Install the app
How to install the app on iOS

Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.

Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.

  • Participation within this subforum is only available to members who have had 5+ posts approved elsewhere.

Today's Football - 2023/2024 Season

Status
Not open for further replies.
What is Southgate's record against the FIFA ranked Top 100 teams? Saw it the other day but can't seem to find it.

Honestly think it's madness that this group of talent is managed by somebody so inept.
 

MikeH72 said:
This is the last tournament we’ll have to suffer him along with his little pets Henderson and Maguire thank god.
Click to expand...

The arrogance of him sometimes is astounding though. He says stuff like "I'll make a decision on my future after the EUROs". Should count his lucky stars he's stumbled into such a role. FA should have bombed him out ages ago but the media love him because it's full of his old buddies. The only "impressive" result he has had in the three tournaments he's managed was the Germany win and 1) it was at Wembley and 2) Germany quickly showed what a shambles they are in the months/years after.
 
England fail at major tournaments because either they don't possess a midfield player who can dictate the play and tempo of a game when under excruciating pressure (like Modric, Xavi, or Kroos) - or they do possess one and refuse to play him because, in some way, he is not the archetype of the English midfielder (Scholes, Hoddle, Wilkins, or Brooking).

Scholes was the last one - yet Gerrard and Lampard, neither of whom could dictate the play under major tournament match pressure, were preferred.

I think England have lots of excellent players: a fine goalkeeper, good full-backs and wingers, good attacking midfielder, and a top striker. But you lack that metronomic presence in the middle who would ensure you don't retreat and recede in major matches when the heat is turned up to burning. It's why you lost to Croatia in 2018 and to Italy at Euro 2020.

When you come up against a side with more technical midfielders than you have, you tend to struggle. I don't see that changing this summer, but the competition isn't all that hot right now, so there are grounds for optimism.
 
Drico said:
England fail at major tournaments because either they don't possess a midfield player who can dictate the play and tempo of a game when under excruciating pressure (like Modric, Xavi, or Kroos) - or they do possess one and refuse to play him because, in some way, he is not the archetype of the English midfielder (Scholes, Hoddle, Wilkins, or Brooking).

Scholes was the last one - yet Gerrard and Lampard, neither of whom could dictate the play under major tournament match pressure, were preferred.

I think England have lots of excellent players: a fine goalkeeper, good full-backs and wingers, good attacking midfielder, and a top striker. But you lack that metronomic presence in the middle who would ensure you don't retreat and recede in major matches when the heat is turned up to burning. It's why you lost to Croatia in 2018 and to Italy at Euro 2020.

When you come up against a side with more technical midfielders than you have, you tend to struggle. I don't see that changing this summer, but the competition isn't all that hot right now, so there are grounds for optimism.
Click to expand...
I think it’s just because they have Harry Kane
 
LucBesson said:
The arrogance of him sometimes is astounding though. He says stuff like "I'll make a decision on my future after the EUROs". Should count his lucky stars he's stumbled into such a role. FA should have bombed him out ages ago but the media love him because it's full of his old buddies. The only "impressive" result he has had in the three tournaments he's managed was the Germany win and 1) it was at Wembley and 2) Germany quickly showed what a shambles they are in the months/years after.
Click to expand...

One thing I’ll give him, he seems to be good at creating a spirit and camaraderie in the camp. He’s media friendly and says all the things you’d want him to say as an employer. I think he’d probably make a really good corporate manager. He’s essentially really good at being best mates with the players and journalists.

As soon as anything to do with the sport of football comes up though, the positives stop right there. Tactically, I honestly think he’s hopeless. Like genuinely terrible. I think comparing him to Premier League managers in terms of tactical knowledge and application, he’s a level below all of them. He’s nowhere near good enough to manage any team in the Premier League for me. Defensively, offensively, in possession, set pieces, everything. We rely on the individual brilliance of our players to get us through to the latter stages of tournaments.

His mentality is all wrong too. I’ve said this loads of times but you can physically see the change in body language of the players when they come out after half time in big games. They look drained, tense, nervous, scared to try anything unorthodox or attempt to take a risk. I would love to be a fly on the wall in the dressing room when he’s doing a team talk.

I have no doubt he’ll be found out for the fraud he is when he steps back into club management. Like he was when he got Middlesbrough relegated, a previously stable Premier League club that had been to a European final only a year before he took over. He was a career loser as a player and is a career loser as a manager.
 
Drico said:
England fail at major tournaments because either they don't possess a midfield player who can dictate the play and tempo of a game when under excruciating pressure (like Modric, Xavi, or Kroos) - or they do possess one and refuse to play him because, in some way, he is not the archetype of the English midfielder (Scholes, Hoddle, Wilkins, or Brooking).

Scholes was the last one - yet Gerrard and Lampard, neither of whom could dictate the play under major tournament match pressure, were preferred.

I think England have lots of excellent players: a fine goalkeeper, good full-backs and wingers, good attacking midfielder, and a top striker. But you lack that metronomic presence in the middle who would ensure you don't retreat and recede in major matches when the heat is turned up to burning. It's why you lost to Croatia in 2018 and to Italy at Euro 2020.

When you come up against a side with more technical midfielders than you have, you tend to struggle. I don't see that changing this summer, but the competition isn't all that hot right now, so there are grounds for optimism.
Click to expand...

We have more than enough players capable of putting their foot on the ball and controlling a game. However, we have a manager that doesn’t encourage that and would prefer to “sit deep and soak up pressure”.

With regards to the bold games, we lost those because the manager sent them out after half time to concede possession and defend a lead for the rest of the game. It’s quite obvious when you watch the games back. It was a tactical decision and not down to lack of ability or individuals giving possession away.
 

MikeH72 said:
We have more than enough players capable of putting their foot on the ball and controlling a game. However, we have a manager that doesn’t encourage that and would prefer to “sit deep and soak up pressure”.

With regards to the bold games, we lost those because the manager sent them out after half time to concede possession and defend a lead for the rest of the game. It’s quite obvious when you watch the games back. It was a tactical decision and not down to lack of ability or individuals giving possession away.
Click to expand...
Im still speechless that he brought on 39million year old Lewis Dunk.
 
MikeH72 said:
We have more than enough players capable of putting their foot on the ball and controlling a game. However, we have a manager that doesn’t encourage that and would prefer to “sit deep and soak up pressure”.

With regards to the bold games, we lost those because the manager sent them out after half time to concede possession and defend a lead for the rest of the game. It’s quite obvious when you watch the games back. It was a tactical decision and not down to lack of ability or individuals giving possession away.
Click to expand...
Not since Scholes, in my opinion. The manager is obviously what he is, but I think he's an easy target in a football culture that tends to be suspicious of cultured midfielders when it occasionally produces them.
 
Drico said:
Not since Scholes, in my opinion. The manager is obviously what he is, but I think he's an easy target in a football culture that tends to be suspicious of cultured midfielders when it occasionally produces them.
Click to expand...

I know you obviously dislike Rice for a non-footballing reason, but he has proven for his club this season that he can dictate games from a deeper midfield position. The players are not the issue this time around, the manager is. He’s an easy target because he’s massively out of his depth and his career will reflect that.
 

Status
Not open for further replies.

Welcome to GrandOldTeam

Get involved. Registration is simple and free.

Register
Back
Top