Lee Dixon last night was right at it. Walker made an unbelievable overlap into a really dangerous position and Saka completely ignored him, came inside and lost the ball. Dixons first comment was to blame Walker and big up Saka. Its like listening to kids in the bloody playground its that childish.
I was watching BBC and Alan Shearer absolutely tore into Saka for not passing to Walker at that moment. A chance to score was lost the as soon as Saka turned into the Spanish defence, refusing the chance to feed Walker in space out wide.
This was a cameo that, for me at any rate, summed up the whole English experience at Euros24.
We started with a squad littered with several players eager to play on the front foot, capable of a higher speed passing game, of working as a unit to press the opposition, make opportunities to score, to take the game TO the opposition rather than get penned back (and there could've been more of such players had Captain Waistcoat taken the likes of Grealish with him)
But we also had the rest of the squad seemingly incapable of spotting the opportunities to pass or to make a run, incapable of doing what top teams (and yes, I DO mean City) actually do. Just as Saka did last night in that instant, not doing the right thing in getting Walker to the goal line and turning the Spanish defence.
Game after game, this repeatedly resulted in our keeper and back four becoming more and more isolated from midfield and attack, not so much in terms of distance but because midfield and attack became increasingly reluctant to do the running to link and develop play, be creative.
The longer games went on, the deeper we dropped and the more it became a case of waiting for someone, anyone to provide a bit of individual magic to get us going or back into a game.. if we were lucky.
And don't get me started on the whole 'square pegs in round holes' thing.. even last night we still had Foden trying to be the attacking midfielder (at last!) while spending a lot of his time with the extra duty of cutting off the Spanish supply to Rodri (which he did quite well.. but all at the expense of his main job, ie to create..)
It simply wasn't good enough from the start of the tournament.. and the blame for the complete mismanagement of the best squad, together with the best competition draw we've had in decades, lies at the feet of Captain Waistcoat, nobody else.
