UEFA EURO 2024 (8 Viewers)

[Liquid Gold]

Nearly home now.

We were shite but we got the three points.

You don’t win the tournament with your first performance you win it with your last.

On to Frankfurt to knock the Danes out

 

---

[baldy]

Yes our commentators are so biased as they immediately dismissed it and it was never a talking point. If it had been the other way round there would have been outrage.

Shearers constant defence of Kane not touching the ball too was ridiculous - if it was any other striker in the world he'd be slagging him off

 

[baldy]

Nearly home now.

We were shite but we got the three points.

You don’t win the tournament with your first performance you win it with your last.

On to Frankfurt to knock the Danes out

There seems to be no change in tactics though since the last tournament - Southgateball at its 'finest'

 

[SeaSeeEffCee]

Here is an interesting little stat

Won our first group game 4/4 under Southgate.

Won our first group game 4/31 times previously.

 

[ovduk78]

I agreed with what Fabregas was saying about England having to be more positive, we shouldn't be launching the ball out of defence like Foden did & Southgate has to be more attacking minded with his substitutions. I would have bought on Eze for Foden as the 1st change. It was also funny hearing Ferdinand criticising England for getting too defensive & what he thought we should do, did he forget he was in Sven's team that specialised in that?

 

[Sky Blue Pete]

Here is an interesting little stat

Won our first group game 4/4 under Southgate.

Won our first group game 4/31 times previously.

Cause of how good the team is will be the argument

 

[Mucca Mad Boys]

Here is an interesting little stat

Won our first group game 4/4 under Southgate.

Won our first group game 4/31 times previously.

It’s the most important game in the group stage, we beat Serbia and we’re more or less guaranteed to progress to the KO rounds.

With Slovenia and Denmark needing a win, we can expect those games to more open up to exploit those teams.

We won, job done. Started really well and it’s up to Southgate to work on getting the team to stay in control for the whole time.

Playing Foden at CM in a 4-3-3 or AM is not justified by his performances. Bellingham is the man for England and Foden had an enough freedom to impact the game and didn’t. We need to get Kane involved more too.

Onto the next one!

 

[Otis]

It’s the most important game in the group stage, we beat Serbia and we’re more or less guaranteed to progress to the KO rounds.

With Slovenia and Denmark needing a win, we can expect those games to more open up to exploit those teams.

We won, job done. Started really well and it’s up to Southgate to work on getting the team to stay in control for the whole time.

Playing Foden at CM in a 4-3-3 or AM is not justified by his performances. Bellingham is the man for England and Foden had an enough freedom to impact the game and didn’t. We need to get Kane involved more too.

Onto the next one!

I think any criticism has just been a little unfair on Foden. Someone said yesterday (maybe Micah Richards) that when Foden plays on the left in that role, he relies on an overlapping fullback for his little one twos and to build an attacking move and with Trippier there, he just wasn't getting it, so had to keep just passing it back inside or back.

 

[Sky Blue Harry H]

With a lot of the better teams, the possession stuff around the edge of the box is usually them trying to expose a gap in the defence or create an opportunity. There was one point in the second half where we had no intention of looking at creating anything, yet we were in a position to do so. This continued to the point that (bar the Bowen cross) we literally dried up in terms of any creative play. It was frustrating (again!)

 

[Grendel]

I think any criticism has just been a little unfair on Foden. Someone said yesterday (maybe Micah Richards) that when Foden plays on the left in that role, he relies on an overlapping fullback for his little one twos and to build an attacking move and with Trippier there, he just wasn't getting it, so had to keep just passing it back inside or back.

His passing was poor though - other than Wales has he had a standout game for England?

 

[SkyBlue_Bear83]

Crap performance, too much pressure being put on Bellingham. He's good but is he really better than Rooney at the same age?

None of these England players have proved themselves in big big matches for club or country

 

[CCFCSteve]

His passing was poor though - other than Wales has he had a standout game for England?

Yeah, for such a quality player I thought he was disappointing. Can understand the argument that it’s hard to get as involved if he’s stuck on the left but I expect more from him when he does get on the ball. I didn’t see the Iceland friendly but heard he was played more central and didn’t really influence enough there either.

He’s that good that I’m always likely to lean towards wanting to start him but I thought Eze should’ve come on after 60-70 mins. Think Foden will come good though, too good a player not to

 

[CCFCSteve]

I think any criticism has just been a little unfair on Foden. Someone said yesterday (maybe Micah Richards) that when Foden plays on the left in that role, he relies on an overlapping fullback for his little one twos and to build an attacking move and with Trippier there, he just wasn't getting it, so had to keep just passing it back inside or back.

Think this is the chat Otis.

 

[Sky Blue Harry H]

For me it's the lack of incisiveness when we reach the final third. Saka was great first half, but that really was our only threat of attacking them. That disappeared in the second half, and bar the Bowen cross (he did well when he came on) we created the square root of f7*k all. When the better teams have the ball in attacking areas, they go for the throat.

 

[Nuskyblue]

My two pence worth.

First 20 we looked OK Saka was causing mayhem on the right, we should have capatolised on this however, you couldn't ever say we carried genuine sustained threat. Saka's work was basically good individual play.

Foden as a LW/LM is a waste, likewise TTA as a midfielder? No thanks. Rice & Bellingham as the pivot, with Bellingham given the right to burst forward. Foden as the 10 picking up those pockets of space and 2 genuine wide players with pace and the ability to beat a man, that is what we need IMO.

I'd also rather Bidwell at LB than Tripper! There must be an English left footed LB operating in the Premier League (that isn't sick note Shaw!).

 

[Evo1883]

Foden scored almost 30 goals in 23/24 , we can't just dismiss him as shite and say it's all about the players around him .. we have to find a way to get the best from our best players .

 

[Great_Expectations]

My two pence worth.

First 20 we looked OK Saka was causing mayhem on the right, we should have capatolised on this however, you couldn't ever say we carried genuine sustained threat. Saka's work was basically good individual play.

Foden as a LW/LM is a waste, likewise TTA as a midfielder? No thanks. Rice & Bellingham as the pivot, with Bellingham given the right to burst forward. Foden as the 10 picking up those pockets of space and 2 genuine wide players with pace and the ability to beat a man, that is what we need IMO.

I'd also rather Bidwell at LB than Tripper! There must be an English left footed LB operating in the Premier League (that isn't sick note Shaw!).

Yea, the decision to only bring one recognised and injured (!) LB was bizarre at the time and seems even stranger now.

I guess the plan is to limp through the group stages with a lopsided defence and Shaw be fit for the knock outs. Albeit you’d hope he’s fit enough to play the last group game to get any match rustiness out the system.

 

[North York’s Blue]

So much for German efficiency, the transport system last night was an absolute shambles. Ending up walking from the stadium back to Gelsenkirchen , chaos there at the train station, and then no trams available in Essen. Huge queues for the taxi’s and mad Uber prices meant a 2.5 mile walk to the hotel. Got in around 0215.

 

[Sky Blue Pete]

Foden was poor
Kane was poor
Everyone else was ok

 

[SBAndy]

My two pence worth.

First 20 we looked OK Saka was causing mayhem on the right, we should have capatolised on this however, you couldn't ever say we carried genuine sustained threat. Saka's work was basically good individual play.

Foden as a LW/LM is a waste, likewise TTA as a midfielder? No thanks. Rice & Bellingham as the pivot, with Bellingham given the right to burst forward. Foden as the 10 picking up those pockets of space and 2 genuine wide players with pace and the ability to beat a man, that is what we need IMO.

I'd also rather Bidwell at LB than Tripper! There must be an English left footed LB operating in the Premier League (that isn't sick note Shaw!).

Yeah first 20 I really liked the look of the setup. Couldn’t put my finger on what changed but we went really sterile after that.

Foden can definitely work at LW (think he played well there v Senegal at the last World Cup) but he absolutely has to hold width better than he was last night. I get he wants to play in more central areas but receive out wide and play your way in, rather than starting inside. Equally, not helped by Trippier doing next to fuck all at LB. As said previously, I would be interested in seeing him starting in the 10 with a more natural left winger (Gordon) out there, but I get the feeling we won’t see that in which case it pains me to say I wouldn’t start him.

Trent at CM needs to stop now. There is upside to it but the negatives hugely outweigh the positives. Once Serbia started to get a foothold in the game he largely went missing.

Also worth thinking about what Bellingham was doing last night. He effectively played that box to box role as he was tracking back a hell of a lot. Great at times but left Kane isolated as hell. If he’s going to do that anyway we may as well play the midfield combination that half the country wants to see.

 

[Mucca Mad Boys]

I think any criticism has just been a little unfair on Foden. Someone said yesterday (maybe Micah Richards) that when Foden plays on the left in that role, he relies on an overlapping fullback for his little one twos and to build an attacking move and with Trippier there, he just wasn't getting it, so had to keep just passing it back inside or back.

I don’t disagree, but the idea peddled on social media on here is that Foden would magically become the main man if he played CAM. I’m sorry, he hasn’t done this yet in an England shirt and yesterday he had the freedom to roam, especially in that first 30-40m. Bellingham imposed himself on the game and showed why he deservedly is starting as an AM.

There’s no need to panic, I didn’t feel threatened by Serbia really and we’ll grow into the tournament. The team should remain unchanged for Denmark because Foden is a top player - he’ll come good.

 

[jimmyhillsfanclub]

Two real midfielders, Foden in his best position and a left-footed in-form attacker on the left...... Not rocket science is it Gareth?

 

[Mucca Mad Boys]

View attachment 36226

Two real midfielders, Foden in his best position and a left-footed in-form attacker on the left...... Not rocket science is it Gareth?

I just don’t see the benefit of playing Bellingham deeper in a two when he’s been our best player in the last two tournaments. Bellingham has played all but 4 games this season at AM whereas Foden has played more games as a LW/RW than AM.

Iniesta played out of position in LW in the great 2008-2012 Spain team. Foden will have to manage or be dropped.

Palmer also doesn’t play LW… if anything you’d play Palmer AM and Foden LW if you played all 3. As Danny Murphy pointed out, Foden doesn’t always start as a 10 - he’s often played as a LW with freedom to roam.

 

[SkyBlue_Bear83]

Foden scored almost 30 goals in 23/24 , we can't just dismiss him as shite and say it's all about the players around him .. we have to find a way to get the best from our best players .

Fodens a good player but probably a little overrated, can't discount his goals but i remember Sterling used to put up insane numbers at City and whilst Sterling has had a good premier league career he was always just been lacking from being world class or even top class.

 

[San Francisco]

I'll probably get crucified for this but Foden is probably the most overrated player in football right now. Good system player under Pep but a complete waste of time outside that one specific system surrounded by better foreign footballers.

Bellingham is by far the better footballer.

 

[Liquid Gold]

Saka was our only threat. You could see him pulling wide and making little runs to drag defenders around all the time. Hes really impressive.

Bellingham is actually world class. Unbelievable to see such a player. He covered every blade of grass and I wouldn’t be against playing him in the 8 anyway as he was box to box from the 10 last night anyway.

We were very poor last night but it really didn’t seem like a tactical decision. The Serbs definitely came out with a different approach after the break and it rattled us. Far too many times we didn’t have enough composure to put a foot on the ball and look for a pass instead just going long for a bit of relief. That combined with Kane not nothing to challenge for headers meant the ball kept coming back.

It’s definitely Southgate’s job to instil that composure and belief in them so he isn’t blameless but I put that performance more on the players last night. It’s worrying because games are going to get bigger as occasions not smaller. Luckily we’re 1 game in and 3 points up so we have the time to get it right.

 

[jimmyhillsfanclub]

"Foden is overrated"

Can I just check?
Are we talking about the 24 goal +10 assist, writers association player of the year & players player of the year winner Phil Foden?

 

[CCFCSteve]

I'll probably get crucified for this but Foden is probably the most overrated player in football right now. Good system player under Pep but a complete waste of time outside that one specific system surrounded by better foreign footballers.

Bellingham is by far the better footballer.

Bellingham is a special, special footballer. Literally got it all. Foden is coming off a great season at city and there’s no doubt he’s an amazing talent, we just haven’t quite seen it yet in an England shirt - we shouldn’t forget he’s also played around 120 games over two years mostly in the highest intensity league

 

[Mucca Mad Boys]

I'll probably get crucified for this but Foden is probably the most overrated player in football right now. Good system player under Pep but a complete waste of time outside that one specific system surrounded by better foreign footballers.

Bellingham is by far the better footballer.

Foden is not overrated at all, but he’s struggling to impose himself on the game around Bellingham and Kane. He had moments to influence the game he misplaced passes against Serbia and Iceland - you can’t blame that on Southgate or his position

He’s played AM for England before and hasn’t convinced and in this team, Bellingham is absolutely the guy to play in that 10 role.

I back Foden to come good, particularly in those big moments that’ll come in the knockout rounds.

 

[David O'Day]

The Foden must play 10 argument doesn't hold water. The Guardian football podcast make a good point that almost 2/3 of his games last season for City were wide left or wide right.

 

[Evo1883]

Foden isn't overrated

 

[David O'Day]

I'll probably get crucified for this but Foden is probably the most overrated player in football right now. Good system player under Pep but a complete waste of time outside that one specific system surrounded by better foreign footballers.

Bellingham is by far the better footballer.

Bellingham is the best 10 in the world by miles, it is madness to want to play someone else at 10.

 

[Mucca Mad Boys]

The Foden must play 10 argument doesn't hold water. The Guardian football podcast make a good point that almost 2/3 of his games last season for City were wide left or wide right.

That and Bellingham’s form for England makes this a pretty open and shut case. If Foden can’t perform at LW, he should be dropped.

 

[ovduk78]

If MR thinks that our players should be versatile to play in different positions then surely we can expect Foden etc to be able to do it. Bellingham isn't just a 10, he can play anywhere so if he drops alongside Rice then Foden or Palmer can become our 10.

 

[David O'Day]

If MR thinks that our players should be versatile to play in different positions then surely we can expect Foden etc to be able to do it. Bellingham isn't just a 10, he can play anywhere so if he drops alongside Rice then Foden or Palmer can become our 10.

why play a lesser player there though? why force foden in when he plays more games wide for city anyway?

Palmer plays wide a lot as well, it's not about picking the best 11 players and forcing them in to the same team