England Euro 2024 Squad and Discussion

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I have a theory. Southgate knows that if Germany lose to Switzerland then we can have an easy game in the last 16 in the kinder side of the draw. We only played shite to keep our options open and if that Switzerland result happens we'll then try and scrape 2nd in our group by not winning our last game.

Christ he's a genius. A football bloody genius.
 
I'd be happier with any of the lineups below over the dogshit he's been trotting out there. At least each one makes sense profile wise with how the players fit together. Main thing for me is Gordon has to start since Shaw isn't available. There's 0 threat or width on the left side right now, so embrace it and put Gomez at LB sitting back and let TAA have more freedom on the opposite side while Gordon hugs the touchline getting 1v1 chances and makes runs in behind.

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Disjointed play because too many players are unfamiliar with what they are being asked to do. You get no time to prepare in international football so have to accept that players will revert to what is familiar when under pressure. If the system around them provides no familiarity, then the result will be chaotic and disjointed.

Bottom line is that Rice needs a midfield partner. He’s had one at Arsenal all season. Mainoo has to start. Right there we have the basis for more control.

You can play Foden, Bellingham and Kane. They all fill the same space. Only Saka will go in behind, and is often isolated. You have to pick either Bellingham or Foden (Bellingham), and select Gordon, Eze, or Palmer on the left. Likely Gordon, because again….familiarity.

Only other option is to abandon caution and play Gordon left, and then a midfield 3 of Rice, Bellingham and Foden. It’s very aggressive but it’s better than this half way house of nonsense.
 
Not using Gordon even as a sub is bordering on criminal from GS.

England need raw pace and width in the side and all they have got is a glorified cut-in merchant constantly running into the space of the centre forward. It's just so basic that it's infuriating to watch time again, Phil Foden making a beeline for where the player he is supposed to be feeding is operating.

It's the same old same old from England. Trying to keep the egos happy instead of picking a functioning team.
 
Sack Southgate right now and get someone else in, totally inept.

If we had a better manager we might have had a World Cup in 2018 and a Euros in 2020
 
Valencia Shin Crosses said:
I'd be happier with any of the lineups below over the dogshit he's been trotting out there. At least each one makes sense profile wise with how the players fit together. Main thing for me is Gordon has to start since Shaw isn't available. There's 0 threat or width on the left side right now, so embrace it and put Gomez at LB sitting back and let TAA have more freedom on the opposite side while Gordon hugs the touchline getting 1v1 chances and makes runs in behind.

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For me the last one is easily the best, only change I would make is Bellingham/Kane/Watkins. I think any of them could work there.
 
It’s a blessing in disguise as Southgate will be forced to make changes, the lineup and tactics are flawed and it’s better to have that exposed. I’m sure his default would just be to swap TAA for Gallagher but the reaction will be so negative he’ll be forced to do more.

Southgate took England as far as he could a while ago, he was much more suited to managing a less talented group, he is simply clueless about what to do with players at his disposal now and beat can hope for is he will just stumble across something that works.
 
I don't think people get the type of player Saka. He's causing the same problems Foden, Bellingham and Kane are. He again has no threat in behind - and personally I think the other 3 have more to offer than him. I'd be tempted to drop him, move Foden to the right and bring Gordon on the left.

Dropping Bellingham would be nuts. The whole team just becomes way more lightweight without him
 
It's crazy that the entire post-game talk here is basically setting up a "Kane should be dropped" take and not "maybe Rice needs a partner"
 
Skills said:
I don't think people get the type of player Saka. He's causing the same problems Foden, Bellingham and Kane are. He again has no threat in behind - and personally I think the other 3 have more to offer than him. I'd be tempted to drop him, move Foden to the right and bring Gordon on the left.

Dropping Bellingham would be nuts. The whole team just becomes way more lightweight without him
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Eh Saka has been the only take on threat in the entire team. Foden on the right will just do what he does on the left and drift into the middle spaces that Bellingham and Kane already occupy. Either play Foden in a more central spot or bench him. Agree Gordon has to start. Only running threat in the entire team on that side and especially with no Shaw you have to have someone willing to operate on that flank on his own.
 
Playing Alexander-Arnold in central midfield two games in a row is absolutely diabolical management.
 
Skills said:
I don't think people get the type of player Saka. He's causing the same problems Foden, Bellingham and Kane are. He again has no threat in behind - and personally I think the other 3 have more to offer than him. I'd be tempted to drop him, move Foden to the right and bring Gordon on the left.

Dropping Bellingham would be nuts. The whole team just becomes way more lightweight without him
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Here's the thing.

It's not Bellingham, Saka, Kane or Foden.

They all are world class arguably at club level. The problem is the shite that is Southgate, he has been since the moment he took over. We need a top class manager.
 
Skills said:
I don't think people get the type of player Saka. He's causing the same problems Foden, Bellingham and Kane are. He again has no threat in behind - and personally I think the other 3 have more to offer than him. I'd be tempted to drop him, move Foden to the right and bring Gordon on the left.

Dropping Bellingham would be nuts. The whole team just becomes way more lightweight without him
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Saka was the only one running in behind today and the only one with pace to provide a threat and beat a man.
 
duffer said:
Southgate gets sacked tonight and you get appointed tomorrow. What's your XI for England's next game?
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Ooof, you are asking someone who would make everyone unhappy.


Defense I don't care about but, midfield Rice, Mainoo, Wharton, Gordon and foden wide, Watkins front. I am willing to concede Saka for Foden if people really want.

It's risky because of the youth, but we would pass the ball significantly better.
 
Skills said:
I don't think people get the type of player Saka. He's causing the same problems Foden, Bellingham and Kane are. He again has no threat in behind - and personally I think the other 3 have more to offer than him. I'd be tempted to drop him, move Foden to the right and bring Gordon on the left.

Dropping Bellingham would be nuts. The whole team just becomes way more lightweight without him
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Or, as @Rozay said yesterday I think, instead of outright dropping Saka, we could move him to LB whilst Shaw's unavailable.

It sounds crazy now because of how good he's been as a RW, but he was a fantastic LB, too.
 
Have so many talents on the pitch and on the bench and play an absolute snoozefest. Southgate is a genius.
 
Hammondo said:
Ooof, you are asking someone who would make everyone unhappy.


Defense I don't care about but, midfield Rice, Mainoo, Wharton, Gordon and foden wide, Watkins front. I am willing to concede Saka for Foden if people really want.

It's risky because of the youth, but we would pass the ball significantly better.
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I'm not mad at the midfield 3 at all.
 
Hammondo said:
But we can't land all the blame on him. We have massive overrated our players and squad balance.
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Bellingham is La Liga player of the year. Kane is top scorer in their league. Foden, Stones and Walker were important players in the treble. There is no over rating.
Southgate is clueless. Not taking players like Rashford or Grealish in an international tournament where individuality is so important is a terrible decision. Not playing Palmer and Mainoo is also strange. His tactics have always been terrible.
 
It's quite amazing how other teams can fit players in a system like Germany but we have to drop everyone to make it work. We could start with playing a decent partner for Rice and an actual LB who can get forward to make use of Foden coming inside but we haven't brought on apart from an injured player. Then press as a team and it would make a big difference. We can't even do the basics nevermind the lineup.
 
Hopefully Ashworth wasn't gardening during that shower of shite performance his boys team served up.
 
NoPace said:
It's crazy that the entire post-game talk here is basically setting up a "Kane should be dropped" take and not "maybe Rice needs a partner"
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The Kane problem is that he occupies the exact spots that two other seeming auto starters also like to be (Foden/Jude). Kane will never thrive in a team that doesn't have runners off him from all areas, because he's dirt slow and far more of a playmaker these days than his young Spurs days.

See the above lineups I posted with regards to the Rice issue. They have to surround him with far more progression so that he can just defend and lay the ball off, or just don't bother playing him. Because right now he's being treated like he's Rodri and he's simply not that player in possession.

Either way though, the single biggest issue in the team is lack of outlets after recovering possession.
 
Dr. StrangeHate said:
Bellingham is La Liga player of the year. Kane is top scorer in their league. Foden, Stones and Walker were important players in the treble. There is no over rating.
Southgate is clueless. Not taking players like Rashford or Grealish in an international tournament where individuality is so important is a terrible decision. His tactics have always been terrible.
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Massively overrating because for some reason you think that matters? Do you honestly think Bellingham is the best player in La Liga? Or just someone who scored goals?
 
Just is a moron. I fecking knew he’d stubbornly stick with TAA despite it being a train wreck in the first game, the little stamp he puts on the team. Gallagher is a less shit choice than TAA, so the sun was the ‘right’ decision, though it should obviously have been mainoo. Then after ten minutes of a roughly functional midfield he takes off our most dangerous two players saka and foden. Watkins was the right sub for Kane.

There are so many better options than what Southgate picks it becomes baffling and infuriating. They are talking about Bellingham at 8 now and foden at 10. That’s one of the less shit choices. Maddening that out of the number of options he has he picks the worst one - for the midfield at least.
 
Valencia Shin Crosses said:
The Kane problem is that he occupies the exact spots that two other seeming auto starters also like to be (Foden/Jude). Kane will never thrive in a team that doesn't have runners off him from all areas, because he's dirt slow and far more of a playmaker these days than his young Spurs days.

See the above lineups I posted with regards to the Rice issue. They have to surround him with far more progression so that he can just defend and lay the ball off, or just don't bother playing him. Because right now he's being treated like he's Rodri and he's simply not that player in possession.

Either way though, the single biggest issue in the team is lack of outlets after recovering possession.
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We have better playmakers now, Kane should be subbed for someone who can run imo.
 
TheGame said:
It's quite amazing how other teams can fit players in a system like Germany but we have to drop everyone to make it work. We could start with playing a decent partner for Rice and an actual LB who can get forward to make use of Foden coming inside but we haven't brought on apart from an injured player. Then press as a team and it would make a big difference.
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Naglesmann is far more willing to experiment than Southgate ever has. That's the main answer.

You'd think a competent manager would look at the squad he has available and look to play players that compliment each other.
 
Pretty baffling at the top level that managers still consistently don’t recognise that midfield control wins football matches, particularly at International tournaments. England should start with actually having a midfield in the first place.

It ain’t that difficult, I reckon a good 80% of managers are just there because they are the biggest and best blaggers that happened to be in football.

Mainoo or Wharton in alongside Rice, Bellingham a bit more freedom. Start Watkins over Kane in game 3, Gordon in for Foden. Pray to feck that Shaw is ready for a few mins in that game so we don’t have to watch Trippier stink it up some more.
 
Redstain said:
Exactly no idea how this is being missed
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Like I'm not even against exploring the idea that Watkins being annoying and pressing for 60 minutes and Kane coming on might make some tactical sense (england were far too deep), but when your team can't keep the ball and looks petrified on it in their own half...
 
At least Southgate is admitting it's not been good enough in the two games. From his comments, it sounds like the Trent experiment is over. Just hope he will be brave and give Kobbie a start.
 
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