England v Switzerland - Sat 6th July, 17:00 | Euro 2024 Quarter-Final

[supercity88]

What you say is true to some extent but over the last 8 years we've beaten the teams ranked well below us and then we've lost in the quarters, semis or final against the first half decent team. So your talk of we're getting the job done winning poorly is all well and good but we know what is likely to happen next. A semi exit will be a failure but hopefully the team surprises me.

The World Rankings aren't particularly accurate. Do Belgium deserve to be third? Are we really 5th considering our results and performances recently? Is a Swiss side that drew with Germany and beat Italy in a week really 19th? Spain are 8th when clearly they're a better side than England. It's silly to look at ranking and qualify our results that way.

We're a lightweight on the international stage. We've got a history of failure that puts extra weight on the team. We could certainly play a lot better and I'd love to see it, but now we're in a semi final it's about getting the job done. Pressure plays a huge part on what happens on the pitch. Look at City in the CL. We were completely burdened by that expectation. Even Pep was. He picked a team that wasn't right for our first final, and then made amends. He also benefitted from the no away goal rule, which enabled us to be reserved away from home and more attacking at home. We should have won it so many more times if you go off rankings, but it isn't that simple.

 

[supercity88]

The way the team approaches football, which comes from the coaching staff who set out a plan, run the coaching sessions, create the environment around the camp. It all seeps in to performces.

It's not just city players. Bellingham apart from chipping in with the odd goal, it's not like he's involved much like with Real Madrid.

Harry Kane for spurs used to bang goals in from all ranges and angles for spurs, yet for England despite being a record goal scorer, most of his are getting on the end of some scrappy play, against part timers or penalties. You never really saw him scoring great goals or playing like he did for spurs and linking up with players.

I think Rice for Arsenal is much more assertive than he is for England where he looks shit scared on the ball.

Most of the others just play for average teams anyway so you don't see a big difference or drop off

For me it's a much clearer issue and that's the fact we don't have a player to dictate the tempo which would enable the rest to play their natural game. For City, we pass and move consistently but it all gets dictated by Rodri. Foden knows if he drops into a space even with two around him, Rodri gives him the ball. Rice knows he can let Partey/Jorginho pick up the ball and get it facing the right way, where he can spread it wide and play his game on the front foot. Bellingham knows Kroos will control things and he can find space and then play in Vinicius/Rodrygo. There's no one in this English team that is the heartbeat of their side.

Stones slows the play down with England like he does City. Draws players out. But when he then passes it no one can then fire the ball forwards and into the space like Rodri would. So it's pointless. When we do get the ball into Foden or Bellingham the only movement in this system is Saka. And that makes it easier to defend and harder to create things. Kane doesn't move, often being deeper than those two anyway. And, with Foden at least, there's also a bit of a hesitation to be as direct as he would in blue. Palmer's definitely more comfortably playing his natural game even if he loses the ball, whereas Foden seems hesitant.

 

[Bozo]

some will forever harp on how we had the 'easiest matches ever' and 'won it by luck'

They are absolutely preying we lose.

Mental isn't it? Proper scouse attitude. At this point I don't really care how we play I just want us to win the thing.

 

[give it to gordon]

There's a huge difference between going through a bad but still putting the work in, like Haaland.
As I have said before I thought kane had changed his kit for extra time, it was immaculate. The fact that his kit was immaculate backs up he just walks around.

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

Can’t help thinking this is @BlueHammer85 ’s way of thinking!

 

[Crooked_rain]

There's a huge difference between going through a bad but still putting the work in, like Haaland.
As I have said before I thought kane had changed his kit for extra time, it was immaculate. The fact that his kit was immaculate backs up he just walks around.

Therw was a point in the last game where Foden pressed his man and then had to run past Kane and press the man Kane was should be pressing but he was just walking around

Foden said in an interview before the game that Southgate wants them to press and Southgate has also said he asks them to press, so it's clear that the likes of Kane and Bellingham are not following instructions, but waistcoat lacks the balls to drag them off the pitch earlier in the game.

Imagine a player completely ignoring peps instructions , they would be off the pitch

 

[mattcity5]

Therw was a point in the last game where Foden pressed his man and then had to run past Kane and press the man Kane was should be pressing but he was just walking around

Yeah I saw that too. It was a joke.

He only ended up finally getting subbed when Akanji did Southgate's job for him and shoved Kane into the dugout. The speed Kane had been moving he wouldn't have made it back in time for the penalties .

 

[supercity88]

There's a huge difference between going through a bad but still putting the work in, like Haaland.
As I have said before I thought kane had changed his kit for extra time, it was immaculate. The fact that his kit was immaculate backs up he just walks around.

There's clearly something wrong with Kane. He's never been someone to press intensely, but usually he's very clever at sprinting into space to pick up the ball and play someone in or to time his movement in the box. But a couple of occasions Saka beat his man and put the ball right across the goal and Kane was barely in the box. No striker misses out on the opportunity to show pace when it comes to scoring a goal unless they're absolutely fucked. Maybe it's his back issue, but we're playing with 10 at the moment.

 

[mattcity5]

Southgate's got them playing scared, so many negative messages in what the players say if you read between the lines. Feel like they've probably spent more time between games practicing penalties than practicing playing out etc.

This sums up a lot of it for me.

 

[Crooked_rain]

Southgate's got them playing scared, so many negative messages in what the players say if you read between the lines. Feel like they've probably spent more time between games practicing penalties than practicing playing out etc.

This sums up a lot of it for me.

I'm sure I heard a stat that Pickford has booted it long in this tournament more than any England keeper since the 1940s in a tournament