[Football] Italy V England Final.

[dejavuatbtn]

I am not calling for his head but I wouldn’t give a shit if he walked.

I wouldn’t want to give the FA the opportunity of employing another Allarcyce.

 

[amexer]

What a shame. Maybe controversial but hope we never approach games so defensively again or go into a game without Grealish starting

 

[vagabond]

I am not calling for his head but I wouldn’t give a shit if he walked.

Best England team we’ve had for 30 years. Not sure what your expectations are or who we could get who’s better (other than Potter of course [emoji6]).

 

[BN41Albion]

What a shame. Maybe controversial but hope we never approach games so defensively again or go into a game without Grealish starting

Not much chance of that with Southgate in charge, rightly or wrongly.

 

[beorhthelm]

What a shame. Maybe controversial but hope we never approach games so defensively again or go into a game without Grealish starting

lets not pretend Grelish from the start would have made much difference. when he had the ball the Italian defence knew how to handle him, simply marshalled him without fouling (their art - knowing when and when not to foul).

 

[dazzer6666]

The fourth official wouldn’t let them on. Saka even allowed the ball to go out of play, but still he hung back. The commentators even mentioned it.

Southgate said he had to leave it until the last couple of mins because the team had ‘no shape’ as a result ofnthem both coming on. They were never going to get more than a couple of minutes, nothing like 10. He also said that and the pens were entirely his call…….

 

[Icy Gull]

Best England team we’ve had for 30 years. Not sure what your expectations are or who we could get who’s better (other than Potter of course [emoji6]).

Best players for years yes, but I do not worship at the altar of Southgate, sorry

I am not saying sack him but if he walks there are plenty of candidates with a more attacking mindset I’m sure

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

lets not pretend Grelish from the start would have made much difference. when he had the ball the Italian defence knew how to handle him, simply marshalled him without fouling (their art - knowing when and when not to foul).

He got two players booked in 20 minutes ( debatable if one should have been a red) he also won fouls that got us up the pitch.

He can actually hold onto the ball as well.

 

[Icy Gull]

He got two players booked in 20 minutes ( debatable if one should have been a red) he also won fouls that got us up the pitch.

He can actually hold onto the ball as well.

He is a little shit, but in England’s case he is our little shit

When he plays for Villa against the Albion he’s a cheating, diving CJTC of course

 

[beorhthelm]

He got two players booked in 20 minutes ( debatable if one should have been a red) he also won fouls that got us up the pitch.

He can actually hold onto the ball as well.

that booking was hardly result of normal style was it. yes he did hold the ball, ineffectively i thought. Sterling or another attacking midfielder would have done the same if getting on the ball. we lacked any transition from defence to attack for the second half, Grelish is not magically going to make that happen on his own. that said if he'd been on instead of Saka might have changed things up.

 

[darkwolf666]

Honestly? I’d say Southgate has done well enough to unite the England team and create a sense of unity and a culture that is truly essential for our future success- but he has taken them as far as he can tactically- it would be controversial and I doubt anyone in the FA has the balls to do it after England’s successful run, but I’d say it’s time to take Southgate out and replace him with a manager who shares that unifying culture but has the talent and creativity to take our talented young players and turn them into a tournament winning side.

What I’m basically saying is that the FA should pull a Tony Bloom and sack Southgate and replace him with a Potter like figure, piss off a bunch of people in the short term but be completely vindicated by year two. Unfortunately I don’t think the FA has the same acumen or big picture perspective compared to our TB so even if they tried it, they’d probably botch it.

So you have a manager who reached the last 4 of the last World Cup and beaten finalists in the next major tournament and you want the FA to have some balls and sack him.

Do people really believe this "taken them as far they can go" shit or do they just like regurgitating meaningless drivel...

Southgate isn't liked by many people here because of his previous association to another club and is often criticised by some for his style of play, but it's hard to find a manager with a better record over their last two major tournaments.

Cut the guy some slack!

 

[amexer]

Like him or not Grealish will always make things happen round the box. No PL team would leave him out of side .Perhaps that is why PL football is more exciting because with few exceptions most sides go for it

 

[Seasider78]

Defensively solid but need to find a way to lose one of the holding midfielders and work on the attacking line up. We have so much talent in the attacking third but rarely showed it this tournament. If Foden, Saka, Grealish continue their rapid progress at club level he is going to have some tough selection decisions to make in relation to Sterling, mount and others who he has shown loyalty to so far. A nice headache to have though!

 

[Guinness Boy]

Like him or not Grealish will always make things happen round the box. No PL team would leave him out of side .Perhaps that is why PL football is more exciting because with few exceptions most sides go for it

How was the dog walk? Wet and dark, one would assume.

 

[Sorrel]

The first 30 minutes were great - but then it started to feel like a re-run of the Croatia match. We did better than we did then, but it still wasn't good enough. We improved in extra time, but you do wonder if we shouldn't have tried to do that earlier.

With the goalkeeper they had, I was not confident about penalties and I'm not surprised he saved a few. I would guess Rashford feels the worst because he did the hard work in getting the keeper to go the wrong way and then just missed. But the problem was not in the penalties - it was earlier in the match.

 

[Dave the OAP]

As great a keeper that Pickford is, his obsession with banging the ball as far down the pitch and landing it just short of the goalkeeper was brainless to me.

Italy started playing a high line and we couldn’t pass along the back as we had been doing throughout the tournament so therefore the ball was passed back and Pickford hoofing it to no one apart from their centre backs.

I could not understand our “ tactics ” after we scored.

But take nothing away from Italy who can’t be that far off the best team in the world at the moment.

How Jorginho stayed on the pitch when he tried to end Grealish’s career is beyond me though.

 

[Icy Gull]

The first 30 minutes were great - but then it started to feel like a re-run of the Croatia match. We did better than we did then, but it still wasn't good enough. We improved in extra time, but you do wonder if we shouldn't have tried to do that earlier.

With the goalkeeper they had, I was not confident about penalties and I'm not surprised he saved a few. I would guess Rashford feels the worst because he did the hard work in getting the keeper to go the wrong way and then just missed. But the problem was not in the penalties - it was earlier in the match.

The penalty misses are a distraction from the way we went from looking a very good side at the start of the match to a rudderless ship by the end. Whose fault was that, the players not being good enough to keep it up or the manager not being good enough to change tactics and players mid match? Maybe a combination of both

I really feel for those who had their dreams shattered, so much enthusiasm and hope at the start. I kind of expected it but I was very definitely wowed and impressed by our start and wondered if just…maybe

No doubt in my mind that the right team won though

 

[Lethargic]

So you have a manager who reached the last 4 of the last World Cup and beaten finalists in the next major tournament and you want the FA to have some balls and sack him.

Do people really believe this "taken them as far they can go" shit or do they just like regurgitating meaningless drivel...

Southgate isn't liked by many people here because of his previous association to another club and is often criticised by some for his style of play, but it's hard to find a manager with a better record over their last two major tournaments.

Cut the guy some slack!

Ignoring the finishing position and keeping it to a very simple question do you think Southgate achieved the best result he could with this collection of players?

I acknowledge he has done well and is very good at the man management and diplomacy side of management but tactically he has repeated the same errors repeatedly and is stuck in a defensive mentality when we have a squad strong on attacking players.

The one factor out of his hands that does worry me going forward is midfield, the Italians absolutely dominated us in midfield even after the substitutions and when you look at the midfielders in the Premier League the options are very limited for English talent. 2 holding midfielders in front of a back 5 is OK against lesser teams but not the way to beat the top teams and never will be but I acknowledge the options are very limited from what I have seem Mount is not the answer and as for calling Phillips the Yorkshire Pirlo well that has been proven to be wide of the mark. If Brighton want to make big bucks on the next academy success we need to be scouring this country for a quality box to box midfielder.

 

[nicko31]

The first 30 minutes were great - but then it started to feel like a re-run of the Croatia match. We did better than we did then, but it still wasn't good enough. We improved in extra time, but you do wonder if we shouldn't have tried to do that earlier.

With the goalkeeper they had, I was not confident about penalties and I'm not surprised he saved a few. I would guess Rashford feels the worst because he did the hard work in getting the keeper to go the wrong way and then just missed. But the problem was not in the penalties - it was earlier in the match.

It just felt like the Italians turned the screw on us, I'm afraid they edged it

Gutted, but so proud of Southgate and the team. We will come again but next time it will on foreign soil, always harder for England

 

[amexer]

How was the dog walk? Wet and dark, one would assume.

Nice to be remembered. Sorry to disappoint you and dog but did not get his walk until after game. Too bigger game that could always go either way. Yes whilst enjoyed the tournament I do still in general get far more involved when watching Brighton games . Of course also not allowed to take the dog to amex