Jump to content

Southgate: Episode IV - A New Hope


Rob1981
 Share

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 2k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

1 hour ago, Smallen said:

we really should have brought any other left back than Shaw

Completely agree.  Shaw is a good player, but only that, he isn't great but he would be our best for that position.  The fact he's been injured for a while and that he might not be on a par with our best players means it's always worth bringing a direct replacement.  Chilwell always looks like a Chelsea version of Ben Davies from my Spurs, so he isn't exactly a great addition, but I'm sure there are other alternatives out there, i.e. Mitchell from Palace.

I still think Southgate has to go bold...the squad is set up to be attacking and we just haven't seen that.  It's surely got to be Bellingham in with Rice and then 3 behind Kane up top.  Watkins could deserve a shout to start really after being impressive the other night, but I can't see him dropping his captain.  TAA should get the plane back already, he ain't starting a match again and his international career could well be over.  I suppose he could resume at RB if Walker finally breaks.

Link to post
Share on other sites

59 minutes ago, Rebs said:

TAA should get the plane back already, he ain't starting a match again and his international career could well be over.

What? :D  No. Walker will retire at some point in the not-too-distant future and then TAA is in pole position to make that RB spot his own for the next decade. There's some competition there for sure but the idea that he's never playing for England again is absolutely bonkers.

Link to post
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, eenie said:

What? :D  No. Walker will retire at some point in the not-too-distant future and then TAA is in pole position to make that RB spot his own for the next decade. There's some competition there for sure but the idea that he's never playing for England again is absolutely bonkers.

I could see him returning at RB, but he's not exactly been brilliant for Liverpool there recently and there could well be others in contention. But I do agree he could easily have a resurgence at RB for England once Walker is done.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Just now, Rebs said:

I could see him returning at RB, but he's not exactly been brilliant for Liverpool there recently and there could well be others in contention. But I do agree he could easily have a resurgence at RB for England once Walker is done.

Yeah he's not an international centre midfielder so he shouldn't play there again, but his natural position is RB and he should have a long, long international career there. Walker can't go on much longer and TAA is his natural successor.

Link to post
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, eenie said:

Yeah he's not an international centre midfielder so he shouldn't play there again, but his natural position is RB and he should have a long, long international career there. Walker can't go on much longer and TAA is his natural successor.

He'd need to get some right form again and look like he did...he had a right wobble for Liverpool for a while at RB and couldn't defend.

Link to post
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, Rob1981 said:

Wouldn't be surprised to see Kyle Walker retiring from England after the Euros.  He has just turned 34, will be 36 by WC2026 if he carries on.

I think he said that Southgate talked him out of retirement once already, fully expecting he'll be done after this tournament.

Link to post
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, Rebs said:

He'd need to get some right form again and look like he did...he had a right wobble for Liverpool for a while at RB and couldn't defend.

You're acting like he's pish and will be lucky to get back in :D He's top quality, the idea that his England career is in the balance is absolute balls, let alone that he's finished as an England player :D 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Just now, eenie said:

You're acting like he's pish and will be lucky to get back in :D He's top quality, the idea that his England career is in the balance is absolute balls, let alone that he's finished as an England player :D 

He's not rubbish, I thought I made that clear on my post above. He just needs to rediscover the form he had at RB initially as he definitely had some wobbles at club level there. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Just now, Rebs said:

He's not rubbish, I thought I made that clear on my post above. He just needs to rediscover the form he had at RB initially as he definitely had some wobbles at club level there. 

I don't even think he's been out of form for Liverpool though?

I just don't see an issue with his form. He's top class, he offers a hell of a lot and, should Walker pack it in, he's first choice RB for England. He doesn't need to play himself into contention, he's already there.

Link to post
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, eenie said:

I don't even think he's been out of form for Liverpool though?

I just don't see an issue with his form. He's top class, he offers a hell of a lot and, should Walker pack it in, he's first choice RB for England. He doesn't need to play himself into contention, he's already there.

Think we probably just disagree. Last few times I watched him for Liverpool at RB he seemed a bit of a liability defensively. Just my opinion though.

Link to post
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Rebs said:

Think we probably just disagree. Last few times I watched him for Liverpool at RB he seemed a bit of a liability defensively. Just my opinion though.

When he came back from injury, he was a bit stale until the final few games. Before injury, he was our best player this season.

Link to post
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Rebs said:

TAA should get the plane back already, he ain't starting a match again and his international career could well be over. 

This could be one of the worst takes of all time surely

Link to post
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, JJ72 said:

Surely James is first choice if fit

James is living on a rep from 2020. Lucky he’s been injured so much past three seasons, as his reputation increases with it somehow.

Guy is no better defensively then someone like TAA over that period, but is held up as the perfect all round RB.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Happy Sunday.

Here’s a stats guy I’ve found that even more nerdy about the permutations than me :D 

Modelling through future results and predicting where everyone will finish, and therefore also predicting which groups are most/least likely to provide the third place teams.

Still eleven possible R16 opponents for England if we win the group. However some of these are now a lot more likely than others.

Gives us a 20% chance of playing Austria as it stands.

Link to post
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, TalkSport said:

James is living on a rep from 2020. Lucky he’s been injured so much past three seasons, as his reputation increases with it somehow.

Guy is no better defensively then someone like TAA over that period, but is held up as the perfect all round RB.

Proper Ledley King syndrome. The less he plays the better he gets. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

31 minutes ago, Wavelberry said:

Just give me something to enjoy Gareth. Watching England is such a ****en chore atm

I think you've got this wrong mate, it's very important watching England is absolutely not enjoyable. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, eenie said:

Did Gunman's post just disappear? :D 

After giving it some thought, I decided that some of the language in those tweets might give me a moderation, so I decided against it. :D

Edited by GunmaN1905
Link to post
Share on other sites

52 minutes ago, Wavelberry said:

Just give me something to enjoy Gareth. Watching England is such a ****en chore atm

No team has ever won a tournament and been good to watch, FACT. Lots of teams are dire to watch and don't win tournaments either but that's irrelevant.

Link to post
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, The_jagster said:

No team has ever won a tournament and been good to watch, FACT.

Are you being sarcastic?

Quote

Lots of teams are dire to watch and don't win tournaments either but that's irrelevant.

How many dysfunctional teams won a big tournament?

Even the biggest upset ever, Greece, won it because of their amazing tactical setup with no major flaws.

I'd say that Argentina was the most dysfunctional team, but they had a coach willing to change half the team after a bad performance and they obviously had Messi.

Link to post
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, GunmaN1905 said:

After giving it some thought, I decided that some of the language in those tweets might give me a moderation, so I decided against it. :D

I was going to say that it was pretty inevitable that the "Golden Generation" would end up embroiled in a shedload of scandal. They were at that intersection of crazy wages and the explosion of social media but before the dawn of proper media training, so no wonder they behaved badly and people found out. I think these days players have learned to keep things under wraps a lot more (and their clubs probably help them bury scandal too).

Link to post
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, mrmeee17 said:

Also second worst in xG created :D

This genuinely means we are more likely to draw or lose against worse teams, it's not even the pragmatic option.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Probably just conserving energy ahead of the KO stage.

Get excited about Spain if you must, but when they go out in the quarters we will be sat here in a fortnight saying they peaked too early.

Link to post
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Rob1981 said:

Probably just conserving energy ahead of the KO stage.

Get excited about Spain if you must, but when they go out in the quarters we will be sat here in a fortnight saying they peaked too early.

You're like one of those characters in kids' shows that just never learns from their mistakes.

Link to post
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Rob1981 said:

Probably just conserving energy ahead of the KO stage.

Get excited about Spain if you must, but when they go out in the quarters we will be sat here in a fortnight saying they peaked too early.

I can remember Tyldesley talking about France changing their conditioning so that they hit their physical peak later in the tournament, although this was when they were leading against Switzerland in the last Euros.

Link to post
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, arenaross said:

xG is useless after an entire....two games played. I'd probably stick to real stats like actual goals scored and conceded. 

xSnore a better metric anyway

Link to post
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, GunmaN1905 said:

You're like one of those characters in kids' shows that just never learns from their mistakes.

You don't know what's going to happen any more than I do :D

Some teams look awful to start with, but still end up in semi finals and finals.  Some teams blow their group stage opponents away but then come unstuck as soon as it starts getting serious.

But that's the magic of international football.  It's not like a 38-game season where the strongest team always wins.  You turn in a couple of decent performances when you need to, you grind out results in two or three other games... suddenly you're a team that go down in history whether you played the 'best' football or not.

We'll have 16 teams left and maybe 10 of them could win it.  But any of them could get through another couple of rounds.  Players that will never do anything much at club level can turn up for a month and create moments that people remember for decades... knitted into everyone's shared experience forever because of a wonder goal or a last-ditch tackle in the one game that really mattered.

For a few brief weeks these tournaments bring people together like nothing else in their lives.  That's what football is really about, not the semi-automated offsides or the bloody xG.  It's a priviledge just being along for the ride. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Rob1981 said:

You don't know what's going to happen any more than I do :D

Well, you seem to know what's going on since you're claiming England will make the final and Spain will get eliminated.

Quote

Some teams look awful to start with, but still end up in semi finals and finals.  Some teams blow their group stage opponents away but then come unstuck as soon as it starts getting serious.

True. Southgate's teams are permanently stuck due to his tactical ineptitude. Before you start talking about how it can change - it won't. He would've made changes a long time ago if he knew how. It's his fourth big tournament.
 

Quote

 

But that's the magic of international football.  It's not like a 38-game season where the strongest team always wins.  You turn in a couple of decent performances when you need to, you grind out results in two or three other games... suddenly you're a team that go down in history whether you played the 'best' football or not.

We'll have 16 teams left and maybe 10 of them could win it.  But any of them could get through another couple of rounds.  Players that will never do anything much at club level can turn up for a month and create moments that people remember for decades... knitted into everyone's shared experience forever because of a wonder goal or a last-ditch tackle in the one game that really mattered.

For a few brief weeks these tournaments bring people together like nothing else in their lives.  That's what football is really about, not the semi-automated offsides or the bloody xG.  It's a priviledge just being along for the ride. 

 

I still don't get how any of this is relevant to your constant claims how Southgate will make the final.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I definitely haven't claimed England will make the final :D

We have a decent chance.  But so do about 10 other teams. 

I've supported Gareth because he has usually shown the behaviours you can associate with winning tournaments.  But nobody has ever said he is a guarantee of success ffs.  The margins in international football are vanishingly small.

If we get the rub of the green and win the trophy, it won't make Gareth Southgate the world's greatest tactician.  But if we come unstuck in the R16 and go out, that won't make him the guy that 'wasted' England's best players either.  However much you may get on everyone's tits crowing it about it afterwards.

Link to post
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Rob1981 said:

I've supported Gareth because he has usually shown the behaviours you can associate with winning tournaments

Beating the top teams?

Link to post
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Rob1981 said:

I've supported Gareth because he has usually shown the behaviours you can associate with winning tournaments. 

What behaviours are those? Sorry if you mentioned before, but genuinely curious to what you guys see good in his 8 years as a manager.

From a totally outside England position (at the other end of the continent) he seems like an average manager who has no courage or innovation spirit.

Link to post
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, eenie said:

Beating the top teams?

  • Changing the culture around the England side
  • Getting rid of the cliques and the hierarchy
  • Going in with a squad of 26 that genuinely want to play for each other, instead of a first eleven and a load of miserable subs that knew they weren't going to feature
  • Staying loyal to players that have played a lot together and developed a good understanding, even if they aren't in brilliant club form

He clearly isn't the best at in-game management.  But it's a seven game tournament, not a 38-game campaigns.  So if he only ticks 8 out of 10 boxes, he probably ticks the eight that MIGHT win you a World Cup if you get the rub of the green.  He doesn't tick the eight that would win you a Premier League title.  Would I want him at my club?  Absolutely not.  But his skillset suits international management very well.

Don't forget, we've had a great many good tacticians that have got a lot of the other stuff wrong and have ended up doing worse.  Some other manager probably isn't going to be able to saunter in for 2026 and immediately make us world champions, I hate to break it to you all.

Link to post
Share on other sites

None of that is a defence of how we have started this tournament btw :D

But if you think this is a 'repeat' of previous years you aren't watching closely enough.

Link to post
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, Muttley84 said:

What behaviours are those? Sorry if you mentioned before, but genuinely curious to what you guys see good in his 8 years as a manager.

From a totally outside England position (at the other end of the continent) he seems like an average manager who has no courage or innovation spirit.

England have been perennial failures for decades and he has got them the closest. That clouds the judgment somewhat.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...