The Footie Thread

[SteveW86]

Doesn't help himself when he's not picking in-form, exciting players and opting for ones that no longer have the legs or have never ever done it in an England shirt.

Have to agree, whilst some are questionable, the decision to include Henderson in the squad is almost laughable.

 

[nickjdavis]

Latvia had no desire to break shape. We continuously see top sides struggle to break down much weaker sides because the weaker side just park the bus. Then the manager of the top side moans that only one side came to play football, to try and excuse the fact it was a boring game and maybe only a narrow victory

You are only talking about the shots that actually went in. England had 27 shots, 8 on target. A few of those were good opportunities, and well worked to get them. But, just lacked the final execution, defender makes a great block, keeper makes a good save. It often is a tough start, as the opposition are full of energy. Scoring that free kick meant England didn't need to try and batter Latvia, they could just dominate the game and see whether Latvia try and attack more (thus giving England more space), or tire themselves out

It is an interesting thought, especially when it seems so many England fans moan when Harry Kane moves around instead of occupying the penalty spot

Player movement need to be a combination of dropping deep then running in behind the defence and movement from left to right to left across the park....a bit like rooks on a chessboard....the defence then have to be very certain about whether they are to follow the movement of the player or are going to pass him on to the next man. But its no use just one player moving....someone else has to move in order to take advantage of the first players move and I think that largely is the issue when Kane drops deep... rarely does anyone fill in for him...so when he picks the ball up and looks forward, often his only option is a sideways ball or to lay it straight back to the player who has just played it in to him.

My longer term concern would be, if we struggle to solve such problems against nations of lower ability, what chance do we have when we are a goal down in to the closing stages of a knockout match against an Italy, France, Germany etc, when they decide to close the game down?....We struggled enough last summer against Slovakia and Switzerland.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

More brown envelopes were involved ???????. Clearly these two are teflon

Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini cleared of fraud charges in Switzerland

Sepp Blatter, 89, and Michel Platini, 69, once among the most powerful figures in football, were cleared of fraud at the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court. The federal probe launched in 2015 spelt the start of the end of their careers in football

www.skysports.com

 

[Chip&Run]

Have to agree, whilst some are questionable, the decision to include Henderson in the squad is almost laughable.

If i was the England manager would i include Henderson? No but i can understand Tuchel for wanting to have a look at him. His experience shouldnt be underestimated.

 

[Don Barzini]

His experience shpuldnt be underestimated.

I am of course not the England manager so I dare say I’m ignorant on this kind of stuff, but I would genuinely love to know exactly what "experience" he brings to the table - especially in games against Albania and Latvia.

What exactly does his presence around the training ground and on the field achieve in terms of experience, that can't be achieved by other experienced players who are more key to the first team such as Pickford or Kane?

Tuchel had a real chance to excite the fans with his squad selection, but on the showing so far it seems that like so many before him, he can't or won’t see beyond "the old guard".

I fear we’re just heading for the same mediocrity and disappointment that we’re used to by now. But I’ll be happy if I am proven incorrect in the long term.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Commentators say all sorts of strange things. If it was that easy, there wouldn't really be a need for a coach. Just someone to pick the starting 11, and then let the players go out there and figure things out for themselves

So Rob Green and Lee Dixon don't know what they are saying?.....interesting..

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Looks like all the rumours are that the worst right back in prem history is going to Real Madrid for a cool £15mil a year - not sure why they would want someone who is so bad

He was always going no matter what the club did.

 

[Arthur Wedge]

He was always going no matter what the club did.

That’s prob what will leave a bitter taste for some

Lot of talk from him about wanting to be the club captain , another scouser with the armband like Gerrard etc - he has said quite a bit which will make him look a little silly now

The reaction will be interesting

His brother has prob played the blinder

 

[Swango1980]

So Rob Green and Lee Dixon don't know what they are saying?.....interesting..

At what point do us fans have to start believing every single word an ex-player says?

Are you saying the likes of Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham do not know what they are doing? Does Tuchel not know what he is doing? When Lee Dixon played the game, did he do everything absolutely spot on? Or, sometimes, did his opponents have something to say about that, and mean that everything did not go his way?

I bet Rob Green and Lee Dixon also disagree on plenty of things. On those topics, who should we believe?

 

[Bunkermagnet]

That’s prob what will leave a bitter taste for some

Lot of talk from him about wanting to be the club captain , another scouser with the armband like Gerrard etc - he has said quite a bit which will make him look a little silly now

The reaction will be interesting

His brother has prob played the blinder

TBH in a way I dont blame him or hold any grudges with his going. He is going to a plastic team where to me winning the CL means less and has less substance to it. Marca has played the perfect foil for RM as they always do.
Bradley is a much better defender and I think gives us a greater stability at the back.

 

[Arthur Wedge]

TBH in a way I dont blame him or hold any grudges with his going. He is going to a plastic team where to me winning the CL means less and has less substance to it. Marca has played the perfect foil for RM as they always do.
Bradley is a much better defender and I think gives us a greater stability at the back.

I think the impact of losing Trent was shown in the cup final

A lot of the good stuff goes through him and the way he can distribute the ball

We are going to miss him

 

[Swango1980]

Player movement need to be a combination of dropping deep then running in behind the defence and movement from left to right to left across the park....a bit like rooks on a chessboard....the defence then have to be very certain about whether they are to follow the movement of the player or are going to pass him on to the next man. But its no use just one player moving....someone else has to move in order to take advantage of the first players move and I think that largely is the issue when Kane drops deep... rarely does anyone fill in for him...so when he picks the ball up and looks forward, often his only option is a sideways ball or to lay it straight back to the player who has just played it in to him.

My longer term concern would be, if we struggle to solve such problems against nations of lower ability, what chance do we have when we are a goal down in to the closing stages of a knockout match against an Italy, France, Germany etc, when they decide to close the game down?....We struggled enough last summer against Slovakia and Switzerland.

I agree when you look at lots of previous games, especially against better teams.

Last night, nearly the entire England side where camped just outside the Latvia box. Even the centre backs where well inside Latvia's half. As such, Kane was actually in the box a lot more, because there was little room for him to drop deep. Only saw him do so on a few occasions. If the game is more spread out, it leaves a lot more flexibility for the English players to be dynamic in their positioning (hopefully without causing chaos to themselves). It's tougher when the opposition leave no spaces in their penalty area (or just outside), because they have 10/11 players covering it at nearly all times.

In previous games when the arguments were made about Kane dropping deep, I personally never blamed Kane. It is exactly what he has done his entire career, and for me made him the best English forward since I started watching football (late 80's), by far. He is an incredible footballer, and one that I think many English fans don't appreciate anywhere near as much as they should. Forget England, I'd put him as one of the best forwards the game has ever seen. It is just unfortunate for him that he played for Spurs (who win nothing) and that he is English instead of Brazilian, French, Spanish, etc. in terms of gaining recognition. The issue I saw for England was that Southgate tried to play Foden and Bellingham and Kane together, and they all just occupied each others space. To me, as good as Foden is, I always felt it would be much better for England to have proper wingers (instead of Foden), who can not only deliver a cross, but can also run into space when Kane has the ball deeper in the middle, as he will find them. Having Bellingham or Foden (i.e. Bellingham) as a permanent No. 10 along with Kane seems fine, just not having another No. 10 drifting in from the wing as well.

In regards to your last point, that is what I said previously. Those games against higher ability sides is when we can all judge England more accurately. Those higher quality sides will look to score goals, and will leave spaces in their defence. That is when we will see if England can suddenly exploit these spaces and beat them with much more ease that we are used to seeing, or if England play on the back foot and end up continuing to play Southgate style football.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

I think the impact of losing Trent was shown in the cup final

A lot of the good stuff goes through him and the way he can distribute the ball

We are going to miss him

Losing Bradley was equally as important. They both have their strong points.

 

[SteveJay]

Have to agree, whilst some are questionable, the decision to include Henderson in the squad is almost laughable.

And the decision to bring him on in both games, when he could have given minutes to younger players without any real risk, is even more laughable.

 

[Chip&Run]

Losing Bradley was equally as important. They both have their strong points.

Trent offers a great deal more than Bradley does. He'll be an enormous loss to Liverpool.

 

[Arthur Wedge]

Losing Bradley was equally as important. They both have their strong points.

They do but Trent is a far better player than Bradley who at the moment can’t stay fit

 

[Orikoru]

I miss dead air. There is nothing wrong with dead air, it's a modern phenomenon on tv

Agreed. The good old days of Barry Davies or John Motson, where they would only chime in when it was needed, and they didn't have an ex-player churning out nonsense beside them.

 

[Pin-seeker]

So if someone is going to earn £15 a year that means he doesn’t switch off when defending

I’ll go with what I’ve seen

 

[AmandaJR]

I think the impact of losing Trent was shown in the cup final

A lot of the good stuff goes through him and the way he can distribute the ball

I'm going to miss him

Need a hug Phil

 

[Pin-seeker]

Need a hug Phil

It’s all paper talk,Trent’s going nowhere