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Today's Football 2018-19 Season

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Tonight ...Scotland...oh dear


Surely Scotland should be better than 1-3 at home to Portugal reserves? They're fast approaching rock bottom.


Tbf I thought, like Croatia, they had an empty stadium penalty by the atmosphere, then I saw the pictures of the crowd. Hampden has turned into one soulless stadium on Scotland match days


Gordon Strachan didn't hold back about their lack of running and organisation, even when offered the excuse of injuries by the interviewer, he retorted 'but those (players) played against Israel and got beat', implying they would have made little difference.


It all started off with a rendition of 'Flower of Scotland' that sounded every bit a sorrowful lament and Scotland proceeded to perhaps show why. A totally anaemic display without passion, running or sense, littered with individual errors, against a half interested scratch side that won in a canter.


Hammered at home by Portugal Reserves (even 'reserves' is being generous), in an atmosphere with all the ambience of a morgue, they're now well on their way to the bottom of the pond and noone really seems to care too much.


Bottom of the pond with all the detritus, Gibraltar laughing at them
 
Chris O'Connor said:
Tonight ...Scotland...oh dear


Surely Scotland should be better than 1-3 at home to Portugal reserves? They're fast approaching rock bottom.


Tbf I thought, like Croatia, they had an empty stadium penalty by the atmosphere, then I saw the pictures of the crowd. Hampden has turned into one soulless stadium on Scotland match days


Gordon Strachan didn't hold back about their lack of running and organisation, even when offered the excuse of injuries by the interviewer, he retorted 'but those (players) played against Israel and got beat', implying they would have made little difference.


It all started off with a rendition of 'Flower of Scotland' that sounded every bit a sorrowful lament and Scotland proceeded to perhaps show why. A totally anaemic display without passion, running or sense, littered with individual errors, against a half interested scratch side that won in a canter.


Hammered at home by Portugal Reserves (even 'reserves' is being generous), in an atmosphere with all the ambience of a morgue, they're now well on their way to the bottom of the pond and noone really seems to care too much.


Bottom of the pond with all the detritus, Gibraltar laughing at them
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Mc Leish said afterwards that it was "a very good performance". lollol
 

Chris O'Connor said:
Southgate, new contract freshly signed, has taken the 3-5-2 formation about as far as he could, it's one playing style the team has grown into, but it's deficiencies have also now been exposed, now the time has come to move on, he hasn't been slow to bank that and develop another.

The signs change was needed were there in the defeat against Spain, and to a lesser extent in the victory against Switzerland three days later. They were getting penned in not holding possession and consequently not getting forward enough and scoring goals.

The flaws in the 3-5-2 system had become too obvious to him in reviewing the semi-final defeat by Croatia when a tired England side just struggled to control the game, especially in the second half. They now have the confidence and ability to pass the ball out from the back, and the cover of five defenders that ensured some leeway for errors, meant we suffered further up, switching to the four four two can alleviate that a little.

In the 3-5-2 we had scope to develop the passing game, bringing the ball out from the back with the safety net of numbers, but didn’t cover the pitch further forward, getting penned in. Harry Maguire and John Stones now know each other well enough to play in a different way, a back four when necessary.

One system is now embedded and has been taken as far as they possibly could, alternatives have to be developed and taken to the same level, so England can adapt and do both

Southgate has said that it was the right time for a change.

Against Croatia, they applied better pressure on their back four and on their midfield players. Our defence is no longer very new and the comfort of the five not quite so needed, there are signs we have learnt the lessons and are moving on.

There is very limited time, Euros 2020 will soon be upon us and he needs to get more men in advanced positions with confidence and ability to use the ball. Chalobah, Winks, Barkley and maybe or perhaps Loftus-Cheek or Foden, but don't pick anyone without enough first team football. There are others still very much on the fringes like Madison and even Mount, but they're nowhere near yet. Getting more in advanced positions is a start and a new formation can help.

The dependence on Kane isn't helped when Vardy rules himself out, Sturridge isn't playing often enough and Welbeck neither. Southgate still has confidence in Sterling and Rashford, who despite his troubles the other night, did score against Spain and Switzerland, and so retains his manager’s faith.

Southgate is reacting and he's doing it now. As with the build up before Russia 2018, the planning stage is a year or more before. Pre Russia, the 3-5-2 'passing from the back' revolution, the new progressive style was barely noticed by the usual perennial sceptics, there were still the predictably lame posts of 'Same old England' from those who barely even watched, and then so confidently argued 'we never change'.

We are moving on and in time.
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It may work out for you regardless but I really really would have waited until after the game in Seville to post these. Some of it is definitely true but it is a little bit of a sunny take on things that could look different if Spain hit their top level.
 
ToffeeTim said:
Holland well worth this win. Turning into a rout as well.

The German golden era is well and truly over. Hummels, Boateng, Neuer, Kroos, Muller all been woeful.
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It should be the perfect time for the beginning of a new era - the talent is there, but for what ever reason the coach is not brave and it seems is happy to allow the Bayern clique run the show. It is similar actually to the problems Bayern have at the moment, too many superstar players with too much arrogance who have had so much success, still thinking they are the same level as they where 2 or 3 years ago.

Löw needs to be brave, needs to take responsibility, or he needs to leave.

When they play tomorrow they need to be starting Brandt, Sane, Werner, Schulz and either Tah or Kehrer, and Neuer needs to sit on the bench and ter Stegen needs to start. And the next squad needs to not have the names Boateng, Müller, Rudy and Hector anywhere near it, and needs players like Kai Havertz (injured for this squad), Philipp Max and Maxi Eggestein in it.

The answers are there for Germany, but I am not sure the coach is that interested in answering the difficult questions.
 

TheBigIguana said:
It may work out for you regardless but I really really would have waited until after the game in Seville to post these. Some of it is definitely true but it is a little bit of a sunny take on things that could look different if Spain hit their top level.
Click to expand...


I'm not so sure losing to Spain away in Seville would easily invalidate the general progress. Spain are a really top side with huge strength in depth. They badly underperformed in the World Cup and had a poor tournament, but it hasn't changed what they're capable of. They were many people's favourites going into the World Cup and have gone on since.

Tonight will be a marker of any progress, but hardly a definitive one for England, regardless of one result in what still is, a friendly against top quality opposition, the pathway should remain the same.

We are not anywhere near Spain's level yet and will have to cope with a side far better equipped than us, it's where we would hope to eventually get, but noone pretends we're anywhere near that yet.

Tonight is a chance to put up a performance, but the odds are very much on a very comfortable night for the home team and a probably emphatic win. We can't get too down about it, as it will just show us how far short we are, and how far we have to go.

Southgate is just starting on the changes to formation and looking at possible personnel, its a progress that has to start somewhere and moving on now just seems right, there's a long road to travel down.

We aren't there yet.
 
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