The Footie Thread

[Piece]

Spot on but I think the way GS sets up with Rice & Phillips , Kane gets in mount and Phillips way sometimes.
When they get the ball they look for Kane but he’s standing next to them.
Fantastic ball for the goal.
I just think he’s so much more dangerous on the shoulder of the CB.

But that's not how Harry Kane plays for Spurs and how he's made a career of scoring goals.

The game has moved on since old days of rigid formations. It's about fluidity and mobility. All the best strikers in the world do come deep (Aguero, Lewandowski, etc.). You stick Harry Kane in a rigid upfront only position, then that is meat and drink to defenders, let alone Chellini and Bonucci.

 

[Whereditgo]

And how many forward passes apart from that one?

2 assists in 151 minutes played?

Pace and the ability/willingness to go past players with ball at feet cause defenders problems, we have several players who can do that, Stirling, Saka, Grealish, Foden and Sancho. Getting the right balance is the key though.

For me Stirling had his best game of the tournament last night and Walker was standout the best defender.

 

[SatchFan]

Not sure what all the fuss is about regarding some England players being a bit unsteady on their feet. On Sunday they face the absolute masters of diving, feigning injury, histrionics and generic cheating.

 

[Orikoru]

Amazing! We're in the final! I actually feel that going behind was the best thing for us. If we'd have coasted through with a 1-0 there would be questions about whether we can overcome adversity in the final, but a come-from-behind win gives you confidence that you can turn things around. It was an excellent free kick from them, I had no qualms about Pickford on that really - the less said about his two fluffed throw-outs/clearances the better though, haha. But equalising before half time was so important towards getting the result. If we hadn't they might have been tougher to break down in the second half.

Once it went extra time I felt we might have the fitness and energy edge, and that was proven by the lazy tackling that produced our penalty. I watched it with a lot of people and not one of us was saying dive, I was surprised to come on here and read that, but then some of you only think it's penalty if someone has their leg broken or is decapitated or something. As I say, it was two defenders both with lazy half-arsed challenges, getting nowhere near the ball and impeded him, so it was never going to be overturned. I was shocked Kane missed it - first missed pen for him in nearly two years (ironically that was in an England shirt also) and he'd scored his last 11. But at least we got that slice of luck with it falling back to his feet.

Italy will be a totally different proposition, a different level of opposition to what we've faced so far, but I feel confident that we won't panic or get flustered - the team looks confident. I think it'll be a tight game, maybe a 0-0 or a 1-1 going to extra time, but we'll see. Italy are certainly not unbeatable, but they are dangerous and have a solid defence. I wonder if Southgate will go to the back five as he often does against the big teams.

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Could someone please tell me why there is the big fuss about Grealish? Every time he plays, and also mentioned a few times on here, people say he is the most fouled player, will win free kicks, etc but surely, as an attacking midfielder he is there to set up goals. This is not going to be done by winning free kicks, most of which are are too far from goal. The Danish goal was the first direct free kick scored in the Euros this year so the days of the free kick specialist are obviously over (if they ever existed) and England's delivery from free kicks further out (and corners) has been patchy at best. I would prefer my attacking midfielders to beat one player and then look to play a pass forward than hold onto it and try and win a foul.

Just to address this, it's because Grealish is the type of player who fans get excited about, he runs with the ball, takes players on, and even in his limited minutes he has produced two assists at this tournament - only Shaw has more for us. The fact that he wins fouls is not an accident, it's because defenders hate players like that who take them on, and he has fantastic feet to keep the ball away from them.

Stands back ready to be shot at........ I thought Kane played well. He is not a goal hanger, he drops deep in order to provide the likes of Sterling with incisive through balls as well as having a dig at goal himself. His style of play is why Son scores so many goals for Spurs. But then again I am a Spurs supporter so I would say that.?

This is true. I can't say I don't understand people's frustrations, because I do, it was the same with Rooney where if they don't get the ball they go looking for it a bit. But with the right set-up around him he is just such a good all-round footballer. He doesn't care if it's him scoring the goals or someone else as long as the team is winning. You just need to have players who run beyond him. As you say, it has been Son for us recently, a few years ago it was Dele who was playing number 10 but getting very advanced and getting into the box, that season when he scored about 18 goals. In this England side, you can see Sterling reaping the benefits as he is the one who makes those great runs into the box, when Kane's movement creates the gaps or links up the play. I do think that Mount as the number 10 maybe doesn't work well with Kane as they end up in similar positions, you would maybe want a more aggressive number 10 who will actually run beyond Kane (like Dele used to) rather than sit in the hole as Mount tends to do. But, Mount does a good job tracking back so that'll be why Southgate keeps him in there.

 

[harpo_72]

Grealish is a nightmare to handle, get him in the box and he can force a penalty. The set piece outside the box works for us as well.. I was disappointed with some of the deliveries from the corners but the Danes were big boys. Kane played well he made the spaces and did some give and goes nicely. But there were times when mount was just too close, and it is Mount that needs to address this because it would stretch the gaps in the box.
I think if we get it on the floor and run at the Italian CBs they will present little or no issues. If we are popping up balls for holding play .. they will deal with it .. so it’s a case of playing it on the floor. The Spanish did not have a striker, they have creativity in DO, Pedri and Busquets but they did not have the cutting edge.. the Italian central mid just needs to be closed down

 

[Orikoru]

Grealish is a nightmare to handle, get him in the box and he can force a penalty. The set piece outside the box works for us as well.. I was disappointed with some of the deliveries from the corners but the Danes were big boys. Kane played well he made the spaces and did some give and goes nicely. But there were times when mount was just too close, and it is Mount that needs to address this because it would stretch the gaps in the box.
I think if we get it on the floor and run at the Italian CBs they will present little or no issues. If we are popping up balls for holding play .. they will deal with it .. so it’s a case of playing it on the floor. The Spanish did not have a striker, they have creativity in DO, Pedri and Busquets but they did not have the cutting edge.. the Italian central mid just needs to be closed down

I think it's a real shame that none of our starting line-up can hit a decent free kick really. Someone we ended up with Sterling having a go last night - never seen him even attempt one before. Trippier is probably the best in the squad but he hasn't been starting all the games. I would say again that we should've taken JWP, but then he most likely wouldn't be on the pitch most of the time either. Shame Trent couldn't go in the end. Some of Mount's corners have been really poor as well. Shaw takes a half decent one but they're hit and miss. We certainly haven't had the same set piece threat that we carried three years ago.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

They will always be a stain on the team - from booing the players kneeling to the disrespectful booing of the anthems - no grace in winning and certainly not in losing

The stuff on social media with the German girl was appalling

 

[Beezerk]

Wow. How much did the team celebrate on the pitch afterwards? It’s like they had won the whole thing? Still a fairly big obstacle to overcome on Sunday. Just show the clip of them singing and dancing to sweet Caroline to the Italians for a bit of motivation.

Did you see the Italy vs Spain game, the Italians celebrated like they'd won the Euros and World Cup combined ?

 

[Orikoru]

I also celebrated us winning a semi-final and reaching our first final in 55 years. Sorry, I didn't realise it was frowned upon.

 

[Canary_Yellow]

Reading back through this thread this morning is really quite a bizarre experience!

Seems very clear to me that regardless of whether the contact on Sterling (from either defender) was sufficient to constitute a foul, once the ref had given it, VAR was correctly applied in not overturning the decision as it's not a clear and obvious error. It might be quite a soft one and hard for the Danes to accept, but that's a foul anywhere else on the pitch so it's also a penalty.

Anyone that thinks this was somehow a "jammy" win for England is, in my opinion, very much mistaken. Firstly the Danes goal came from a softer freekick than England's penalty, and second, if the penalty hadn't been given, I don't doubt for a second that England would have gone on to score before too long. It was an absolute siege.

Well done England!

 

[stefanovic]

My second England final to look forward to.
Here is my quiz from 66.

Before the tournament started the Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen.
What was the name of the dog that sniffed it out?

Which Latin American countries did England play in the finals?

Which stadium held a greyhound meeting straight after a game?

The final was shown on both BBC and ITV.
Who were the commentators?

What happened to the ball after the final?

 

[BubbaP]

I'm hoping the quality of Foden playing through the middle last night shone through clearly enough for him never to be stuck out wide again. He looked the player he is for City last night.

Being able to bring on Foden & Henderson as subs is great (not talking about who starts, more squad depth)

 

[harpo_72]

Being able to bring on Foden & Henderson as subs is great (not talking about who starts, more squad depth)

That’s the the thing not even Spain has that depth and Italy are not as well blessed from what I can see

 

[BubbaP]

I'd disagree with the Grealish call, although we won so hey ho, classic bar room chat ?. Taking him off meant we conceded possession, both literally and psychologically. 5 at the back sucked the defence and midfield towards our goal line and created unnecessary pressure. Grealish keeps hold of the ball, would have stretched a tired Danish team, gains fouls that break up the play, eats time etc. With him we could have scored a 3rd goal, held possession in the way that we did for the last 2 minutes. He and foden could have kept it between them for 15 minutes ?.

It was a classic Southgate decision. But hey, we won ?‍, so this is academic.

Pretty much agree, only opposing thought is his style can lead to giving away possession when out of shape and inviting a breakaway attack. Perhaps was on GS mind.

 

[RichA]

Reading back through this thread this morning is really quite a bizarre experience!

Seems very clear to me that regardless of whether the contact on Sterling (from either defender) was sufficient to constitute a foul, once the ref had given it, VAR was correctly applied in not overturning the decision as it's not a clear and obvious error. It might be quite a soft one and hard for the Danes to accept, but that's a foul anywhere else on the pitch so it's also a penalty.

Anyone that thinks this was somehow a "jammy" win for England is, in my opinion, very much mistaken. Firstly the Danes goal came from a softer freekick than England's penalty, and second, if the penalty hadn't been given, I don't doubt for a second that England would have gone on to score before too long. It was an absolute siege.

Well done England!

Completely agree. The Danes are big boys, know the dark arts as well as any team and employed them more than England last night.
10 minutes before the penalty, Sterling made a similar run into their box. As he passed the first defender, he was pushed in the back, into the second defender. Sterling's hand brushed the chin of the Dane, who went down holding his face and was treated for a couple of minutes as though he had a head injury. Time wasted and a free kick awarded to Denmark for an incident that started with Sterling being pushed in the back in their penalty area. This is just how tournament football goes.
I wasn't aware of any worldwide inquiry after contentious decisions were involved in England's exits from previous tournaments.

 

[Orikoru]

Completely agree. The Danes are big boys, know the dark arts as well as any team and employed them more than England last night.
10 minutes before the penalty, Sterling made a similar run into their box. As he passed the first defender, he was pushed in the back, into the second defender. Sterling's hand brushed the chin of the Dane, who went down holding his face and was treated for a couple of minutes as though he had a head injury. Time wasted and a free kick awarded to Denmark for an incident that started with Sterling being pushed in the back in their penalty area. This is just how tournament football goes.
I wasn't aware of any worldwide inquiry after contentious decisions were involved in England's exits from previous tournaments.

Precisely, not to mention Maguire was booked for jumping with his arms in front of him, not even out to the side, just brushed the guy's head and got carded for some reason. Nonsense.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

My second England final to look forward to.
Here is my quiz from 66.

Before the tournament started the Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen.
What was the name of the dog that sniffed it out? Pickles

Which Latin American countries did England play in the finals? Argentina & Uruguay (Mexico)

Which stadium held a greyhound meeting straight after a game? White City

The final was shown on both BBC and ITV.
Who were the commentators? Kenneth Wolstenhome & ?

What happened to the ball after the final? German Player took it home

See above, all from the top of head.

 

[AmandaJR]

Precisely, not to mention Maguire was booked for jumping with his arms in front of him, not even out to the side, just brushed the guy's head and got carded for some reason. Nonsense.

Maguire is amazing at getting his head on corners but I was worried after that ridiculous booking he may get sent off. He did keep going for them and not much difference I could see from those challenges to the one that was deemed a yellow.

But hey - we only won because we cheated - that's right I think

 

[PJ87]

I also celebrated us winning a semi-final and reaching our first final in 55 years. Sorry, I didn't realise it was frowned upon.

Remember we are British. One must not over do it.

A hearty well done chaps is the limit unless the final has been won then you may remove your cap and give 3 hearty cheers.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Maguire is amazing at getting his head on corners but I was worried after that ridiculous booking he may get sent off. He did keep going for them and not much difference I could see from those challenges to the one that was deemed a yellow.

But hey - we only won because we cheated - that's right I think

And in spite of our fans, who knew the National Team had a bad element supporting them.