opponents on him for much of the game.

Rather like Arjen Robben for Chelsea and Holland, you know what he's going to do but you can't do much about it.

Although the game was rather dull I thought most of the team performed quite well given their respective qualities, the problem was the manager who should have made braver selections or at least substitutions.

Well done for bringing on Mainoo early but the lateness of Gordon's inclusion was a joke.
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I thought Mainoo was excellent last night, he made a huge difference when he came on.
 
Alex S said:
He has one in the team. Saka started at left back for Arsenal. He should have played there yesterday with Gordon infront, given the experimental nature of Southgate's team in the first three games. Ian Wright made the point and he knows Saka better than most. Bit risky now I admit.
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Saka at left back is decent shout, he has been moved forward for a reason though. I think he's played pretty well thus far.
 
Alex S said:
So, although Southgate has little with them, he is a tactical genius and brilliant communicator, so let’s play them all out of position.
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Absolutely. Surely the logical thing to do if time with the players is short is to try and play as many of them as possible in their club positions.
 
As I explained in my edit, it is a master stroke to confuse the opposition in the knockout stage. His own players are just pretending they don’t have a clue which of them should be on the pitch and then where on the pitch.
 
Agree with pretty much everyone here bar one. There are no patterns to the play, no structure, nobody moving into certain positions when a team mate receives the ball in an area of the pitch as part of a pattern of play. It’s all just guesswork as they go along and that is down to Southgate and the selection committee.

Square pegs, round holes to fit in certain media pets.
 
While I think the standard of the lesser teams is quite a bit better than it used to be - most teams have at least a few European top league players - let's be realistic about Slovenia. Their keeper plays for Atletico and that's about it. One of their starting players last night, Jan Mlakar, made six appearances on loan at a very middling Championship QPR a few years ago, the year loan was cut short in January after which he went to Wigan, where he made one appearance. In domestic league terms Slovenia would be two levels below England.

England actually looked a lot better when the likes of Maguire, Phillips and Sterling were in the team.
 
I have a feeling Bellingham is trying to do too many things. At one point yesterday he got in the way of another player (I forget who) and they both tried for the ball, and both failed. Despite being an awesome talent, he needs more discipline, IMO. At least in the England set up.
 
awkwardbydesign said:
I have a feeling Bellingham is trying to do too many things. At one point yesterday he got in the way of another player (I forget who) and they both tried for the ball, and both failed. Despite being an awesome talent, he needs more discipline, IMO. At least in the England set up.
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Yes he does. He received outlandish praise after the first match, but it was misplaced, IMO. His movement continually obstructed the pass, and blocked passing lanes, especially in the inside-left position. The same thing did indeed occur last night when he obstructed the movement between Kane and Foden, getting too close and forcing the others to move away from him to keep the opportunity going.

He clearly is an outstanding talent, blessed with athleticism, but like any twenty-year-old, he has much to learn, and his movement would be key, for me. He has shown that he can do it - he played a very disciplined role in the CL semi - but I imagine that the managerial instructions were very clear. I wonder if that is the case with England.
 
oldius said:
Yes he does. He received outlandish praise after the first match, but it was misplaced, IMO. His movement continually obstructed the pass, and blocked passing lanes, especially in the inside-left position. The same thing did indeed occur last night when he obstructed the movement between Kane and Foden, getting too close and forcing the others to move away from him to keep the opportunity going.

He clearly is an outstanding talent, blessed with athleticism, but like any twenty-year-old, he has much to learn, and his movement would be key, for me. He has shown that he can do it - he played a very disciplined role in the CL semi - but I imagine that the managerial instructions were very clear. I wonder if that is the case with England.
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I'm not defending Bellingham, but what remit was he given. Surely not to runaround aimlessly. Whats going on with him?, its like chalk and cheese
 
There’s a huge chance that players will also be affected by the booing. If we expect fair play from those on the pitch then we should behave.
 
Woodface said:
Ha, yes, apologies a typo, that meant to to 'don't' rather than 'do'. The fact that I acknowledge a lack of certainty on such matters is a more realistic perspective. The players are 'coached' very little within the England set up comparatively to the time spent with their clubs, this is pretty obvious. The players are probably receiving conflicting messages & are suddenly having to perform in a team with, in some cases, lesser talent.

I believe that we over hype players, very few England internationals ever leave the premier league, I think this puts us at a massive disadvantage & probably says more about our true level. I've seen terrible, I was a Huddersfield Town season ticket holder for 5 years!

As ever with international tournaments, a lot of people with no abiding interest or knowledge of football suddenly become experts. The standard at this tournament has been pretty low across the board thus far, France have yet to score a goal in open play, Austria have surprised many (with a manager who is also apparently crap).

We have topped the group, many teams have played far worse. I think Roy Keane was very level headed in his analysis, what's happened is now done, if we beat the Netherlands then who knows. As a thought exercise, would you rather tale the shackles off & lose 3-2 or scrape a one nil win? Southgate will get criticised either way.
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International managers do not have to coach their players how to kick the ball, but should be telling them how he wants them to play, informing them of the opposition and what to expect.
You quoted a recent post of mine and stated "what a lot of tosh" when in fact you are coming round to seeing things as I do going by the quoted post and posts made after, strange. Maybe an avatar of a wooden spoon (for stirring) might be appropriate. 😁
 
oldius said:
Yes he does. He received outlandish praise after the first match, but it was misplaced, IMO. His movement continually obstructed the pass, and blocked passing lanes, especially in the inside-left position. The same thing did indeed occur last night when he obstructed the movement between Kane and Foden, getting too close and forcing the others to move away from him to keep the opportunity going.

He clearly is an outstanding talent, blessed with athleticism, but like any twenty-year-old, he has much to learn, and his movement would be key, for me. He has shown that he can do it - he played a very disciplined role in the CL semi - but I imagine that the managerial instructions were very clear. I wonder if that is the case with England.
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Which is why you play him as an 8 and a 6/8 out of possession.
He's playing as a 6, 8 and 10 atm which is why he is gassed after 60mins.
 
Pravda said:
I'm not defending Bellingham, but what remit was he given. Surely not to runaround aimlessly. Whats going on with him?, its like chalk and cheese
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I wonder whether he is conflicted between entering the field as a world star and being asked to play a more structured role. It is a lot to take in for a 20-year-old who may be trying to do too much.
 
Salamander said:
@Weekender I'm out of touch on modern day footballing numbers, could you explain what a number 6, 8 and 10 are, also what would a number 4 be? I'll assume a no. 9 is still a centre forward.
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Well I'm necessarily using shorthand too try and get my points across briefly.
A 6 would be a defensive midfielder.
An 8 would be an offensive midfielder who carries the ball
A 10 is a forward/offensive midfielder sitting behind the 9 and linking play.
 
6 - defensive midfield
8 - box to box
10 - behind the striker

So what's being said is that Bellingham should be operating alongside Rice out of possession and in possession can move forward.
 
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