The Euros Summer 2021 Official Thread (2020) | Page 201 | Vital Football

The Euros Summer 2021 Official Thread (2020)

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Pickford then Sterling for me so far. Mings would have been in the mix after the first 2 games. For all the stick Pickford gets his errors have all come playing for Everton - he's always been pretty solid for England.
 
danvilla2 said:
A lot of people were nervous about Pickford, probably myself given recent history of England goalies in big tournaments. His distribution is top class which justified his selection, but it’s his shot stopping which has been on point and had he not been on form, the results and outcomes could’ve been quite different.

So far for me:

1. Pickford 2. Sterling 3. Philips. Perhaps Stones in at number 4 who has been under the radar but not a bad thing for him.
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Agree with that list,Dan, but which player has contributed most on a pro rata basis? Answers on a postcard to Mr G Southgate .
 
Southgate has created an atmosphere that has all the players, picked or not right behind the team. This is the most ‘together’ group of players I can ever remember going into a finals. Great that we’re progressing without a foreign manager and in front of the media Southgate is class. In 66 Alf Ramsey selected Hurst in front of Greaves, a more than controversial decision at the time.
When Ellis did the Villa share issue he was the only player to buy any. Time to get behind him and England and fingers crossed!
 
Been away so just catching up.
That was Sterling's best game for England. Yes sometimes he's scored a couple but this game his midfield runs were purposeful and mostly ended in a pass and not the usual - runs into a defender and the ball bobbles away.

Maybe Jack stays as the super-sub. Maybe that's a good thing. Opposition tire, Jack comes on and shines - then Jack not too worn out. He get the headlines and a trophy. Job's a good un.
 
Great Idea though, England's best footballer since Gazza stays on the bench just to give the opposition a chance. Then comes on to win us the game in the 70th minute.
How about we play him for 90 mins and win the game before the last 20 mins , I think my idea is better as it gives him more time to win it. 20 mins won't be enough at some point.
Southgate is still a bellend and I'm not fickle
 
Villan57 said:
Great Idea though, England's best footballer since Gazza stays on the bench just to give the opposition a chance. Then comes on to win us the game in the 70th minute.
How about we play him for 90 mins and win the game before the last 20 mins , I think my idea is better as it gives him more time to win it. 20 mins won't be enough at some point.
Southgate is still a bellend and I'm not fickle
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He is frankly a defensive minded coward in my view. I have seen many of Gareth's fans on youtube comments saying " his haters need to finally give him the respect he deserves " and his tactics worked a treat. Lol, what tactics? It is not as if he has been using different tactics for different teams and against Germany he outwitted Lowe using a special tactic. He has been playing the same 2 holding mids against all teams time and again and the worst was against Scotland as if they had Mbappe and Benzema up front. That shows how timid he is and will always chose the safety first option.

Instead of going out to win the game using the wealth of attacking talent and like you said getting the game won much earlier he'd rather wait till 70 mins to see if he can prevent the opposition from scoring and then bring Jack on. He has been lucky that Jack has been bailing him out but he can't expect Jack to do it for every game by giving him little time to do something. I need to see one decent attacking team test the English defence and I am certain Gareth will fail.
 
He is playing a similar pattern to the one Ramsey employed in 1966. In the group games Ramsey played a 4-3-3 system with wingers. Before the World Cup he had played a couple of friendlies using 4-4-2 without wingers then didn’t use the system again until the quarter final when he used the four midfielders, without wingers and with Hurst and Hunt up top. Commentators reckon he kept the system in his back pocket until the knockouts. Maybe this is what Southgate is doing, having used 3-4-3 previously, played 4-3-3 in the qualifying round and now going back to his preferred 3-4-3.
Maybe I’m overthinking this.
 
Divine_islet said:
He is frankly a defensive minded coward in my view. I have seen many of Gareth's fans on youtube comments saying " his haters need to finally give him the respect he deserves " and his tactics worked a treat. Lol, what tactics? It is not as if he has been using different tactics for different teams and against Germany he outwitted Lowe using a special tactic. He has been playing the same 2 holding mids against all teams time and again and the worst was against Scotland as if they had Mbappe and Benzema up front. That shows how timid he is and will always chose the safety first option.

Instead of going out to win the game using the wealth of attacking talent and like you said getting the game won much earlier he'd rather wait till 70 mins to see if he can prevent the opposition from scoring and then bring Jack on. He has been lucky that Jack has been bailing him out but he can't expect Jack to do it for every game by giving him little time to do something. I need to see one decent attacking team test the English defence and I am certain Gareth will fail.
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I agree with your points, he has a one dimensional view of the game which he has played in qualifiers against lowly ranked teams, where we’ve actually looked poor because the forward options aren’t there.

I personally thought Germany were and are weak, and had we attacked them we would’ve still beaten them over the course of the game. But history will look back on it as a win and whatever you think of Gareth, the history is a win.

The last point you make is where Gareth is very lucky in that we won’t meet a team with a superstar who can punish us until the final. Both the next two opponents do not have that attacker or two who will tear 6 defensive players apart.

Ironically, the next two games might be tighter in terms of score line as England will be expected to win more comfortably but might struggle to break the next two sides down who just don’t come out as Germany did. They’ll probably be two very cagey and dull games, where jack or someone else will need an individual moment of brilliance to see us through. We do and should have confidence to play, and I want to see Rice and Philips play with a more attacking mentality, not sitting on the toes of the defence playing sideways.
 
danvilla2 said:
I agree with your points, he has a one dimensional view of the game which he has played in qualifiers against lowly ranked teams, where we’ve actually looked poor because the forward options aren’t there.

I personally thought Germany were and are weak, and had we attacked them we would’ve still beaten them over the course of the game. But history will look back on it as a win and whatever you think of Gareth, the history is a win.

The last point you make is where Gareth is very lucky in that we won’t meet a team with a superstar who can punish us until the final. Both the next two opponents do not have that attacker or two who will tear 6 defensive players apart.

Ironically, the next two games might be tighter in terms of score line as England will be expected to win more comfortably but might struggle to break the next two sides down who just don’t come out as Germany did. They’ll probably be two very cagey and dull games, where jack or someone else will need an individual moment of brilliance to see us through. We do and should have confidence to play, and I want to see Rice and Philips play with a more attacking mentality, not sitting on the toes of the defence playing sideways.
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What his supporters don't realise that his "plan" or "tactics" worked because Jack an attacking player came on and changed the game. An attacking change and not the defender laden team that he started with. That clearly shows he needs to start Jack and play an attacking line up. Instead fools are of the opinion that he should once again continue with the same " winning tactic " of starting with the same team or a defense minded team and bring "Impact sub" Jack on to save his bacon again. It is only to be able to see Jack I wanted England to win it.
 
First time I've been on since the tournament started and I'll go back into hiding I feel. Amazed to read the positive comments are in the minority. I've been fortunate enough to see both the Scotland and Germany games live so have paid for the chalk and cheese performances.

I get some people are entirely club over country and have no affinity with the England team, but I'm not sure that justifies it always being bad? Likewise, if Southgate is a lucky manager, I want a bit of that. You can only beat what you're given; France and the Netherlands have been humbled against "inferior" nations. If we beat United for the first time in however many years it is with 46% possession and 5 shots on goal, will you all be calling Smith lucky?!

I like a manager that can adapt each game and make tweaks. He didn't for Scotland (I think it was due to Phillips' MotM performance v Croatia), but has since and we've never really been under concerted pressure for periods. That's good tactical play and implementation by the players. For what it's worth, I think Southgate is well-suited to international management, he gets it. I would have reservations when the time comes to him returning to club football though.

As for Jack, could you easily argue he should start games? 100%, but he is making an impact when required. He gets what he has to do. You can see he understands his role and his popularity within the squad and fanbase now (I saw so many Grealish 7 shirts on Tuesday) and he clearly has an excellent relationship with Gareth, despite what many still seem to think. Listen to Jack in interviews, he is buzzing and loving it.

If we win this and my, we have a chance, we will deserve it. We're playing tournament football and everyone only remembers the winners. Very rarely does the most attractive/entertaining team come out on top. It'll be amazing IF we do win it; though for many it won't be good enough I'm sure.

Just enjoy the ride and try to see the positives rather than hunt on the negatives; life's more fun as a result. It's coming home.
 
Tierney said:
First time I've been on since the tournament started and I'll go back into hiding I feel. Amazed to read the positive comments are in the minority. I've been fortunate enough to see both the Scotland and Germany games live so have paid for the chalk and cheese performances.

I get some people are entirely club over country and have no affinity with the England team, but I'm not sure that justifies it always being bad? Likewise, if Southgate is a lucky manager, I want a bit of that. You can only beat what you're given; France and the Netherlands have been humbled against "inferior" nations. If we beat United for the first time in however many years it is with 46% possession and 5 shots on goal, will you all be calling Smith lucky?!

I like a manager that can adapt each game and make tweaks. He didn't for Scotland (I think it was due to Phillips' MotM performance v Croatia), but has since and we've never really been under concerted pressure for periods. That's good tactical play and implementation by the players. For what it's worth, I think Southgate is well-suited to international management, he gets it. I would have reservations when the time comes to him returning to club football though.

As for Jack, could you easily argue he should start games? 100%, but he is making an impact when required. He gets what he has to do. You can see he understands his role and his popularity within the squad and fanbase now (I saw so many Grealish 7 shirts on Tuesday) and he clearly has an excellent relationship with Gareth, despite what many still seem to think. Listen to Jack in interviews, he is buzzing and loving it.

If we win this and my, we have a chance, we will deserve it. We're playing tournament football and everyone only remembers the winners. Very rarely does the most attractive/entertaining team come out on top. It'll be amazing IF we do win it; though for many it won't be good enough I'm sure.

Just enjoy the ride and try to see the positives rather than hunt on the negatives; life's more fun as a result. It's coming home.
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Morning Gareth.
 
Tierney said:
First time I've been on since the tournament started and I'll go back into hiding I feel. Amazed to read the positive comments are in the minority. I've been fortunate enough to see both the Scotland and Germany games live so have paid for the chalk and cheese performances.

I get some people are entirely club over country and have no affinity with the England team, but I'm not sure that justifies it always being bad? Likewise, if Southgate is a lucky manager, I want a bit of that. You can only beat what you're given; France and the Netherlands have been humbled against "inferior" nations. If we beat United for the first time in however many years it is with 46% possession and 5 shots on goal, will you all be calling Smith lucky?!

I like a manager that can adapt each game and make tweaks. He didn't for Scotland (I think it was due to Phillips' MotM performance v Croatia), but has since and we've never really been under concerted pressure for periods. That's good tactical play and implementation by the players. For what it's worth, I think Southgate is well-suited to international management, he gets it. I would have reservations when the time comes to him returning to club football though.

As for Jack, could you easily argue he should start games? 100%, but he is making an impact when required. He gets what he has to do. You can see he understands his role and his popularity within the squad and fanbase now (I saw so many Grealish 7 shirts on Tuesday) and he clearly has an excellent relationship with Gareth, despite what many still seem to think. Listen to Jack in interviews, he is buzzing and loving it.

If we win this and my, we have a chance, we will deserve it. We're playing tournament football and everyone only remembers the winners. Very rarely does the most attractive/entertaining team come out on top. It'll be amazing IF we do win it; though for many it won't be good enough I'm sure.

Just enjoy the ride and try to see the positives rather than hunt on the negatives; life's more fun as a result. It's coming home.
Click to expand...

Sorry mate, if we win this thing, it will be more to do with the playing talent that England have in their squad and bugger all to do with Southgate, the horse faced beaky twat.
 
If Southgate wins the competition, I think he deserves some credit from even his harshest critics like me.

Three games left, anything less than reaching the final is an absolute failure in my book with the easy group stage and relatively easy knockout phase (Germany are/were poor).

Losing in the final then the country will probably celebrate finishing runner up harder than the team who won the damn thing but that’s years of being perennial underachievers for you.
 
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