[Football] England v Malta official match thread

[Guinness Boy]

Surely Potter wants to get back into full-time management? He needs to get his career back on track with the right job.

He'll be on a hiding to nothing with England.

He’s had offers.

Coaching England pays well and he can live down here. Kids finish their current school, Rachel teaches Pilates on the beach. This is a man who moved his family to Sweden’s freezing cold answer to Burnley for years. He owes them.

 

[Eric the meek]

Surely Potter wants to get back into full-time management? He needs to get his career back on track with the right job.

He'll be on a hiding to nothing with England.

You might be right, but neither of us know what is in Potter's mind. If you had a multi-million pound payoff, would you rush to go back to a full-time job? Especially if the last full time job you endured was in the toxic environment of Chelsea? I wouldn't !

But a part-time job in the backwaters as England manager might just do the job. It's all conjecture of course.

 

[Eeyore]

Sounds like I missed a classic tonight, ah well

The tribute to Sir Bobby was good. But, yeah, not a lot to see after that.

 

[BadFish]

You might be right, but neither of us know what is in Potter's mind. If you had a multi-million pound payoff, would you rush to go back to a full-time job? Especially if the last full time job you endured was in the toxic environment of Chelsea? I wouldn't !

But a part-time job in the backwaters as England manager might just do the job. It's all conjecture of course.

If it was me I would be looking to get back full time but take my time to get the right job with a well run club . . . Like the one he left, the knobhead.

 

[Me and my Monkey]

The dullard has no tactical ability at all. No style of play, just seems to let them ‘get on with it’. Maguire and Henderson playing says it all.

Which is why I think I'd make a brilliant England manager. As I know nothing about football, I'd also let them just get on with it, but would pick a much better squad to begin with because, let's face it, any old half-wit could do that.

 

[Berty23]

I think tonight saw the worst bit of post match punditry I have ever heard.

The channel four bods all agreed the ball touched Kane but should not be classed as interfering with play because the contact knocked the ball closer to the goalie so the goal should stand. Seriously, this was their view. None of the experts followed with “given the ball hit him in an offside position it is offside” instead they agreed that it hitting Kane meant it made the save easier for goalie so how can it be flagged offside for interference. Absolutely mind blowing.

 

[ManOfSussex]

2-0 against Malta...this country.

 

[pasty]

By the sound of it I’m pretty chuffed I didn’t bother watching tonight. Did we really only beat Malta 2-0 at home with one of those two being an og?

 

[Horses Arse]

I just tuned in since I just noticed that it's live on Fox Sports. England are looking shit.

One thing I really hate is the dark patches on the ball. When it's spinning a certain way, it looks like the balls been deflated.

That's how interesting the game was!

 

[Bry Nylon]

The tribute to Sir Bobby was good. But, yeah, not a lot to see after that.

There wasn’t a lot see during the tribute to Sir Bobby either, to be fair, seeing as they turned all the lights off.

 

[HillBarnTillIDie]

If Southgate was a chef with the pickings of the best ingredients in the country, forget bacon wrapped scallops with pineapple quinoa or sea bass with braised fennel and aubergine puree…
he’d serve up jacket potato with beans and cheese… and it’d probably be cold.

 

[Insel affe]

If Southgate was a chef with the pickings of the best ingredients in the country, forget bacon wrapped scallops with pineapple quinoa or sea bass with braised fennel and aubergine puree…
he’d serve up jacket potato with beans and cheese… and it’d probably be cold.

Nah, he’d over cook it.

 

[bhafc99]

Dreadful first half. There's no invention from England. I could go on, but what's the point?

Thanks for volunteering - I say grab your boots and do it, you couldn’t play worse than this lot.

 

[BN41Albion]

If any game sums up England under Southgate it’s this, he gets by because at times we have attacking players capable of great things, there is literally no style of play, the players look absolutely clueless at what to do.

Exactly the same about Eric TH at MU this season.

Such a shame that we're going into the Euros next year with him in charge still. The fact he still keeps playing the same tired players and same shit style of football with the players we have at our disposal is scandalous - we should absolutely be winning something with this crop of talent, but we all know it'll be another opportunity stifled by turgid management.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Exactly the same about Eric TH at MU this season.

Such a shame that we're going into the Euros next year with him in charge still. The fact he still keeps playing the same tired players and same shit style of football with the players we have at our disposal is scandalous - we should absolutely be winning something with this crop of talent, but we all know it'll be another opportunity stifled by turgid management.

Loads of injuries yesterday though. Stones and / or Dunk would have started and the passing from the back would have been way better (loads more diagonal balls with Dunk). No Bellingham (who would have beaten them on his own). And he tried to solve injuries by experimenting with TAA in midfield and Tomori at full back. Neither worked.

Now, if we see slabhead and Henderson starting every game in the tournament and we use a fifth choice full back and leave Bellingham out you’ll have a point, but I can’t see it myself.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

You might be right, but neither of us know what is in Potter's mind. If you had a multi-million pound payoff, would you rush to go back to a full-time job? Especially if the last full time job you endured was in the toxic environment of Chelsea? I wouldn't !

But a part-time job in the backwaters as England manager might just do the job. It's all conjecture of course.

Very tempting job is managing England I’d say, you only have to turn up for work every few months. Even less if last night is anything to go by.

 

[The Wizard]

The Southgate apologisers amuse me, he’s a terrible manager and has never done anything anywhere, he’s a yes man and a muzzled mouthpiece for the FA, hence he will probably never be sacked, togetherness unity blabla doesn’t mean anything if you have zero tactical knowledge when it really matters.

Yes, on the face of it our performances at major championships have been decent, until you look deeper into it and see the teams we’ve actually beaten and lost to and realise it’s just like any other England team before it, in fact it’s worse… we have a far better team on paper than Croatia and Italy, both of whom we lost to from winning positions due to the tactical ineptitude of our dinosaur manager.

Put me in charge of this England team and I’d get the same results as Southgate, when you’ve got players like Foden, Bellingham, Kane, Rice etc they’ll do the work themselves

 

[timbha]

I think tonight saw the worst bit of post match punditry I have ever heard.

The channel four bods all agreed the ball touched Kane but should not be classed as interfering with play because the contact knocked the ball closer to the goalie so the goal should stand. Seriously, this was their view. None of the experts followed with “given the ball hit him in an offside position it is offside” instead they agreed that it hitting Kane meant it made the save easier for goalie so how can it be flagged offside for interference. Absolutely mind blowing.

It’s C4. What do you expect?
I had to shake my head when I heard that and just thought, oh well the rules must have changed again and I’ve got catching up to do.
Disappointing but I thought the ref/var got both the penalty and offside side goal decisions correct, and prob Kane’s booking (for dangling his leg).
Thought he could have been a bit stronger on Malta’s fouls.

 

[timbha]

Very tempting job is managing England I’d say, you only have to turn up for work every few months. Even less if last night is anything to go by.

Exactly why it won’t suit Potter. He wants to be with the players, not the suits.

 

[peterward]

Loads of injuries yesterday though. Stones and / or Dunk would have started and the passing from the back would have been way better (loads more diagonal balls with Dunk). No Bellingham (who would have beaten them on his own). And he tried to solve injuries by experimenting with TAA in midfield and Tomori at full back. Neither worked.

Now, if we see slabhead and Henderson starting every game in the tournament and we use a fifth choice full back and leave Bellingham out you’ll have a point, but I can’t see it myself.

Without injury, he will start the euros with slabhead over Dunk, irrelevant of form.