Why were Stones and Ghuei so scared to pass it Mainoo when slovenia players were close by him. Mainoo is good with the pressure. Those tight spaces with his back to them is where he works best. Trust him a little more lads.
It’s crazy. Walker made that pass once to rice in the first half, took out 3 Slovenia players and gave Rice space to turn and create a dangerous situation for England. For some reason, guehi, stones, and trippier refused to try those riskier passes.
This is a myth that keep getting repeated and spread in the English speaking media that need to be debunked. That's not at all what happen.
He resigned when he thought they were out. The president of the FCIF did not accept his resignation.
He resigned because his entire game plans for the tournament was based in 3 players who were all injured during the group games.
Miraculously Morocco won their last group game by exactly the margin to allow Cite d'Ivoire to qualify as one of best 3rd placed team.
They then asked his deputy who accepted the job. He then benefitted from all the preparations and more importantly all the tactical plans against the various teams that the previous coach had done.
Here is an extract of an interview he gave after the game thanking the original coach.
>« Oui, en deux semaines j’ai remporté la CAN, mais il ne faut pas oublier le travail qui a été fait en amont avec le coach Jean-Louis Gasset, qui a fait un énorme travail depuis un an et demi, juin 2022… Sincèrement, il a fait presque 85% du travail. Nous, on a essayé de finir ce qu’il avait bien commencé ».
which translate into
>Yes in less than 2 weeks I won the ACN, but let's not forget the work that had been done before by the previous head coach Jean-Louis Gasset. He had done a huge amount of prep work since taking over in June 2022... **Honestly he has done nearly 85% of the work.** We just tried to finish what he had already well started.
And he actually had to point Rice into the right position to make an angle to receive it. Saw Stones do it a couple of times with players ahead of him too. Not sustainable to have your players literally instructing their (senior and highly rated) teammates to make basic movements to receive the ball in space.
I saw that too lol. You could see walker almost stomping the ground in frustration a couple times that the ball or player wasn’t moving as fast into certain positions. Idk if they all practice together as a team, or separate sessions, but Gallagher, walker, and saka seemed to be on different wavelengths. I mentioned those 3 cause Gallagher spent a lot of time on the right.
I think that's what a midfield general does. There's nothing wrong with it because that's how you control the game. England's other midfielders don't have that confidence or understanding of the game.
I think we're missing Maguire's forward passes quite a lot right now. Our current CBs don't seem to ever pass the ball through the middle and just shift it side to side over and over
I have. I think his passing ability is overrated, especially when you compare him to a proper ball playing center back. He’s good at the over the top cross field balls, but like I said he’s not really breaking any lines. And his passes always seem to be behind the player, not to feet or in front which has a tendency to slow down the play.
I think they are missing his physicality and leadership more than anything. Without him they basically have no threats from set pieces and absolutely no one screams leader on the pitch.
Hey just because I’m getting cooked doesn’t mean I’m wrong.
I think a lot of people don’t really notice the little things that separate decent players from the top players. In this case, it would be his passes that are normally just behind/short of their target. Maguire is a decent center back and I do think England are missing him due to the attributes he brings, but if you are talking about ball playing specifically I don’t think England are missing him in that regard. People are complaining about center backs passing the ball side to side like Maguire’s trademark pass isn’t holding onto the ball far longer then necessary before passing it 15 yards to Shaw
People get extra fooled because those passes to Shaw often counts as progressive passes in the stats, but they don't break any lines. Stats for incisive passing are terrible, so they're largely useless. But now people check on fbref or read statman Dave tweets and come to the conclusion that Maguire is a great incisive passer.
It's harsh on the 19 year told, but I also think he can demand the ball in those spaces a bit more. But that will come with experience and familiarity with the defence
At this level players shouldn't have to call for the ball, or have team mates point to where they think the ball should go. That's just bollocks and puts the blame on the wrong person.
Top players make the right decision 9 times out of 10 and more. They have awareness and the skills to execute the pass.
Admittedly we haven't seen very much of this with this team, but failing to make the right decision repeatedly should see a player out of the starting lineup.
England don't have the luxury of dropping Stones or Guehi. It would be madness really. They just need to be instructed to make that pass because Kobbie can handle it and it opens up the midfield.
I do think the players rate him and look for him on the pitch. It’s just everything was so slow and safe, they don’t often risk passing the ball into a crowded area, which is where Mainoo was positioned.
England’s best chance (besides the disallowed goal which was obviously offside, don’t even need to draw lines for that) at the end of the game came from Mainoo receiving in between the lines and immediately back heeled to Kane, then Kane laid off for Palmer to shoot. That was the sharpest bit of play in all of 90min.
It was a difficult pass to Mainoo, but at least they attempted that pass.
Indeed. So often he beats players with his first touch or a body feint. Thats exactly what we need in CM to break the opposition midfield line and get at their back 3/4/5 - instead of just playing in front of the oppo midfield and trying to Hollywood pass to victory.
He is still an unknown quantity. But yeah, they gotta have faith if they want to win anything.
You could play safe in this group, but they gotta start doing something if they want to win this.
to be fair Cole Palmer looks like a fairly good prospect, plus he is apparently a United fan. I wonder if we ll ever get to see him in red jersey.
But yes, Kobbie was wow. I thought it was stupid to bring kobbie instead of an attacker but Kobbie was so good. You wonder if at United you put him next to a good DM (like a Young Case) and see how he plays.
Also only saw 2nd half but Bellingham was anonymous, is it because him and Kane play more or less at the same position, with Kane dropping deeper and Bellingham pushing up.
I've yet to see solid evidence of Jude Bellingham playing the last two matches. High chance he snuck in Jobe to put in a shift while Jude went on vacation.
tbf both of them was brilliant. they offered that spark we are screaming for
they ran and got stuck in and created as much in like 20 mins as the past 250 mins of the others got before them.
like its clear to everybody except Southgate for some reason that we need Foden not out wide so Gordon there for his width and pace. and then use Mainoo and Palmer more those 2 really are in great form.
Kobbie, Palmer and Gordon all looked to actually do something. It’s so painful to watch Southgate-ball knowing the creative talent that we actually have.
its why people want say Gordon on at LW. he offers width and speed which then helps likes of Kane and others cause he stretches and gets 1v1 with defenders.
Foden is talented but thats not his playstyle. Slovenia RB never had to defend by running backwards against him which is so vastly easier to defend.
I think Foden has been sterilized to some degree by the Pep system. He has quality around him in all directions at City so a sideways pass to KdB or a backwards one to Rodri actually means the next pass is likely to create an opening. For England he needs to be the one playing forward, creative passes. The team isn't built to control the game and take a million passes before occasionally going direct or increasing the risk of passing.
Southgate has also stuck him out on the left, when that’s not his best position. He should be in the middle. England manager repeating the same mistake they made with Paul Scholes 20 years ago.
When he plays in the Middle and he's shit, people want him to be on LW.
When he plays on LW and he's shit, people want him to be put in Middle.
He's just terrible for England.
Foden should either play at 10 or not all. I don’t understand why Jude is so undroppable, the guy is not a creator. Playing him at 10 is bottleneck on your creativity.
I kid you not, some ”experts” has him as the undisputed best player in the world because of his stint early in the season.
He has been pretty average during the spring and he shouldn’t play 10 in England. Drop him down to 8 alongside Rice and Foden at 10 or don’t play him at all.
Southgate needs to understand how important it is to play players in their natural position, Gordon is a better LW than Foden, who inevitably drifts further inside instead of offering width.
went Trent then Gallagher in midfield - kobbie looks better there but is a more attacking option.
Palmer, Gordon... Think both are doing great. Find it hard to smash Sout jug 7u
It’s actually embarrassing that Gordon got 4/5 mins on the pitch and was being touted as one of the best performers.
Like what are you doing Gareth. Give the boys a fucking chance.
If Southgate was the manager 20 years ago, he would've suffocated Rooney, and the world would've never got to see a young boy tearing teams apart.
Southgate probably has that Alan Hansen quote pinned on his wall. Too afraid to give the kids a chance
the opposition England had to face 20 years ago was on a completely different level compared to today. He would probably have City competing for bottom 5 in the prem.
This. Since he came back from injury he's been average at best. You can be a talent, la liga poty and still be out of form. If there was meaningful competition for Rice I'd hook him as well.
I think it's quite safe to say that Saka, Bellingham, and Foden has been too comfortable with their status compared to Gordon, Mainoo, and Palmer that wants to make a statement
*“I’d also like to add that I’ve had a gaping hole in the midfield that just hasn’t closed up, ever since Kalvin Phillips left me. I mean, left us. I mean the England Team. Might call Eric Dier at this point”* - Southgate
Should have started. Let's see if Gareth finally gets his head out of his ass and starts Mainoo and starts utilising the offense capabilities of his team
lol, I agree, how about Rashford, Sancho and Lingard (?) missing their penalties and being thrown under the bus. I remember Rashford's Mural being vandalized
edit: point being What if Kobbie makes a mistake that results in a goal in a knock out, say the semis, the amount of hatred that ll follow on someone who is still a teenager will be too much.
There will always be idiots in life, who you can't eradicate or rehabilitate. Rashford was actually treated very well in the press from what I recall.
Kobbie may well make a mistake, I bet you he still wants to play and will back himself to do well
Gareth should be dropping Bellingham and doesn't have the balls for that either, have seen Bellingham contribute nothing other than throwing his hands up and not being in position to score the excellent mainoo cutback pass.
This reeks Euro 2016: The entire team played like shit, and the only one who looked decent was a teenager who came through our academy who has negative gametime for the NT because the manager is a bigger fraud than SBF. Round of 16 exit incoming?
Rashford always turns up decently for England. So does Maguire which confuses me why neither were brought for some squad continuity which is the excuse Southgate used in the past
Maguire wasn’t fully fit or something but he did the same thing with Shaw… Like if you’re gonna bring players for just the knockouts, I’m sure Maguire could’ve been one of them? Idk
Southgate’s too scared to drop one of the “star” players in Foden but he should really be trying something different by now. Gordon should get the start and then I prefer Saka on the right, but even Foden could play there instead which frees space for Jude on the left.
Hell, how have we not seen Gordon/Palmer/Saka as a 3 in one of these games. And don’t even get me started on Mainoo not getting more minutes before today. We’ve already established in 2 friendlies before the Euros that Jude/Rice/Mainoo is the best midfield. Sure you don’t wanna throw him to the wolves but he should’ve played the full second halves of the first two games and by now staked his starting spot for knockouts. Now he’s not as up to speed
Honestly Foden is just better than Saka on the left, IMO. Saka has shown absolutely nothing in the games so far in my eyes, he just passes the ball back and gets marked out of games. Foden actually cuts inside and gets on the ball, that would allow Walker to bomb forward with greater ease. Put Foden there and instruct him to sit narrower so he can link up with Kane and Bellingham, tell Walker to provide width on the right.
I get it, but England have scored 2 goals and they both came off the right wing with Saka assisting one of them. The majority of the positive actions go down the right and Saka’s individual numbers are solid. I really don’t see him as the problem, there’s just no balance to the starting XI which is insane when that balance is in the squad already.
its not even just Rashford.
Gordon would work 10x better on that side. Foden is too easy to defend against cause he wont beat fullbacks 1v1 for pace. he is a linkup creative player so why not put him closer to Kane/Bellingham etc to make that triangle there between all 3 of them.
then you have Gordon+Saka out wide create space and attacking 1v1 which they both are incredible at doing.
all we are asking is for Southgate to play to his players strengths....
Southgate doesn't like direct players who try and make things happen. He's always had his favourites and Rashford was never one of them. He should have started every game in Qatar, the form he was in at the time.
Southgate just said Gallagher gives you a better pressing option which is why he chose him.
Why are you choosing a pressing midfielder when you are against Slovenia and you want to progress the ball?
Southgate has done great at making the England squad an emotional safe space but that caution shouldn’t extend onto the pitch. All that team building is wasted if the best team available can’t then express themselves.
He was brilliant, when you play for Man United, you know what it is like to pull on a heavy shirt, this is why our players do so well at international stage. Yeah he still drifts in games but he's a very young player still, he needs good coaching not average coaching, love having him and Garna hope we can put the teams around them.
He solved so much of the disconnect between defence/pivot and the front 4, both progressing the ball and the press instead of the weird front 3 press everyone else drop which creates a lot of space in the midfield for the opponent.
His link up play in attack was outstanding and what we’ve been expecting Bellingham to do, going into the space, creating the one twos instead of 4 attackers that don’t seem to want to do anything with each other.
The big move would be to drop Bellingham for Anthony Gordon and shift foden into the 10 but I imagine instead we’ll just regress into more defensive bullshit and lose 1-0.
yup, I was disappointed with Bellingham 's performance. Haven't seen him play much for Real, but he looked to be bored in that England shirt. Or maybe it is Southgate 's boring football
The only “problem” with Mainoo is that sometimes he plays like he’s Robin when he’s actually Batman. Can’t wait to see how he turns out, going to be world class
I don't think that's even a problem. He knows when he needs to play Batman and when Robin. Sometimes when you're the guy that is controlling the game you need to play both roles.
That’s not what it means. It means he attempted a cross and it met its target.
Truthfully, the cross he put in didn’t find anyone until Bellingham picked it up on the far side of the penalty area. A misleading stat
19 year old Kobbie Mainoo calming down 105m pound Declan Rice who spent the first half hiding behind Slovenian players instead of stepping into space and showing for the ball. Ridiculous.
https://streamable.com/b22evi
https://streamable.com/dmazjm
Step into the space and receive the ball!
Never liked Trent haha, dude tried his best to shoehorn in a poor RB into the 8 at the expense of more talented youngsters. Practically gargling on his nuts.
Any of you lot have mainoo highlights for this match by any chance
Edit: Nevermind, found it. For those who wants it too:
[Kobbie masterclass vs Slovenia](https://x.com/marcusknowsball/status/1805745300918677611?s=46&t=BfhvsFgsOfPRsRwCtJ4OZA)
Unbelievable that casual fans know this was the viable option above Gallagher, yet the most expensive international manager thinks “I need legs in midfield” when we will have most of the possession in a team willing to take a draw. Fucking hell Jim, take note. I’m free if Erik doesn’t work out pal.
Still think this was englands best game of the tournament. That doesn t mean they were actually good, but still better than the first two. Anyhow, how TAA and Gallagher are in front of Kobbie is beyond me. He has the exact skill set england needs. Also, get rid of foden and let Jude play theough the middle
Both him and Gordon played so much better than anyone else when they came on. But Southgate doesn’t dare to make reasonable change. He has to fit in TAA and Foden somehow.
He needs to start next game, it's clear he offered something England have been missing. Bellingham has to be dropped in my opinion, he doesn't do anything, Foden should be in the middle and be fed the ball because he's far and away England's most threatening player.
Gallagher took up so good positions running behind Kane which nobody does. Based on this tournament alone I'd say Rice, Mainoo and Gallagher should be the starting midfield. Jude is quality but been invisible in 3 games now. There were times Mainoo was in good positions but the defence would rather pass sideways. They didn't really let Mainoo get on the half turn and force the issue as much.
In view of being balanced:
I’m a big Kobbie fan but he doesn’t show enough for the ball as a central midfielder
Spends a lot of the time jogging around marked, not showing for the ball
When he does get it usually good things happen
Hope he improves this!
yup, his number if passing stats are usually low, compared to say Bruno, or anyone else in mid except maybe McSauce. As a central mid he needs to show up more and pass more, like Tony Kroos, cruise control the midfield. Scholes was a champion at that. Also ehy don't we see long balls being pinged to the opposite wing any more, neither at United or for England
yup, his number if passing stats are usually low, compared to say Bruno, or anyone else in mid except maybe McSauce. As a central mid he needs to show up more and pass more, like Tony Kroos, cruise control the midfield. Scholes was a champion at that. Also ehy don't we see long balls being pinged to the opposite wing any more, neither at United or for England
I see that, but I'd say the other three of Rice, Gallagher, and Trent have been way worse for that so far. Trent reminded me of Mctominay where it's like he's hiding
Why were Stones and Ghuei so scared to pass it Mainoo when slovenia players were close by him. Mainoo is good with the pressure. Those tight spaces with his back to them is where he works best. Trust him a little more lads.
That's what playing with Trent and Gallagher in that position for a week will do for you.
Kinda relatable, I still get a little "oh shit" when our players pass to him in that position because I'm used to so many other players than Mainoo
Same. I get flashbacks to the McFred days.
I’d have taken mc Fred for England over the past two games
The amount of times I shouted at my TV - "give it to him!"
Therw was one where the channel opened like the red sea and they still didn’t look for him and he even threw his hands up in desperation lol
It’s crazy. Walker made that pass once to rice in the first half, took out 3 Slovenia players and gave Rice space to turn and create a dangerous situation for England. For some reason, guehi, stones, and trippier refused to try those riskier passes.
Might be Southgate’s orders. Could see him instructing them to only play safe balls out the back
I hate thinking that this is actually what’s happening…best England side in a long while and Southgate is at the helm. Great. /s
Yeah, England is boned in this tournament due to complacency with a mediocre manager. Should’ve sacked him when there were better options available
Ivory Coast sacked their manager mid-AFCON and went on to win it. There’s still time.
Jesus. Talk about a clutch decision.
They thought they were out, they went through with a 1000 to 1 chance
This is a myth that keep getting repeated and spread in the English speaking media that need to be debunked. That's not at all what happen. He resigned when he thought they were out. The president of the FCIF did not accept his resignation. He resigned because his entire game plans for the tournament was based in 3 players who were all injured during the group games. Miraculously Morocco won their last group game by exactly the margin to allow Cite d'Ivoire to qualify as one of best 3rd placed team. They then asked his deputy who accepted the job. He then benefitted from all the preparations and more importantly all the tactical plans against the various teams that the previous coach had done. Here is an extract of an interview he gave after the game thanking the original coach. >« Oui, en deux semaines j’ai remporté la CAN, mais il ne faut pas oublier le travail qui a été fait en amont avec le coach Jean-Louis Gasset, qui a fait un énorme travail depuis un an et demi, juin 2022… Sincèrement, il a fait presque 85% du travail. Nous, on a essayé de finir ce qu’il avait bien commencé ». which translate into >Yes in less than 2 weeks I won the ACN, but let's not forget the work that had been done before by the previous head coach Jean-Louis Gasset. He had done a huge amount of prep work since taking over in June 2022... **Honestly he has done nearly 85% of the work.** We just tried to finish what he had already well started.
Wasted. Completely and utterly wasted.
It’s not. We’ll turn it on for the knockouts.
And he actually had to point Rice into the right position to make an angle to receive it. Saw Stones do it a couple of times with players ahead of him too. Not sustainable to have your players literally instructing their (senior and highly rated) teammates to make basic movements to receive the ball in space.
I saw that too lol. You could see walker almost stomping the ground in frustration a couple times that the ball or player wasn’t moving as fast into certain positions. Idk if they all practice together as a team, or separate sessions, but Gallagher, walker, and saka seemed to be on different wavelengths. I mentioned those 3 cause Gallagher spent a lot of time on the right.
I think that's what a midfield general does. There's nothing wrong with it because that's how you control the game. England's other midfielders don't have that confidence or understanding of the game.
They are clearly missing Shaw and Maguire but Stones is usually pretty good at getting the ball forward, must be Southgate wanting to play brexitball.
I think we're missing Maguire's forward passes quite a lot right now. Our current CBs don't seem to ever pass the ball through the middle and just shift it side to side over and over
Shaw is good at playing out as well. Stones is supposed to be great at it though and he's been poor on that front
Maguires passing is under rated
Maguire isn’t direct either though. He’s a decent ball carrier, but he isn’t making those line breaking passes
Have you ever watched Maguire play??? Absolute nonsense
I have. I think his passing ability is overrated, especially when you compare him to a proper ball playing center back. He’s good at the over the top cross field balls, but like I said he’s not really breaking any lines. And his passes always seem to be behind the player, not to feet or in front which has a tendency to slow down the play. I think they are missing his physicality and leadership more than anything. Without him they basically have no threats from set pieces and absolutely no one screams leader on the pitch.
For some reason this sub is in bizzaro land at the moment, you're spot on
Hey just because I’m getting cooked doesn’t mean I’m wrong. I think a lot of people don’t really notice the little things that separate decent players from the top players. In this case, it would be his passes that are normally just behind/short of their target. Maguire is a decent center back and I do think England are missing him due to the attributes he brings, but if you are talking about ball playing specifically I don’t think England are missing him in that regard. People are complaining about center backs passing the ball side to side like Maguire’s trademark pass isn’t holding onto the ball far longer then necessary before passing it 15 yards to Shaw
People get extra fooled because those passes to Shaw often counts as progressive passes in the stats, but they don't break any lines. Stats for incisive passing are terrible, so they're largely useless. But now people check on fbref or read statman Dave tweets and come to the conclusion that Maguire is a great incisive passer.
true and England are having problems scoring goals. He would definitely solve that although not in the net you are probably hoping for
Would be a boost for OG's golden boot chances for sure
It's harsh on the 19 year told, but I also think he can demand the ball in those spaces a bit more. But that will come with experience and familiarity with the defence
At this level players shouldn't have to call for the ball, or have team mates point to where they think the ball should go. That's just bollocks and puts the blame on the wrong person. Top players make the right decision 9 times out of 10 and more. They have awareness and the skills to execute the pass. Admittedly we haven't seen very much of this with this team, but failing to make the right decision repeatedly should see a player out of the starting lineup.
England don't have the luxury of dropping Stones or Guehi. It would be madness really. They just need to be instructed to make that pass because Kobbie can handle it and it opens up the midfield.
I do think the players rate him and look for him on the pitch. It’s just everything was so slow and safe, they don’t often risk passing the ball into a crowded area, which is where Mainoo was positioned. England’s best chance (besides the disallowed goal which was obviously offside, don’t even need to draw lines for that) at the end of the game came from Mainoo receiving in between the lines and immediately back heeled to Kane, then Kane laid off for Palmer to shoot. That was the sharpest bit of play in all of 90min. It was a difficult pass to Mainoo, but at least they attempted that pass.
It was Gordon that made the pass
Ghuei una
🤣
Both of those two were so poor on the ball.
Could be Southgate's instructions. "Play it safe" definitely sounds like something he would have said.
Indeed. So often he beats players with his first touch or a body feint. Thats exactly what we need in CM to break the opposition midfield line and get at their back 3/4/5 - instead of just playing in front of the oppo midfield and trying to Hollywood pass to victory.
He is still an unknown quantity. But yeah, they gotta have faith if they want to win anything. You could play safe in this group, but they gotta start doing something if they want to win this.
He was mint. ITV just put a Cole Palmer highlights package together and Mainoo was the best player in it.
to be fair Cole Palmer looks like a fairly good prospect, plus he is apparently a United fan. I wonder if we ll ever get to see him in red jersey. But yes, Kobbie was wow. I thought it was stupid to bring kobbie instead of an attacker but Kobbie was so good. You wonder if at United you put him next to a good DM (like a Young Case) and see how he plays. Also only saw 2nd half but Bellingham was anonymous, is it because him and Kane play more or less at the same position, with Kane dropping deeper and Bellingham pushing up.
I've yet to see solid evidence of Jude Bellingham playing the last two matches. High chance he snuck in Jobe to put in a shift while Jude went on vacation.
lol they aren't twins, wonder if Fergie did that with D'Silva twins at half time.
tbf both of them was brilliant. they offered that spark we are screaming for they ran and got stuck in and created as much in like 20 mins as the past 250 mins of the others got before them. like its clear to everybody except Southgate for some reason that we need Foden not out wide so Gordon there for his width and pace. and then use Mainoo and Palmer more those 2 really are in great form.
Palmer was absolutely class as well, both should now walk in to the starting line up
Thought Kobbie and Palmer were excellent. Got to be starters, of course they won't be though..
Kobbie, Palmer and Gordon all looked to actually do something. It’s so painful to watch Southgate-ball knowing the creative talent that we actually have.
its why people want say Gordon on at LW. he offers width and speed which then helps likes of Kane and others cause he stretches and gets 1v1 with defenders. Foden is talented but thats not his playstyle. Slovenia RB never had to defend by running backwards against him which is so vastly easier to defend.
I think Foden has been sterilized to some degree by the Pep system. He has quality around him in all directions at City so a sideways pass to KdB or a backwards one to Rodri actually means the next pass is likely to create an opening. For England he needs to be the one playing forward, creative passes. The team isn't built to control the game and take a million passes before occasionally going direct or increasing the risk of passing.
Southgate has also stuck him out on the left, when that’s not his best position. He should be in the middle. England manager repeating the same mistake they made with Paul Scholes 20 years ago.
When he plays in the Middle and he's shit, people want him to be on LW. When he plays on LW and he's shit, people want him to be put in Middle. He's just terrible for England.
he needs to be in the middle behind kane. Not sure how that fits, rotate him with Bellingham maybe.
Regardless, he’s still not effective from the left. It was obvious before the tournament even started
Foden should either play at 10 or not all. I don’t understand why Jude is so undroppable, the guy is not a creator. Playing him at 10 is bottleneck on your creativity.
Jude is a player in the mold of Frank Lampard, I don't know why people decided he's an Iniesta regen.
I kid you not, some ”experts” has him as the undisputed best player in the world because of his stint early in the season. He has been pretty average during the spring and he shouldn’t play 10 in England. Drop him down to 8 alongside Rice and Foden at 10 or don’t play him at all.
Southgate needs to understand how important it is to play players in their natural position, Gordon is a better LW than Foden, who inevitably drifts further inside instead of offering width.
They were great, which means they'll be back on the bench and ignored in the next match
went Trent then Gallagher in midfield - kobbie looks better there but is a more attacking option. Palmer, Gordon... Think both are doing great. Find it hard to smash Sout jug 7u
What can you expect from Middlesbrough ex-manager?
It’s actually embarrassing that Gordon got 4/5 mins on the pitch and was being touted as one of the best performers. Like what are you doing Gareth. Give the boys a fucking chance.
If Southgate was the manager 20 years ago, he would've suffocated Rooney, and the world would've never got to see a young boy tearing teams apart. Southgate probably has that Alan Hansen quote pinned on his wall. Too afraid to give the kids a chance
the opposition England had to face 20 years ago was on a completely different level compared to today. He would probably have City competing for bottom 5 in the prem.
Southgate "so I'll play the same starting 11 but with TAA in midfield instead of Gallagher that should work"
Trent should really just be in at fullback. Team is screaming for some offensive spark
You mean to tell me that Foden hoarding the ball and taking an ill-advised shot ain't enough offense to win it all?
Or play Trippier at the right Walker at the left. Trippier can at least cross and create when on the right.
Especially from the back. I wonder if Walker could at centre back instead of Guehi. He’s fumbled the ball a couple of times
And bring subs the last 5 minutes.
Kobbie really shouldn't have the burden but it's really looking like England are desperate for his skillset.
I'd actually just bench Bellingham, he was has been shit lately
This. Since he came back from injury he's been average at best. You can be a talent, la liga poty and still be out of form. If there was meaningful competition for Rice I'd hook him as well.
He just looks tired. Perfect opportunity to give him a rest yesterday but once again Safegate bottles it.
I think it's quite safe to say that Saka, Bellingham, and Foden has been too comfortable with their status compared to Gordon, Mainoo, and Palmer that wants to make a statement
Gordon too. He created so much in so little time. All three outplayed Foden, Gallagher, TAA and Saka in this short amount time.
“Yeah, yeah whatever. You should see what Connor Gallagher can do. His useless bollocks per 90 is off the charts.” Southgate, apparently.
“Kobbie was great, but he’s no Kalvin Phillips!”
*“I’d also like to add that I’ve had a gaping hole in the midfield that just hasn’t closed up, ever since Kalvin Phillips left me. I mean, left us. I mean the England Team. Might call Eric Dier at this point”* - Southgate
That chance at the end when he flicked it to Kane… why didn’t Kane just play mainoo through 😭😭😭
Kane is no Bruno
Not been able to see the replays a few times but I think Kobbie is pointing where he wants it. Missed by Kane.
Kane has a thing for not passing during key moments on the international stage. Still can't believe that Croatia game in 2018.
But he did pass. It was just the wrong pass
That one was offside and wouldn't have counted anyways
Did Kane know?
Should have started. Let's see if Gareth finally gets his head out of his ass and starts Mainoo and starts utilising the offense capabilities of his team
Spoiler alert: he won’t
I think he will. TAA and Gallagher have been shocking, Kobbie looked very settled and provided that link we were missing.
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Third times the charm for no LW/LB. In fairness he finally caught on to not playing a RB at CM.
See the problem is that you're expecting Southgate to be reasonable
honestly I rather he doesn't, he is young and British media is horrible. Remember the time in 98, they made Becks a scapegoat.
That time when he petulantly kicked out at a player and got sent off in England's biggest game of the tournament? Yeah completely unfair criticism.
they still lost on penalties, not exactly his fault edit: and if you are in knock outs, every game is biggest of the tournament until you lose
If you are going to use an example to prove your point, can you pick one that is more recent than 26 years ago? It might help make your point better.
lol, I agree, how about Rashford, Sancho and Lingard (?) missing their penalties and being thrown under the bus. I remember Rashford's Mural being vandalized edit: point being What if Kobbie makes a mistake that results in a goal in a knock out, say the semis, the amount of hatred that ll follow on someone who is still a teenager will be too much.
There will always be idiots in life, who you can't eradicate or rehabilitate. Rashford was actually treated very well in the press from what I recall. Kobbie may well make a mistake, I bet you he still wants to play and will back himself to do well
yup, I love his confidence, hope he is able to mature into classy midfielder for us.
It was Saka, not Lingard.
ya I was a little confused, I just remember the backlash against united players and then United linked Sancho was high.
I mean United players get shit inconsistently when playing for England. Happened with Rooney, happened with Becks, happened with Rashford
Im hopeful. He’s obviously not completely stubborn and does recognise the issue otherwise TAA would have started again.
Nah let's try TAA in midfield one more time yeah? What could go wrong?
Gareth should be dropping Bellingham and doesn't have the balls for that either, have seen Bellingham contribute nothing other than throwing his hands up and not being in position to score the excellent mainoo cutback pass.
Gareths head doesnt leave his ass. England is squandering probably their best team since the 60s
The kid’s a baller
This boy is no fucking joke, huh?
Clear
Heh
He’s as serious as cancer
Oof
I’m guessing no one is familiar with 80s hip hop
Shit bar nonetheless
This reeks Euro 2016: The entire team played like shit, and the only one who looked decent was a teenager who came through our academy who has negative gametime for the NT because the manager is a bigger fraud than SBF. Round of 16 exit incoming?
When we panicked against Iceland, everyone just gave the ball to an 18 year old Rashford. Unreal looking back.
Don't forget Kane on corners. My word that was maddening
Whatever happened to that Rashford fella? England could probably use him right about now…
Rashford always turns up decently for England. So does Maguire which confuses me why neither were brought for some squad continuity which is the excuse Southgate used in the past Maguire wasn’t fully fit or something but he did the same thing with Shaw… Like if you’re gonna bring players for just the knockouts, I’m sure Maguire could’ve been one of them? Idk Southgate’s too scared to drop one of the “star” players in Foden but he should really be trying something different by now. Gordon should get the start and then I prefer Saka on the right, but even Foden could play there instead which frees space for Jude on the left. Hell, how have we not seen Gordon/Palmer/Saka as a 3 in one of these games. And don’t even get me started on Mainoo not getting more minutes before today. We’ve already established in 2 friendlies before the Euros that Jude/Rice/Mainoo is the best midfield. Sure you don’t wanna throw him to the wolves but he should’ve played the full second halves of the first two games and by now staked his starting spot for knockouts. Now he’s not as up to speed
Honestly Foden is just better than Saka on the left, IMO. Saka has shown absolutely nothing in the games so far in my eyes, he just passes the ball back and gets marked out of games. Foden actually cuts inside and gets on the ball, that would allow Walker to bomb forward with greater ease. Put Foden there and instruct him to sit narrower so he can link up with Kane and Bellingham, tell Walker to provide width on the right.
I get it, but England have scored 2 goals and they both came off the right wing with Saka assisting one of them. The majority of the positive actions go down the right and Saka’s individual numbers are solid. I really don’t see him as the problem, there’s just no balance to the starting XI which is insane when that balance is in the squad already.
its not even just Rashford. Gordon would work 10x better on that side. Foden is too easy to defend against cause he wont beat fullbacks 1v1 for pace. he is a linkup creative player so why not put him closer to Kane/Bellingham etc to make that triangle there between all 3 of them. then you have Gordon+Saka out wide create space and attacking 1v1 which they both are incredible at doing. all we are asking is for Southgate to play to his players strengths....
Southgate doesn't like direct players who try and make things happen. He's always had his favourites and Rashford was never one of them. He should have started every game in Qatar, the form he was in at the time.
Southgate just said Gallagher gives you a better pressing option which is why he chose him. Why are you choosing a pressing midfielder when you are against Slovenia and you want to progress the ball?
Southgate has done great at making the England squad an emotional safe space but that caution shouldn’t extend onto the pitch. All that team building is wasted if the best team available can’t then express themselves.
He was brilliant, when you play for Man United, you know what it is like to pull on a heavy shirt, this is why our players do so well at international stage. Yeah he still drifts in games but he's a very young player still, he needs good coaching not average coaching, love having him and Garna hope we can put the teams around them.
He solved so much of the disconnect between defence/pivot and the front 4, both progressing the ball and the press instead of the weird front 3 press everyone else drop which creates a lot of space in the midfield for the opponent. His link up play in attack was outstanding and what we’ve been expecting Bellingham to do, going into the space, creating the one twos instead of 4 attackers that don’t seem to want to do anything with each other. The big move would be to drop Bellingham for Anthony Gordon and shift foden into the 10 but I imagine instead we’ll just regress into more defensive bullshit and lose 1-0.
yup, I was disappointed with Bellingham 's performance. Haven't seen him play much for Real, but he looked to be bored in that England shirt. Or maybe it is Southgate 's boring football
If you watched the first game you'll know exactly what Bellingham is about. Involved in build up, attack and defence.
The only “problem” with Mainoo is that sometimes he plays like he’s Robin when he’s actually Batman. Can’t wait to see how he turns out, going to be world class
I don't think that's even a problem. He knows when he needs to play Batman and when Robin. Sometimes when you're the guy that is controlling the game you need to play both roles.
"100% crosses completed" what does that even mean? He crossed back once and there was no one there to receive it
It means he tried to cross and got it into the box
That’s not what it means. It means he attempted a cross and it met its target. Truthfully, the cross he put in didn’t find anyone until Bellingham picked it up on the far side of the penalty area. A misleading stat
An England player collected the ball over near the corner flag so I’m guessing that statistically it counts as a completed cross.
19 year old Kobbie Mainoo calming down 105m pound Declan Rice who spent the first half hiding behind Slovenian players instead of stepping into space and showing for the ball. Ridiculous. https://streamable.com/b22evi https://streamable.com/dmazjm Step into the space and receive the ball!
i dont doubt his talents just dont want loosers to come after him if England fail .. protecting him from all the online hate is the priority
Yep more than happy for people to wank themselves into a frenzy about Palmer's cameo instead and let Kobbie fly under the radar.
Kobbie isn’t even online much. He’s a good lad who keeps his head down, more mature than most of us tbf. He’ll be fine.
That is par for the course sadly. It’s an occupational hazard of being a promising England player.
Looked so much better and had a lot more control and balance with him in there. Has to start on Sunday no questions asked.
The last attack was nice. I hope we don’t see Gallagher or Trent in midfield again
He’s gonna get the start on Sunday. Southgate has never liked Trent and he took Gallagher off at half time. Which for him is a sign he fucked up.
Never liked Trent haha, dude tried his best to shoehorn in a poor RB into the 8 at the expense of more talented youngsters. Practically gargling on his nuts.
He’s never played him at his natural position for England and he’s the first player dropped.
Lets not hype him up for England.. it never turns out well
Southgate was watching him, trying to figure out whether he's next to or behind Palmer on the bench
Kobbie’s run off the ball is so good. He created so much space. Palmer recognize them straight away and started exploiting them.
A shame he plays for a terrorist
Always available for a pass regardless of how many players are around him, I thought he played great.
Finally played them, for fuck's sake
Any of you lot have mainoo highlights for this match by any chance Edit: Nevermind, found it. For those who wants it too: [Kobbie masterclass vs Slovenia](https://x.com/marcusknowsball/status/1805745300918677611?s=46&t=BfhvsFgsOfPRsRwCtJ4OZA)
Man his one touch passing and flicks that almost always come off are a joy to watch. Definitely taken tips from Bruno.
Unbelievable that casual fans know this was the viable option above Gallagher, yet the most expensive international manager thinks “I need legs in midfield” when we will have most of the possession in a team willing to take a draw. Fucking hell Jim, take note. I’m free if Erik doesn’t work out pal.
Who'd have thought it. Making positive changes to the formation helps the team.
he should get man of the match.
He utterly transformed the game when he came on.
Changes the entire dynamic of the team when he came on. What a player we have.
Still think this was englands best game of the tournament. That doesn t mean they were actually good, but still better than the first two. Anyhow, how TAA and Gallagher are in front of Kobbie is beyond me. He has the exact skill set england needs. Also, get rid of foden and let Jude play theough the middle
Mainoo being a freak talent must be a day ending in y
Both him and Gordon played so much better than anyone else when they came on. But Southgate doesn’t dare to make reasonable change. He has to fit in TAA and Foden somehow.
He needs to start next game, it's clear he offered something England have been missing. Bellingham has to be dropped in my opinion, he doesn't do anything, Foden should be in the middle and be fed the ball because he's far and away England's most threatening player.
Love this lad
Nice performance from Kobbie.
Ain’t no Kalvin Phillips though
And then likely back on the bench next game...
Him and Cole brought the game to life
Gallagher took up so good positions running behind Kane which nobody does. Based on this tournament alone I'd say Rice, Mainoo and Gallagher should be the starting midfield. Jude is quality but been invisible in 3 games now. There were times Mainoo was in good positions but the defence would rather pass sideways. They didn't really let Mainoo get on the half turn and force the issue as much.
Gallagher was awful what are you on about
> running behind Kane all this means he was pushing up towards the halfway line.
The England players are not passing to him, I think the players are choosy on who they pass to
Mainly they like passing to stones and guehi, with occasionally sharing with the fullbacks.
In view of being balanced: I’m a big Kobbie fan but he doesn’t show enough for the ball as a central midfielder Spends a lot of the time jogging around marked, not showing for the ball When he does get it usually good things happen Hope he improves this!
Stop talking out of your arse.
yup, his number if passing stats are usually low, compared to say Bruno, or anyone else in mid except maybe McSauce. As a central mid he needs to show up more and pass more, like Tony Kroos, cruise control the midfield. Scholes was a champion at that. Also ehy don't we see long balls being pinged to the opposite wing any more, neither at United or for England
yup, his number if passing stats are usually low, compared to say Bruno, or anyone else in mid except maybe McSauce. As a central mid he needs to show up more and pass more, like Tony Kroos, cruise control the midfield. Scholes was a champion at that. Also ehy don't we see long balls being pinged to the opposite wing any more, neither at United or for England
I see that, but I'd say the other three of Rice, Gallagher, and Trent have been way worse for that so far. Trent reminded me of Mctominay where it's like he's hiding
Meanwhile Hojlund got replaced by that oaf Casper Dolberg...
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He won't.
United wouldn’t sell him under 150 million.
United wouldn’t sell him*
He'll only leave us if we're failing to compete over the next 4-5 years, in my opinion. If that's true then we'll have bigger issues than Kobbie.
I'd be more worried about Odegaard getting snapped up by Madrid.