Julius Posted July 14 Author Posted July 14 Not saying we would've scored but the ball was played for 90 seconds at absolute best of those 4 minutes of stoppage time, shocking from the ref to blow Spain the best team of the tournament and deservedly won this match and the whole thing. Kudos to them, some lovely play. We're knocking at the door. Let's see who's in charge in 2026 and take it from there. 1
Hero-of-Time Posted July 14 Posted July 14 1 minute ago, Happenstance said: I do think that part of our problem is the percentage of shit haircuts in the team. It has to be a massive distraction. Foden is the ringleader. 1
Dcubed Posted July 14 Posted July 14 What else is there to say? The better side won. A team that only starts playing football when they’re down doesn’t deserve to win.
Happenstance Posted July 14 Posted July 14 8 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said: Foden is the ringleader. Palmer is nipping at his heels 1
Julius Posted July 14 Author Posted July 14 6 minutes ago, Dcubed said: A team that only starts playing football when they’re down doesn’t deserve to win. Agreed – in knockout football, especially. League stuff is a whole other beast, where a draw still counts for something. I don't mind a low block. I don't mind passing it around. I don't mind setting up so long as you're trying to get a result. But it needs to be purposeful and it needs to be done with some motivation. Look at how quickly Spain were passing it around in the 70th, 80th minute and their intensity. And look at us -- when they started the counter for that second it was only Palmer remotely close to the ball, and there were acres of space in the middle for Spain to drive into. Sucks for England to lose but I'm really happy to see Spain back at the top. Rio sounds like he's getting carried away, as ever, by making it sound like this is the start of a dynasty for them, because I think they're still missing a key piece or two for that to happen. That being said -- they just won in that second half fair and square without Rodri on the pitch, shades of when Puyol and Villa were injured and unable to play in Euro 2012. 7 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said: That's it done. Now someone go fire Southgate for an absolutely shoddy performance in a tournament that was handed to us on a plate, especially with the quality we have in the squad. Agreed. Southgate has done a great job with the results he's got, he's now a legend in terms of England managers, but there now needs to be a step up if we're to win something with these players. It's time to go get a proper tournament manager in.
Emerald Emblem Posted July 14 Posted July 14 Spain absolutely the right team to win the tournament, congratulations to them. We cannot waste this golden generation of players. Whether you think Southgate is the man to win us a tournament or not, he may very well be in charge for the World Cup, he has to make sure he uses the next two years wisely.
Hero-of-Time Posted July 14 Posted July 14 Just now, Emerald Emblem said: ...he has to make sure he uses the next two years wisely. Dude has pretty much played the same style of football during his whole time in charge. If he stays then wasting a golden generation of quality footballers is exactly what's going to happen. Every time we get an amazing set of players come through we always end up with a manager who doesn't know how to use them. It's happened time and time again with England.
Eddage Posted July 14 Posted July 14 (edited) 3 minutes ago, Emerald Emblem said: Spain absolutely the right team to win the tournament, congratulations to them. We cannot waste this golden generation of players. Whether you think Southgate is the man to win us a tournament or not, he may very well be in charge for the World Cup, he has to make sure he uses the next two years wisely. I’ll be amazed if he doesn’t resign in the next few days. He’s done a great job and got us back into contention, but the players we have need a different style to take that final step. Edited July 14 by Eddage
Julius Posted July 14 Author Posted July 14 Just a reminder that Kane now gets a Golden Boot which will be shared with 5 others after both he and Olmo failed to score lmao 1 1
Julius Posted July 14 Author Posted July 14 That stat we just heard is insane Since the turn of the century Spain and Spanish have clubs have faced countries/clubs from other countries 23 times in major finals and won EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. That's freaking insane
Emerald Emblem Posted July 14 Posted July 14 Quote In the 181 minutes he played across both the Euro 2020 and 2024 finals, England captain Harry Kane had just one shot, one touch in the opposition box and had just 58 touches of the ball. Why is Harry Kane so bad in finals?
Julius Posted July 14 Author Posted July 14 39 minutes ago, Emerald Emblem said: Why is Harry Kane so bad in finals? Obligatory: For tonight, in reality I think he missed the final match of the Bundesliga due to a recurring back injury, wouldn't shock me at all if we learn in the next few days that he's been carrying it all tournament. In which case he arguably shouldn't have played as much as he did over the last month, of course. I just don't think most classic #9's can bode well in finals these days. Kane was isolated in 2v1's all night long at best, at worst he had 3 or more players surrounding him – because marking a #9 is like the most textbook thing every defender first learns to do. We haven't got the pace on the wings or crossing ability that he has supporting him at Bayern, and he likes to drop deep when we don't have those runners or anyone to replace him up top when he does it, which causes all sorts of issues. Said it earlier in the tournament but we should've gone for a 4-2-2-2 with Kane and Watkins/Toney up top to help split the opposition defence and give us a chance at winning the knock-downs Pickford was clearly aiming to get out of Kane.
Iun Posted July 15 Posted July 15 Was Harry Kane even there? I saw him meandering offside in the box once, and that seemed to be his entire contribution to the match. And he got a yellow. Well... done?
Julius Posted July 16 Author Posted July 16 4 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said: Southgate has finally quit. Good. It's the right time, he's caught a lot of heat these last few weeks - rightly so - and he can step down with dignity and his head held high for what he's achieved. He's now a legend in terms of England managers for taking us back to the top, regardless of how the draws have fallen in our favour, you can only beat what's in front of you. Very grateful for how far he's taken us in these tournaments, he's completely changed the mentality of these players, they seem to be a unit more than any other England team I've seen in my lifetime. The talent pool is there, it hasn't been used to its best, we had POTS from 2 of the 5 major leagues in our team (Foden - Prem, Bellingham - La Liga) and the top scorer in Bundesliga and just...didn't really get to see them at their best. This could be a watershed moment for English football, but more importantly than Southgate stepping down now is deciding who comes next. With the mentality changed and the talent assembled, I'm getting shades of Mourinho at Real – he laid the groundwork which has resulted in so much of the success they've had in the UCL after going without a win when chasing La Decima for over a decade. So, who do we get then? Shouts of Potter make me laugh, yes he was thrown in the deep end at Chelsea but he couldn't find his footing there after his first big move as a manager, and if the argument is coming in to manage youngsters...this squad seems far too mature for that to be the main reason to sign a manager. Howe is a better shout, but I genuinely don't think there's an English manager around at the level for me where it would give me confidence that they can go into a tournament and come away with a trophy over their head. Tuchel is my shout. He's a knockout trophy-winning specialist, biggest argument against it maybe is how England and Germany would view England having a German manager, but Tuchel comes to loggerheads with the German media and club structures over there again and again, and he seemed to love his time over here – English media included. I'd say that he's perhaps too early in his career to take on managing an international side, but Nagelsmann is doing it in his 30s, so why not? Tuchel is available and it would be a waste to not even try to hold the conversation. Mourinho would have been my first choice, but obviously he's only recently gone to Fenerbahçe and seems destined to ignite a civil war in Turkey, I also think he's just waiting Ronaldo out before he tries to get the Portugal job. But he loves England and I think it's probably the nation he'd want to manage most after his own (and after us probably Italy?), so yeah, he would've been my first shout. With both Mourinho and Tuchel, their biggest issues with clubs almost always comes down to difference in opinion over transfer policies – which is obviously a non-factor in international management. In reality? Watch us get a bigger football terrorist than Southgate – Allegri incoming! (but seriously please no )
Hero-of-Time Posted July 16 Posted July 16 Knowing what the FA are like, we will probably end up with Steve Bruce. 1
Nicktendo Posted July 16 Posted July 16 8 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said: Knowing what the FA are like, we will probably end up with Steve Bruce. It would be absolutely glorious. Big fan of the Brucemeister General. 2
Julius Posted July 16 Author Posted July 16 2 minutes ago, Nicktendo said: It would be absolutely glorious. Big fan of the Brucemeister General. 1
Julius Posted July 16 Author Posted July 16 UEFA have just revealed the Team of the Tournament: Only real fault with it I can see is Walker at RB – over the likes of Kounde, Carvajal and Dumfries? Go home UEFA, you're drunk reckon the most deserving English player, if one had to be shoehorned in, would be Guéhi. He was a beast and slotted in pretty much perfectly at the last minute.
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