Pathetic performance. No pace, no urgency, no creativity.
Did we need to play 2 holding midfielders at home to Scotland? They're not France or Portugal, take the game to them!! How did Sterling stay on the entire game? Ok he ran through and scored against Croatia but the rest of that game and all of last night he has been poor. Why didn't he start with Grealish? We knew Scotland would play a back 5 and defend deep, so the game was crying out for a player who can make something happen. Southgate waits over an hour to bring him on. What has Sancho done to Southgate to not get a single minute in 2 games so far? This is one of the most exciting young attacking players in Europe, all set for a transfer of around 100m, most other countries would love to have him. Southgate doesn't even give him a kick!
Thought we had no attacking options from midfield, no-one prepared to take the ball forward. We had two very defensive midfielders in Rice and Phillips (against Scotland ffs!!) not impressed by Mount (would he even be in the squad if he played for Wolves or Palace). Kane looked static, isolated and ineffective, but had no service. Sterling was useless (again) and didn't do anything and it would have made more sense to sub him and push Foden up alongside Kane. Once again a pish poor England squad shows how overrated they really are.
Thought we had no attacking options from midfield, no-one prepared to take the ball forward. We had two very defensive midfielders in Rice and Phillips (against Scotland ffs!!)
Think that's a key point.
Sounness said he was confident at the starting lineup of Scotland because they had a footballing midfield while England had a holding midfield. Said you can't have that at this level, you need more football in your team. 100% right. Someone needs to play forward and link.
The worrying thing is that we're 2 games into a tournament and Southgate has absolutely no clue of his best team. He said the week before the tournament he knew 10 of his best XI, i don't believe him at all.
No idea who his best full backs are, does he stick with Rice/Phillips or bring in Henderson, or even go more positive and bring in Bellingham in, or maybe move Foden more central.
The front 3 are a mess with no cohesion at all, they look like they just met. Kane isn't getting much service so i'll cut him some slack, Foden is being played out of position and Sterling has been dropped by City for the majority of the second half of the season. He scored 25 and 31 the last 2 seasons, this season he got 14, so it's pretty obvious he's struggling.
Think we need a serious overhaul to freshen things up against the Czechs.
On the basis of the twenty minutes or so of each half that I managed to stay awake, I was surprised at how good Scotland were and how utterly shite England were. The latter to the point where it almost looked deliberate. Conspiracy theories anyone? At least Clarke had the balls to admit that he got the team selection woefully wrong on Monday against the Czechs and made the necessary changes to get the best out of our limited resources. The usual mixture of work rate and spirit. Fair play. But England were absolutely shyte and, even as a Scot, it gives me little pleasure to say so. Kane looks like his mind is elsewhere. Sterling is pointless. Yorkshire Pirlo? Do me a favour. Rice - never seen what the fuss is about I’m afraid. Mount is painfully overrated and Foden is being stifled. Some echos of Sir Bobby in 1990 and El Tel in 96 where it took some injuries to arrive at the best line up and tactics but I don’t think Southgate has the balls or the football brain to adapt in the same way as his illustrious predecessors. I actually quite like Southgate but he’s out of his depth with this squad. Unless they are deliberately playing for second place in the group (which I think is bollocks) then there ought to be a player mutiny over the next few days before the next game.
As a spectacle, just another reason why I won’t lament my sky subscription when it expires next week. My interest, Charlton aside, is waning badly.
In the last 10 matches, we've been beaten once - by Belgium when Southgate set up an even more defensive formation of 3 CBs and 2 holding midfielders - and have kept 8 clean sheets and haven't conceded in almost 500 minutes of football.
Unfortunately, it is against that set of results and a backdrop of just one team in the competition coming from behind and winning from 21 matches in this tournament (Belgium again) and with no more than one team scoring in two thirds of games too, that dictates that Southgate will not take the handbrake off until he is absolutely forced to do so - and a point last night was never going to result in him doing that because we now need a maximum of a point from our final game to qualify. And we might not even need that.
Not saying it's right and as much as I would love to see us play with more freedom and utilising the attacking options available to us, I don't see Southgate doing that, You only have to look at how, in one off matches, the best squad in the PL, City, were beaten by Chelsea in both the FA Cup and CL to recognise that the best overall team does not always win knock out tournaments - and we aren't the best. The most effective one at getting results can and if Southgate ends up winning the Euros on penalties then I doubt many Englishman will advocate giving the trophy back because we weren't entertaining enough to deserve it.
I would never say a player on international duty does not give his all,but when you look at a lot of players in this competition,playing for smaller clubs,and smaller countries,their passion is there for all to see.Look at Wales,probably not one player would make the Englland squad,and Scotland,similar,yet look at the intensity these two have.I look at at the pace of the Italians,the Dutch, Belgiums etc.we are so pedestrian compared to these,our first instinct backwards and sideways.Look at Pogba,De Breuna,Modric,always first instinct is to attack,Rice and Phillips last night were totally ineffective going forward,Kane was away with the fairies,Sterling is taking a bit of stick,and I am not his biggest fan,but at least he tried to make things happen.Ray Keane rightly stated football is not coming home with this team.
Very poor although credit to Scotland, who did their jobs very well.
Slow, slow, slow.
You joking?
Grealish come on and immediately went forward. Draws fouls or at least puts the other team on the back foot.
Sterling is a waste of a shirt when teams sit back.
100% agree. I did get bloody angry once when he drew a foul near touch line about halfway in Scotland’s half and then in Charlton fashion somebody played the ball back and we ended up back halfway inside our half.
Absolute turd , England didn’t fancy it from first whistle, bizarre substitutions , how Sterling stayed on pitch for 90 minutes is beyond me !!!!!
Based on what we saw last night, exactly right. The issue was against Croatia Phillips was able to influence our attacking play. Against Scotland Rice and Phillips were like having one player. Scotland were breaking and we didn't need the two of them. Bringing Grealish on was right, but he should have replaced one of them. I think this is basic and the fact Southgate didn't get this tells me we will have to be lucky to beat a genuine decent side of which there are about four or five.
We could change but Southgate is too scared to lose to win this tournament, but if you are going to play Rice and Phillips you take about 20% off our ability to attack and really they should only be an option when the midfield you are playing is so superior you need to desperately contain it. I call it having an extra pass. That is all it gave the team yesterday, and generally it is an extra sideways pass.
We haven't conceded a goal and maybe we could argue that we can win this tournament with a similar approach to Greece when they won it. The worry I have with this is a) We know defence is the weakest element to the side (which is probably why Southgate is negative to be fair and b) There are a number of decent offensive sides in the competition. What we also know is the side has some great offensive options and if we are happy to pass on those options, we are surely opting to pass on what makes us genuine contenders.
To see some mates for the first time in over two years, have a sesh and just relish that general football buzz again.
Being able to stand in the ground for 90 mins without issue.
The ‘unruly’ burger at the Railway Inn at West Hempstead.
The bad:
Everything else.
Believe be, I have been to enough Eng v Scot games ( down here and up there) to know it’s never, ever easy or simple, so more than expected it could go any way.
What I did not expect or appreciate though was such an utterly pathetic display from many supposed world class players. I really really try hard to stay enthused about England but as I said in the other thread, I support the shirt, not the players wearing it, who for the most of my match going life have been a disgrace to the shirt when it really matters.
I spent the train journey back to Maidstone talking to a nice jock and how jealous I was that he supports a team, a country, who may be lacking in ability but more than make up for it in heart and endeavour.
Maybe Southgate, worry less about players taking the knees and fans reaction to it, and more about managing your fucking country. I’ve liked you generally but I spend a lot of time and effort following this team around Europe and for the most part, as usual when it matters, it’s fucking garbage.
I can break cover now after that performance and explain why I had/have England going out at the round of 16:
Harry Kane has been affected by the situation at Spurs and looks sluggish.
Raheem Sterling has always needed many chances to score and at City he has the genius of De Bruyne to feed him.
Southgate wouldn't trust Grealish to be the playmaker and built the midfield around him. Is it really not possible to play Mount, Grealish and Foden at the same time ?
Having watched more tournaments that most, either after the 1st or 2nd game we throw in a stinker of a performance. Anyone remember when we didn't ?
The positive is we played mediocre in a group match and not a Knock out game.
Nothing to mention about the game except Kane needs to be dropped. He doesn’t look fit and deserves to be taken out the side
Kane isn't 100% but first and foremost he is a finisher. He shouldn't have to constantly come short to get the ball or chase aimless balls over the top. If we create chances then he will score but, given we had one shot on target all game, I'm not sure that he or anyone else could do the way we were set up and with the lack of inventiveness in the team.
Nothing to mention about the game except Kane needs to be dropped. He doesn’t look fit and deserves to be taken out the side
Kane isn't 100% but first and foremost he is a finisher. He shouldn't have to constantly come short to get the ball or chase aimless balls over the top. If we create chances then he will score but, given we had one shot on target all game, I'm not sure that he or anyone else could do the way we were set up and with the lack of inventiveness in the team.
It would be nice if he would do basic things, like control it, not pass to the opposition, or generally put his body in front of the defender and battle for the ball. He looked ill.
My only hope is that our team evolves by luck during the tournament because that was dog shit last night. I say by luck because I’m not sure Southgate knows what to do.
Shaw was poor, the midfield ineffective and what is wrong with Kane? Hooking your only proper goal scorer in consecutive games, well before the end suggests he’s not right.
Horrible lacklustre performance and we are nowhere near good enough to win this tournament.
Credit to Scotland because I thought they played well and deserved at least a point. Clarke got his tactics bang on.
Disappointing and crap to watch but, let’s face it, no surprise. The performance and result could have been pencilled in when the match first appeared in the schedule. England v Scotland is nearly always a crap game to watch because it’s all about the over the top physical side. Some players thrive on that and can’t get enough of getting stuck in, other players shrink from it, don’t want the ball or try something that might get them hurt. Play the game when it’s a first stage match that’s only aim is to get to at least 4 points after two games and not be the team that is so bad it doesn’t scrape through to the second stage then you get what we saw last night.
Nothing to mention about the game except Kane needs to be dropped. He doesn’t look fit and deserves to be taken out the side
Kane isn't 100% but first and foremost he is a finisher. He shouldn't have to constantly come short to get the ball or chase aimless balls over the top. If we create chances then he will score but, given we had one shot on target all game, I'm not sure that he or anyone else could do the way we were set up and with the lack of inventiveness in the team.
It would be nice if he would do basic things, like control it, not pass to the opposition, or generally put his body in front of the defender and battle for the ball. He looked ill.
Didn't look well when interviewed - seemed very withdrawn.
Massive reality check, Absolutely no excuses for last nights performance, Scotland were up for it, and we thought it was going to be easy and a walk in the park, (arrogance and over confidence).
We haven’t looked good for the last 2 years, so I’m not surprised by last night.
If we’d have drawn with Croatia and beaten Scotland most on here would have been happy with that.
Southgate is underachieving with the players he’s got, and clearly hopes to keep playing players until they come back into form.
Im hoping this will be a wake up and a watershed moment , better to find out now, whilst in the group, rather than in knockout football.
Last night felt like a defeat, and as if we’d been knocked out of the tournament, the fact the players can’t raise there game against their rivals, well we should all know about that playing Millwall.
I really wish Vardy hadn’t retired from intl football. He’s direct, fast and can finish. We lacked that sort of approach in our play last night. At the moment, we have a few really creative players in Foden & Grealish, but we struggle as a nation to accommodate such players I think. You can imagine Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Croatia and ball playing teams making so much more of them, fitting in.
For us, it seems we can’t quite ever make it work. Certainly not two of them.
It was very Charlton v Millwall. Scotland turned up, played their part, looked like Millwall. We on the other hand, couldn’t quite bring the fight and the intensity needed. That’s how I saw it anyway.
It’s frustrating as it’s a game you want to win. I just hope they’re not going to get drawn into the after effects of such a flat performance. We have a big game on Tues and we have to put it to bed and focus on the Czechs. That will bring its own challenge.
On a side note, I did think Scotland played well, but seeing some of their fans celebrating the 0-0 as if they won is a bit ridiculous. There’s every chance they’ll go out quite easily against Croatia as they won’t raise their game like they did last night. They played good football, but make no mistake, a big part of getting that result last night was down to the fact were the opposition.
It's going to be wet wet wet, and my son saw Scotland play in a monsoon at Hampden and score 5 goals. The Scottish lads love rain and we underestimate this Fried mars bar team at our peril. As England won our first game for the first time in the Euro's I expect Scotland to get a point.
Southgate will be photoshopped as a big nosed Worzel Gummidge on social media for picking the wrong team until some bright spark notices we have 4 points and have already qualified.
He then plays all 3 keepers as his back 3 and puts Walker in goal for the match against the Czech's. Gareth Southgate insists he has picked a side to win. Unfortunately we beat the Czech's 1-0 and play Portugal at Wembley in the knock out as group winners.
Having reflected on it overnight, as poorly as we played and we were very poor, I still don't think Scotland are being enough credit for putting in that performance. What they lack in obvious talent to call upon they made up for in organisation, discipline and application. Clark handed Southgate his backside last night.
I do question decision making, when he can’t see things going wrong, and doesn’t know how to change them, getting that feeling when it all started to unravel under Bowyer, and when things turn, it’s hard to stop the rot.
We need to freshen up certain parts of the team, when we play the Czechs, give Kane, Foden and Sterling a rest, maybe mount, Philips, and Rice as well, I don’t want to limp out of the group.
It's going to be wet wet wet, and my son saw Scotland play in a monsoon at Hampden and score 5 goals. The Scottish lads love rain and we underestimate this Fried mars bar team at our peril. As England won our first game for the first time in the Euro's I expect Scotland to get a point.
Southgate will be photoshopped as a big nosed Worzel Gummidge on social media for picking the wrong team until some bright spark notices we have 4 points and have already qualified.
He then plays all 3 keepers as his back 3 and puts Walker in goal for the match against the Czech's. Gareth Southgate insists he has picked a side to win. Unfortunately we beat the Czech's 1-0 and play Portugal at Wembley in the knock out as group winners.
I really wish Vardy hadn’t retired from intl football. He’s direct, fast and can finish. We lacked that sort of approach in our play last night. At the moment, we have a few really creative players in Foden & Grealish, but we struggle as a nation to accommodate such players I think. You can imagine Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Croatia and ball playing teams making so much more of them, fitting in.
For us, it seems we can’t quite ever make it work. Certainly not two of them.
It was very Charlton v Millwall. Scotland turned up, played their part, looked like Millwall. We on the other hand, couldn’t quite bring the fight and the intensity needed. That’s how I saw it anyway.
It’s frustrating as it’s a game you want to win. I just hope they’re not going to get drawn into the after effects of such a flat performance. We have a big game on Tues and we have to put it to bed and focus on the Czechs. That will bring its own challenge.
On a side note, I did think Scotland played well, but seeing some of their fans celebrating the 0-0 as if they won is a bit ridiculous. There’s every chance they’ll go out quite easily against Croatia as they won’t raise their game like they did last night. They played good football, but make no mistake, a big part of getting that result last night was down to the fact were the opposition.
Scotland did play well. They played with intensity and quality and defended excellently. If we had changed the balance with an extra forward thinking midfielder it could have allowed players like Kane, Foden and Sterling to shine more but we didn't.
Okay, good night's sleep gives a fresh perspective so.....
We were shit. We bottled it. We have a great bunch of players and we turned in a performance like Charlton at Accrington. And we are even muttering that maybe second place will keep us clear of France and Italy? Let's be honest Scotland aren't a bad team, and have players who are established at Man Utd, Man City and Chelsea. The problem is tactically, Southgate made us look utterly dire, and didn't have a clue how to change it. If that was how inrpt he was against the passion and no little drill of the Scots, what will he do if we meet Italy? Surrender?
To be honest, it was just another Bowyer night with Charlton. Too much worrying about the opposition. Sancho on the bench when we needed to give the Scots a problem at the back. Kane on for far too long. No spark and no idea how to change it. In Italia 90, we started poor but Robson suddenly got us playing football and we charged. Southgate needs to get some football done. Last night showed the rest of the tournament we can still be as limited as ever. Let's hope it was just a trap, but Southgate may have begun to sign his P45 with that.
I do question decision making, when he can’t see things going wrong, and doesn’t know how to change them, getting that feeling when it all started to unravel under Bowyer, and when things turn, it’s hard to stop the rot.
We need to freshen up certain parts of the team, when we play the Czechs, give Kane, Foden and Sterling a rest, maybe mount, Philips, and Rice as well, I don’t want to limp out of the group.
But it hasn't had it? And certainly hasn't in Southgate's head. Bowyer didn't lose the dressing room by keeping 8 clean sheets in 10 games and losing just once - and that to the number one ranked team in the World. The fact that we didn't beat Scotland is irrelevant to him if that point means that we will qualify as a result of it.
We want our teams to play attacking football. Unfortunately, Southgate doesn't trust us defensively enough to not play with two holding midfielders. Ironically, I think that Martinez knows Belgium aren't good enough defensively with such an ageing and slow back line but feels that attack, with the players at his disposal, is the best form of defence. Time will tell who is right but the likelihood is that the tournament will, in any event, be won by a France or Italy who as better at both ends of the pitch.
I do question decision making, when he can’t see things going wrong, and doesn’t know how to change them, getting that feeling when it all started to unravel under Bowyer, and when things turn, it’s hard to stop the rot.
We need to freshen up certain parts of the team, when we play the Czechs, give Kane, Foden and Sterling a rest, maybe mount, Philips, and Rice as well, I don’t want to limp out of the group.
It's going to be safety first against the Czechs so expect a similar shape. A draw sees us through in second pace, a defeat and we'd be sweating on other results. A win gives us Germany, France of Portugal in the last 16, which on current form would probably mean no quarter final.
England must be the dreariest team in the competition, despite having exciting players like Foden, Grealish, Bellingham and Sancho available. I really think Kane should be rested against the Czechs and work on his fitness as he is certainly not up to speed at the moment. Sterling was decent in the first game but poor last night and Phillips looked a different player from one game to another; it wouldn't surprise me if he was told to sit back more by the hapless Southgate, who is definitely in the don't lose the game rather than the go for a win at all costs camp. Well, assuming we qualify for the last 16, that attitude doesn't work and Southgate knows better than most that reliance on a penalty shootout is something England should avoid at all costs!
Comments
Did we need to play 2 holding midfielders at home to Scotland? They're not France or Portugal, take the game to them!!
How did Sterling stay on the entire game? Ok he ran through and scored against Croatia but the rest of that game and all of last night he has been poor.
Why didn't he start with Grealish? We knew Scotland would play a back 5 and defend deep, so the game was crying out for a player who can make something happen. Southgate waits over an hour to bring him on.
What has Sancho done to Southgate to not get a single minute in 2 games so far? This is one of the most exciting young attacking players in Europe, all set for a transfer of around 100m, most other countries would love to have him. Southgate doesn't even give him a kick!
Sounness said he was confident at the starting lineup of Scotland because they had a footballing midfield while England had a holding midfield. Said you can't have that at this level, you need more football in your team. 100% right. Someone needs to play forward and link.
No idea who his best full backs are, does he stick with Rice/Phillips or bring in Henderson, or even go more positive and bring in Bellingham in, or maybe move Foden more central.
The front 3 are a mess with no cohesion at all, they look like they just met. Kane isn't getting much service so i'll cut him some slack, Foden is being played out of position and Sterling has been dropped by City for the majority of the second half of the season. He scored 25 and 31 the last 2 seasons, this season he got 14, so it's pretty obvious he's struggling.
Think we need a serious overhaul to freshen things up against the Czechs.
Unfortunately, it is against that set of results and a backdrop of just one team in the competition coming from behind and winning from 21 matches in this tournament (Belgium again) and with no more than one team scoring in two thirds of games too, that dictates that Southgate will not take the handbrake off until he is absolutely forced to do so - and a point last night was never going to result in him doing that because we now need a maximum of a point from our final game to qualify. And we might not even need that.
Not saying it's right and as much as I would love to see us play with more freedom and utilising the attacking options available to us, I don't see Southgate doing that, You only have to look at how, in one off matches, the best squad in the PL, City, were beaten by Chelsea in both the FA Cup and CL to recognise that the best overall team does not always win knock out tournaments - and we aren't the best. The most effective one at getting results can and if Southgate ends up winning the Euros on penalties then I doubt many Englishman will advocate giving the trophy back because we weren't entertaining enough to deserve it.
Sums up today’s game in England.
We could change but Southgate is too scared to lose to win this tournament, but if you are going to play Rice and Phillips you take about 20% off our ability to attack and really they should only be an option when the midfield you are playing is so superior you need to desperately contain it. I call it having an extra pass. That is all it gave the team yesterday, and generally it is an extra sideways pass.
We haven't conceded a goal and maybe we could argue that we can win this tournament with a similar approach to Greece when they won it. The worry I have with this is a) We know defence is the weakest element to the side (which is probably why Southgate is negative to be fair and b) There are a number of decent offensive sides in the competition. What we also know is the side has some great offensive options and if we are happy to pass on those options, we are surely opting to pass on what makes us genuine contenders.
The good:
To see some mates for the first time in over two years, have a sesh and just relish that general football buzz again.
Being able to stand in the ground for 90 mins without issue.
The ‘unruly’ burger at the Railway Inn at West Hempstead.
The bad:
Everything else.
Believe be, I have been to enough Eng v Scot games ( down here and up there) to know it’s never, ever easy or simple, so more than expected it could go any way.
What I did not expect or appreciate though was such an utterly pathetic display from many supposed world class players. I really really try hard to stay enthused about England but as I said in the other thread, I support the shirt, not the players wearing it, who for the most of my match going life have been a disgrace to the shirt when it really matters.
I spent the train journey back to Maidstone talking to a nice jock and how jealous I was that he supports a team, a country, who may be lacking in ability but more than make up for it in heart and endeavour.
Maybe Southgate, worry less about players taking the knees and fans reaction to it, and more about managing your fucking country. I’ve liked you generally but I spend a lot of time and effort following this team around Europe and for the most part, as usual when it matters, it’s fucking garbage.
Taking Foden off was a joke.
That was shocking last night.
Sancho, Grealish, Foden have to be on the pitch.
We didn't look like a team. Another terrible tournament performance by England.
Harry Kane has been affected by the situation at Spurs and looks sluggish.
Raheem Sterling has always needed many chances to score and at City he has the genius of De Bruyne to feed him.
Southgate wouldn't trust Grealish to be the playmaker and built the midfield around him.
Is it really not possible to play Mount, Grealish and Foden at the same time ?
Having watched more tournaments that most, either after the 1st or 2nd game we throw in a stinker of a performance. Anyone remember when we didn't ?
The positive is we played mediocre in a group match and not a Knock out game.
Horrible lacklustre performance and we are nowhere near good enough to win this tournament.
Credit to Scotland because I thought they played well and deserved at least a point. Clarke got his tactics bang on.
We haven’t looked good for the last 2 years, so I’m not surprised by last night.
If we’d have drawn with Croatia and beaten Scotland most on here would have been happy with that.
Southgate is underachieving with the players he’s got, and clearly hopes to keep playing players until they come back into form.
Im hoping this will be a wake up and a watershed moment , better to find out now, whilst in the group, rather than in knockout football.
Last night felt like a defeat, and as if we’d been knocked out of the tournament, the fact the players can’t raise there game against their rivals, well we should all know about that playing Millwall.
For us, it seems we can’t quite ever make it work. Certainly not two of them.
It’s frustrating as it’s a game you want to win. I just hope they’re not going to get drawn into the after effects of such a flat performance. We have a big game on Tues and we have to put it to bed and focus on the Czechs. That will bring its own challenge.
On a side note, I did think Scotland played well, but seeing some of their fans celebrating the 0-0 as if they won is a bit ridiculous. There’s every chance they’ll go out quite easily against Croatia as they won’t raise their game like they did last night. They played good football, but make no mistake, a big part of getting that result last night was down to the fact were the opposition.
Lottery numbers are........
Thankfully they lacked a real cutting edge.
We need to freshen up certain parts of the team, when we play the Czechs, give Kane, Foden and Sterling a rest, maybe mount, Philips, and Rice as well, I don’t want to limp out of the group.
We were shit. We bottled it. We have a great bunch of players and we turned in a performance like Charlton at Accrington. And we are even muttering that maybe second place will keep us clear of France and Italy? Let's be honest Scotland aren't a bad team, and have players who are established at Man Utd, Man City and Chelsea. The problem is tactically, Southgate made us look utterly dire, and didn't have a clue how to change it. If that was how inrpt he was against the passion and no little drill of the Scots, what will he do if we meet Italy? Surrender?
To be honest, it was just another Bowyer night with Charlton. Too much worrying about the opposition. Sancho on the bench when we needed to give the Scots a problem at the back. Kane on for far too long. No spark and no idea how to change it. In Italia 90, we started poor but Robson suddenly got us playing football and we charged. Southgate needs to get some football done. Last night showed the rest of the tournament we can still be as limited as ever. Let's hope it was just a trap, but Southgate may have begun to sign his P45 with that.
We want our teams to play attacking football. Unfortunately, Southgate doesn't trust us defensively enough to not play with two holding midfielders. Ironically, I think that Martinez knows Belgium aren't good enough defensively with such an ageing and slow back line but feels that attack, with the players at his disposal, is the best form of defence. Time will tell who is right but the likelihood is that the tournament will, in any event, be won by a France or Italy who as better at both ends of the pitch.