The Football Thread.

munckee

cruxiform said:

We’ve been absolute dogshit from start to finish. No winning mentality. Never mind boys, you’ll be back to your £300k a week club roles next week.

So, in the 55 years I’ve been alive we still haven’t won a tournament. Awesome. 

Everyone sees things differently, the comeback against Slovakia, the penalties against Switzerland, last minute winner against the Dutch and getting back in the game against a great side showed me a winning mentality. 

mrkb

The Curse of Kane continues, hopefully that’s his last international tournament.

PhilW1

Harry kanes a fucking Jonah!

I don’t think he’s destined to win anything whoever he plays for.
Bayern won eleven titles on the trot …then Harry joined,!

Wazmeister

Overall, a good tournament for us…

A Final again, and the better team won tonight. Tactically and teChnically better than us.

A hearty performance mind, and England couldnt have given much more.

Placidcasual79

I think I've seen some development in this tournament. Specifically Micah Richards has developed from moderately annoying, empty minded vibes merchant to massively tedious lime light hogging peddler of cliché and empty headed analysis who has a neglible difference between his boot size and his IQ.  

Luckily there is always Rio Ferdinand to provide some insight lol

RaymondLin

Best team won in the end, both in the tournament and today.

HerbieTheRadDorklift

Has anyone mentioned that Harry Kane has the touch and agility of my Gran and Southgate is a tactically inept reactive manager? 

p90fool

cruxiform said:

So, in the 55 years I’ve been alive we still haven’t won a tournament. Awesome. 

Speaking as someone who is not English, why should you win a tournament?

Where does that sense of entitlement come from, that it's somehow "ours" and should be "coming home"?

Being married to an international sportswoman I know what goes into it and what it means and therefore have no animosity towards any players or coaches, but the idea that all these Johnny Foreigners keep stealing something which is not really theirs is the reason why everyone hates England and celebrates their failures. 

Since 1960 England have either been knocked out in the group stages or not qualified for the Euros at all for around half of the tournaments, and they once fluked a home win in the World Cup in the black and white Pathé newsreel era. 

They are simply not a major footballing nation by any measure and have done pretty well for the last couple of tournaments, they should really be celebrated for that. 

viz

p90fool said:

cruxiform said:

So, in the 55 years I’ve been alive we still haven’t won a tournament. Awesome. 

Speaking as someone who is not English, why should you win a tournament?

Where does that sense of entitlement come from, that it's somehow "ours" and should be "coming home"?

Being married to an international sportswoman I know what goes into it and what it means and therefore have no animosity towards any players or coaches, but the idea that all these Johnny Foreigners keep stealing something which is not really theirs is the reason why everyone hates England and celebrates their failures. 

Since 1960 England have either been knocked out in the group stages or not qualified for the Euros at all for around half of the tournaments, and they once fluked a home win in the World Cup in the black and white Pathé newsreel era. 

They are simply not a major footballing nation by any measure and have done pretty well for the last couple of tournaments, they should really be celebrated for that. 

^ not sure he meant that, I think he was just rueing the fact that he’d never experienced the pleasure of his side winning over so many years. Dunno why I’m speaking for him, I might be totally wrong of course!

p90fool

Sorry, it wasn't meant personally, it's more a comment on the whole media and punditry obsession with England being entitled to a win. 

mrkb

Look on the brightside though -

First team to make the finals twice in succession and lose both,
Only team that will ever do that in three years (rather than the usual four).

Making history!

TeleMaster

p90fool said:

Sorry, it wasn't meant personally, it's more a comment on the whole media and punditry obsession with England being entitled to a win. 

No one thinks we're entitled to it. The whole 'it's coming home' thing is just a joke. We're just poking fun at ourselves because we know it's not coming home.

Anyone who actually thinks the English are being serious with all of that needs to lighten up and get the joke. 

cruxiform

@p90fool ;

Whoa, easy tiger. I didn’t say I expected us to win, but it would be nice at least once in my lifetime. 

I can’t wait for the season to start personally, take my seat at Selhurst Park and strap in for the rollercoaster ride of being a Palace fan. 

TimmyO

I'm one of those annoying football fans that watch the occasional international, but I've been struck by how pants the punditry and commentary is (well, on the BBC coverage anyway) - particularly compared to how well informed the equivalent Rugby pundits I'm more used to watching seem to be.

Shearer has to be the 'best' example:

Shearer: their centre forward can keep dropping short all day for me, it reduces the threat
Also Shearer: when he dropped short it makes space for their wingers and that's where the threat came from

Shearer: England need to press up further
Also Shearer: when you press up the field you risk creating space in behind and that's what's happened there 

Shearer ALL the rest of the time: what's great about this Spain side is all the moovin' an' passin', moovin' an' passin'

thecolourbox

I much prefer it when there's an option to have no commentary at all whatever the channel is - football is quite a simple game so there's not really enough difficulty there to require any actual expert insight really. It mostly seems a way to keep the presentable characters who played the game in a job after retirement.

guitars4you

Yes more despair - Yes the best team in the tournament won -  But for a while the Euro's brought some hope to the nation and created a buzz and togetherness - The 1/4 final, semi final and final I watched down town - The atmosphere was wonderful - Bumping into those that you've not seen for years - The ladies nicely dressed - Our market square was heaving last night and no trouble - So hard to fault the hope and togetherness 

Alas one team had to loose but we all know that is the case - I don't think we flopped but Spain always had that bit extra 

Looking at the whole tournament as far as England are concerned and the big question revolves around Harry Kane - What has gone wrong - I don't think it is an age thing and on paper should certainly be around at a top level for another 4-6 years - But he has gone from one of the worlds leading strikers to an also ran in one tournament - I'm sure he'll bounce back next year for BM - But he has certainly failed to deliver/contribute in this tournament - Is it form or the style of play and what GS expected from him - I dare say many of us are baffled by him at the moment

bloodandtears

guitars4you said:

Looking at the whole tournament as far as England are concerned and the big question revolves around Harry Kane - What has gone wrong - I don't think it is an age thing and on paper should certainly be around at a top level for another 4-6 years - But he has gone from one of the worlds leading strikers to an also ran in one tournament - I'm sure he'll bounce back next year for BM - But he has certainly failed to deliver/contribute in this tournament - Is it form or the style of play and what GS expected from him - I dare say many of us are baffled by him at the moment

Either he retires from the international scene, or a new manager plays him alongside a willing runner, like Watkins, to enable Kane to drop deep and ping a pass...  akin to the Son and Kane partnership that broke so many records.

UnclePsychosis

I do love everyone ignoring the elephant in the room WRT Harry Kane.

"how come a man who has consistently failed to turn up in big games and who has never won a trophy in his entire career didn't turn up in the final?" 

Tough one, lads... 

goldtop

ISTM that the only time English players look good is when they are playing alongside the world's best players - i.e. in the Premier and other top club leagues. 

The minute you take them out of that context and put them in a group of their national peers, they look negative and flairless. 

I've no idea how you fix that.

guitars4you

UnclePsychosis said:

I do love everyone ignoring the elephant in the room WRT Harry Kane.

"how come a man who has consistently failed to turn up in big games and who has never won a trophy in his entire career didn't turn up in the final?" 

Tough one, lads... 

I don't think HK is the reason we did not win - I don't think he is the reason we lost - There is always more than one issue in a team game - But I do agree he had a poor tournament - Before the tournament and certainly before his move to BM he was one of only 3 top CF style strikers in the world - Along side Mbappe and Haaland - But it does raise questions for GS or a new manager - But on paper he has another WC and Euro's in him - But changes are needed to make something happen on the pitch