Euro 2020

[GazzaGarratt 11,055]

35 minutes ago, J4MES OX4D said:

For all the games Southgate has managed and despite getting through to the World Cup Semi Final, I still find it incredibly hard to judge his ability at this level. H's had it very fortunate fixture-wise and when he has rarely come up against a top ranked team, we've lost. Germany will be a massive test of his managerial quality and this is where he needs to prove himself. Prior to that, I don't think England have had a good or appropriate manager since the 90's. If we can get past Germany it will be a massive confidence boost in him and the squad and then we have a great opportunity of reaching the final with the route we've been given. If we lose on Tuesday then I think questions may have to be asked.

 

I have great difficulty with these types of things when mentioned tbh, because I think you've done exactly what our English mentality is all about. There's many points that really show this but i'll just pick a few out.

 

- Gareth Southgate can't pick his opposition, his job is to beat what is in front of him.

- Its actually extremely rare we come up against top ranked teams. Its virtually impossible because we have a high ranking now and much across history (We're 4th in the world only bettered by Belgium, France and Brazil)

- When we do come against one (Croatia) then most people knock them down immediately saying 'we're supposed to win, these are past it'. They are 14th in the world. They were the highest seeds in our group. Current World Cup finalists. We played them off the park.

- His major objectives outside of this Euros on his performance record is; Qualify for WC, Qualify for Euros, Qualify as high and try and win Nations League.

 

He has qualified for all tournaments so far with great records. He got England to the Semi Final of the World Cup. Only 2 managers have done that for us, ever. He managed to get us into the finals of the Nations League and also beat Belgium in the last Nations League in Nov 2020, ranked number 1 in the world.

 

Other managers in the past didn't really play any big teams either, and when they did, they got beat. Robson - West Germany, Venables - Germany, Erikssen - Brazil & Portugal, Hoddle - Argentina.

 

I want us to win so much on Tuesday but more so for Gareth because he's proven that even when it doesn't look quite right or we all get abit nervous, he doesn't and stays the course, playing people mostly on form, playing different formations to what we're used to, playing effective tactical game plans. He deserves to beat Germany so people can stop going for the negative as their first response. You can see why I'm saying it's not you James, its the whole of English culture. Change ourt mindsets like he has. Its what other countries do but for some reason, we are totally shit at it 🤣

 

40 minutes ago, phil bottle said:

Never forget El Tel🍻

 

Say what you like about Terry Venables but I'll always rate him as a football manager.

 

As for Venables he is up there for me but even i have to play devils advocate with my own thoughts and remember his short stint was when we didn't have to do any qualification campaign and we had a home tournament. And then the ol' English mentality would also try to say, he only beat Holland really, the other teams were crap and mostly draws - just like when people have a go at our WC campaign in 2018 to the final (and Robson's journey in 1990 was virtually identical).

[Macca89 515]

Honestly I do have to question some of Southgates choices, but I cant really fault the guy. 

 

We've qualified with 0 goals conceded which not many teams manage to do. 

 

I genuinely think he knows how exciting we can be attacking however was more focused on suring up the back 4 first, being able to defend as a team, a bit of strategy for the latter stages in the final 10 mins if we are in the lead. 

 

Plus he's chopped and changed the front 3 and it keeps every other team guessing, Not sure as to what team we are going to pick. 

 

It goes without saying that we looking solid with Maguire back in the side. As a united fan, we slated him alot in his first season however he's come back to his best now and we massively missed him towards end of the season, he reminds me of Rio in a way, obviously not in the same class but can bring the ball out, play with some calmness and it's something that back 4 need. 

 

Also think Pickford has silenced his doubters, he's been brilliant whenever called upon which hasn't been much but that's even harder for keepers, spending 89 mins doing nothing and still keeping that concentration ready for any split second to react and rescue your team. 

 

Also think Kane was alot better in last game, didn't have much to feed on however second half lead the line well and press just need to get off his back, once first goal hits back of the net he will fly! 

 

Only criticism of Southgate for me is mins given to Sancho, the guy is fucking dynamite once he gets going and honestly think he'd be perfect against Germany, knows them inside out. Confidence might be shattered, fingers crossed he's still ready to go when called upon. 

 

Anyway bring on Germany, will be tough but can't see any reason why we can't progress. 

[jordie1892 681]

I think it's incredibly hard to judge England managers. 

 

In my eyes, to be measured a success you have to win a tournament. I personally don't really care that we got to the semi's in the World Cup. It's an indicator we may be on the right path, but I don't think it's something to go wild about. I recognise the problem here is that opportunities to win only come every two years, and you have to literally be the best in the world to succeed.  The time frame at which we look at international managers needs to be considerably longer than for club level managers. I think Southgate has done enough that he deserves a lot more time at the helm to try and grab some success.

 

With all that being said, 0 goals conceded in the group stages is excellent, and overall I'm happy with how things are going. I had been complaining that the system with Kane on his own upfront hasn't been working, and rather than 3 'attacking mids' he'd benefit from dedicated wingers or a second forward playing off of him. I think the solution may just be as simple as making sure that whoever those 3 behind Kane are, are really performing. So far Grealish and Saka have done excellent when on the pitch. Sterling's grabbed a couple of goals (and when they are few and far between, that can't be discredited). I agree with Macca, that the decision not to give Sancho any game time is a bizarre one, but we have no idea what's happening behind the scenes.

[J4MES OX4D 10,036]

Wales soundly beaten by Denmark 4-0. They started reasonably well but the Danes soon took control of the whole game who become the first team to reach the Quarters after losing the first two matches. 

[J4MES OX4D 10,036]

Italy were very lucky last night! Austria put up one hell of a performance and dominated large parts of the second half. They really grew into the game and the Italians were flat out of ideas for the most part. Also their first goal conceded in 12 games. They are definitely there for the taking against a bigger team. 

[phil bottle 9,766]

Austria went a out their job excellently and were unlucky with the disallowed goal.

 

Wales were a bit weird, they all looked angry and pissed off from start to finish 😬

[GazzaGarratt 11,055]

Yep, agreed @J4MES OX4D  and @phil bottle. Good first Round of 16 matches to watch. I was gutted for Austria as they really gave it all, not just for 90 mins either. Italy though still look dangerous. If you can win not on your best day, then this will help to wake them up for the Quarters.

[IRaMPaGe 3,243]

Holland beat by Czech Republic, that's a bit of an upset. Good for Czech, definitely a bit unexpected. The Dutch got a man sent off and never got much going. Excellent result for Czech.

[GazzaGarratt 11,055]

A great day of football yesterday. Czechs looked like they were going to score at some point for me before the sending off so it always felt like the right result. A cracking game between Belgium and Portugal too, especially the second half. End to end stuff and nice to see Belgium hold on. Portugal should concentrate on their game rather than falling over and surrounding the ref. Nice to see a number of refs this tournament not take all the shit from players diving and moaning. He stuck to his guns last night when Pepe tried to blow the game up as per usual.

[J4MES OX4D 10,036]

Netherlands paid the ultimate price - missed an excellent 1v1 opportunity and 30 seconds later they were down to 10 men and never recovered. Blatant red card and very poor defending from De Ligt - he should've taken the slip and let the ball roll rather than fall over and then scoop the ball up to deny a clear goalscoring opportunity. Their performance after the red was very defeatist and the manger made no attempt to change the system. Czech are definite dark horses.

 

Belgium game was a tight and cagey affair. I thought Portugal dominated possession and had a few chances but Belgium looked solid enough. Pitch was fucking awful though! Cannot wait to see them against Italy - they really haven't had much luck with their knockout draws in recent competitions!

[phil bottle 9,766]

The Dutch were poor. First team ever to win all three group games and lose in the next round. 

 

The Portuguese took too long to get going and their best players simply didn't produce the goods when it mattered.

 

 

[Diddums 4,346]

Fuck Holland in the fucking fuck, the fucking cunts.

 

 

[J4MES OX4D 10,036]

Croatia 3-5 Spain

 

What a game! It all started with a comedy own goal and the a cracking comeback after Spain took a 3-1 lead. Croatia could've easily gone 4-3 up at the start of extra time but then two quick goals sealed it. Spain are beginning to look quite a force once again with 10 goals in two games although they are vulnerable at the back. Croatia conceded some daft goals too including the third where the left back was having a water break whilst play was going on allowing for an easy goal. Great goal from Morata too! 

 

Can't see the France game being quite so dramatic though..

[J4MES OX4D 10,036]

Switzerland have blown a miracle - could’ve gone 2-0 up against France but missed the penalty and Benzema goes straight down the other end and scores twice in 2 minutes. They’ll probably go on to win 3/4-1  at this rate. The Swiss look shellshocked 

[Diddums 4,346]

I can't even with this bloody tournament anymore.

[J4MES OX4D 10,036]

1 hour ago, J4MES OX4D said:

Can't see the France game being quite so dramatic though..

I was wrong - 3-3 so far😂

 

Mad comeback from the Swiss

[J4MES OX4D 10,036]

Switzerland have done it 5-4 in pens!! What a game and what a day of football with 14 goals in 2 matches! Superb comeback from the Swiss when they looked dead, buried and completely deflated but the kept going and deserved to win. The missed penalty came from the worst player on the pitch; Mbappe😂

 

I hope England can reach this intensity and quality tomorrow because the standard is looking extremely high and anybody can beat anyone.

[GazzaGarratt 11,055]

Amazing day yet again. This Euros has been bloody fantastic so far, even the edgy games have had moments of brilliance in them. Left hand side of the draw is blown wide open now so these shocks can keep on coming....on that side anyway!

[phil bottle 9,766]

Excellent games yesterday. Pogba was outstanding for France I thought, so it was a shame they lost how they did. But I'm not complaining 😁

 

All thoughts now on tonight. I predict a win 🙂

 

 

[GazzaGarratt 11,055]

The tournament just keeps on getting better. Its why we shouldn't get too head of ourselves, but we can still be super confident of the game ahead of us. One game at a time and we'll see what happens!

 

Conentration for the full 90 minutes it seems after watching Spain and France blow strong leads in their games.

 

Who would've thought that the current World Champions (France) and European Champions (Portugal) would be both out before the Quarter Finals??

[J4MES OX4D 10,036]

We’ve done it! Very cagey game but what a performance! I was a bit worried about the lineup but the players adapted well and our midfield worked incredibly hard. Shaw was excellent and we repelled a lot to keep a clean sheet. Did get fortunate a couple of times but took our chances well. I was petrified about VAR ruling them out during the celebrations😂 

 

This will give us huge confidence especially in Southgate and his decisions along with his game plans. Off to Rome we go!  

[phil bottle 9,766]

No excuses now not to reach the final but its football and anything can happen cough cough Iceland so it'll be hard work, but achievable.

 

 

Played very well past night. I was concerned about Rice at the beginning as he was too nervous and picked up a silly yellow. He was awesome after that though. 

 

Love the togetherness of the team, particularly the defence. 

 

 

[J4MES OX4D 10,036]

12 minutes ago, phil bottle said:

No excuses now not to reach the final but its football and anything can happen cough cough Iceland so it'll be hard work, but achievable.

 

 

Played very well past night. I was concerned about Rice at the beginning as he was too nervous and picked up a silly yellow. He was awesome after that though. 

 

Love the togetherness of the team, particularly the defence. 

 

 

Rice and Phillips both had great games and really stepped it up for the occasion - they could've easily been dropped after the Scotland game but both looked solid and Phillips was especially lively. Southgate was right to keep the faith. 

 

Ukraine will be tough especially in Rome with very little England fans but it's a very winnable game and if we do that then it's back to Wembley for a another potentially winnable tie.  It's a great opportunity.

[Plumbers Crack 4,062]

I like the way the team and the manager have backed Kane even though his form has dipped a little (possibly due to transfer speculation?) and that ‘H’ is their man...good team spirit which is exactly what you need in a tournament 

[J4MES OX4D 10,036]

Funny how UEFA executives can fly from Azerbaijan to Italy, to Scotland, Hungary, Romain and Spain without any restrictions yet England's fans cannot make the game in Rome unless they used psychic abilities and pre-booked the trip 3 days prior to us beating Germany. One rule for them and another for the real fans. 

 

I don't get how you can be double-vaccinated and pass a test at both ends over a period of two days yet you're still made to isolate for 5. Hopefully expats can snap up as many as possible and we have some backing in Italy.