Southgate is Ancelotti and key England player would be perfect ‘if only he could pass’
England captain Harry Kane has no supporters in a Mailbox which also calls for Kieran Trippier, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden to drop out of the final.
Send your thoughts to theeditor@football365.com.
The Kane carry on
I’m well aware Kane has been ineffective in recent games but has he been told by the manager to stay up front. If he has should our focus be on the players who he has to rely on to pass the ball to him.
Watkins came on and scored right away. The pass he received was from a player who had also just come on. Coincidence?
Alex M
Harry Kane should definitely be out of the English team and a few others not worthy of wearing an England’s shirt, please don’t play them in the final.
Kane out, Tripper out, Bellingham out, IN, Palmer, Watkins, Gordon.
Joan
Was wondering when that would be mentioned. Kane is underperforming, Saka is putting the crosses over and Harry’s nowhere near. That penalty, if the keeper had been half a second quicker he would’ve saved it. His work rate throughout the tournament isn’t good enough, I’ve been saying this from game one and it’s just continuing.
Put him on the bench Southgate could bring him on IF need be , having said all of that I can guarantee he’ll start him.
It’s a bit like Joe Biden in the states.
Brian
No Harry Kane is not scoring because they are not passing the ball to him because the midfield ignore him. Play as a team, not trying to be glory hunters. An assist is just as important as a goal and Harry Kane can turn on a dime with his back to the goal and still find the back of the net.
Or what’s the point of a striker on his own. Use Harry Kane, that’s what he is on the field for! Please!
Sean
I think Ollie Watkins should start instead of Harry Kane whether he’s captain or not doesn’t matter. Always hanging back when we cross the ball in the opposition box surely he should be the main target man?
Anon
Drop Harry. Laughable.
Paul
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I’m a ManU supporter. Watching England was painful, it was like pulling teeth. Reminded me of many of ManU’s games past season. England improved when they played Switzerland, and played their best game so far against Holland.
Most of the players worked their socks off, but Harry Kane doesn’t seem to have arrived yet. Kane is falling all over the place, just doesn’t seem to be focusing, and doesn’t seem fit enough to participate.
This is unfair on the team who are mostly younger players, and are probably not likely to complain, but his lack lustre performance impacts the teams performance, as they’re having to work harder because Kane is ‘absent’ most of the time. He’s hardly ever there to receive crosses, and I’ve seen that a number of times when Saka squares the bell.
Ivan Toney is at the top of his game, raring to go, ready to hit the ground running, and he’s proved his worth during his short appearances for England.
Southgate should accept that Kane isn’t his best right now, seize the moment and give Toney is Watson the opportunity to perform. If it doesn’t work out, Southgate can call on Kane. England managed the penalties without Kane, subbing him gave Cole and Ollie the opportunity to dazzle us with their brilliance, and Ollie’s amazing goal!
Go England!
Yasmin
Personally I would drop Kane as he is to predictable and easy to defend against, also drop Foden who has been disappointing and finally Tripier.
Vic
Dyche? Southgate is Ancelotti
Football is a funny old thing: last week, Gareth Southgate was out of his depth and people wanted to see the back of him; now, he’s national hero.
Like I said, it’s a peculiar sport.
Of course, he still has his detractors. Yes, the draw has been favourable and England have played well for approximately 90 minutes spread between the first half of their opening game and the initial 45 against the Dutch.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter. Losing playing attractive football buys a manager a bit more goodwill than Sufferball, but it’s a results business and regardless of the philosophy, a fan-base will turn after a string of defeats: just ask Ange Postecoglou.
In the latest mailbox, James EFC compared Southgate to Sean Dyche, which is a little unfair.
Personally, I think a more accurate comparison is to Carlo Ancelotti. Don’t laugh, let me explain. While too much is made of the Italian being a ‘vibes’ manager, his man-management is excellent, and he builds a fantastic ethos in the squad.
While Ancelotti is a lot more tactically astute than he’s given credit for, his recent success has come from moments of individual brilliance, from world-class players.
Starting to sound familiar?
While Southgate favours pragmatism, compared to Ancelotti’s chaos, the end result is essentially the same: stick as many great footballers on the pitch as possible and wait for one of them to show their class.
So far, it has worked. Will it work again? Being Scottish, I have this dread in the pit of my stomach that it will.
Nothing against the players, the manager, or the vast majority of people reading this, but the media and a certain section of the support (the Inger-lund, PASHUN lot) will be insufferable.
On the upside, if Watkins, Bellingham or Saka produce some divine inspiration, we’ll get a public holiday out of it.
Every cloud and all that.
John, Glasgow
Gareth is bossing it
Congrats to England, I thought over all they were the better side and deserved to win.
Also the first 45 minutes was the most exciting football I’ve seen from England in about 6 years.
On the penalty I’ve seen the argument that no matter how soft we might think it is if you check the rules the decisions is in line with the rules. Which is correct. It is in line with the rules when applying them strictly.
But it shouldn’t have been a pen if we stick strictly to the rules either since just seconds before it the ball hit Saka’s hand which sent it in Kane’s direction..his arm was away from his body, connected with the ball thus if we are applying the rules strictly it should have been a free kick to Netherlands. Accidental or not, that is the actual correct decision and given how often they roll back play 200 times to disallow things I’m shocked they didnt do it here.
To discuss it slightly further in the event the defender decided to head the ball and kane kicked him while shooting I’m guessing nobody would think a red card for kane would be fair. But if you’re sticking to the rules that’s exactly what the rules would dictate. I imagine many players watching that game will be thinking that there’s penalties to be won simply by kicking a defenders boot as he clears the ball.
Good luck to England in the final. Spain seems like a really tough game on paper but keep Williams and lamal quiet for 60 minutes and you’ll be fine as I’ve noticed they fade very quickly around that point. Also the defence isn’t amazing, we just haven’t seen it really tested much apart from Germany who if they had better finishing would be in the final instead.
For those who don’t like Southgate you absolutely have to admit now that he is (at national level) an excellent manager who you should all stop questioning as he is responsible for two thirds of England entire finals appearances in their entire history. If footballs a results game then he’s definitely bossing it.
* But his football is still completely sh*t.
Lee
The power of confidence
I’m still buzzing from England’s making the final and, even better, the team finally turning up.
How much was it the players just getting into gear, Southgate coaching or the confidence from the the last two knockout wins? Whatever it was – they played much more like we hoped and expected when the squad was first announced.
I was shocked to see the same side being picked (with Guehi back in place), regardless of Trippier playing higher up the field – as he still doesn’t do much. What surprised me more, was that once Shaw replaced Trippier, I expected England to use the left more, but they didn’t make fast passes over to the left wing – and Shaw ended up doing a lot of the same thing Trippier did. Even so, they seemed to more balanced – so perhaps they’ve worked out how to get in each other’s way less often.
Walker would be a massive player if only he could pass. On several occasions he would get into space with only a short sideways pass into the box needed – for him to give it to a Dutch player and have to do his Flash thing to get back and plug the breakaway. And then be lauded for getting back to block the breakaway he caused.
The chalked off Saka goal was more like the prior version of England, where Sterling or Rashford, etc, would cut back to Kane. At least we didn’t have to hear “…and Kane couldn’t quite get there…” from the commentator as much, as he spent more time behind Bellingham, Foden or Saka and not expected to get the pass. Watkins showed what a more mobile forward can do with this midfield and willing to break the line. Suspect we will still see Kane start the final. With Watkins starting England would get so much more out of our fancied forwards and midfield.
I can’t believe all the hooferah about the penalty. The idea that something that would clearly be a foul outside of the box should be treated differently inside the box – purely because it leads to a penalty – is bonkers. It was a reckless challenge because he couldn’t ensure his studs wojld not hit his opponent, it was out of control and dangerous.
Gary Neville’s, chief steward of the Defender’s Union, exclamation of ‘how is a defender going to block…’ was one of the stupidest things I’ve heard. If the forwards skill or your inability to position yourself properly leaves your only option to use a reckless challenge and hope it stops or blocks the opponent in any way, you deserve to have a penalty called against you. He could have moved his whole body on the way to block any potential shot on target – but he didn’t – he took the riskiest option.
When Bellingham recklessly slid into the Dutch player later in the game, that he got booked for, Koeman was waving his arms all over the place. Funny how that works.
Then of course we have to get the ‘not clear and obvious’ brigade saying that if some people say it shouldn’t have been a penalty – no matter how poor their thinking – it can’t have been obvious and VAR shouldn’t have asked the ref to go look at the monitor. And that meant the ref was trying to make amends for some imagined bias against England because of the past and alleged game fixing. The fact the ref didn’t give the penalty in the first place was the error. He wasn’t well placed to see the infringement, plus in this tournament they’ve been instructed to wave play on for some iffy challenges on the basis VAR would look at it and this keeps the games flowing. He clearly saw it as most refs who have been asked about this challenge, as careless and reckless, which is the underpinnings of Law 12: Fouls and Misconduct.
The reality was that England has the Nether on the ropes for most of the first half and they only had their poor play.
England will still need to kick it up a notch against Spain but we have now seen significant improvement. If Spain play the way they have so far, there will be gaps for England to take advantage. Germany, who were not great shakes in the first half and have less forward talent than England, had Spain heaving in the second half, and should have won with the chances created, if not for woeful shooting from Havertz and Fullkrug.
Funny how things work out. For a team that underperformed so badly in the early rounds, I feel so much more confident about the latest version going into the final than I did about the team that played against Italy.
Paul McDevitt
Have WE lost the dressing room?
Hi Ed,
It’s rare and painful but I had a thought…
It’s often said that when a team of great players don’t perform to their potential it’s because the manager has “Lost the dressing room” e.g. the players don’t like the manager for taking away their red sauce and play to a dog egg standard to get the guy sacked.
In the current England case could it be argued that we, the fans and media, have lost the dressing room? From all the defensive and slightly arsey interviews after subdued performances, from both players and manager, it came across that the players definitely back their boss.
Perhaps the players were sick of the sh*te they, and of course Southgate, have to put up with and wanted to punish us by playing like turd?
Unfortunately for them they fluked their way into a semi and then decided to put in a shift in (during the 1st half anyway), due to their loyalty to Gaz?
In truth, I do like a good conspiracy theory, so that could be it… but who else has worked for a company they detest, but worked hard every now and then just to help out a manager they get on with?
Re: Chris, the Toon Army fan from DC – Jesus Navas – the mention from the commentator that he was 3 years older than Yamal’s dad instantly gave me extra greys in my beard. I’m the same age as Navas and always bought him as a teenager on FM.
Ta Muchly,
Dave (England fans seem like kittens compared to the crazy stuff in the Copa) PVFC
Loathsome opinions
James EFC stated just about every opinion I loathe that has been spouted by England ‘fans’ in recent days (months? Years?!). Let re-hash them all cos it’ll be ‘fun’:
England ‘are winning despite Southgate and not because of him’. Hang on. He has created an atmosphere around the squad that is almost faultless (the Ben White thing is so blown up because it is so extraordinary that it has happened given the general unity to be found over the past eight years). We had the arch tactician and elite manager in Fabio Capello, overseeing some of the greatest talents this nation has produced (and Aaron Lennon) and he made it a horrific experience for the players to be involved in. It is no wonder the shirt weighed so heavily. This squad have overcome some pesky challenges along the way and risen hugely to find themselves within touching distance of the promised land. That is not in spite of Gareth, but because of him. We may joke about his TedTalk style of middle management but it is that thoughtful process, treating the players as grown ups, making it something the players want to be part of that has got us to this point and helped them overcome situations which previous generations (full of PFMs don’t forget) wilted in.
‘It’s a shame for Spain not to win it’ and ‘I just hope we win it convincingly and uncontroversially’. For Your Deity Of Choice’s Sake Man! I couldn’t care less if we win it thanks to Kyle Walker slamdunking the ball into the net in the 97th minute with VAR unable to work because one of the cleaners unplugged their screens to charge their phone…..I want that trophy! I want that parade through Trafalgar Square! I want those knighthoods and MBEs for my beloved heroes! No other nation thinks this way. Spain will happily sh*t-house their way to a winners medal if that is what it takes. Argentina don’t care. Germany don’t care. Italy don’t care. And who are the countries with more winners medals than ourselves? Eh? It’s why we have always endured glorious failure, it is why we cannot get over the line, we need that edge, that steeliness to enable us to claim we are the ‘best in the World/Europe’. And we have that now, it’s amazing to see. Let us rejoice that it is finally within us to potentially get over the line and at least give us hope for Sunday.
‘(The decision not to give a penalty on the field was) not obviously wrong therefore shouldn’t have been a penalty.’ For all that you love and cherish lad, how can you not feel that for once, ONCE, the gods are looking down upon us and a ‘controversial’ decision has gone our way?! We have spent decades, literally half a century, bemoaning the decisions going against us in the big matches. Maradona! Campbell! Lampard! Beckham! Hell even Platt v Koeman in 93! I could go on forever more! I will take those decisions going in our favour for once and enjoy that sweet, sweet feeling of progression to the next round of a tournament and possibly even the ultimate crowning glory.
So please guys, desist with such insulting commentary and just, for once, enjoy the ride (the process??) without moaning about it.
Rob (It was a pen too – studs in!!), Leicester
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Spain must win
I am not writing this to spark a debate (so it probably won’t get published), but I would like to put forward —to any rational lover of football— that surely for the game of football, surely Spain have to win on Sunday.
I get that people want their country to win and when Greece won in 2004 (where I’m pretty sure they beat better teams without extra time etc.) that was a shock because they were the underdogs. This England side have scraped through with extra time, soft penalties etc. With a manager that many fans seriously wanted to be sacked after the group stage. But they weren’t battling underdogs, they were many people’s pre-tournament favourites.
England have won (I think) 2 game in normal time and that’s after landing in the favourable side of the draw. Whereas Spain (not particularly favoured pre-tournament) have beaten teams like Croatia, Italy, Germany and France, playing attractive football.
I expect abuse “that’s not how tournaments work” “you can only beat what’s put in front of you” or something else, all I’m saying is that for football, I think we should hope Spain win on Sunday.
M
A likeable England side?
It seems the majority of European football fans are cheering for Spain this Sunday. However, there’s something likeable about Southgate and his players. They don’t seem to generate the hatred that previous English sides have and I’ve found myself not too disappointed that they’ve reached the final.
An unusual stance from an Irishman but here we are.
The absence of an overtly arrogant John Terry figure probably helps this newfound likeability.
A potential win for England also raises some intriguing questions.
Will every future young English centre half who strides purposely out of defence now be compared to John Stones or will Bobby Moore remain the yardstick?
How will the tabloids and their barely literate clientele reconcile their superiority complex and attacks on the managers ability if Southgate prevails?
Can the man really be villified whilst bringing success?
Eoin (JT probably has the full kit ready to go, just in case) Ireland
