Euro 2020 : Group D (England, Scotland, Croatia, Czechia)

[StefanAVFC]

Southgate is dreadful.

We have the best talent we've had since the 90s.

[Stevo985]

FWIW I don't care about Southgate's past. In fact I'm very fond of him from his Villa days.

My problem with him is I think he's wasting the best squad of players we've had since 2004. In fact it's better than that squad in many ways, we just don't quite have the defence we had back then.

The worst outcome of this Euros is that we are uninspiring, get knocked out in the QFs but Southgate keeps his job.

I'm not writing Southgate off. he overperformed at the world cup, even with our easy run, so he may turn up again. I do think managing teams at tournaments is an entirely different beast and requires stuff behind the scenes that we don't always see. So his experience with the u21s may help there in ways we're not even aware of. 

But I just don't think he knows how to get the best out of this talented group of players

[sharkyvilla]

1 hour ago, Stevo985 said:

FWIW I don't care about Southgate's past. In fact I'm very fond of him from his Villa days.

My problem with him is I think he's wasting the best squad of players we've had since 2004. In fact it's better than that squad in many ways, we just don't quite have the defence we had back then.

The worst outcome of this Euros is that we are uninspiring, get knocked out in the QFs but Southgate keeps his job.

I'm not writing Southgate off. he overperformed at the world cup, even with our easy run, so he may turn up again. I do think managing teams at tournaments is an entirely different beast and requires stuff behind the scenes that we don't always see. So his experience with the u21s may help there in ways we're not even aware of. 

But I just don't think he knows how to get the best out of this talented group of players

Yeah I thought Southgate was quite innovative in the World Cup with our set pieces and Walker at centre half for example.  We had an easy route to the semis but I think how crap the squad was balanced it out.  One thing in his favour though is that there was almost zero pressure from the media and fans because we had no expectations, which never happened before in all my time following England.

Now though we have the talent to almost go full on, peak Spain/Brazil attack if we wanted and with it comes that expectation, so a totally different scenario for Southgate.  I still struggle to see how this tournament will even finish anyway, unless the players have all been vaccinated on the quiet.  It's madness that they haven't just picked a country to hold it.

[blandy]

3 hours ago, darrenm said:

re the dislike of Southgate. I think it's mainly just that he disrespected our boy. He had to make some bizarre contorted reasoning to justify leaving him out before and football fans aren't quick to forgive an insult. 

IMO Southgate has actually made Jack go backwards a little bit when playing for England. He's made him too conservative. The freedom he has for Villa where he pretty much has the keys to Villa Park he's not allowed for England, and England are the worse for it.

I fully agree with your team. I wasn't sold on Bellingham but he's the best CDM England have got right now. It seems so obvious to me that the best front 6 are Rice, Bellingham, Foden, Mount, Grealish, Kane. I'm not sure Southgate necessarily needs to worry about if they work together - you put them on the pitch and they'll deliver.

Good post, but I defer on the first line. My theory is that he was unconvinced about what Graham Taylor called with Gazza "refuelling habits" - in essence that he was worried that Jack might not have the self discipline, to be polite, to adhere to standards expected of International footballers, and I think he had reason to have that doubt - from when he was an U-21 player and then some subsequent headlines. When GT came out with that line about Gazza's drinking it became a huge furore to no-one's benefit (other than scummy media). I think therefore that he just used the anodyne Mason Mount stuff to protect Jack and GS himself all the while talking to Jack and telling him what he wanted to see - both in terms of standards and of being more "end product" and "show me" . I think that because I hold GS in high esteem for his conduct all the time he was at Villa. He's a proper decent bloke. Yes his leaving was messy, but tbf we were run by man who was holding the club back and it wasn't all GS's fault.

On the second point, I think England has (overall) a better squad than Villa and as such with Mount, Foden, Sancho, Sterling and so on, they can't all be given the freedom of the park, but I agree Jack hasn't got the same freedom for England as for Villa. Villa build the team around him. England don't.

Last line - spot on.  

[tinker]

Anyone who 'knows about football' and then picks an England team without Jack starting after his last two performances knows nothing about the game. I have Just watched the highlights and he's playing on a completely different level to anyone on that pitch 

[a m ole]

Euro 2020: How Gareth Southgate restored faith in England’s national team
 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/57377547
 

[villa4europe]

To be fair of all my gripes with Southgate I agree he's got the players at least looking like they want to be there and enjoying themselves which you can say is a given but that's definitely not been the case over the least 20 years, Rooney was obviously a mardy **** with England as well as the usual suspects and "leaders" ducking and diving out of the games that they didn't fancy 

I don't think there's a player in this England squad that I would accuse of playing at say 75% of his club level performances, that was a very common theme with our "superstars" before 

[VillaChris]

Him being the OGS of international management is pretty apt. Despite all the stick he's not done a bad job at all but feels like his limitations will mean actually going and winning something (or even making a final which would be huge step forward) will always remain elusive.

I do feel this England squad will peak around 24-26 tournaments so those are the two England must be in serious contention to win

[Zatman]

5 minutes ago, villa4europe said:

To be fair of all my gripes with Southgate I agree he's got the players at least looking like they want to be there and enjoying themselves which you can say is a given but that's definitely not been the case over the least 20 years, Rooney was obviously a mardy **** with England as well as the usual suspects and "leaders" ducking and diving out of the games that they didn't fancy 

I don't think there's a player in this England squad that I would accuse of playing at say 75% of his club level performances, that was a very common theme with our "superstars" before 

Southgate deserves some credit but England biggest clubs no longer have Fergie, Wenger and Jose in charge who tried make things tense

[Rodders]

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts/dear-england-01f798yfraha/amp?__twitter_impression=true

 

a letter to the gammons and the booing pillocks I suspect. Nice letter. Hope it winds the booing pieces of shit up even further, and all those booing pieces of shit decide to **** off out of the stadiums. We can but hope.

Edited June 8, 2021 by Rodders
should really stop using spacker

[HanoiVillan]

He's a good person, whatever anyone thinks of his managerial ability.

[a m ole]

1 hour ago, Rodders said:

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts/dear-england-01f798yfraha/amp?__twitter_impression=true

 

a letter to the gammons and the booing pillocks I suspect. Nice letter. Hope it winds the booing pieces of shit up even further, and all those booing pieces of shit decide to **** off out of the stadiums. We can but hope.

Big fan of that. **** it, I’m gonna try to hold my tongue and typing fingers until after the tournament. Gareth Southgate’s England Army!

[Genie]

It’s feels a bit like with England’s last really good crop of players under Sven and Capello. The results weren’t that bad in isolation, it’s just that the feeling was with such a talented group they should have been doing better. They never quite clicked and played under pressure. 0-0 for long periods in games we felt should be routine wins.

I get the feeling about this squad too, it’s hard to judge on the friendliest as neither of the teams were the strongest 11. I said before, I think a lot of us are “pre-frustrated” that we’ve got this incredible front 5 plus firepower on the bench yet we think he’ll setup very cautiously in a safety first approach.

I really hope he surprises us on that, takes the handbrake off and gives Europe something to worry about because England can be terrifying in attack.

 

[darrenm]

1 hour ago, Rodders said:

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts/dear-england-01f798yfraha/amp?__twitter_impression=true

 

a letter to the gammons and the booing pillocks I suspect. Nice letter. Hope it winds the booing pieces of shit up even further, and all those booing pieces of shit decide to **** off out of the stadiums. We can but hope.

Superb piece

[Wainy316]

If this is the tournament that loads of racists miss because they’re refusing to watch, then this is the one I want England to win more than any.  

[Rodders]

less subtle from newsthump but bang on too : https://newsthump.com/2021/06/08/i-choose-to-boo-because-im-against-the-marxist-ideology-that-literally-no-one-on-the-pitch-is-advocating/?utm_source=NewsThump+Daily+Briefing&utm_campaign=1b0741168c-RSS_EMAIL_DAILYBRIEFING2&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5c4292041a-1b0741168c-435983837&mc_cid=1b0741168c&mc_eid=930ff7e2ca

Quote

‘I choose to boo because I’m against the Marxist ideology that literally no one on the pitch is advocating’

An England fan has today explained that he is choosing to boo at players taking the knee in protest against the Marxist ideology that is being promoted by absolutely no one on the pitch.

 

Simon Williams, 45, said that he felt it was his duty to boo players when they take the knee, because Marxism is bad and it’s important that people know this.

He went on, “I don’t care that none of the players is advocating Marxism, I mean why would they? They’ll all bloody minted! I have simply chosen to ignore their explanation that it’s in support of victims of racism, because, well, ignoring that explanation makes it easier for my simple mind to process the whole thing.

“I just think it’s important to boo because there are some Marxists kneeling in other places, and at other times, and so the kneeling here is basically the same thing.

“Yes, I’ve heard the England manager say that kneeling is in support of those suffering racism and that it isn’t a political gesture, and I’ve heard the players saying it’s not a political gesture, and I’ve seen all the press saying it’s not a political gesture, but I have chosen to believe that it is a political gesture because then it’s easier for me to boo.

“I mean, if I acknowledged the kneeling was an anti-racist gesture and nothing else I’d look like a right clearing in the woods for booing, wouldn’t I? So I choose to simply ignore that fact.

“It’s a free country, and I am perfectly entitled to be completely wrong about the reasons for these players kneeling, and if those completely incorrect assumptions on my part then make me incredibly and inexplicably angry, then I am entitled boo as loud as I can.

“It’s important I draw attention to myself this way, because the ire of other people, and their relentless sanctimony as they try to explain why I’m wrong, is literally the only way I achieve an erection these days.”

 

[Rds1983]

4 hours ago, a m ole said:

Euro 2020: How Gareth Southgate restored faith in England’s national team
 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/57377547
 

My phone has tried pushing this article on me 5 times today. I've never seen an article be pushed more than once. 

[Jimzk5]

5 hours ago, a m ole said:

Euro 2020: How Gareth Southgate restored faith in England’s national team
 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/57377547
 

I've chose not to read it

 

I'm guessing it's all based on the world cup run. 

[romavillan]

2 hours ago, Wainy316 said:

If this is the tournament that loads of racists miss because they’re refusing to watch, then this is the one I want England to win more than any.  

Totally, if you get angrier about players taking a knee than you do about fans giving it the monkey noises and all the other racist shit that has been back in vogue since the Brexit campaign then you can **** right off, you're part of the problem in the first place.

[Zhan_Zhuang]

6 hours ago, Rodders said:

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts/dear-england-01f798yfraha/amp?__twitter_impression=true

 

a letter to the gammons and the booing pillocks I suspect. Nice letter. Hope it winds the booing pieces of shit up even further, and all those booing pieces of shit decide to **** off out of the stadiums. We can but hope.

Excellent, I've always liked Southgate. I was an impressionable young Villa fan when he was with us and that's why I like him.

5 hours ago, HanoiVillan said:

He's a good person, whatever anyone thinks of his managerial ability.

A very intelligent person too it seems, I hope that transpires onto the pitch also. And if it doesn't I hope the press don't destroy him.

Many players have stated Southgate has worked hard at making England a 'club' team in a sense to create a sense of togetherness. Maybe that was part of a bigger problem before with supposedly 'more' gifted England teams failing to impress at tournaments.