Just filled my wallchart in. Only one England game left, then.
Too many groups
All those shit teams
England
VAR
Taz's predictions
Nothing. International tournaments are the best.
Just filled my wallchart in. Only one England game left, then.
I'm a twit
One thing I do like is how Sterling and Grealish swap flanks. Everything's down the left still but at least Grealish is a different threat.
Just rewatched the first half there (a non-sleeping baby interrupted it last night). It’s amazing the difference two proper ball-carrying attackers (Saka and Grealish) makes. I’d be starting that side again against a better team - that’s exactly what you need if you’re not expecting to have total control of the game.
If I were an England fan I’d be delighted with the first half performance.
My problems with it (other than the fact that I'm a jaded misery-guts) are just that we still didn't exactly create a bunch of proper chances for all this 'much improved' attacking play and it's all well and good being set up to counter better teams right until the point when one takes the lead against us and they settle in to smother us.
I also loved Southgate talking about Sancho's lack of experience. I feel like since the last World Cup he's featured in.... what, two-thirds of our games? He's got 19 caps so it must be something like that. What was the fucking point in all that if he's now suddenly not experienced enough to play in this bang average group? Ah yes, he's played a load of Champions League games but he's never been kicked to death by Burnley, has he?
I'm not even a massive Sancho fanboy but the reasoning is mind-boggling.
The Sancho stuff is bizarre. Like he made the Mings - Stones switch before giving Sancho a run out last night. Did he say that stuff last night? He's probably got better footballing experience than a lot of your players.Originally Posted by Ian
I saw it last night, he said it some time since Friday when asked about Sancho not featuring at all so far.
Sako starting last night - I thought it was odd (what the fuck is his actual position?) but it worked so fair enough, but don't say a guy with Sancho's experience is too green ahead of making that change for the Czech game, you just sound like either an idiot or a liar.
England are performing better than Portugal did at this stage. They drew there three group games against Iceland, Hungary and fucking Austria. Qualifying with 3 points in 3rd place.
That reminds me of another terrible quirk of the 3rd place teams qualifying: the teams that play in the last match days have the unfair advantage of knowing precisely what they need to do to to qualify. If Portugal lose 1-0 tonight and Hungary don't win are they still through? And Spain could draw 0-0 again and go through. Ridiculous.
Who do England want? France or Germany?
We might be able to get at Germany. France could defend us all week.
Hungary.
Germany would chuck their inappropriate swear words at us, leaving tasteful gaps for us to exploit in behind.
It's Portugal I don't fancy at all. France we could try and underdog at least.
They'll both beat us but I think Lewis is right that Germany look, in theory, more like a team England might do something against.
Y'know, were it not for the fact that it's Germany.
Portugal are a team carrying two passengers when not in possession. I fully expect a hard working French team to run through them.
Germany could be anything.
Confirmed on 1 goal:
Finland
Scotland
Turkey
On 1 goal with 1 game left:
Hungary
Spain
Sweden
I'm a twit
I've backed Finland for the same thing, so, not for the first time, I'm rooting for the very opposite thing to you, in order to slim down my dead heat.
Of course, but is it just me that thinks comparing a team who we know actually won the tournament, to one that's just got out of the group stage in thoroughly unspectacular fashion, is a bit bonkers?
Of course it's not sensible in any sort of predictive way.
All it tells you is you don't have to be playing everyone off the pitch all the time. Just get through the rounds. England now face the prospect of a tough match. Successful teams in the past have generally overcome such matches, so if England want to be successful, they will have to as well. Stating the bleeding obvious. Their performance in the group has no bearing.
It's one thing if grinding out boring 1-0's is THE BRAND but when Southgate starts talking about aspirations of "Champagne Football" you have to start wondering.
This is the key bit for me and where I fundamentally disagree. It's because I'm harking back to past history, which I admit should have no bearing, but I've never seen us go from playing turgid football in the group stages to being good enough to beat good teams. I've seen it the other way around enough. So I guess there's something in the psyche of our players that's always there that somehow prevents us from doing so.
Now I know we could move up a gear, anything is technically possible, but as sure as one can be, I just know we won't from what I've seen so far.
What else do you know?
Absolutely nothing as sure fire as that.
I can almost see your erection emerging from the bubbles. Wind it in and support your country.
I think you've either misunderstood or aren't capable. I absolutely support England and of all the things completely outside of my control, I'd pick England to win a tournament from them.
I just can't sit here and pretend everything is rosy, that those group stage performances were acceptable in any way and that we're somehow going to turn it on enough to beat either a genuinely good team or one with a bit of history.
As I always say with these things too, I'd love to be wrong and one day I obviously will be, I just don't think that day is now. I've thought we could win Euro 96 and 2004 while they were being played and 2010 (before it started) and had next to no chance in the others, but I've always wanted us to.
The only thing I know is that it's coming home.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/57581976
Spurs' manager search continues to go from strength to strength.
Yev on England is the same as Smiffy on United.
Ouch.
In a way it's good that we get someone decent early doors in the knockouts. Win on Tuesday and I may start to believe.
Playing Germany would give me the proper sense of tournament dread the two group matches I've seen have utterly lacked.
I’d be somewhat confident of beating Germany if I was English. Reece James isn’t going to give Gosens the freedom of the park for one.
Is that because James isn't going to be playing?
Surely it will be Walker who would be a complete bomb scare against Gosens.
Imagine thinking Walker is a defensive liability
Great start.
Masterful defending that.
Thiago still benched is some going and they've started like the turgid shit they are. Nothing of value is coming out of this group.
Isak.
Morata
Morata is the gift that keeps on giving, not gonna lie.
It's easy to stick out as an Eritrean amongst 21 white men. He's just a fucking BLM Guidetti.
Morata
Christ, I almost feel sorry for Morata at this point.
Don't much fancy Spain if they end up in a shoot-out.
Morata has been signed by a club for £50m about 3 times. Money laundering at its finest.
Whoever wins the England v whoever game should make the final fairly easily being on that side of the bracket
Missed 5 in a row apparently
I'd be bang up for it. Hope it happens.
How the fuck did that not go in?
Lolwandowski.
Doesn't feel like Slovakia have the defensive discipline to keep Spain at 0. Eventually something will go in.
That must be the most comical goal ever seen in Euros.
Only way Spain were scoring.
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