The England fall-out continues and the blame game has now turned to Man City. It’s all their fault. All of the time.
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How dare you disrespect Ronaldo?
The article put out on Ronaldo’s arrogant display was so off base it was ridiculous. The man has done so much for Futbol and so much for us fans.
His arrogance is part of what makes him one of the greatest players ever. Does the name Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods come to mind. A wrong narrative to put out when you could have seen a legend that still cares and his team cares about him in return. Respectfully you are wrong.
Alex Herrera
…Criticising attack on Ronaldo, game against Slovenia.
It dumbfounds me how people hate each other and then criticise in articles and then say Portugal were almost kicked out because of him, the reality is…. They are through…… As a team……
I think you should re evaluate and take a look at France or even England on how they reached this stage as well…….. and then analyse and provide criticism.
Kind Regards
Anonymous Portuguese
(Oooh, do you think we should write critically about England? We could maybe try that… – Ed)
England: Not popular for a reason
Recently I thought the betting ad where Danny Dyer wonders why England are so ‘popular’ among nations was funny and self-deprecating. The best of English humour and with a knowing nod to the carnage of Brexit. Good stuff.
Then the other day Jude Bellingham scores a Hail Mary equaliser and what does he do? Express relief? Apologise like a superhero for leaving it so late mam? No, he grabs his crotch and thirty minutes later Declan Rice is pushing the Slovakian manager and calling him a bald c**t!
Well, if the funny ad was asking why don’t people like us, then I think you have your answer.
Michael, Ireland
Blame it all on Man City
The biggest problem with England is now very clear: Manchester City. Stones, Walker and especially Foden operate at nowhere near the level required to succeed in this competition. They’re liabilities.
Now whether this is because of a demanding City training regime, they’re too socialised into Pep’s system that they’ve lost the instinct and inventiveness necessary (if they ever had it), or simply take their foot off the gas after another successful season, who knows? But it’s time for a complete shutdown of Manchester City caps until we can figure out what’s going on here, because we can’t continue like this.
Dave Jackson, Macclesfield
What will Southgate do? Who cares?
I’m not sure why we bother discussing what Southgate will do.
He’s taken the most expensive team at the Euros – 5 players with over 20 goals for their club, another 3 with over 15 goals, assist leaders everywhere. The best players in Spain, England, and the 40 goal superstar in Germany all totally nullified, and the only time we’ve looked like scoring was when Gareth completely lost control and started throwing random players onto the pitch.
The goalie hoofs it long; the defence has a smiley face pass map as they pass it back and forth; the fullbacks resemble O35 cloggers scared of being caught on the wrong side of the halfway line; the midfield won’t take the ball up the pitch; the wingers pass it backwards; and the centre forward looks like he’s had 10 pints and a curry before the game. Meanwhile, Southgate and his assistant sit on the bench like those muppet old geezers with a “what’s going on here” look on their faces.
Based on the only time we scored goals, we’d clearly be better off with no one in the dugout and the players left to their own devices…
I’m really not looking forward to the Swiss game.
Matthew (ITFC)
Southgate needs our support now
Gareth Southgate needs all the support he can get from fans at this stage. This is a “sini qua non” to see England through. That the English team has been underperforming is not in questions albeit it has overall one of the most talented players of any team at the tournament.
Sight should not be lost of the fact that continuous criticism of the Manager (even when they win) will most likely lead to adverse results. I urge all English fans and pundits to hold their fire and give full support to the Manager and players while they are still in the tournament. Needless to say that supporting the team will motivate the players and help them achieve greater feats.
Professor (Dr) David Achanfuo Yeboah
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Sorry but Southgate has made four big errors
As someone who never gets too high or too low over football results, I have to say, this England team are really testing my general outlook. I’ve found myself getting very worked up watching the abject performances so far.
I’ve given Gareth the benefit of the doubt for much of his 8 years in charge, but the Slovakia game really made me realise that he actually doesn’t really have a clue. Let me explain why I feel this way with just SOME of his bizarre decisions so far (there are plenty more but I don’t want to write 5000 words) in this tournament which shows he doesn’t have a plan B, C or D or possibly even a plan A. This isn’t digging out the players but more pointing out the scattergun approach of throwing shit at a wall and seeing what sticks.
1) From Trent to Gallagher to Mainoo in midfield. No other established team would change their CM for each game. Particularly when all 3 have completely different skill sets – how do you build of any continuity or style of play? This stinks of not really knowing your strongest 11.
2) Walker moving from RB to LB in the Slovenia game with Trent coming on at RB. But then Konsa coming on at LB in the Slovakia game after not making a tournament appearance. This made absolutely no sense again in terms of who is in the manager’s plans. If he was worried about Trent’s defending in ET in favour of Konsa’s, then this surely means that Gareth wanted us to sit back for 30mins and soak up the 70% possession against the 45th ranked team in the world which is mind blowing. Oh and let’s not forget he also put Saka at left back for 25mins….and then Eze (brought on at 84mins…..) before resorting to Konsa.
3) Watkins and Bowen coming off the bench against Serbia, but then not being heard from again. Toney being introduced in the 94th minute for his first appearance of the tournament against Slovakia (paid off though). Why are Watkins and Bowen suddenly out of favour? Not that I feel they should be playing but I just don’t understand the randomness. Also, making a change in the 94th minute when we are 1-0 down?! Give the guy a chance!
4) If you are going to play Kane centrally you need to have runners around him. Foden is not going to do this. Saka prefers the ball to feet but will sometimes stretch a defence – he mixes it up at least. I don’t know what Gordon has done to Southgate but for him to not get much of a look in is very strange as the games are calling out for his skill set.
At the moment we have no style of play or idea and it’s showing in the substitutions and decisions by the management. I don’t think Gareth knows how to set up a team that plays on the front foot with possession …which is fine, but at least then set yourself up to defend well and hit people on the break – and if you are going to do this then play the players that can actually do this! At the moment we are caught in no man’s land between the two ideas.
It’s fitting we are like Swiss cheese with what’s coming on Saturday…
Andy
He should be so lucky
Napoleon once said a lucky general was far more important than a good one. On this basis, Gareth Southgate would have won the Battle of Waterloo.
On another note, Rishi Sunak needs to bring Ivan Toney into his campaign at about 9.30pm on Thursday.
Best.
Davey A, Broxbourne
Deschamps v Southgate
Are these the most stubborn managers out there? Comparing them to Biblical characters, Deschamps is Saul of Tarsus who “saw” the light and reinstated Saliba to the French backing resulting in a solid spine for the team.
Southgate is Valaak who was too stubborn until his donkey spoke with him. Bukayo Saka is underperformed for England because Kyle Walker cannot unlock him as Ben White does. Yet White is at home because Southgate and his clueless assistant refused to acknowledge their mistake and apologise to White. Well, Switzerland 🇨🇭 is next and with Mr Stubborn in place, all I can see is the end of the road for a vastly talented team.
Lvrzor (weeping for England), Mombasa
Southgate a success? Really?
What has amazed me over the last 2 weeks is how many people still seem to defend Southgate as being a “successful” England manager. League football is the only way to fairly judge a manager, everyone plays everyone twice, end of. Southgate’s league record at Middlesborough (progressively worse until relegated) is there for all to see.
Cup football has a tangible degree of luck attached. Kind draws, red cards, key decisions etc. Martinez and Wigan won the FA cup, Greece the Euros FFS!
I think the only way to judge Southgate is on his knock out record (which we can all surely agree is what matters in tournaments for major nations). I must be clear here that I mean the teams he has beaten (or not), not how far he progressed to in the tournament due to kind draws. Can anyone look at these two lists and say categorically he has been a success??
Knock-out tournament football record
Beaten in 90 mins:
Sweden (2018)
Worst German team ever, at Wembley, Werner and Muller missed sitters (2020)
Ukraine (2020)
Senegal (2022)
Failed to beat in 90 minutes:
Colombia (2018)
Croatia (2018)
Denmark (2020)
Italy, at Wembley, (2020)
France (2022)
Slovakia (2024)
Sam, Edinburgh
England are no world power
I might have misinterpreted but I don’t think Shz likes England very much. I will at some point consider if the Venn diagram of ‘gammon faced Reform party voters’ and ‘your shit fans’ is in fact just a circle however, I first can’t get past what colonialism might smell like. Is it like napalm in the morning? No, that’s victory. I’ll keep thinking.
To be honest the whole thing would be slightly less absurd if this particular England team weren’t so far removed from the ruthless dominating world power you compare them to.
Dave, Manchester
MORE ON ENGLAND FROM F365:
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👉 Southgate ‘bottled it’ but should drop at least three players – and two ‘should never play for England again’
👉 Turkey put England, France and arrogant Ronaldo to shame in Euros classic
Joga Bonito is dead
I fell down a YouTube rabbit hole yesterday trying to watch examples of good football and I have an affinity for Brasil being that I speak Brazilian Portuguese and my fiance is Brazilian.
I ended up on a video of Ronaldinho, and watching him play brought a smile to my face and I realised – this type of football and football player really doesn’t exist anymore.
Ronaldinho in his prime is one of the most creative players to have ever played. He did wild out of the box moves , not because he wanted to win or even because he wanted to score. He did those wild things , because it was fun. He played with a joyfulness that is rare even back then but is non existent now. For two or three years Ronaldinho LOVED to play. Each game was like an elaborate lock which could only be opened by doing things nobody else did.
Ronaldinho would not be the same player in today’s football. That creativity and joyfulness would be drilled out of him and I imagine he wouldn’t last long in a modern manager’s team precisely because he did the unexpected. Modern managers at the top want everything to be a drilled to death action perfected in training. Pep does it. Arteta does it, Klopp did it..almost everyone does.
Based on what players say Carlo still trusts players to know how to play and doesn’t give too many strict instructions. But that’s about it really and even he doesn’t really encourage the kind of creative freedom we saw in the past.
Watching the Brazilian team in Copa America reminds me that even Brasil have been sucked into the European way of doing things and seems to have forgotten joga bonito. Unpredictable creative freedom is dead.
Look at players like Grealish at City or Mane at the end of his Liverpool tenure. They were not the same players they were a few years before, that unpredictability drilled out of them and replaced with positional consistency and work ethic. Is it more successful? You can argue it is but I can tell you 6 minutes of Ronaldinho clips (which became more clips il phenomino clips) gave me far more enjoyment than the entire Euros combined.
Even the teams I’ve enjoyed watching (Spain, Swiss and Georgia) were not as fun to watch and lacked the soul joie de Vivre of the joga bonito masters.
Unpredictable has become a negative trait. But it is by far the most fun.
Lee
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