Like every tournament, our central midfield isn't good enough, and we have no possible central midfield that is.
England Euro 2024 Squad and Discussion
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Harry Kane looked like he was running in ankle deep sand. Looked about 45 years old today.
We don't play them properly even the rare times we do have them. Every tournament our central midfield isn't good enough.
I agree I don’t see Bellingham as a natural 10, I think he’s best a little deeper when he can just run past players with the ball like he did a few times and arrive late in the box like Robson/lampard.
That'd be my pick, at least it's a more natural fit. But I suspect Foden will get another run out but we've got yo find a way of making him more effective, not just lost on the wing when he desperately wants to cut in, it's making us hellishly unbalanced, especially when Saka tries the same thing and you've got a relatively immobile CF as well as a surging Bellingham all trying to move into the same space.
Makes it far too easy to read and predict.
Rice, Mainoo and Bellingham? For modern international football, that's more than good enough.
It's not, it's lacking heavily with passive, it's lacking in technical ability and experience.
We need a left footed LB to give us width from the left, otherwise the entire pitch is congested. Once Shaw is back this unit will look far more fluid. Similar problems to United, in some senses. Just enough individual quality to bail us out this time.
Foden is consistently crap for England. I know the setup isn’t the best but if you can only perform in an artificially assembled team managed by a neurotic obsessive maybe you need to look at yourself.
Farmers league will do that to you
See, a year ago, looking forward to this tournament, I pictured this as Bellingham: his coming out party as the conductor of the team, not just the midfield.
I think in one of these posts I wrote : “we will find out what will happen in this first game. Will England have Bellingham playing deeper, allowing his talent to truly shine and England to succeed? Or will he be jammed up just behind the striker searching for headers … in which case England is done for this tournament.”
We got our answer. There’s no one to control the tempo, no one to link up attacking play and make Kane and Saka much of a factor at all, Foden is lost. Southgate took an elite collection of talent and turned them into Stoke City.
I agree. We’d definitely benefit more by having Gordon out wide so then we have 2 wingers who are willing to run at the opposition defence. Fodens always been better centrally so makes no sense playing him out wide.
Some of his holdup play was brilliant
I think he did a job for the team today, hard to look dangerous when you've got sweet fa in terms of service. Literally working of scraps tonight.
Whilst his lack of pace isn't ideal, we need to work around that. Right now our playing style is almost the exact opposite of what will make Kane thrive.
Am I the only one that doesn’t get it with TAA?
He’s nowhere near good enough to feck about with the balance of the team to accommodate.
There’s actual quality CMs in the squad like Mainoo and Wharton yet we’re messing about with him in midfield. Unbelievable really.
He’s nowhere near good enough to feck about with the balance of the team to accommodate.
There’s actual quality CMs in the squad like Mainoo and Wharton yet we’re messing about with him in midfield. Unbelievable really.
The idea that England have to build the team around a player who has never done it in an England shirt is really quite bemusing. Foden was lucky not to get hooked tonight.
Are you sure? I thought it included Kane and Bellingham?
It was pretty much the consensus in the match day thread, at least re; TAA in midfield.
I don't think Mainoo is ready to be a regular starter for England. He'd probably have played less if United had the right CMs also.
He has a lot to learn but I'm sure next season he'll come along a bit more.
Yeah there was no link tonight for England, or space for anyone to drive into and force Serbia back. Bellingham, Foden and Kane seemed to occupy the same spaces on a constant basis.
I'd probably go with dropping Bellingham deeper and having Watkins upfront playing off the should of the defenders.
I expect the same set up from England in the next game though, this is what they'll stick to for the tournament as Southgate has picked such an imbalanced squad and hung his hat on Shaw being fit.
Southgate needs to feck TAA off out of midfield. Great fullback but exactly the kind of player England don’t need in the middle. It’s like he needs a lump it long replacement for Henderson.
Someone hasn't been reading the threads!
(Spoiler, no you really aren't mate)
Thank God. I’ve just been listening to the pundits and Southgate saying how well he did and I thought I was going mad.
Kane started last Euros slowly too. Not worried about him. Foden and TAA are concerns imo.
It’s concerning that Southgate thinks he did well tonight because that indicates we’ll see him in midfield again against Denmark.
And he'll get away with it. It really is a piss easy group.
Serbia
England manager Gareth Southgate speaking to BBC: "They are a strong team. We had to suffer a bit which I think is really good for us. I think to defend the box the way we did was really good for us."
England manager Gareth Southgate speaking to BBC: "They are a strong team. We had to suffer a bit which I think is really good for us. I think to defend the box the way we did was really good for us."
We were shit and were forced to defend. Yay!Serbia
England manager Gareth Southgate speaking to BBC: "They are a strong team. We had to suffer a bit which I think is really good for us. I think to defend the box the way we did was really good for us."
Gallagher will definitely be starting over TAA by the end of the group stage
Unless England implode or go out in the last 16 to an "Iceland" i.e. Not a big name . Southgate will be there until the WC. Too much of an FA Yes man. Which is why he 's still there. He's one of the things holding England back from the next level which is winning something
I guess. But surely for the last 30 minutes or so of Kane not looking dangerous at all and Serbia pushing further and further up the pitch someone like Ollie Watkins with pace to burn could’ve been MUCH more effective?
Gallagher is also bang average. Need Mainoo in there.
Why would he? He also likes running into dead ends and cutting inside.
That did not look like a showing befitting of tournament favourites. That was bang average. The Alexander-Arnold experiment was a dismal failure and he almost cost a goal due to his sloppiness. Things became more stable when Gallagher came on. Foden can't play on the left either.
Southgate needs to be braver. Pick a balanced system and choose the best players available. Stop trying to shoehorn talented players into systems that don't suit them. If that means benching Foden, so be it. If it means benching Alexander-Arnold against better sides, so be it.
Southgate needs to be braver. Pick a balanced system and choose the best players available. Stop trying to shoehorn talented players into systems that don't suit them. If that means benching Foden, so be it. If it means benching Alexander-Arnold against better sides, so be it.
It's concerning that anyone sees TAA as a midfielder, and most of it seems to come from the player himself. Someone needs to sit him down and let him know that he isn't it.
I think best buds Bellingham and Trent have dreamed up this idea, maybe even rehearsed it , and sold it to big nose in training .
He goes around the outside a lot and actually stretches play and runs in behind.
Reminded me of Rooney in 2014 and 2016. I think we've passed peak Kane tbh in terms of all round game although of course he'll still score a decent amount of goals.
I haven't watched England play since world cup. It's something I do on purpose to make international tournaments better to watch. Completely ignore all friendlies and qualifying games.
So my view of England recently is limited to tonight's game. I thought TAA was petty mediocre in midfield, but maybe he had an off night. Is he really better than tripper at set pieces and free kicks?
Foden off the left doesn't work, it's show horing him in which England have done with other players before ala Scholes. he needs to be in the middle. As good as Bellingham was, dropping deeper to partner Rice would then allow foden to play as the 10 and strengthen the heart of our midfield. That way we could get someone on the left i.e. Gordon, Eze, to give us some width and penetration (jack grealish would have made sense to me, but what do I know).
Obviously not having Shaw fit or Ben Chillwell in the squad robs the left side of a natural left footed.
Lastly I would have brought on Watkins for Kane when the Serbia started to pile the pressure on. Watkins pace would have meant that Serbia would need to keep minimum 3 players back in case of a ball over the top for Watkins to run onto and given us an outlet. You don't have to worry about that with Kane as good as he is, he doesn't have that pace.
All in all, the first half was impressive l, second half less so. Lack of an elite keeper, centre back and decision over a partner for Rice will cost England eventually in this tournament.
So my view of England recently is limited to tonight's game. I thought TAA was petty mediocre in midfield, but maybe he had an off night. Is he really better than tripper at set pieces and free kicks?
Foden off the left doesn't work, it's show horing him in which England have done with other players before ala Scholes. he needs to be in the middle. As good as Bellingham was, dropping deeper to partner Rice would then allow foden to play as the 10 and strengthen the heart of our midfield. That way we could get someone on the left i.e. Gordon, Eze, to give us some width and penetration (jack grealish would have made sense to me, but what do I know).
Obviously not having Shaw fit or Ben Chillwell in the squad robs the left side of a natural left footed.
Lastly I would have brought on Watkins for Kane when the Serbia started to pile the pressure on. Watkins pace would have meant that Serbia would need to keep minimum 3 players back in case of a ball over the top for Watkins to run onto and given us an outlet. You don't have to worry about that with Kane as good as he is, he doesn't have that pace.
All in all, the first half was impressive l, second half less so. Lack of an elite keeper, centre back and decision over a partner for Rice will cost England eventually in this tournament.
There’s almost literally no point in figuring out the tweaks that might make the team tick, with Southgate it’s game over. I expect we’ll make it out of the group, maybe even cling on for penalties against any decent team in the KOs and then that’s it. At least he’ll hopefully feck off then.
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