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Post by Pilch on Jul 12, 2021 13:58:31 GMT 1
Southgate said he chose the 5 penalty takers based on how they did in training. Well even I know that what happens in training is completely different to the biggest arena they could play in with the largest and most partisan crowd hoping for something after 55 years. There just cannot be that pressure in training, there just can’t. we needed our most experienced, intimidating, players to take those penalties surely? Maybe rashford perfected his technique in training with de gea in goal
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Post by martinshrew on Jul 12, 2021 14:09:12 GMT 1
We sat back far to deep, we play 5-5-0 for 90% of the 2nd half.
To not get at those centre halves in the 2nd period was criminal.
As for the penalties I ranged from nervous, to apprehensive then just plain annoyed with the last three.
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Post by davycrockett on Jul 12, 2021 14:15:53 GMT 1
Southgate said he chose the 5 penalty takers based on how they did in training. I’d like him to admit he got it wrong. No pressure in training so irrelevant how an 18/19 year old takes the kick in practice. He’s been in the same position and suffered ever since. To put young players in that position is just wrong. Felt for Saka especially… Think Pickford could have got the player of the tournament if we’d won too.
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Post by GrizzlyShrew on Jul 12, 2021 14:42:42 GMT 1
I 100% agree with sentiment that tactically we could have changed things before Italy equalised and it was depressingly similar to the Croatian game. Southgate has been a lucky manager in that we've had easy routes through to a major semi final and final but you'd of thought playing Iceland in the last Euros would have been an easy game. So hats off to him. However,maybe the FA could look to add to his coaching team so they become more proactive tactically? With World Cup Qualifying to come there's plenty of games to work on things and hopefully a couple of the younger players will have great PL seasons and step up another level for the World Cup. I agree in 2018, but beating Germany and Denmark (ranked 10th in the world) was not easy It’s been brilliant, with an all too familiar gutting ending But at least this time we didnt get beat by anyone at all, only in a shoot out to decide a winner when they are likely to play on as a draw till the cows come home. Although Italy were the better side overall I never felt we were in any real danger of conceding another (or scoring ourselves) barring some major piece of magic.
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Post by northwestman on Jul 12, 2021 14:46:16 GMT 1
First Harry Kane and Harry Maguire. Solid and emphatic. Up third was Marcus Rashford, who felt like an extra on a movie set at Euro 2020 and then here he was at the last, asked to deliver the production’s biggest line right at the death. Rashford seemed to be waiting for something as the referee blew his whistle and stared at the Manchester United man. It was long enough that you wondered whether Rashford was having second thoughts, or perhaps third thoughts. He moved around the ball in an arc and when finally he picked his spot it was against the post.
Then from Jadon Sancho, Rashford’s new United team-mate, another shot within the orbit of the great reach of Donnarumma. It would have been over so much sooner were it not for an astonishing save from Pickford to keep England in it. Somehow he got to the penalty of Jorginho, the penalty-spot assassin for Chelsea. The man who sealed the victory over Spain earlier in the tournament as if he were rolling in a putt in his front room. Pickford’s save felt monumental - for about two minutes, and then the third innocent approached.
Saka has never taken a penalty at senior level, either in a game or in a shootout. Who else might have stepped up in those moments? Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish, John Stones, Luke Shaw - all of them looked like they might just have managed the moment better.
No question that Rashford and Sancho would most likely have been the most adept penalty-takers in the hours of practice on the pitches nestled in those remote rolling hills of Staffordshire. It just never felt that way in the febrile atmosphere of a Wembley topped up with tension.
Daily Telegraph.
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Post by northwestman on Jul 12, 2021 15:01:37 GMT 1
Grealish is now claiming he wanted to take a penalty, but was prevented from doing so by Southgate.
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Post by The Shropshire Tenor on Jul 12, 2021 15:07:59 GMT 1
Not sour grapes at all but Southgate has to be the luckiest manager ever? If he had sense he’d step down now and be remembered as the “hero” who us to the the final of euros and semi worlds Not sure he has much tactical knowledge. Got the easiest run to World Cup semis ever known to man and had a good result against Germany in the euros and apart from that was easy street Well for sure he will be leading us to next years world cup. And I'm OK with that. He deserves another go. Still a relatively young manager with a young squad. I don't agree that England did better than expected this tournament or that this isn't a disappointment, mind. It is. Big time. With the number of games we did get to play at Wembley this was our best chance for a while. Plus as you say, we didn't have the hardest group and we were lucky enough to come across Ukraine in the last 16 (no disrespect to them but if we could have selected a last 16 tie, that would have been it). Good result against Germany of course which made my tournament but then the semi wasn't that convincing and we came up short last night by a fair bit (I think the second half possession stats were something like 70/20). He is a good man, clearly. He loves his country and you have no doubt that he is doing all that he can to see us succeed. But at the end of the day he is there to win trophies. And he was given probably the best chance to do so for any England manager perhaps since 1966, yet we came up short. I think next year will be his last chance. You don’t agree that England did better than expected? Do you want to edit your prediction on page 1 of this thread?
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Post by stuttgartershrew on Jul 12, 2021 15:25:41 GMT 1
Well for sure he will be leading us to next years world cup. And I'm OK with that. He deserves another go. Still a relatively young manager with a young squad. I don't agree that England did better than expected this tournament or that this isn't a disappointment, mind. It is. Big time. With the number of games we did get to play at Wembley this was our best chance for a while. Plus as you say, we didn't have the hardest group and we were lucky enough to come across Ukraine in the last 16 (no disrespect to them but if we could have selected a last 16 tie, that would have been it). Good result against Germany of course which made my tournament but then the semi wasn't that convincing and we came up short last night by a fair bit (I think the second half possession stats were something like 70/20). He is a good man, clearly. He loves his country and you have no doubt that he is doing all that he can to see us succeed. But at the end of the day he is there to win trophies. And he was given probably the best chance to do so for any England manager perhaps since 1966, yet we came up short. I think next year will be his last chance. You don’t agree that England did better than expected? Do you want to edit your prediction on page 1 of this thread? I don't think you can look to that and say that we did better than expected. I mean, I talk about semi-final and we went just the one step further to the final and that was after coming up against a Denmark side in the semi finals I would expect us to beat more times than not. I mean if I had said last 16 or quarters I could kinda take your point but one spot out, no. We were expected to go deep into the tournament and we did so.
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Post by venceremos on Jul 12, 2021 15:55:47 GMT 1
The team did better than we expected and they seem a good bunch of lads lead by a decent and honourable man. Yes, mistakes were made but hindsight is a wonderful thing where we can get every decision right. The team us to the last game of a major tournament for the first time in the lives of many people, something to build on with such a young and inexperienced group. So I’m disappointed but looking forward to the future of the national team with more optimism than for many decades. Agree completely. People have short memories. Those too young to remember the many occasions when England weren't even good enough to qualify for tournaments might at least remember the awful no-shows we've sometimes made when we have qualified. Yet here we are, semi finalist and finalist in successive tournaments. We may not have won but that's a better record than anyone - Italy, France, Argentina, anyone. Sure as clockwork, here come the "England had an easy run" voices, as though somehow our places in the late stages weren't justified. No doubt they've fully researched the routes to the semi finals of every team in every major tournament to reach that conclusion. Or perhaps they're just spouting meaningless nonsense. Unbelievable to hear some voices saying Southgate should go. Some odd parallels with the semi final loss to Croatia - going ahead early on with a goal from a full back (Trippier 5 mins, Shaw 2 mins), 1-0 at half time, equaliser midway through the second half (68 mins Croatia, 67 mins Italy), 1-1 full time. For what it's worth I think England - and Southgate - have had an excellent tournament. He got all the major decisions right until yesterday, in spite of some fierce criticism, and I'd rather have it that way round than have a manager get decisions wrong early on or, even worse, bow to the Championship Manager mentality of some of the critics and pick a team to placate them. We drew yesterday; we lost a penalty shoot out, not the match. That meant we were unbeaten in the tournament - 5 wins, 2 draws, the same as Italy. Only the penalty shoot out stood between us and a tournament win. Penalty shoot outs are a strange solution to a drawn game, although I don't know if there's a better one. When it goes to penalties, I'm disappointed my team didn't win the match. A win on penalties is less satisfying to me than winning the game itself. Man United beating Bayern Munich to win the Champions League was great, beating Chelsea on penalties wasn't as satisfying - it should have been won during the 120 minutes. Similarly yesterday. After starting so well, the game became disappointing. Of course Italy are too good a team not to fight back and the last 25 minutes of the first half saw an even contest after England's early dominance. But I think England lost the final in the second half, by failing ever to threaten to regain the initiative. Their tempo dropped and, once Italy equalised (such a scabby goal too!), England couldn't pick up the pace again. And that's where I wish Southgate had been bolder. Before the match, I thought Lampard was right to say the team selection was good and designed to give England the width they needed to stretch Italy's midfield 3, which was better and more experienced than ours. It worked. But then it needed the advantage from the bench, that everybody said England had, to be used - and Southgate chose not to. Saka for Trippier wasn't enough. Mount had been ineffective and should have been replaced - Grealish, Sancho, Rashford were wasted on the bench when they could have come on to add energy and support for Kane against the old men of Italy's defence. But he didn't do it. And there was an unusual amateurishness about the length of time it to bring Rashford and Sancho on as extra time ran out. Who knows whether that might have been crucial but it can't be sensible to have two of your penalties taken by players for whom it was just about their first kick of the game. A 19 year old taking the last penalty? Could have gone another way - a youngster not fazed by the pressure everyone else is feeling. No blame attaches to any of them though. It's easy to miss a penalty like that - ask Jorginho, Belotti or Mbappé. One last point. Although it was an even contest (ignore the stats, an early goal distorts them), Italy's midfield was stronger. Rice and Phillips are similar players, Mount is creative, but none of them is a player capable of dictating the game. Italy's success was built on Jorginho, Verratti and Barella. France built their World Cup success on the midfield of Kante, Pogba and Matuidi. Yes, we have great attacking talent but we don't yet have a midfield strong enough to allow us to deploy it against the best opponents, and I'm sure that's why Southgate is so cautious. It's not fear, it's recognising vulnerabilities. We need to find that midfield if we're to take that final step - and the answer isn't simply to play Grealish. Great effort though - a young, likeable team, excellently managed and making very few mistakes - 9/10 and real optimism for the future.
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Post by venceremos on Jul 12, 2021 15:57:57 GMT 1
Southgate said he chose the 5 penalty takers based on how they did in training. I’d like him to admit he got it wrong. No pressure in training so irrelevant how an 18/19 year old takes the kick in practice. He’s been in the same position and suffered ever since. To put young players in that position is just wrong. Felt for Saka especially… Think Pickford could have got the player of the tournament if we’d won too. Jorginho is one of the best penalty takers in the world and missed his. It's not as easy as saying the penalty takers need to be experienced because there's no experience like it. And sometimes 19 year olds don't have the world on their shoulders and the weight of past failures on their minds. It was a judgment, it didn't pay off and that should be the end of it.
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Post by davycrockett on Jul 12, 2021 16:03:31 GMT 1
Grealish is now claiming he wanted to take a penalty, but was prevented from doing so by Southgate. Why would you doubt him,? Southgate has said he chose the penalty takers based on the performances in training. Think Grealish is the sort of confidant player who's always put his hand up.
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Post by Pilch on Jul 12, 2021 16:06:35 GMT 1
We sat back far to deep, we play 5-5-0 for 90% of the 2nd half. To not get at those centre halves in the 2nd period was criminal. As for the penalties I ranged from nervous, to apprehensive then just plain annoyed with the last three. I was amazed when Maguire stepped up to take one, in fact I thought it was crazy, turned out to be the best pen of the tournament, at least we had a keeper who actually made a great effort to save them, and yet I still think he could have done better on one of them lol
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Post by northwestman on Jul 12, 2021 16:06:45 GMT 1
Grealish is now claiming he wanted to take a penalty, but was prevented from doing so by Southgate. Why would you doubt him,? Southgate has said he chose the penalty takers based on the performances in training. Think Grealish is the sort of confidant player who's always put his hand up. I don't, but clearly others do, as he's felt obliged to defend himself on Twitter.
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Post by stuttgartershrew on Jul 12, 2021 16:07:26 GMT 1
Saka has never taken a penalty at senior level, either in a game or in a shootout. There is footage available that shows Southgate going around the team informing each player when they would be up. So it does look as though this was all decided by the manager, as in there doesn't appear to have been a conflab between the players and management as to who would take them and when. So not only had Saka not taken one at senior level, he goes and gives him the last one. And if the penalties have gone that far then that's pretty much a must score or you are out (as it turned out to be). I think that was asking too much of Saka, big time.
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Post by GrizzlyShrew on Jul 12, 2021 16:14:22 GMT 1
The team did better than we expected and they seem a good bunch of lads lead by a decent and honourable man. Yes, mistakes were made but hindsight is a wonderful thing where we can get every decision right. The team us to the last game of a major tournament for the first time in the lives of many people, something to build on with such a young and inexperienced group. So I’m disappointed but looking forward to the future of the national team with more optimism than for many decades. Agree completely. People have short memories. Those too young to remember the many occasions when England weren't even good enough to qualify for tournaments might at least remember the awful no-shows we've sometimes made when we have qualified. Yet here we are, semi finalist and finalist in successive tournaments. We may not have won but that's a better record than anyone - Italy, France, Argentina, anyone. Sure as clockwork, here come the "England had an easy run" voices, as though somehow our places in the late stages weren't justified. No doubt they've fully researched the routes to the semi finals of every team in every major tournament to reach that conclusion. Or perhaps they're just spouting meaningless nonsense. Unbelievable to hear some voices saying Southgate should go. Some odd parallels with the semi final loss to Croatia - going ahead early on with a goal from a full back (Trippier 5 mins, Shaw 2 mins), 1-0 at half time, equaliser midway through the second half (68 mins Croatia, 67 mins Italy), 1-1 full time. For what it's worth I think England - and Southgate - have had an excellent tournament. He got all the major decisions right until yesterday, in spite of some fierce criticism, and I'd rather have it that way round than have a manager get decisions wrong early on or, even worse, bow to the Championship Manager mentality of some of the critics and pick a team to placate them. We drew yesterday; we lost a penalty shoot out, not the match. That meant we were unbeaten in the tournament - 5 wins, 2 draws, the same as Italy. Only the penalty shoot out stood between us and a tournament win. Penalty shoot outs are a strange solution to a drawn game, although I don't know if there's a better one. When it goes to penalties, I'm disappointed my team didn't win the match. A win on penalties is less satisfying to me than winning the game itself. Man United beating Bayern Munich to win the Champions League was great, beating Chelsea on penalties wasn't as satisfying - it should have been won during the 120 minutes. Similarly yesterday. After starting so well, the game became disappointing. Of course Italy are too good a team not to fight back and the last 25 minutes of the first half saw an even contest after England's early dominance. But I think England lost the final in the second half, by failing ever to threaten to regain the initiative. Their tempo dropped and, once Italy equalised (such a scabby goal too!), England couldn't pick up the pace again. And that's where I wish Southgate had been bolder. Before the match, I thought Lampard was right to say the team selection was good and designed to give England the width they needed to stretch Italy's midfield 3, which was better and more experienced than ours. It worked. But then it needed the advantage from the bench, that everybody said England had, to be used - and Southgate chose not to. Saka for Trippier wasn't enough. Mount had been ineffective and should have been replaced - Grealish, Sancho, Rashford were wasted on the bench when they could have come on to add energy and support for Kane against the old men of Italy's defence. But he didn't do it. And there was an unusual amateurishness about the length of time it to bring Rashford and Sancho on as extra time ran out. Who knows whether that might have been crucial but it can't be sensible to have two of your penalties taken by players for whom it was just about their first kick of the game. A 19 year old taking the last penalty? Could have gone another way - a youngster not fazed by the pressure everyone else is feeling. No blame attaches to any of them though. It's easy to miss a penalty like that - ask Jorginho, Belotti or Mbappé. One last point. Although it was an even contest (ignore the stats, an early goal distorts them), Italy's midfield was stronger. Rice and Phillips are similar players, Mount is creative, but none of them is a player capable of dictating the game. Italy's success was built on Jorginho, Verratti and Barella. France built their World Cup success on the midfield of Kante, Pogba and Matuidi. Yes, we have great attacking talent but we don't yet have a midfield strong enough to allow us to deploy it against the best opponents, and I'm sure that's why Southgate is so cautious. It's not fear, it's recognising vulnerabilities. We need to find that midfield if we're to take that final step - and the answer isn't simply to play Grealish. Great effort though - a young, likeable team, excellently managed and making very few mistakes - 9/10 and real optimism for the future. Great post
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Post by davycrockett on Jul 12, 2021 16:15:08 GMT 1
I’d like him to admit he got it wrong. No pressure in training so irrelevant how an 18/19 year old takes the kick in practice. He’s been in the same position and suffered ever since. To put young players in that position is just wrong. Felt for Saka especially… Think Pickford could have got the player of the tournament if we’d won too. Jorginho is one of the best penalty takers in the world and missed his. It's not as easy as saying the penalty takers need to be experienced because there's no experience like it. And sometimes 19 year olds don't have the world on their shoulders and the weight of past failures on their minds. It was a judgment, it didn't pay off and that should be the end of it. Would suggest Jorginho penalty was well saved against the odds, Rashford missed the target Sancho's and Saka's were poor efforts affected by nerves...
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Post by GrizzlyShrew on Jul 12, 2021 16:17:23 GMT 1
Saka has never taken a penalty at senior level, either in a game or in a shootout. There is footage available that shows Southgate going around the team informing each player when they would be up. So it does look as though this was all decided by the manager, as in there doesn't appear to have been a conflab between the players and management as to who would take them and when. So not only had Saka not taken one at senior level, he goes and gives him the last one. And if the penalties have gone that far then that's pretty much a must score or you are out (as it turned out to be). I think that was asking too much of Saka, big time. You are probably right, but Southgate might have been thinking that Saka might not have needed to take that last penalty if things had gone a little differently. Just a thought.
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Post by Worthingshrew on Jul 12, 2021 16:25:34 GMT 1
When it went to pens, I thought to myself, there’s no way we’ll win this. At 2-1 up, I thought can’t see us scoring remaining 3 to win it. When saw Saka step up for last pen, was gobsmacked. Surely a senior pro like Stones, Shaw or Grealish should have stepped up.
When we hear about the meticulous detail they go to, to be so poor at the pens was amateurish I’m afraid to say, and that’s not with the benefit of hindsight.
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Post by stuttgartershrew on Jul 12, 2021 16:26:02 GMT 1
There is footage available that shows Southgate going around the team informing each player when they would be up. So it does look as though this was all decided by the manager, as in there doesn't appear to have been a conflab between the players and management as to who would take them and when. So not only had Saka not taken one at senior level, he goes and gives him the last one. And if the penalties have gone that far then that's pretty much a must score or you are out (as it turned out to be). I think that was asking too much of Saka, big time. You are probably right, but Southgate might have been thinking that Saka might not have needed to take that last penalty if things had gone a little differently. Just a thought. Well that would concern me further if that was the case.
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Post by venceremos on Jul 12, 2021 16:27:25 GMT 1
Jorginho is one of the best penalty takers in the world and missed his. It's not as easy as saying the penalty takers need to be experienced because there's no experience like it. And sometimes 19 year olds don't have the world on their shoulders and the weight of past failures on their minds. It was a judgment, it didn't pay off and that should be the end of it. Would suggest Jorginho penalty was well saved against the odds, Rashford missed the target Sancho's and Saka's were poor efforts affected by nerves... A missed penalty is a missed penalty. I doubt Jorginho thinks his was a good penalty.
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Post by The Shropshire Tenor on Jul 12, 2021 16:27:42 GMT 1
You don’t agree that England did better than expected? Do you want to edit your prediction on page 1 of this thread? I don't think you can look to that and say that we did better than expected. I mean, I talk about semi-final and we went just the one step further to the final and that was after coming up against a Denmark side in the semi finals I would expect us to beat more times than not. I mean if I had said last 16 or quarters I could kinda take your point but one spot out, no. We were expected to go deep into the tournament and we did so. I quote you - "England to make it to the semis".
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Post by stuttgartershrew on Jul 12, 2021 16:29:56 GMT 1
I don't think you can look to that and say that we did better than expected. I mean, I talk about semi-final and we went just the one step further to the final and that was after coming up against a Denmark side in the semi finals I would expect us to beat more times than not. I mean if I had said last 16 or quarters I could kinda take your point but one spot out, no. We were expected to go deep into the tournament and we did so. I quote you - "England to make it to the semis". Yes, I know you are and that is why I responded as I did.
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Post by venceremos on Jul 12, 2021 16:36:53 GMT 1
Hindsight's a wonderful thing.
Easy to be critical of the decision as to who the penalty takers should have been but it's pure hindsight. It was experienced players (Pearce and Waddle) who missed the penalties in the 1990 World Cup semi final and Southgate made his selection based on the penalty drills they'd done in training. If he'd ignored that evidence and lost the shoot out, there'd have been people asking why he gave penalties to players who hadn't done as well in practice.
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Post by The Shropshire Tenor on Jul 12, 2021 16:40:27 GMT 1
I was about to post about Italy before the comprehensive from Venceremos, it had occurred to me when reading reactions that the excellence of Italy was being ignored.
Their midfield was exceptionally good and ours couldn't match their movement and sharpness of passing.
I'm hoping Foden will develop into the type of playmaker we need.
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Post by venceremos on Jul 12, 2021 17:19:06 GMT 1
I was about to post about Italy before the comprehensive from Venceremos, it had occurred to me when reading reactions that the excellence of Italy was being ignored. Their midfield was exceptionally good and ours couldn't match their movement and sharpness of passing. I'm hoping Foden will develop into the type of playmaker we need. Off the top of my head, I can't think of a tournament winner in the modern era that didn't have that player - and balanced support around him in midfield. When we can pick a midfield with either Rice or Phillips, instead of both, we might be onto something.
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Post by Pilch on Jul 12, 2021 17:34:40 GMT 1
When it went to pens, I thought to myself, there’s no way we’ll win this. At 2-1 up, I thought can’t see us scoring remaining 3 to win it. When saw Saka step up for last pen, was gobsmacked. Surely a senior pro like Stones, Shaw or Grealish should have stepped up. When we hear about the meticulous detail they go to, to be so poor at the pens was amateurish I’m afraid to say, and that’s not with the benefit of hindsight. a senior pro ? bit like waddle, Pearce, Southgate, batty ? if this happened again tonight, I'd have Kane as number 5 and saka as the first but saka would certainly be before stones or shaw the only annoyance for me was rashford and his messing about, thy look cool when they go in, and s**t when they dont hit the target, hit it hard, no messing around
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Post by AlisonS on Jul 12, 2021 18:26:19 GMT 1
Hindsight's a wonderful thing. Easy to be critical of the decision as to who the penalty takers should have been but it's pure hindsight. It was experienced players (Pearce and Waddle) who missed the penalties in the 1990 World Cup semi final and Southgate made his selection based on the penalty drills they'd done in training. If he'd ignored that evidence and lost the shoot out, there'd have been people asking why he gave penalties to players who hadn't done as well in practice. Just amazing...how many seem to think they know more about taking penalties in Euro/World tournaments than Southgate... ANYONE can miss a penalty - Kane made penalties watchable in 2018 World Cup and missed last week - and wouldn’t we all have staked our last fiver on Luke Rogers st Stoke?
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crayfish
Shropshire County League
Posts: 90
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Post by crayfish on Jul 12, 2021 18:49:50 GMT 1
Not sour grapes at all but Southgate has to be the luckiest manager ever? If he had sense he’d step down now and be remembered as the “hero” who us to the the final of euros and semi worlds Not sure he has much tactical knowledge. Got the easiest run to World Cup semis ever known to man and had a good result against Germany in the euros and apart from that was easy street Never really rated Sougate that highly as a manager. He was at best average at Middlesborough getting them relegated at a time when they were a fairly big spending side. He got lucky taking over the England under 21s when they had such a good bunch of talented players any halfway competent manager would have been successful with them. To me he is a plan A manger when plan A is going right he is fine but if plan A isn't going right he doesn't quite have the tactical nous or bravery to put it right. Last night his limitations were there to be seen. He does a reasonably good job for England but to actually win something rather than be beaten semi-finalist or finalists you need someone that bit better.
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Post by venceremos on Jul 12, 2021 19:49:01 GMT 1
Not sour grapes at all but Southgate has to be the luckiest manager ever? If he had sense he’d step down now and be remembered as the “hero” who us to the the final of euros and semi worlds Not sure he has much tactical knowledge. Got the easiest run to World Cup semis ever known to man and had a good result against Germany in the euros and apart from that was easy street Never really rated Sougate that highly as a manager. He was at best average at Middlesborough getting them relegated at a time when they were a fairly big spending side. He got lucky taking over the England under 21s when they had such a good bunch of talented players any halfway competent manager would have been successful with them. To me he is a plan A manger when plan A is going right he is fine but if plan A isn't going right he doesn't quite have the tactical nous or bravery to put it right. Last night his limitations were there to be seen. He does a reasonably good job for England but to actually win something rather than be beaten semi-finalist or finalists you need someone that bit better. I think it's a midfield that bit better that's needed for us to win a tournament, not a manager. The notion that any halfway competent manager will be successful with a bunch of talented players has been disproved so many times I'm amazed anyone thinks it's still a valid point.
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Post by servernaside on Jul 12, 2021 19:49:51 GMT 1
First Harry Kane and Harry Maguire. Solid and emphatic. Up third was Marcus Rashford, who felt like an extra on a movie set at Euro 2020 and then here he was at the last, asked to deliver the production’s biggest line right at the death. Rashford seemed to be waiting for something as the referee blew his whistle and stared at the Manchester United man. It was long enough that you wondered whether Rashford was having second thoughts, or perhaps third thoughts. He moved around the ball in an arc and when finally he picked his spot it was against the post. Then from Jadon Sancho, Rashford’s new United team-mate, another shot within the orbit of the great reach of Donnarumma. It would have been over so much sooner were it not for an astonishing save from Pickford to keep England in it. Somehow he got to the penalty of Jorginho, the penalty-spot assassin for Chelsea. The man who sealed the victory over Spain earlier in the tournament as if he were rolling in a putt in his front room. Pickford’s save felt monumental - for about two minutes, and then the third innocent approached. Saka has never taken a penalty at senior level, either in a game or in a shootout. Who else might have stepped up in those moments? Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish, John Stones, Luke Shaw - all of them looked like they might just have managed the moment better. No question that Rashford and Sancho would most likely have been the most adept penalty-takers in the hours of practice on the pitches nestled in those remote rolling hills of Staffordshire. It just never felt that way in the febrile atmosphere of a Wembley topped up with tension. Daily Telegraph. So true. Appalling lack of judgment by Southgate.
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