England v Italy

[KRBFC]

Try it,

If you admit to not knowing anywhere near as much as you claim to do let's see if I disagree

I wasn’t high on Italy during the Euros but the fact is they won that competition and hadn’t lost in close to 40 games. Maybe that’s a reflection of the standard (which I think is quite poor with most top nations on the downward) but even then you can only beat what’s put in front of you.

This whole degrading England wins to whip Southgate is tiresome and proves he can’t win. Sure the current Italians might not be the best they’ve ever been but they’ve had the best of us over the last few years and we won last night.

[claretonthecoast1882]

I wasn’t high on Italy during the Euros but the fact is they won that competition and hadn’t lost in close to 40 games. Maybe that’s a reflection of the standard (which I think is quite poor with most top nations on the downward) but even then you can only beat what’s put in front of you.

This whole degrading England wins to whip Southgate is tiresome and proves he can’t win. Sure the current Italians might not be the best they’ve ever been but they’ve had the best of us over the last few years and we won last night.

So we are basically in agreement. Yes Italy had a long unbeaten run (not sure how many of those were against a side even near to above average but probably not many) but they weren't great in the Euro's but managed to win it. Knockout football you don't have to be great all the time.

When Southgate was appointed, I thought it was a brave choice and a different approach from the FA, when he spoke the first few times it was positive and promising then slowly he became what we normally have as a manager maybe it is down to working under the FA who knows.

We could quite easily been down to 10 men after a couple of minutes last night and should have been down to 10 within half hour due to his insistence on picking players who have never let him down (apart from Sterling) along with his at times weak leadership ie the stance they took in Qatar until threatened with a yellow card which then became a **** em stance to the LGBTQ groups he had spoken up for, don't get involved in things if you aren't prepared to go through with them.

[KRBFC]

So we are basically in agreement. Yes Italy had a long unbeaten run (not sure how many of those were against a side even near to above average but probably not many) but they weren't great in the Euro's but managed to win it. Knockout football you don't have to be great all the time.

When Southgate was appointed, I thought it was a brave choice and a different approach from the FA, when he spoke the first few times it was positive and promising then slowly he became what we normally have as a manager maybe it is down to working under the FA who knows.

We could quite easily been down to 10 men after a couple of minutes last night and should have been down to 10 within half hour due to his insistence on picking players who have never let him down (apart from Sterling) along with his at times weak leadership ie the stance they took in Qatar until threatened with a yellow card which then became a **** em stance to the LGBTQ groups he had spoken up for, don't get involved in things if you aren't prepared to go through with them.

I don’t understand the media forcing famous sports people into openly speaking up for LGBTQ. It’s all forced nonsense and shouldn’t be mixed into sports but that’s another argument for another day.

[thelifeofbrian]

Minutes silence for Isreal booed.

Do we just boo everything and anything ?

I was at the game last night and it was the Italian fans who started chanting during the minutes silence and in return the England fans started booing them........

[Spijed]

How many would want Southgate as our manager?

I bet not many, if any at all

Had he had the squads that SD or VK had I doubt we'd ever have come close to getting promoted.

[Rileybobs]

How many would want Southgate as our manager?

I bet not many, if any at all

Had he had the squads that SD or VK had I doubt we'd ever have come close to getting promoted.

Why do people keep saying things like this? Why does it matter if us, or any other club would want Southgate. He's the England manager and it's pretty unanimous amongst anyone who isn't a complete moron that he has, and is doing a very good job. Are there better managers and coaches out there? Without a doubt - but no one has claimed he's the best. It requires a completely different skill set to successfully manage a national team than it does to manage a club team - the two jobs are poles apart.

I could ask whether if SD or VK were the England manager would they have come close to getting to world cup semi finals and within a couple of penalty kicks of winning the European Championship, and I can say with a lot of confidence that they wouldn't.

[warksclaret]

How many would want Southgate as our manager?

I bet not many, if any at all

Had he had the squads that SD or VK had I doubt we'd ever have come close to getting promoted.

I am with you Spijed. Southgate has many good qualities, particularly in the way he deals with matters, and the media, and the way he conducts himself. Is he a "sharp and excellent coach" who can outwit another leading manager?-I believe not. Lets put it this way , if Pep who alongside Fergie is one of the greatest club managers this country has ever seen, was the current manager, then Phillips, Macguire and Henderson would be absolutely anywhere near this squad.

A manager like Pep, with the current English talent, would win us trophies

[Rileybobs]

I am with you Spijed. Southgate has many good qualities, particularly in the way he deals with matters, and the media, and the way he conducts himself. Is he a "sharp and excellent coach" who can outwit another leading manager?-I believe not. Lets put it this way , if Pep who alongside Fergie is one of the greatest club managers this country has ever seen, was the current manager, then Phillips, Macguire and Henderson would be absolutely anywhere near this squad.

A manager like Pep, with the current English talent, would win us trophies

The same Pep who bought Kalvin Phillips?

[Greenmile]

Is it really fair to compare Southgate to arguably the greatest manager in the history of the game? (that’s a rhetorical question, obvs)

[RVclaret]

How many would want Southgate as our manager?

I bet not many, if any at all

Had he had the squads that SD or VK had I doubt we'd ever have come close to getting promoted.

It’s irrelevant really. Managing a national team is so different. Hansi Flick just won the treble in Germany with Bayern and was one of the most highly rated coaches in the world. Recently sacked as Germany manager.

One of the ‘soft’ skills to national management that folks tend not to consider is the people side of it. All my life superstars like Lampard, Scholes, even Rooney, didn’t deliver in tournaments for England, the weight of the shirt was too much. Particularly in England with the intensity of the media. Watch the Beckham doc to recall how he was treated post sending off v Argentina.

Contrast that to now, every single interview I see with an England player and they are always buzzing to be with the team. He’s created that environment.

[warksclaret]

The same Pep who bought Kalvin Phillips?

Fair point, but he was a very good player at the time,but no way Pep would buy him now. Players do go downhill you know, and Pep recognises it. He clearly saw at an early stage that he does not fit into the way City play, one of the main reason being that Rodri is arguably the best holding midfielders in the PL and possibly the world. I had no issues with Phillips playing for England when he was playing regular club football, but last night it showed he lacked the timing and sharpness and involvement that you only get from being a regular for your club. Name me a top manager who has never bought a player that simply did not work out

[jrgbfc]

I don’t understand the media forcing famous sports people into openly speaking up for LGBTQ. It’s all forced nonsense and shouldn’t be mixed into sports but that’s another argument for another day.

I'm no Southgate hater, but he was happy to wade into the Black lives matter and taking the knee dramas, yet now he wants to carry on picking Henderson he thinks we should "keep politics out of football". I know he isn't stupid enough to not understand why Henderson has been booed.

[Greenmile]

I'm no Southgate hater, but he was happy to wade into the Black lives matter and taking the knee dramas, yet now he wants to carry on picking Henderson he thinks we should "keep politics out of football". I know he isn't stupid enough to not understand why Henderson has been booed.

I think this post (inadvertently) pinpoints why so many folk (on here at least) are so reluctant to give GS the credit he is due. They just don’t like the fact that he supported his players in their stance against racism.

[Sproggy]

I think this post (inadvertently) pinpoints why so many folk (on here at least) are so reluctant to give GS the credit he is due. They just don’t like the fact that he supported his players in their stance against racism.

Wow. I know some of the posters on here are desperate to propagate they myth that everyone from Burnley is a racist, but ladies and gentlemen we have a new leader in the field. The rest of you are really going to have to up your game.

If you don't like the England team under Gareth Southgate, you're probably a racist.

Repent! Repent!

[JarrowClaret]

I'm no Southgate hater, but he was happy to wade into the Black lives matter and taking the knee dramas, yet now he wants to carry on picking Henderson he thinks we should "keep politics out of football". I know he isn't stupid enough to not understand why Henderson has been booed.

I don’t understand why anyone would be stupid enough to boo any player let alone one of your own unless it was a child I guess. It is totally counterproductive and serves no purpose.