Euro 2024 thread

Are you saying they should get an even less experienced manager and pay them less, or pay more for a manager who is also unlikely to get them playing as a team?

Perhaps I just have very low expectations.

The thing I don't understand is this line that gets trotted out ad nauseum that people want to see exciting football. Under which manager since Alf Ramsey has anyone seen exciting England football? Capello, Keegan, Hodgson, Eriksson, Mclaren, Taylor, Greenwood?? Hoddle had one good game against Argentina which we lost. People forget at Euro 96 we were dire against the Swiss and should have lost to Spain. The wins against Scotland and Holland were Venables high points. Robson was a top bloke, but in football terms at Mexico 86 we lost and were very lucky to make the semis in 1990, Cameroon were far better in the qtr final. Southgate has made a semi and a final, we were excellent against France in 2022. Before this euros we have qualified for ko stages easily, beaten Germany, won tricky ties against Sweden, Senegal, Ukraine easily, won pen shootouts, and aside from the odd frustrating performance, have generally played far better football than any England side since 1996.

My point again is that for all the rationalising, this is nothing to do with performances, it's a Southgate issue, fans don't like him. It has very little to do with the football.

Good luck to the England 'fans' when he is gone and we are back to 2nd round knockouts and early group stage exits again.

Shows what happens if you put a proper cross of St George on the shirt.

You have to say Southgate has had extraordinary fortune with the draws in major finals.

I bet they will still find a way to fuck it up.

Disagree - Southgate's growing unpopularity is football related. With the squad he has available and the luck he's had with favourable draws and playing the last Euros at home his results are not that impressive.

It's not just that though - it's the way those results are achieved with mind numbing football and the way his negative approach has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory on a few important occasions.

Look yes of course he has strengths as a manager - but his strengths are the ones fans don't see. What they do see are the tactical frailties, the inability to adapt, the increasingly uninspiring leadership. And of course some of the criticism goes a bit far but that's not unique to England. He's stayed on for a tournament or two too long - the FA should have read the room let him go after tne world cup or even the last euros. Op

Let's change tack now the KO stages are here.

Which games are people looking forward to and which are best avoided. Three picks:

Must watch game?

Dark horse (the game that looks meh on paper but could throw up a decent game or even a surprise result)

Must avoid (you can't pick your home team!)

My choices are:

Must watch - Georgia Vs Spain. Could be a really good attacking game with lots of goals.

Dark Horse - Germany V Denmark. I don't think it will be a surprise result but possibly a good tactical battle that could end up with penalties.

Must avoid - Switzerland v Italy. Haven't been impressed with either, just has 0-0 and ET written all over it.

Good shout on dark horse. Yes, Portugal v Slovenia isn't high on my list either.

Could well be a good game, although I wonder if Austria might just be too strong for them and be a bit one sided? Will definitely watch it though.

The issue with the way England have played during the group matches is that if you fail to create more than one or two goal scoring chances, then you seriously increase the chance that you will lose. Any side can score a breakaway goal, such as the first Georgian goal last night. And guess what, a side that passes the ball around but failed to create chances, ended up losing.

It's similar to sitting back on a one goal lead. It's a very dangerous strategy.

Southgate has been lucky, and being a lucky manager or team is a definite plus, but with the talent available to him, England really should have been creating a dozen or more chances against the weak opposition they have faced, and putting a couple of those chances away.

Sure, but England were through anyway . . . which is kinda (almost!) the point.

A WC quarter,a WC semi and a Euro final suggests something a little more than "luck". The group they were in was a consequence of their performances prior to the start of the tournament and their finishing position within the group down to the results they got in it, again, not luck.

I am as disappointed with England's performance so far in this tournament as anyone given my sky high expectations, but I struggle with Southgate getting so much of a slagging off for a win and two draws so far.

We tried to "not lose" when Croatia came back and beat us in 18 and when Italy came back in euro 20 - in both games we sat back and it did not work. You have to win games of football to win cups, tournaments and leagues - and there are different approaches - I'm not arguing a negative approach can't work but I've yet to see a convincing argument as to why it's an approach particularly suited to tournaments.

Re looking back in time - there are tournaments where for me we were genuinely unlucky or an act of stupidity brought about our downfall. Germany 96, departing unbeaten in 86?, Maradona's handball in 90, Rooney's red card against Portugal, Rooney's metatarsal injury, Beckham's red against Argentina, several penalty shootouts. Yes give some credit to Southgate but you'd think we have never been competitive since 66 the way some talk.

The other thing is Southgate's football is f'ing dull. I read a stat that the Xg for both the Serbia and Slovenia games was lower than for every single premier league game last season. Then there is that (I seriously thought it was a joke initially ) pic of our players average positions between scoring and conceding against Denmark - it's just depressing defeatist and the inly possible enjoyment that can be had from it is post facto .

4-4-4 formation?

Anyone watching Switzerland that things Eng have got an easy draw may wish to rethink!