[Football] A national team to be PROUD of...

[Brovion]

Southgate has to be commended for being his own man. EVERY other England manager would NOT have ditched Smalling and Jones, simply because they play for Manure and have medals.

Southgate sees beyond that, recognising their glaring faults and selecting better centre halves.

Exactly right. Southgate alluded to it himself when he said we could live 'hand to mouth' and pick established players to try and do a job in the short term, but he wants to build for the future. Even if we'd got thrashed last night he would have deserved credit for that.

 

[Simster]

Sorry but can only say what I think and feel but I am pleased that Lewis did not get on tonight.
He has now had the experience of being in the England set up and seen what it is like and I hope he now goes on to keep getting selected.
But to give him his first cap away against Spain the way they were pressing 2nd half if he had made a mistake to allow Spain to score on his debut it could have f****d him right up.
He probably would have been nervous enough as it is without throwing him on as sub 2nd half.
He now has some experience but would rather see him play in an 'easier' game or friendly.
Glass half empty I know, maybe he would have played a blinder, I know that Watford player came on but that was no game to throw on a rookie into the heart of defense.

Andy Naylor was saying exactly the same thing on Twitter yesterday afternoon, and that hopefully he gets a run out against the USA next month. Personally, I think that'll happen too.

But last night was all about the front three really and the team's counter-attacking speed. When you've got players who can be that ruthless when going forward, to an extent it certainly negates the technical deficiencies and inability to retain possession. Fair play to Southgate for having this team play to it's strengths.

 

[maltaseagull]

Superb time to be an England fan - we deserve this.

Young likeable side playing great football with a young likeable manager. Doesn’t really get much better than that.

Is it possible that we are following Germany in building a young side that grew together and won world cups ? (Not sure about their fall since then however)

 

[Postman Pat]

Must admit I had no real intention of watching the game last night, with the team we had selected I thought we would be on the wrong end of a hiding. However once the game started, apart from a 10 minute spell at the start, we looked pretty good in the first half.

Our main strength in the team is the pace up front, and the formations that GS has picked and the players in the roles has played to those strengths.

I still think some of the selections are a bit disappointing and players are being selected who are not playing enough for their clubs (Welbeck etc..), but it was very positive last night.

I can't remember the last time I saw a Spanish defence in such dissaray, they couldn't live with the movement of Kane, Rashford and Sterling.

 

[Mellotron]

Is it possible that we are following Germany in building a young side that grew together and won world cups ? (Not sure about their fall since then however)

It’s hard not to notice that Southgate almost exclusively uses young players unless he has to. Who knows, but he’s definitely building something and we will 100% improve on our WC showing.

 

[El Presidente]

Matches like last night don't happen too often so why not just enjoy it for what it was. An excellent first half and three well worked goals.

 

[timbha]

Matches like last night don't happen too often so why not just enjoy it for what it was. An excellent first half and three well worked goals.

I think it was more than that. It showed we have players who on their day are a match if not better than the best in the world. It also shows that others have potential to be up there. Most of all it shows that England can play as a team and get results.
Let’s enjoy it for what it was and what it might be.

 

[Notters]

Matches like last night don't happen too often so why not just enjoy it for what it was. An excellent first half and three well worked goals.

Because it was on Sky

 

[blue-shifted]

With football, you get out what you put in. If you want to stop supporting your national team because they've been rubbish for a while; fine. If you want to stop going to the Albion because they're playing in Kent or at a windy athletics track; your choice. The problem is, like a glory hunting Man U fan, you never really get at those highs which only football can give you. Just imagine what it must have been like in Seville last night, after having witnessed years of more lows than highs. Those fans, and the ones who refused to give up or slag them off when it was fashionable, truly deserved a night like last night.

 

[blue-shifted]

It was also a good night for Uefa. The Nations League needs to prove itself as a tournament, and full blown competitive (and it was competitive) international football is exactly what it needs. It's been years since there was an actual qualifier that intense

 

[Notters]

With football, you get out what you put in. If you want to stop supporting your national team because they've been rubbish for a while; fine. If you want to stop going to the Albion because they're playing in Kent or at a windy athletics track; your choice. The problem is, like a glory hunting Man U fan, you never really get at those highs which only football can give you. Just imagine what it must have been like in Seville last night, after having witnessed years of more lows than highs. Those fans, and the ones who refused to give up or slag them off when it was fashionable, truly deserved a night like last night.

In a way this is true, but no England fan can be blamed for giving up on the team when the team themselves couldn't be bothered - whereas this (generally) wasn't the case with the Albion when we were crap - we were just crap, and playing in difficult circumstances.

 

[dingodan]

Amazing progress. We could really do with getting someone half as good as Dan Ashworth in at the Albion.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

Must admit I had no real intention of watching the game last night, with the team we had selected I thought we would be on the wrong end of a hiding. However once the game started, apart from a 10 minute spell at the start, we looked pretty good in the first half.

Our main strength in the team is the pace up front, and the formations that GS has picked and the players in the roles has played to those strengths.

I still think some of the selections are a bit disappointing and players are being selected who are not playing enough for their clubs (Welbeck etc..), but it was very positive last night.

I can't remember the last time I saw a Spanish defence in such dissaray, they couldn't live with the movement of Kane, Rashford and Sterling.

How many minutes has Challobah played this season? Seemed an odd choice as a sub so late.

 

[Puppet Master]

Southgate is good at getting the best out of what England has and we can't ask for any more than that.

Thank Heavens Allardyce isn't in charge still. I dread to think what the team would have been last night but it would probably still have Hart and Rooney in it, and a defence based around Smalling and Jones.

 

[Hotchilidog]

I really enjoyed the World Cup, really enjoyed having an England team that I felt I could finally get behind, but that was it for me. I'm just not a fan of international football that much at the moment. I did watch the second half last night and though England defended very well, and I enjoyed the Spanish team losing their heads at every decision against them, but I just cannot get that excited about this stuff anymore. International breaks absolutely stuff the first four months of the season which means we then have to play a crapload of games over Christmas to make up for it.

I'd have thought with the Euros not until 2020 we could have had at least one season off after the World Cup.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

Very last minute decision to find a stream and put the game on, but well rewarded - its been so long since I've seen England in a game like that - with the exception of Colombia in the WC I guess - that I'd forgotten how enjoyable international football can be.

The thread title is apt -to be proud of an England team is a good thing. Right through the 90's the England team was fully of likeable stars, and if they'd been fortunate enough to win a tournament you can imagine running off a list of the players and being proud of them - Seaman, Campbell, Ince, Shearer, Owen, Beckham, Scholes - whereas they've been followed for the last two decades by the likes of Terry, Cole, Rooney, Gerrard and a whole load more bunch of players who seem defined by arrogance and off-field shenanigans.

 

[atfc village]

Apart from those who tried to smash up one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, apparently. Be interesting to hear from those that were there.

Yep i look forward to seeing a lad i know ,who was not near the trouble but got battered by the local OB at a cashpoint quite badly . Personally i wouldn't wander alone in an England shirt in a foreign city.

 

[Whitechapel]

Given some of your recent posts on here I’d be very careful.

This post makes you look like an absolute prat.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I need to be careful?

Is that a threat?

 

[Weststander]

Amazing progress. We could really do with getting someone half as good as Dan Ashworth in at the Albion.

Apparently he's going to being involved in constant infighting, undermining the roles of Hughton, Winstanley and Barber.

It's all downhill for the Albion from here.

 

[Weststander]

Very last minute decision to find a stream and put the game on, but well rewarded - its been so long since I've seen England in a game like that - with the exception of Colombia in the WC I guess - that I'd forgotten how enjoyable international football can be.

The thread title is apt -to be proud of an England team is a good thing. Right through the 90's the England team was fully of likeable stars, and if they'd been fortunate enough to win a tournament you can imagine running off a list of the players and being proud of them - Seaman, Campbell, Ince, Shearer, Owen, Beckham, Scholes - whereas they've been followed for the last two decades by the likes of Terry, Cole, Rooney, Gerrard and a whole load more bunch of players who seem defined by arrogance and off-field shenanigans.

An arbitrary dichotomy of goodies and baddies. Rooney and Gerrard are OK people and fine players, Cole a brilliant LB, always hated after he dared leave declining Arsenal for money/medals. They would've thrived under a quality England coach (Robson, Venables, Southgate).

Instead the incompetent FA wasted 20 years on overrated carpet-bagger managers and bloody McLaren.