England vs Bosnia

[cambridgeshire canary 7,933]

Anyone watching tonights friendly then? Or given it's a friendly match under Southgate would you rather watch paint dry?

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 4,738]

International football is a bit 'meh' for me; I'll watch all the games at major tournaments but I won't go out of my way to watch any qualifiers, friendlies or Nations League games.

I'll probably stick it on in the background because I doubt I'll have anything else important to do.

[Satriales 1,052]

It'll either be the dullest game ever, or England will win 5 nil and everyone will get carried away thinking we'll smash the Euros. 

[Norfolk Dan 344]

Best watched on teletext

[Don’t be Krul 454]

17 minutes ago, Satriales said:

It'll either be the dullest game ever, or England will win 5 nil and everyone will get carried away thinking we'll smash the Euros. 

We won't smash the Euros. We should, given the world class players available who would walk into any other starting XI but won't while that tool Southgate is in charge

[Satriales 1,052]

12 minutes ago, Don’t be Krul said:

We won't smash the Euros. We should, given the world class players available who would walk into any other starting XI but won't while that tool Southgate is in charge

If Southgate leaves after this tournament, who would you like as a replacement? I'm really not sure who I'd want. 

[ec-p 118]

Klopp? 

[Satriales 1,052]

3 minutes ago, ec-p said:

Klopp? 

That would be pretty good. 

[sgncfc 1,345]

Option A: Someone who tries to win games, rather than not lose them. That would be revolutionary for an England Manager - who is, by definition, a person who always, always, always has a collection of the most gifted footballers in the world available to them and still manages to not win anything.

Option B: Given Option A, anyone but Southgate, Chris Hughton, Dean Smith or David Wagner.

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 4,738]

1 hour ago, Don’t be Krul said:

We won't smash the Euros. We should, given the world class players available who would walk into any other starting XI but won't while that tool Southgate is in charge

You mean our world class goalkeepers, left backs, centre backs (bar Stones) and central midfielders (bar Rice)?

We have an embarrassment of riches in the attacking positions, and several right backs, but there are too many weak points in this squad for it to be the favourites, in my opinion.

[S_81 1,138]

Hoping he gives Cole Palmer a starting role and a chance to show what he can do tonight 

[TheGunnShow 7,470]

15 minutes ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

You mean our world class goalkeepers, left backs, centre backs (bar Stones) and central midfielders (bar Rice)?

We have an embarrassment of riches in the attacking positions, and several right backs, but there are too many weak points in this squad for it to be the favourites, in my opinion.

Exactly this. Saying England should win the Euros is like saying Norwich should have gone up automatically this season. Absolute codswallop. We had plenty of firepower but defensively weren't good enough to trouble the top of the league, hence Wagner kind of switching between flat-out and low blocks.

[Capt. Pants 5,152]

England aren't going to win it, they probably won't even come close. If your whole enjoyment of the tournament relies on England doing well, then it probably isn't for you.

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 4,738]

14 minutes ago, Capt. Pants said:

England aren't going to win it, they probably won't even come close. If your whole enjoyment of the tournament relies on England doing well, then it probably isn't for you.

But if we don't win, it will definitely be Southgate's fault and not anything else.

[Well b back 3,655]

3 hours ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

Anyone watching tonights friendly then? Or given it's a friendly match under Southgate would you rather watch paint dry?

In fairness this is preparation for much more important games ahead, so seeing how ‘ squad members ‘ fit in if there are injuries. I would think the last thing Southgate wants is his team going all out and risking injuries before a major tournament, which we are amongst, if not the favourites to win.

[Well b back 3,655]

56 minutes ago, Capt. Pants said:

England aren't going to win it, they probably won't even come close. If your whole enjoyment of the tournament relies on England doing well, then it probably isn't for you.

I better cancel our flights.

[Robert N. LiM 6,442]

1 hour ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

But if we don't win, it will definitely be Southgate's fault and not anything else.

I'm looking forward to England winning it 'despite Southgate' or winning it, but too boringly.

[tricky974 63]

I am going to watch it, nothing else on so may as well 

[ged in the onion bag 964]

Your average football fan .... all know more than anyone else but really they're just repeating someone else's crap.     

Watching England play football according to the op is like watching paint dry under Southgate.... that might be the case for some but it really hasn't been any different in the past 40 years.    The only time its been interesting watching England has been the big games, the rest has been utter dross.    It's not a Southgate thing.....

I've never enjoyed watching England play and mostly don't bother.     However, the one fact that no one can deny is that Southgate has been more successful than any other England manager since Ramsey in 66.     In all of my time following football, he's the only manager who has picked his own team and not pandered to the press.    The only manager that has shown trust and belief in youth and he shows loyalty to his players which is worth a lot when it comes to team spirit and getting the best from a team.    

Those same clueless fans will, no doubt, have a downer on our centre back because they've heard him criticised a few times too... Maguire makes a couple of mistakes, some idiots in the media have a vigorous go at him and all of a sudden he's crap, and we'll never do anything with him at the back.... What happened last tournament, he was magnificent and one of our best players on top of the fact he was our best player at the two previous tournaments.   No doubt he will be again.... but the mud sticks and if you can't think for yourself, you can't wash that mud off. 

Edited June 3, 2024 by ged in the onion bag

[......and Smith must score. 1,637]

4 hours ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

Anyone watching tonights friendly then? Or given it's a friendly match under Southgate would you rather watch paint dry?

Maybe I won’t open the paint tin but just read the instructions printed on the side. Either way it’s got to be more entertaining than watching England

[Don’t be Krul 454]

3 hours ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

You mean our world class goalkeepers, left backs, centre backs (bar Stones) and central midfielders (bar Rice)?

We have an embarrassment of riches in the attacking positions, and several right backs, but there are too many weak points in this squad for it to be the favourites, in my opinion.

So name me a squad that doesn't have weakness, or as many world class players as England. Pickford isn't world class but statistically was the 2nd best keeper in the hardest league in the world. And Walker, Stones, Rice, Bellingham, Saka, Foden and Kane would walk into any other side at the Euros. Bookies rate us ad favourites, but despite that abundance of riches, I don't because of Southgate, not areas of weakness

[Midlands Yellow 4,714]

Excitement building up now. Expecting England to win this one  if I’m honest. 

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 4,738]

9 minutes ago, Don’t be Krul said:

So name me a squad that doesn't have weakness, or as many world class players as England. Pickford isn't world class but statistically was the 2nd best keeper in the hardest league in the world. And Walker, Stones, Rice, Bellingham, Saka, Foden and Kane would walk into any other side at the Euros. Bookies rate us ad favourites, but despite that abundance of riches, I don't because of Southgate, not areas of weakness

If we're talking purely strongest starting XIs on paper, I'd say France has no real weakness and Germany has fewer than us, with the latter also having home advantage. 

And I really don't get the criticism of Southgate either. He's our most successful manager in the last 50 years and that's despite the 'golden generation' being at least as good as anything Southgate had, which never went beyond a quarter final. This England team also scores plenty of goals, comparable to any other top team. The only stick to beat him with is that England have struggled in competitive fixtures when up against other top teams, but England have never beaten a top team in the knockouts of a major tournament when not on home soil, so that's not unique to Southgate.

[TheGunnShow 7,470]

20 minutes ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

If we're talking purely strongest starting XIs on paper, I'd say France has no real weakness and Germany has fewer than us, with the latter also having home advantage. 

And I really don't get the criticism of Southgate either. He's our most successful manager in the last 50 years and that's despite the 'golden generation' being at least as good as anything Southgate had, which never went beyond a quarter final. This England team also scores plenty of goals, comparable to any other top team. The only stick to beat him with is that England have struggled in competitive fixtures when up against other top teams, but England have never beaten a top team in the knockouts of a major tournament when not on home soil, so that's not unique to Southgate.

I'll tell you the problem, the typical propensity of fans to overestimate their team.

[cambridgeshire canary 7,933]

Teams in, it's uh.. Something

Edited June 3, 2024 by cambridgeshire canary

[Midlands Yellow 4,714]

Southgate doesn’t disappoint, it’s another boring watch. 

[Pyro Pete 2,395]

Yeah. Only Eze looks like creating something, so far.

[Satriales 1,052]

Pretty unlikely to see this starting XI ever again.

[cambridgeshire canary 7,933]

England playing in their away kit at home while letting their oppisition wear a white kit is an interesting choice

[Satriales 1,052]

2 minutes ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

England playing in their away kit at home while letting their oppisition wear a white kit is an interesting choice

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