The Football Thread.

munckee

TeleMaster said:

People are acting like we lost when we comfortably won our first game! 

For me it wasn’t a comfortable win I guess is my issue. We were unable to control a game against average at best opposition. It doesn’t bode well for us I don’t think.  

We may click in the next couple of games but there were some worrying areas. 

guitars4you

DrCornelius said:

TeleMaster said:

People are acting like we lost when we comfortably won our first game! 

I wouldn’t call that second half comfortable when we were only a single goal ahead

Agree it wasn't a comfortable win - 5 shots and their keeper had little to do, even in the 1st half when we were the dominant team - But a win is a win, especially on the opening fixture 

thecolourbox

Looking forward to seeing my chosen team Austria this evening, hoping they can cause at least some level of inconvenience against France and not be a similar story to Scotland's first match. I've chosen them partly because I was quite surprised how well they've done when typically they have been really poor in previous years, so hoping they don't come crashing back to that usual level. Tough start though. 

Good result for England I think, you don't necessarily need to be free scoring in the early stages as teams can peak early and run out of steam later on. It's not necessarily a marathon but perhaps a half marathon or a 10k, rather than a sprint

EricTheWeary

TeleMaster said:

People are acting like we lost when we comfortably won our first game! 

I think the BBC pundits were saying that fans expect more flash, more goals, more excitement but what England have is a boring team that (usually) wins. England also, from what was being said, almost never win in their opening game at the Euros so are already a step ahead. 
But yes I suppose if they can recreate that result every match we will be dancing in the streets in July. Just doesn't feel like we might as yet. 

TeleMaster

guitars4you said:

DrCornelius said:

TeleMaster said:

People are acting like we lost when we comfortably won our first game! 

I wouldn’t call that second half comfortable when we were only a single goal ahead

Agree it wasn't a comfortable win - 5 shots and their keeper had little to do, even in the 1st half when we were the dominant team - But a win is a win, especially on the opening fixture 

They didn't look like they were going to score and we nearly scored again and were unlucky not to, so to me it was fairly comfortable even if it was only 1-0. A win's a win, we rarely win our opening game so it's a decent result in my book. 

We'll grow into the tournament. 

guitars4you

A draw against Denmark and we are thru' to the next stage - We've all seen England struggle to get out of such stages in the past , so this should now be more comfortable

Plus points in the first half

Guehi settled in okay, along side Stone
Attacking down the right hand side with Saka, supported by either A Arnold or Walker looked very good - Not sure where it went in the 2nd half 
Rice mopping up, as/when required 
Bellingham was excellent - But at times runs into a cul de sac - Only a young lad, but needs to know when to run with the ball and when to release others 

Bad points all night

Foden and Trippier - Both failed to match on the l/h side, what was happening on the r/h side - Maybe a new combination which needs to settle in - But Southgate needs to get more of a Man City performance out of Foden - Having him tied to the touch line is not what he is about - At the start of the game everything looked more loose/fluid, with Foden free to pop as/where required - But was soon tied to the touch line - A quandary for Gareth to solve 

Rocker

Walker and Bellingham were lucky not to receive yellow cards, Walker for kicking the shins of an opponent and Bellingham for unnecessary aggression after the ball went dead. 

England got the win they needed but apart from the header by Kane, never looked like putting the game out of reach of Serbia. Pickford did well but the defence looked all at sea several times, this has to be a concern for the coaches. 

The subs did little, Gallagher spent most of his 10 minutes play face down on the pitch. More, much more, is needed to progress beyond the QFs. 

RaymondLin

TAA playing in midfield didn't work.  He does have the quality but he hasn't played in that position enough to do that role in international competitions where he is going to get found out far too often and we get punished.

He made 4 Hollywood crossfield pass last night, but all were in positions where he would have done when he plays right back anyway.  He lost possession twice, once led that that Mitrovic shot just wide.  The risk / reward with him in the team in that position just is not worth it.  If he couldn't do it against Serbia then he is not going to do it against Spain or France.

I agree Foden was not on last night, that left side position doesn't suit him in England, and he had the licence to come in at every opportunity where as Saka stayed wide the whole time.  Yet Foden didn't influence the game at all, made one easy pass error when we were counter-attacking that not only lost us the chance but lead to a Serbia chance.

Trippier at left back, does it work? I think he can defend there but he sure can't go forward.  Every pass from that side went backwards.  He didn't drive forward and cross with his left foot and since Foden is never in front of him and has gone inside, he had to cut inside every time and then go backwards.  Meaning we end up only attacking through the right side.

The team in that set up is very unbalanced, if Luke Shaw doesn't play then Gordon has to play.  If we say Foden has to play then TAA has to be dropped and play Bellingham next to Rice and have him in that box to box role than No.10.

I agree about Gallagher, not sure what he brings to the team except numbers.  A bit of a bull in a china shop.  Like Rice but not as good.

guitars4you

Rocker said:

Walker and Bellingham were lucky not to receive yellow cards, Walker for kicking the shins of an opponent and Bellingham for unnecessary aggression after the ball went dead. 

England got the win they needed but apart from the header by Kane, never looked like putting the game out of reach of Serbia. Pickford did well but the defence looked all at sea several times, this has to be a concern for the coaches. 

The subs did little, Gallagher spent most of his 10 minutes play face down on the pitch. More, much more, is needed to progress beyond the QFs. 

Disagree about Gallagher - He might not have been pro-active in the creating sense - But he was pro-active about disrupting their flow - A Arnold had gone quiet, so new energy was needed to them close down and to try and stop them developing - Likewise Bowen - It wasn't about MOTM performance but fresh energy and disruption 

Teetonetal

Sadly I think Foden & Bellingham is a case of one or the other, not both. Southgate needs to be brave and swap between them. They are our 2 best talents, but having them both on weakens the team.

Get Gorden on the left and I think we see a better team. 

Not sure what to think of TAA.

RaymondLin

I think TAA can play against a weaker team, but I wouldn't put him in there if someone like Vinicus Jr on the left side against England.  He is going to get found out from minute 1 whether he plays midfield or right back.

I think if we are going to play him, play him at right back.  In the next tournament I expect Mainoo and Wharton would have been even more established in the middle of the park that makes TAA irrelevant in that position.  Having the ability to ping great balls across the pitch alone isn't good enough in international football, especially in knock out competition where 1 mistake can get you eliminated.  Playing TAA has a risk/reward and I don't think the reward in playing him is justified.

Especially when our defence isn't that great anyway, no left back, excellent but aging right back, and 2 central defenders who hasn't played together.

p90fool

England did well with 10 men in the first half, in fact it all went downhill when they bollocked the 11th into joining in, so maybe there is some logic in Kane ambling around in the opposition half to keep the defence deep. 

As usual the contrast between the excitable punditry and the unutterable tedium of the actual team is marked. 

scrumhalf

We won, and that's the main thing. We don't appear to have picked up any injuries and that's also important.

Foden doesn't seem to be at his best when Bellingham is in his preferred position. It should be an easy choice, you play the players who will be best in the positions in which they have been picked.

Rice needs to drive the team forward be from the middle. Kane can't do it, he's up front, and nobody else in midfield seems to want to do it. 

Shrews

No 'shocks' as yet, but it's coming later when Slovakia give Belgium a cherry nose.

2-0 Slovakia with De Bruyne off injured after 20 minutes and Lukaku red carded.

France 2 Austria 0

Romania 1 Ukraine 1

munckee

Shrews said:

No 'shocks' as yet, but it's coming later when Slovakia give Belgium a cherry nose.

2-0 Slovakia with De Bruyne off injured after 20 minutes and Lukaku red carded.

France 2 Austria 0

Romania 1 Ukraine 1

I think 1-0 Belgium
2-1 France
Ukraine 2-0 Romania. 

bloodandtears

Key part of Kane's role as lone striker is to stay up front.. be a target when the defence is under the cosh... the second half highlighted this... the times when he drops deep the defence are resorted to giving the ball back to the opposition... his hold up play was great when it was needed... as a striker though he had very little service.

When Bowen came on he provided the energy to be the much needed out ball target... albeit in the corners... no harm in that provided the cavalry can catch up to help out..

Bellingham is different class... shades of Zidane at times the way he turns and glides about.. he'd going to be a beast!!

TTony

bloodandtears said:

Bellingham is different class

Madrid can build their side around him for the next 10-12 years.  Imagine him in a few years time with the extra experience playing for the best club side in the world ... 


And then he has to forget all that, and play for England.

menamestom

RaymondLin said:

The team in that set up is very unbalanced, if Luke Shaw doesn't play then Gordon has to play.  If we say Foden has to play then TAA has to be dropped and play Bellingham next to Rice and have him in that box to box role than No.10.

I just come here to say this.  Gordon on the left, Foden to number 10, Bellingham to take TAA's place next to, or more likely slightly infront of Rice.

We need more penetration, this would naturally create more for service for Kane, from the left and also through the middle.
Bellingham is good anywhere, he's the wildcard that will allow other players to get in their preferred position.  

Last night he was defending and also getting in the box, so I don't think it would restrict him getting forward, or back at all.

Mainoo is versatile and can easily come in if Bellingham needs to be pushed forward, if Foden isn't working out.


 Last night was just a rusty team getting going.  We limited Serbia to 1 shot on target, so wasn't exactly a disaster, but need to make the changes to keep the ball better and not get pushed back too much.  

munckee

munckee said:

Shrews said:

No 'shocks' as yet, but it's coming later when Slovakia give Belgium a cherry nose.

2-0 Slovakia with De Bruyne off injured after 20 minutes and Lukaku red carded.

France 2 Austria 0

Romania 1 Ukraine 1

I think 1-0 Belgium
2-1 France
Ukraine 2-0 Romania. 

I think this a sign that I should stop predicting scores.

RaymondLin

Good thing i didn't have any players from Ukraine in my FF team.  First upset in the tournament.