So Southgate, his boring brand of football nearly won, nearly.

Had Bonucci not scored from corner rebounds what conversation would we be having now?

If my auntie had 4 legs and metal balls she'd be a pinball machine.

 

Agree. Taking a penalty in that context is probably 30% ability 70% mentality. Pickford and Grealish would have been in my 5 for that reason - you know they're not getting overawed.

 

Pickford maybe, not sure about Grealish because he's only ever taken one and missed it I think. Sterling has missed a few in general play, but scored under pressure in shoot outs. Sancho should've been on for at least 15 mins.

 

It's difficult to knock him because his decisions are partly vindicated by reaching the final. I'd have taken that before the tournament got underway but it's not unnatural to think we could have gone one better by picking our best players. Italy didn't leave Insigne on the bench but our version (Grealish) only played a bit part. He showed what he could do in his brief appearance against Germany but was immediately dropped. Imagine if Venables did that with Gazza. We'll never know whether we could have won the earlier rounds by 4-0 but his ultra cautious approach made sure that we didn't (Ukraine apart). Jadon Sancho has been one of the best players in the Bundesliga and I was really looking forward to seeing him but he only made a fleeting appearance. Maybe he wanted to stick with experience for the final but on a personal level I'm not keen on trying to.nick a goal against the run of play and then hold on. By avoiding all the big guns until the final, I really thought we could do it but after seeing the team sheet, I knew inside which way it was going. I like the way Italy play but when it's not working, Mancini quickly changes it. Spain and England being prime examples. Whether people like it or not, Southgate was hoping we could hang but instead of being proactive, waited until they drew level before changing it. He's the manager who has brought unity to the squad which you can't deny, but I can't help but feel we missed our golden opportunity at home. Im no expert and like I said, I'd take a 2nd place finish in the WC all day but I do hope that he gives Sancho, Saka, Foden, Grealish, Bellingham more game time in the WC qualifiers

 

Grealish might only be 75% to score a penalty generally, but I doubt that percentage drops much in a shootout context, compared to younger lads who might be able to stick them in the top corner for fun in training but have their legs (understandably) turn to jelly when the pressure is on.

I feel like Rashford's pen wasn't nerves, he just missed it by a couple of inches which is always a risk. Sancho and Saka's penalties seemed very nervous, as if they were too worried of missing the target to commit to going for the very corner.

 

We were good against Germany. And I think they’re a good side (not vintage) but decent. But I won’t hale Southgate a master tactician by subbing on his best player when we needed a goal.
Anyway...we all have opinions. He’s OK is Gareth. I just feel he is missing that edge to change it when it needs to be changed. When it’s not going well. And it’s cost us twice now. And this hurts more because against Croatia we didn’t have game game changers on the bench.

 

Unfortunately, he can't pick them all, otherwise we end up back in the Lampard / Gerrard debate, with Scholes playing left wing again.

If England were to have a game tomorrow, where he had to pick his best 11, Kane and Sterling would be certain starters. That leaves a maximum of two places for Foden, Mount, Grealish, Rashford and Sancho to fight over.

 

I do thin

I do think had Rashford scored we win that. Being ahead in the shoot out makes a massive difference. Sancho would have leathered it knowing a miss means all square

 

The Italy that I watched against Spain in the semi-final were pushed back. Spain had the majority of the ball. They passed through them with good movement ahead of the passer, accurate passing and a good first touch which enabled the receiver to turn on the ball and look for the next pass. Italy reacted by dropping deep to give Spain less room behind the back line to pass into. In an attacking sense, they played on the break and kept Spain honest with the threat that their players posed on the break. I really enjoyed the game. It was a contrast in styles and I enjoyed watching the two coaches trying to out-think each other.

My thoughts before the final were that it was probable that the first goal would win it. I expected England to risk nothing, because that is how we had been in the games leading up to the final. Because they had played on the break in the semi-final, I expected Italy to do so again. The early goal changed everything with regard to the way Italy were going to play. It meant that they had to abandon their plan. I enjoyed the game for the first half hour. England dominated, and to be honest, it felt like I was watching a different England. After that, Italy took over and England dropped too deep as they elected to try to hang on. With so much possession, and so much territorial advantage, I felt it was inevitable that Italy would score, and very unlikely that England would. The manner of their goal is irrelevant. It was scored because of the pressure that they put upon us.

The question is, could Southgate have done anything about the way that the game was played. Could he have influenced the game by making tactical changes. It was said that because we had dropped so deep, we had become a back 5 and that the late change to a back 4 and 4-3-3 reflected his attempt to get us playing further forward, but in my view it did not. We simply became 4-5-1 and the difficulty that the team was having in passing their way out from the back was compounded. Southgate had not jumped upon the problem at the end of the first half, as he should have done, and after that, he was out-thought by Mancini for the rest of the game. He had needed to get our back 3 to play higher, and with the pace of Walker covering the other 2 centre backs, that should not have been a problem. He had to keep the wing backs in midfield, because when they dropped back, the wide players in the front 3 had to drop back as well. The whole thing went wrong because that did not happen, and it did not happen because Southgate has a negative outlook. He concentrates on defensive numbers, rather than using attack and ball retention as positive forms of defense.

Look, I would be the first to admit that I know nothing about the game, that the changes that I advocate may not have won us the game. However, that is not really my point. My point is that I find England under Southgate extremely boring because they are so negative. I would welcome some entertaining football, some goalmouth action, near misses and chances, and that is not what you get with Southgate. It is basically the same argument that I waged last year in relation to Ismael's vertical football. It was successful, but it was not entertaining.

 

The way some are talking they played us off the park , second half they kept possession , Pickfords save could have easily missed the post , fine margins , the luck went their way . Lucky Italians with a key ref decision going their way in Chiellinis yellow card , I’m surprised Italy haven’t changed their national anthem to Kylies ‘I should be so lucky ‘ after this tournament

 

but even if he's have got a red I don't think we'd have scored and it would still.Be down to penalties!

 

True but their defence would have compromised for the time left .

 

It's only a maximum of two if you're playing two defensive midfielders ie Phillips and Rice. Personally I'd only play one (Phillips based on the Euro performance) and have Foden, Sancho and Grealish all playing.

 

Well Albert, what you say sounds to me like spoilt bratism of the highest order.
Did you say the same about Ismail on getting us to a most unlikely play off semi? You probably did.
Will you say the same thing should the new incumbent get us to a Wembley final or into the playoffs?
You probably will.

 

I think that Southgate's only get-out-of-jail card is that we don't have decent central midfielders to drive us forward and/or spray it about.

Foden Sancho Grealish etc. are all wider out.

We need a Lampard or Gerrard type.

That however does not mean we have to play 2 hod carriers in the middle.

 

But Foden, Sancho and Grealish all play further forward for their clubs, so to put any of them in midfield have accusations of putting players out of position. Maybe if Foden goes back to playing in a midfield three for city then you could have a midfield three that includes Foden and Mount. Would still have Sterling, Sancho, Saka, Grealish and Rashford competing for two places alongside Kane.