England squad announcement

[Barham Blitz 653]

I'd also say that whilst Kane is obviously the first choice in terms of ability, the way he plays does tend to define the rest of the formation.  A lot of the criticism of the rest of the team set up originates in the fact that Kane is an automatic pick and the need for Sterling and wide runners with pace to go beyond him and the defensive implications of that for the midfield means that it is difficult to pick players like Maddison and to a lesser extent Grealish and Foden.  I think Wilson going ahead of Toney for example suggests a recognition of the requirement for a plan B there.

Southgate for all the criticism is actually very good at setting up a team to balance risk and reward in terms of the players at his disposal.  Possibly just in my opinion I accept...

Edited November 11, 2022 by Barham Blitz

[dylanisabaddog 4,931]

5 hours ago, Barham Blitz said:

I'd also say that whilst Kane is obviously the first choice in terms of ability, the way he plays does tend to define the rest of the formation.  A lot of the criticism of the rest of the team set up originates in the fact that Kane is an automatic pick and the need for Sterling and wide runners with pace to go beyond him and the defensive implications of that for the midfield means that it is difficult to pick players like Maddison and to a lesser extent Grealish and Foden.  I think Wilson going ahead of Toney for example suggests a recognition of the requirement for a plan B there.

Southgate for all the criticism is actually very good at setting up a team to balance risk and reward in terms of the players at his disposal.  Possibly just in my opinion I accept...

I agree with you. People who moan about Southgate need a reality check. The favourites will be Brazil and France and England only have Kane who would get into their teams. It's not an awful group of players but very little in the way of world class. If they make the last 8 it will be a good performance. 

[SwearyCanary 1,179]

52 minutes ago, dylanisabaddog said:

I agree with you. People who moan about Southgate need a reality check. The favourites will be Brazil and France and England only have Kane who would get into their teams. It's not an awful group of players but very little in the way of world class. If they make the last 8 it will be a good performance. 

I don’t disagree with your estimated outcome, but it would still be a big disappointment. There are players, Brazil aside, that would get into almost all national teams. We just lack massively in world class defenders in my opinion. We have some of the biggest, if not the biggest, investment in infrastructure and development and seemingly it serves to benefit the playing staff we have imported more than our own! I believe we have potential in the attack that could blow teams away, but that Southgate’s pragmatism will restrict that happening. I’m am unconvinced by him and his recent finishes do not sway me because when we have come up against the better sides we have not had the quality to see out games. We went ahead against both Italy and Croatia and we sat back and tried to protect it. Ultimately we failed, albeit via penalties v Italy who won the tournament overall playing attacking football, which I feel we could’ve bested them at. 

Edited November 11, 2022 by SwearyCanary

[dylanisabaddog 4,931]

1 hour ago, SwearyCanary said:

I don’t disagree with your estimated outcome, but it would still be a big disappointment. There are players, Brazil aside, that would get into almost all national teams. We just lack massively in world class defenders in my opinion. We have some of the biggest, if not the biggest, investment in infrastructure and development and seemingly it serves to benefit the playing staff we have imported more than our own! I believe we have potential in the attack that could blow teams away, but that Southgate’s pragmatism will restrict that happening. I’m am unconvinced by him and his recent finishes do not sway me because when we have come up against the better sides we have not had the quality to see out games. We went ahead against both Italy and Croatia and we sat back and tried to protect it. Ultimately we failed, albeit via penalties v Italy who won the tournament overall playing attacking football, which I feel we could’ve bested them at. 

Trying to reply in the politest way possible!

We have suffered delusions of grandeur for years since winning a home tournament 60 years ago. England's record in World Cups other than that is very poor. The semi final in the last tournament was simply a freak of the draw. The average ranking of the teams played prior to the semi final was 17 and that was followed by defeat against the only top 8 side played. 

As for the Italy final, England got a very early goal but didn't get a single shot on target after that. I don't think they sat back, they simply couldn't get the ball. 

Kane is clearly a world class centre forward and is actually extremely gifted all round. As for the rest, I don't think any of the other countries will be particularly worried by them. The defence borders on being laughable and Rice and Phillips are simply above average Premier League players. But perhaps of most concern is that England hasn't produced a midfield player who can pass the ball since Paul Scholes. All the top countries have a player like that. 

I know Southgate is a bit negative in his approach but he's no fool and probably knows that if he is more attacking the result could be extremely embarrassing. 

[KiwiScot 1,450]

I've not been taking note of England recent performances, but for all the lacking in quality mentioned I'd say they've got that thing a lot of previous squads never had which is playing as a team.

[Capt. Pants 4,246]

Quarter Finals at best I think. There are simply too many good nations now with attacking threat that will get at our defence.

Going into the tournament with low expectations isn't necessarily a bad thing.

 

[cambridgeshire canary 6,735]

9 minutes ago, Capt. Pants said:

Quarter Finals at best I think. There are simply too many good nations now with attacking threat that will get at our defence.

Going into the tournament with low expectations isn't necessarily a bad thing.

 

"Going into the tournament with low expectations"

 

Is there any other way to watch England in tournaments..? I've always had  low expectations.. It's rather like watching us in the top flight. Sure, you have hope but you just know it's not going to end well 😂

Edited November 11, 2022 by cambridgeshire canary

[SwearyCanary 1,179]

8 hours ago, dylanisabaddog said:

Trying to reply in the politest way possible!

We have suffered delusions of grandeur for years since winning a home tournament 60 years ago. England's record in World Cups other than that is very poor. The semi final in the last tournament was simply a freak of the draw. The average ranking of the teams played prior to the semi final was 17 and that was followed by defeat against the only top 8 side played. 

As for the Italy final, England got a very early goal but didn't get a single shot on target after that. I don't think they sat back, they simply couldn't get the ball. 

Kane is clearly a world class centre forward and is actually extremely gifted all round. As for the rest, I don't think any of the other countries will be particularly worried by them. The defence borders on being laughable and Rice and Phillips are simply above average Premier League players. But perhaps of most concern is that England hasn't produced a midfield player who can pass the ball since Paul Scholes. All the top countries have a player like that. 

I know Southgate is a bit negative in his approach but he's no fool and probably knows that if he is more attacking the result could be extremely embarrassing. 

I am in total agreement with the lucky draws we have had. I just yearn to see our attacking talent unleashed a bit. Pep turned sterling, foden, grealish (a bit) into an attacking force with stones in the heart of defence. If you add Saka, Bellingham, Kane, Maddison I see no reason why this forward option wouldn’t strike fear into any defence and all play in possession hungry club sides. Rice and Phillips can offer some energetic protection but as I mentioned previously, our defence is always a liability. Italy can rely on some absolute class in that area but in an attacking sense I think we have the edge. I just don’t think we have the manager with the balls to implement it.