World Cup 2022.

[Conrad]

England played really well not helped by a crap ref and 2 VAR decisions going against us, the only criticism from me is, and it’s not with hindsight, Kane shouldn’t have taken the second penalty, I said before he took it I don’t think the same player should take two pens.

[Biddulph_PV]

7 hours ago, darren1810 said:

England were the better team by a country mile. All the negative Southgate folk need to give head a wobble tonight.  Very very fine margins tonight we were by far the better team.

All the neigh sayers please put forward a better option as manager and if someone says Eddie Howe and his Saudi billions I'll scream. 

I agree and disagree at the same time. We were the better side. This was an ok but not a fantastic French side. Mbappe and Tchouaneni and maybe Lloris apart, are there any other world class players?? 

We have all this supposed ‘world class talent’….. Foden (who was rubbish last night and massively overrated IMHO), Bellingham, Rice, Saka, Kane, Grealish, Rashford etc - our so-called embarrassment of riches, but we never opened them up. The second penalty was just a daft mistake from them, not really the result of good play from us. They scored twice from open play.

But we got the 2nd penalty, though yet again the fine margins always - and I mean always - go against us. Why??

I can’t help but think that we wasted most of the first half being way too cautious, and Southgate ought to be criticised for it. When you’re talking about fine margins literally every second counts. I looked at the clock on dead on 30 mins and then again at 35 mins and literally nothing had happened in that period - we’d allowed France just eat up that time. You can’t spend 20-25 minutes sizing the oppo’s up, because before you know it a big chunk of the game gone and you’re a goal down, chasing and becoming more desperate. 

For Maguire to say we now belong at this level is daft; yes last night was not an Iceland, but it’s out in the QF’s again for the 7th time. So we’ve never really not been at ‘elite level’ but not obviously progressed to Champions level.  

This is far and away the best chance we’ll have for a generation. A W/C mid-season, so none of the usual ‘burned out after a long EPL season’ excuses (though never been sure why that only seems to apply to English players) and some of the usual heavyweights way off their best.  

A W/C win feels further away than ever this morning. We’re basically a team that will (and should) be there or thereabouts but will just continue to build its collection of hard luck stories. We have no divine right to win anything, but given the level of investment in our game I think to not win a tournament - or even get to a final - overseas in nearly 100 years is nothing short of shocking. 

[CAVALIER]

We can slate the ref all day and should do. To me, it’s the fact that he didn’t even think the fouls on Mount and two on Saka were just that when clearly they were. He was awful

We do have talent, but fail to make the most of it. Southgate isn’t a winner I’m afraid despite him ticking every box. Too loyal and indecisive for me. I get Kane taking the second pen but against the one goalie who really knows him? No way. Taking Saka off was stupid as he’d destroyed them. 

I thought Walker was class. Unfortunately that’s it for him, Maguire, Sterling and a few more oldies. 

[valeparklife]

You look at the other 'top' nations - Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Italy, France - and they all get a win/final every few years.

Why can't this be us?

It's always 'fine margins', but why can't it go our way for once? Why can't we EVER be lucky?

Euro 96 was the first tournament for me. 

After last night, I know for a fact I will never see England win anything in my lifetime. Feeling really disheartened this morning.

[philpvfc]

10 hours ago, darren1810 said:

England were the better team by a country mile. All the negative Southgate folk need to give head a wobble tonight.  Very very fine margins tonight we were by far the better team.

All the neigh sayers please put forward a better option as manager and if someone says Eddie Howe and his Saudi billions I'll scream. 

Eddie Howe is a better option but can’t criticise Southgate for last nights performance, we were the better team and deserved to win. My only criticism would be that Kane was isolated too often with Saka in particular getting the ball, looking up and just seeing Kane marked by 3 players in front of him. Once again, we lose to the first good team we come up against in a major tournament, I can’t remember us beating a top 10 team since Argentina.

[WV]

7 hours ago, MelbourneValiant said:

That aged well!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣  Way off the mark if you believed we would beat anybody decent.

Fair play a comment without racism. We were the better team and a missed penalty and a awful ref stopped the better team progressing. Must have had a different gAme on down under hey 

[WV]

24 minutes ago, philpvfc said:

Eddie Howe is a better option but can’t criticise Southgate for last nights performance, we were the better team and deserved to win. My only criticism would be that Kane was isolated too often with Saka in particular getting the ball, looking up and just seeing Kane marked by 3 players in front of him. Once again, we lose to the first good team we come up against in a major tournament, I can’t remember us beating a top 10 team since Argentina.

We beat Germany last year. 

[eh up nah]

59 minutes ago, philpvfc said:

Eddie Howe is a better option but can’t criticise Southgate for last nights performance, we were the better team and deserved to win. My only criticism would be that Kane was isolated too often with Saka in particular getting the ball, looking up and just seeing Kane marked by 3 players in front of him. Once again, we lose to the first good team we come up against in a major tournament, I can’t remember us beating a top 10 team since Argentina.

I don't think there is anything whatsoever to suggest that Eddie Howe is a better option for England than Gareth Southgate.

What happened at Bournemouth was an incredible story but I don't think Burnley fans would say much good about him.  Castle are doing well but so they bloody should be now they're backed by the gangsters of the middle east.

Southgate has won more knockout games than the previous 9 managers combined I'm sure I've read.

To even see the England side have a serious chance of winning something feels bloody refreshing.

I heard a similar argument from a guy in the pub watching last night, saying its because he's had a wealth of talent at his disposal.

Look at the squad Sven took to Germany in 2006.

[Valiiant]

 

Shows how far we have come of late when Southgate is getting crucified in some quarters because we lost a close game of football against what are likely to be the World Champions in a couple of weeks time. Had Kane's second penalty been converted I'm pretty certain we would have gone on to win that game, all of the momentum would have been with us. But these are the fine margins in the biggest games.

Southgate did drop a bollock by taking Saka off there as he was killing the French in the second half every time he got on the ball. I can understand taking Foden off who was quiet, but you don't take off your most dangerous player in the game unless he is injured and you have no choice. But it was two very good teams and the French definitely had the rub of the green on the night, in one of the poorest displays by a referee I've seen at such a level.

[philmpv]

We beat Germany last year. 

I think he meant when it matters, in a major tournament

[eh up nah]

1 minute ago, philmpv said:

39 minutes ago, WV said:

We beat Germany last year. 

I think he meant when it matters, in a major tournament

That was a Euro last 16 game!

[Biddulph_PV]

1 hour ago, WV said:

We beat Germany last year. 

We did and nearly managed to throw that away with Muller missing an absolute sitter. 

On very few occasions since my first tournament in Mexico 86 have we been thrashed or comprehensively dumped out, maybe Euro 88 was our worst showing??

It’s always these “fine margins”. So Neville bangs on about how they should stick with Southgate, how English football has evolved and developed under his leadership blah blah blah. Well the truth is, if you are managing by results, we haven’t advanced at all. 

Now I get that anyone can miss a penalty. But the point is that it comes down to one or two ‘moments’ in a game and, for whatever reason we are always on the wrong side of them. That’s way it frustrates to life out of me when we start so slowly and pedantic like we always do under Southgate because you know that against the better teams in later stages these ‘moments’ will come in a game.

Gabriel Clarke asked in his post-match interview if it was a case of not being clinical enough. That rather sums it up….yes, and has been the case for the last 56 years. But why??

 

[Jacko51]

1 hour ago, WV said:

We beat Germany last year. 

And Denmark who were in the top ten.

[philpvfc]

1 hour ago, WV said:

We beat Germany last year. 

 

1 hour ago, WV said:

We beat Germany last year. 

Don’t know where they were ranked when we beat them in the euros but currently they are not ranked in the top 10.

[Jacko51]

It is a fact that four of the European giants have been crap in this World Cup - Belgium and Germany didn't make it out of the group stage, Spain went out in the last 16 and Italy didn't even qualify.  What gives me hope is the number of our players in the squad who are at the start of their international careers and will only get better.  Last night, for example, I thought Saka did better in the game than the much vaunted, Oops I've fallen over again, Mbappe.  Bellingham will be a hero.  Foden can only get better.  Rashford is only a lad. We need to improve the defence although Maguire had a better tournament than I expected.  Stones can be a bit dozy and whilst Shaw is still young enough, Walker will not see the next World Cup.

Interestingly, I thought the much criticised Henderson was outstanding yesterday.