2022 World Cup.

[Orikoru]

Will he even cross the halfway line in 4 years time? ?

Seriously though, if he continues to move deeper, perhaps understandable as he gets older and his legs go, do we want him as our number 9? He seems to want to play a different role to that of the striker and that will only become more exaggerated by the time of the next world cup. I have a feeling that the Euro's will be his last crack at it.

Honestly bored of this type of criticism. It's just the player he is, Rooney was exactly the same. Has five more goals than Lineker got in the same number of games, and Lineker was never OUT of the penalty area. He's a world class footballer, and that means all facets of football not just goalscoring. You just need to play a system that plays to his strengths, i.e. you need wingers or another forward who can play off him and run beyond him. In this day and age teams tend to have one striker and he is expected to do a lot more than just tap the ball into the net.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Kane will still be around at the next world cup, he'll only be 33. Younger than Benzema, Lewandowski & Messi are now.

I would hope and expect by then whilst he will be prob involved in and around the squad he won’t be starting each time.

He has had a lot of ankle issues over the years so at 33 I don’t expect him to a main player for the England squad.

 

[Golfmmad]

I think England and France were the best two teams in the tournament. Shame they had to meet in the QF.

France are so strong. All their players are at top clubs like Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. They are world champions, their coach knows what is needed to win the World Cup, both as a player and manager.

England stood toe to toe with France and did enough to win. France dominated the first half, England dominated the second half. If France looked ordinary, that was because England were so good.

These games are often decided on the finest margins. This was so different from other England World Cup exits in the last 20 years, this is a squad that can can challenge anyone.

Completely agree with this.
Fine margins indeed, Kane's chance in the box where he tried to chip over Lori's, he saved it, Kane didn't miss. Maguires header, so close. Bellingham volley that Lori's just did enough to tip over. Kane's shot that flicked off a French player straight in to loris's hands, otherwise a good chance of going in.

Having said all that England have enough young and talented players that should have done better. Foden, hugely disappointing, at one point he started pressing for a ball and when the player got ahead of him he just stopped and let him go, instead of chasing and chasing to try and get possession.
Bellingham, despite his obvious talents didn't make enough runs.
The players have to take responsibility. It can't be all Southgates fault, he puts trust in the team to get the job done.

There was lots of talk about Southgates defensive tactics being all wrong but I think last night's line up surprised a few people.
He set the team up just right but it just wasn't enough on the night.
Rub of the ball, fine margins again.

As for the future Southgate should stay at least fot the Euros in 18 months time.

There will be youngsters coming through of course.
I've already mentioned, but it got ignored, about Levi Colwill coming through for Brighton. Mark my words, he is a great prospect IMHO.

Another 15year old that I know of has already been called up to the England youth squad. Early days I know but a great prospect but I won't name him as I don't think it fair just yet.

Onwards and upwards. ?

 

[Orikoru]

I would hope and expect by then whilst he will be prob involved in and around the squad he won’t be starting each time.

He has had a lot of ankle issues over the years so at 33 I don’t expect him to a main player for the England squad.

Disagree. The guy sprains an ankle and instead of missing two months he's only out for one. He's an absolute machine of fitness and I don't expect him to retire until he's at least 35.

Obviously it's impossible to predict but in only 3 and a half years from now it's unlikely that an English striker will come through that's good enough to rival him at the age of 20 or whatever.

 

[Slime]

It's just such a shame, for everybody involved, that Mason Greenwood was such a numpty, (apparently).

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Disagree. The guy sprains an ankle and instead of missing two months he's only out for one. He's an absolute machine of fitness and I don't expect him to retire until he's at least 35.

Obviously it's impossible to predict but in only 3 and a half years from now it's unlikely that an English striker will come through that's good enough to rival him at the age of 20 or whatever.

He has had 7 ankle injuries since 2017

Missed a total of about 30 games , add in around 10 other including 3 back ones and a muscle rupture he is far from a “machine of fitness”

he can carry on until he is 35 if he wants but at the age of 33 I don’t expect him to be leading any line of an international team or a top team at club level.

The Euros will be his last throw - after that any decent manager will be moving on from him and looking at the future - there are players like Elanga , Geldhart , Edwards , Delap hopefully will be flourishing

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Honestly bored of this type of criticism. It's just the player he is, Rooney was exactly the same. Has five more goals than Lineker got in the same number of games, and Lineker was never OUT of the penalty area. He's a world class footballer, and that means all facets of football not just goalscoring. You just need to play a system that plays to his strengths, i.e. you need wingers or another forward who can play off him and run beyond him. In this day and age teams tend to have one striker and he is expected to do a lot more than just tap the ball into the net.

You might be bored of it but it doesn't mean it's not valid. Rooney became a liability for England in the end because he wasn't doing the role required.

It comes down to how the manager wants to play. Does he want a number 9 or will he be happy with 2 10's on the pitch and have more emphasis on midfielders running past Kane? We were putting in balls last night that were entirely wasted because Kane isn't there. We either stop playing those balls or have someone who will get on the end of them.

Kane's record is exceptional but I don't see him as the player we build the team around. Certainly not for 4 years time.

 

[Orikoru]

He has had 7 ankle injuries since 2017

Missed a total of about 30 games , add in around 10 other including 3 back ones and a muscle rupture he is far from a “machine of fitness”

he can carry on until he is 35 if he wants but at the age of 33 I don’t expect him to be leading any line of an international team or a top team at club level.

The Euros will be his last throw - after that any decent manager will be moving on from him and looking at the future - there are players like Elanga , Geldhart , Edwards , Delap hopefully will be flourishing

I mean his general fitness. He returns from injuries quicker than most, and they haven't changed his game, like Owen when his hamstrings finished him off because he relied on pace, whereas Kane doesn't.

I think you're clutching at straws if you think any of those players will get anywhere near Kane's level. Kane will still be world class at 33.

 

[Tashyboy]

Not a single 20-25 goal a season striker in amongst that list. That's where our problems will lie when the next World Cup comes around. As a national side we are about to suffer a period in time where we do not have a World Class striker at the top of his game and there is no one coming up on the rails to replace Kane.

Our problem does not lie with the striker. Don’t get me wrong Maguire at centre half is a bigger problem Against bigger teams. The problem Lies in midfield. Where is the playmaker, the one that will
Pick up the ball and keep it moving. The team looks disjointed with GS favourite midfield.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

I mean his general fitness. He returns from injuries quicker than most, and they haven't changed his game, like Owen when his hamstrings finished him off because he relied on pace, whereas Kane doesn't.

I think you're clutching at straws if you think any of those players will get anywhere near Kane's level. Kane will still be world class at 33.

Who says they will get to his level ? He has won sweet FA being at his level - it’s not always about the ability of one player , Giroud isn’t at Kanes level.

And World Class at 33 ?! It’s debatable for many if he is World Class now - he wouldn’t get into a world 11

 

[Orikoru]

You might be bored of it but it doesn't mean it's not valid. Rooney became a liability for England in the end because he wasn't doing the role required.

It comes down to how the manager wants to play. Does he want a number 9 or will he be happy with 2 10's on the pitch and have more emphasis on midfielders running past Kane? We were putting in balls last night that were entirely wasted because Kane isn't there. We either stop playing those balls or have someone who will get on the end of them.

Kane's record is exceptional but I don't see him as the player we build the team around. Certainly not for 4 years time.

International football is making the best of what you have, you can't exactly sign new players. Kane happens to be our best forward by a mile, so you have to play to his strengths, or put a vastly inferior player in his place. If we still had a prime Vardy knocking about that would be a viable alternative, but Wilson is only a half decent impersonation of Vardy, Toney is not bad but unproven, and the other options are nowhere near it. And if England had a Heung-Min Son to play off Kane no one would mind!

 

[nickjdavis]

England have had those level of strikers over the years and it hasn’t helped - France haven’t really had , Germany - both winning the World Cup over the years. The team needs to get goals from all over the pitch - Rashford , Saka and Foden plus Bellingham etc will give you goals

Eh??????

Most of the leading German and French goalscorers of all time have played in the last 30-40 years.

So the Fench weren't much of a force until the late 90's but since then theyve had many strikers who have all played concurrently for the National team...Henry, Trezeguet, Wiltord. Benzema's career has overlapped with Henry's and Trezeguets...and then in the last decade Benzema, Giroud, Griezeman and Mbappe have all overlapped.

In the late 80's early 90s' Germany had Voller, Klinsmann and Andreas Moller who's international careers all overlapped. Then Bierhoff came along and overlapped with a couple of them. Then in the 200's they had Klose, Podolski and Gomez all playing at the same time and then Thomas Muller joined them....4 of Germanys leading all time scorers all who's international careers have overlapped for significant periods.

To suggest that France and Germanys international successes have come despite not having a wealth of top class international strikers is simply wrong.

 

[Orikoru]

Who says they will get to his level ? He has won sweet FA being at his level - it’s not always about the ability of one player , Giroud isn’t at Kanes level.

And World Class at 33 ?! It’s debatable for many if he is World Class now - he wouldn’t get into a world 11

It's not debatable at all for God's sake. ? If you don't think a player who regular bangs 20-25 goals a season in the best league is world class then there can't be many world class players around.

 

[nickjdavis]

Our problem does not lie with the striker. Don’t get me wrong Maguire at centre half is a bigger problem Against bigger teams. The problem Lies in midfield. Where is the playmaker, the one that will
Pick up the ball and keep it moving. The team looks disjointed with GS favourite midfield.

That could be a role for Kane....in exactly the same way that Gullitt dropped from a striking role, to a midfield playmaker to a sweeper dictating play....Kane does actually appear to have good forward vision and is able to pick a pass...probably because he knows the sort of pass that he himself as a striker would like to receive.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Our problem does not lie with the striker. Don’t get me wrong Maguire at centre half is a bigger problem Against bigger teams. The problem Lies in midfield. Where is the playmaker, the one that will
Pick up the ball and keep it moving. The team looks disjointed with GS favourite midfield.

When Foden isn't tied to the left wing that's exactly what he can do, as you will know from watching him at city. There were a few occasions last night when he snuck out and suddenly he was ticking the ball over and getting involved in everything, in a positive way. He is the guy I'd be building the team around. Give him free reign to roam.

 

[Beezerk]

It's not debatable at all for God's sake. ? If you don't think a player who regular bangs 20-25 goals a season in the best league is world class then there can't be many world class players around.

I would question the best League in the world line, most hyped and shown on tv league in the world maybe, best quality it ain’t.

 

[Orikoru]

I would question the best League in the world line, most hyped and shown on tv league in the world maybe, best quality it ain’t.

It is the best. The bottom teams in our league would beat the bottom teams in all the other leagues. The bottom teams in France and Spain are whipping boys for the big teams.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Eh??????

Most of the leading German and French goalscorers of all time have played in the last 30-40 years.

So the Fench weren't much of a force until the late 90's but since then theyve had many strikers who have all played concurrently for the National team...Henry, Trezeguet, Wiltord. Benzema's career has overlapped with Henry's and Trezeguets...and then in the last decade Benzema, Giroud, Griezeman and Mbappe have all overlapped.

In the late 80's early 90s' Germany had Voller, Klinsmann and Andreas Moller who's international careers all overlapped. Then Bierhoff came along and overlapped with a couple of them. Then in the 200's they had Klose, Podolski and Gomez all playing at the same time and then Thomas Muller joined them....4 of Germanys leading all time scorers all who's international careers have overlapped for significant periods.

To suggest that France and Germanys international successes have come despite not having a wealth of top class international strikers is simply wrong.

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Think you have missed the point -when the major tournaments is not always about having that big scoring striker

When France won the World Cup in 98 who was their main striker ?

What about in 2018 ?

You have named a lot of players - how many won World Cups or even Euros

England have had plenty of players who have scored a lot of goals - Rooney , Owen , Lineker and even Kane - zero tournament wins

Would you say Giroud is at the same level as Kane ? Nope - it’s not just about having a top quality striker

It's not debatable at all for God's sake. ? If you don't think a player who regular bangs 20-25 goals a season in the best league is world class then there can't be many world class players around.

Of course it’s debatable - for some including me the world class label gets thrown around far too easily , Kane is a top quality player but I don’t have him at the same as example Lewondonski who is world class.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

International football is making the best of what you have, you can't exactly sign new players. Kane happens to be our best forward by a mile, so you have to play to his strengths, or put a vastly inferior player in his place. If we still had a prime Vardy knocking about that would be a viable alternative, but Wilson is only a half decent impersonation of Vardy, Toney is not bad but unproven, and the other options are nowhere near it. And if England had a Heung-Min Son to play off Kane no one would mind!

The alternatives aren't banging on the door yet, Kane is still clearly the best choice, but the next world cup is 4 years away and that's a mighty long time. Toney and abraham may continue to improve, Calvert Lewin may become the player he shows the promise to become, someone we have never heard of may come through. We simply don't know. I just don't like the gradual move back on the pitch that he's done in the last 12 months. I want my striker to be higher up the pitch, there are other players who can do the job that Kane is starting to do.

 

[fundy]

The forever underrated Giroud, one helluva a career and haul of trophies some could only dream of including World Cup (and could soon be 2), Nations League, Champions League, Europa League, Italian League, French League, FA Cup