The England Team - all the news, views…

[roverandout]

People in the media saying we don't possess a Modric type player yet there's one sitting on the effing bench. He's called Adam Wharton 

[matt83]

Before the tournament I thought our chances were similar to Man U winning the fa cup. Let’s say Citeh- France, lpool - zee Germans, Arsenal - Spain all better but we could give any a game but also lose to some random outfit. I’m downgrading our chances to that of Bournemouth.

I’m not aware of a manager being sacked mid tournament but it’s the only hope I have left. Going nowhere fast with Pizza Hut boy. 

[roverandout]

Southgate is responsible for alot of things but not the players hiding from responsibility.  They've gone back to fearing wearing the shirt 

[roverandout]

4 minutes ago, matt83 said:

Before the tournament I thought our chances were similar to Man U winning the fa cup. Let’s say Citeh- France, lpool - zee Germans, Arsenal - Spain all better but we could give any a game but also lose to some random outfit. I’m downgrading our chances to that of Bournemouth.

I’m not aware of a manager being sacked mid tournament but it’s the only hope I have left. Going nowhere fast with Pizza Hut boy. 

I wouldn't say man for Man Germany or Spain are better. I would say they have a fixed way of playing.  Our players have no idea of what the feck they're doing 

[matt83]

1 minute ago, roverandout said:

I wouldn't say man for Man Germany or Spain are better. I would say they have a fixed way of playing.  Our players have no idea of what the feck they're doing 

I find it remarkable how Southgate has moulded a group of young, exiting, talented, attacking players and made them utterly tedious to watch. The mind boggles 

[ABBEY]

6 hours ago, Mercer said:

For sure.

What's your problem with that?

Think he'd be sensational - much better than the other foreign managers we've had (Capello and Eriksson).

cant stand the arrogant tosser

[DavidMailsTightPerm]

IMO Wharton is the missing piece of the jigsaw - somebody that will encourage better ball retention and passing accuracy. 

Kane is I believe for England, what Rhodes was for Rovers. Lacks outright pace so teams can play a high line against us. Kane"s goal scoring record is unbelievable - but over the last few years I struggle to think of goals that weren't penalties or relative tap ins. To make Kane effective the two wide players have to push up far more than they have been doing to give us that pace up top.

[ABBEY]

I honestly don't which was his biggest wind the fans up quote last night ?

we cant replace Phillips 

or

i tell them to play free flowing attacking football

 

Or we have no left footed fb( erm might be being thick here but did he not pick the squad with 1 player only and he was injured)

Edited June 21 by ABBEY

[Gav]

4 points from 2 games, qualification a formality, job done.

You don’t have to look like the Brazil team in 1970 at this stage, but we must improve drastically to progress past the last 16, no doubt about that. 

 

[Wheelton Blue]

It's half a 'job done', more like.

Teams with any aspiration need to be coming out of the group stage with confidence and momemtum.

We have the opposite.

[K-Hod]

40 minutes ago, roverandout said:

I wouldn't say man for Man Germany or Spain are better. I would say they have a fixed way of playing.  Our players have no idea of what the feck they're doing 

But they play a lot better as a team than we do, which makes them more likely to win the thing.

[Wheelton Blue]

I watched the Spain game last night.

They're several steps ahead of us and entertaining to watch, especially with those two wingers they have.

[Gav]

11 minutes ago, Wheelton Blue said:

It's half a 'job done', more like.

Teams with any aspiration need to be coming out of the group stage with confidence and momemtum.

We have the opposite.

At the last Euros we’d just drawn with Scotland 0-0 and scraped past the Czechs 1-0 in the opening game.

We need to improve, buts pots aren’t given out at this stage.

Edited June 21 by Gav

[roversfan99]

47 minutes ago, roverandout said:

I wouldn't say man for Man Germany or Spain are better. I would say they have a fixed way of playing.  Our players have no idea of what the feck they're doing 

In terms of big names, we are comparable to anyone. But in terms of the balance of our squads and what is available across each position, we arent as good as the top countries.

Take left back. We only have one and we have taken him even though he clearly isnt fit. Look at France, their first choice was also injured, but you look at the quality of the 2 left backs they still are able to take.  France, Spain and Germany all have squads whereby in every position, you take one player out and they have someone else waiting to come in.

Our squads looks ok on paper but when you drill down, we are overcrowded in some positions and light in other.

[Wheelton Blue]

36 minutes ago, Gav said:

At the last Euros we’d just drawn with Scotland 0-0 and scraped past the Czechs 1-0 in the opening game.

We need to improve, buts pots aren’t given out at this stage.

True, but the signs of which teams might win the pot are.

[roverandout]

35 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

In terms of big names, we are comparable to anyone. But in terms of the balance of our squads and what is available across each position, we arent as good as the top countries.

Take left back. We only have one and we have taken him even though he clearly isnt fit. Look at France, their first choice was also injured, but you look at the quality of the 2 left backs they still are able to take.  France, Spain and Germany all have squads whereby in every position, you take one player out and they have someone else waiting to come in.

Our squads looks ok on paper but when you drill down, we are overcrowded in some positions and light in other.

Our supposed weakest position.  Centreback has been our strongest so far this tournament 

[Upside Down]

2 hours ago, matt83 said:

I find it remarkable how Southgate has moulded a group of young, exiting, talented, attacking players and made them utterly tedious to watch. The mind boggles 

Not really that remarkable. He's a shit manager. If he was announced as the next Rovers manager I'd be pissed off about it.

[chaddyrovers]

9 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

I think he will go for the same team with the hapless Gallagher in for Trent.

Still the same imbalance otherwise.

Why is Gallagher hapless? Good box to box player. Pressing the ball, put his foot in. 

8 hours ago, Mercer said:

For sure.

What's your problem with that?

Think he'd be sensational - much better than the other foreign managers we've had (Capello and Eriksson).

Not English. I have said the England manager should be English. I don't think Klopp would suit international football management 

[davulsukur]

51 minutes ago, roverandout said:

Our supposed weakest position.  Centreback has been our strongest so far this tournament 

Yeah, pretty funny really that pre-tournament everyone was putting out a proposed midfield/attack and saying "What's stopping England winning the Euro's with this attacking lineup?" And now it's the defence that's stepped up and attack that's letting us down.

And Cole Palmer is glued to the bench.

[davulsukur]

15 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Why is Gallagher hapless? Good box to box player. Pressing the ball, put his foot in. 

Not English. I have said the England manager should be English. I don't think Klopp would suit international football management 

A bizarre take really, we just need the best manager for the job. Their nationality means very little.

[MarkBRFC71]

2 hours ago, ABBEY said:

Or we have no left footed fb( erm might be being thick here but did he not pick the squad with 1 player only and he was injured)

Exactly - should have brought Tyrick Mitchell, and told Trippier to retire.

Was a pathetic display last night - no movement, no width, no fight.  How on earth Palmer doesn't get on is incredible.

Persisting with the same team as against Serbia - when it was blatantly clear that TAA isn't a midfielder as long as he's got a hole in his arse, the opposition can read what Trippier is going to do EVERY time he has the ball (cut inside), and Foden keeps on drifting inside and frankly getting in the way was madness.

Bringing on Gallagher (a headless chicken if I've ever seen one), and Bowen when there are far better options on the bench - madness.

The only thing he got right was subbing Kane who looks a shadow of his former self.  Makes no runs, keeps dropping too far back.

Feels like we have the best squad (at least going forward) but a League One manager right now - let's see what he does to change it but honestly I wouldn't be massively surprised if it's the same starting 11 against Slovenia.

Oh and the post match comments about Kalvin Phillips - REALLY Gareth?  What a load of absolute bollocks.

Edited June 21 by MarkBRFC71

[Dreams of 1995]

It is clearly a case of the tactics being employed as opposed to the players he has available

We didn't close down, we didn't press high, we didn't pass and move. Far too often the emphasis was on holding the ball and slowing the game right down. Our tempo was next to non-existent. These players aren't used to that. They are used to pressing high, moving the ball quickly, interchanging positions

It was clear that Jude has his 'wings clipped'. He was everywhere vs Serbia. Yesterday, he didn't move from that central area and as a result we were much, much weaker

To compound issues, whenever we do manage to spread it wide, our two full backs aren't good enough to attack. Walker was probably our best player in the first half but he doesn't have the passing ability that Trippier or TAA has. On the left, Trippier is forced inside far too much, and so our natural width in the full backs are lost. Saka holds natural width but again wants to move inside and so when there's no direct overlap from either our central midfielder (which I think is what TAA's role is meant to be) or from Walker, we are left too congested and unable to find a way through

Far too often yesterday we found ourselves in a position where there were 4 or 5 players within a proximity of each other trying to play intricate football. It doesn't work. You need to spread the game

I don't even want to talk about the lack of leadership when it came to the free kicks towards the end of the game. 1-1 in a major tournament and we get a free kick. Pickford demands he delivers the ball, wastes 30 seconds getting everybody forward and then passes it to his side to Walker. I turned away after that. To be passing the ball as slow and lethargic as we were in that final 10 minutes summed it up for me. A lack of desire to win. For me, it is all down to the instructions they are given

And posters can hark on about how they always knew Southgate was a bad manager all they want. This isn't how England have played at major tournaments under Southgate. The criticism is that he sits back when in front. But these past two games, we've not sat back and tried to counter, but been a totally pedestrian side with no desire to even catch a team on the break. It's been bizarre more than frustrating. I really don't know what they are trying to achieve but they won't do anything playing this way

[K-Hod]

I’m still not over that Kalvin Phillips comment, it’s just an absolute shocker, especially after that performance.

Swear down, if Southgate drove a Lambo, he’d stick to the left lane of the motorway and never overtake anyone….

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

26 minutes ago, K-Hod said:

I’m still not over that Kalvin Phillips comment, it’s just an absolute shocker, especially after that performance.

Swear down, if Southgate drove a Lambo, he’d stick to the left lane of the motorway and never overtake anyone….

If Phillips is Southgate’s idea of a match winner we’re definitely knackered. The old - a dog chasing an empty crisp packet across a car park on a windy day “ springs to mind. 
We’ve no real shape, no coherent pattern of play, no means of successfully transferring the ball from our last third into their last third on a consistent basis. We play most of the time at walking pace, 2 or 3 touches all the time. We’ve got to increase the tempo of our play 100 %. Whatever Southgate is telling them just makes them worse players, not better. I noticed that Eze, who’s been tearing up the prem, fell right into same bad ways. Just passing it sideways , making no attempt to run with the ball. 

I watched Spain v Italy last night. They have a way of playing, you can see what they’re trying to do, what the plan is. How to get from A to B with the ball. No square pegs in round holes. When one winger has run his race, they bring another one on.

Every player has a role that suits their skill set and they do it to the upmost.
 

Being a student of full back play I really like their left back, Cucurella or “ Side Show Bob” as I call him.  He’s everything that Trippier isn’t. Rapid, bags of enthusiasm, looks like he wants to be out there, firm in the tackle, can play off either foot, loves to get forward. 

Edited June 21 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[chaddyrovers]

55 minutes ago, davulsukur said:

A bizarre take really, we just need the best manager for the job. Their nationality means very little.

Not at all a bizarre take on it. 

It's the England manager job and for me he has to be English not foriegn manager. If you don't fine. We have spent time with Foriegn managers to nowhere. 

We have 4 or 5 good candidates to take over from Southampton when the time is right