They were also average second half.
2 Apr 2024
1.0K
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Struggling to get very excited about tonight. International football used to be massively important to me back in the day, even the Home International tournament that we used to have at the end of every season. Absolutely loved Italia 90 and Euro 96. These days it’s all a bit meh. When did this happen? Maybe with the birth of the Premiership and so many games on TV? When I were a lad, the only televised games were internationals, the cup final and sometimes if a British team made it to the European cup final.
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I was thinking the same thing - particularly second half where Morata was doing a carbon copy of Kane in dropping deep feeling a defender's breath and falling to the floor for a free-kick. Morata puts much more of a shift in though.
But England don't play that way at the moment (unless you're advocating dropping Foden and Bellingham?).
There's a bit about Kane in here - www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cne4g7mz9wlo
Basically, he hasn't adapted to England's change in system/better players.
Dropping deep was fine when we played 3-4-3 with a defensive two in central midfield, so there was a huge gap between them and the CF position for him to drop into and play his Hollywood passes to the wide players like Sterling and Rashford/Sancho/Saka etc.
But with 4-2-3-1, there is no need - he stayed high for the first 35 minutes against Serbia (albeit with no movement) and we looked okay, Bellingham was excellent, but then Kane started dropping deeper into the space to become involved, and we lost our shape.
It's even more important he holds his position now in a 3-4-2-1 with Foden and particularly Bellingham playing in the space where Kane wants to be. That's why a more mobile CF, who wants to play CF, would suit England better.
It's a bit like Scholes/Lampard/Gerrard - who do you drop (there is a correct answer)? -
This is what I've been saying since the start of the tournament - you can't play those three together. If you want to drop Bellingham and Foden and play Gordon and Saka(?) outside Kane that's fine but if Bellingham and Foden are playing, the striker (i.e. Watkins or Toney) has to lead the line and occupy the central defenders.
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FWIW England games were massive to me right up until we had our second and I couldn't wing days on a hangover as easy anymore. I was always in it for the packed pub, sunny day out, getting wazzed up at silly times (2002) stuff. Now that's gone all you are left with is the media talking shit.
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I’ve watched the England v Serbia game in it’s entirety out of the whole tournament so far. Rest have either been the odd 10mins on my phone or I’ve taken the dog for a long walk and listened to 5live.
Just very meh. Penalties was less stressful when you’re listening though.
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I've only really watched the England games at the tournament - I have enjoyed them - not the football - really because Jr is home for the summer and this may well be the last tournament (or second last at best) where we will be able to watch them together.
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My memory isn't good enough to remember how long I've been saying this. It's not about 'hating' Kane. He's a world class finisher (second phase, back post, with dead legs in the summer). It's about how I would want to play, and the attributes the striker has to have for that. Engaging the centre halves and working them for an hour....then Kane would be more effective coming on to exploit the spaces created by tired minds and legs. As it is, with the lack of work that Kane puts in, we are getting little to no attritional benefit late in the games.....so our goals, such as they are, are coming from worldies in front of a still structured defence, rather than the sort of broken multi-phase play in the box that kane profits from most. I genuinely think he would be more use as a late sub, when a different sort of striker has run the legs off the defenders for an hour.
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My radiogramme is currently vox popping random England fans asking them what the score will be tonight, and who will score and when. Is this random fantasy bollox the sort of thing that ordinary people find interesting? Someone they don't know, having a stab at making stuff up, to no apparent net effect?
I don't get it.
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This could be true of pretty much every phone-in/vox pop on any subject. I don't give a shit what Trevor from Swindon thinks about Rachel Reeves’ proposed planning overhaul based on his “lived experience” of a new housing development in Shrivenham. Or that following England has been a “rollercoaster” and that tonight’s game is “50/50”
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It's hardly surprising that people are dim, when they are constantly fed a diet of irredeemably irrelevant crap. We really should demand a lot better for ourselves.
Anyway, Ali McCoist thinks it's been a really terrific tournament, he really does.
It's unfortunate that he's prominently in the media, and so wrong.
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He means Scotchland were in it so, for a Scotchlander, that means it was by default already a really terrific tournament before a ball had been kicked; it really does.
And fair do's to massively chip shoulder burdened third rate lower league cloggers.
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Personally I would have tried to accommodate him by playing Saka and Gordon/Palmer and dropping Foden, with Bellingham playing deeper. I think that would have worked better and I have been really really disappointed by Foden in an England shirt generally so far and he offers nothing by way of goal threat.
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I couldn't give a shiny shite what Kevin from Walsall thinks about England's chances either.
Idiots talking about football is always boring.
But... Here we go...
I agree with Ali.
A lot of the games have been good. Germany thrashing Scotland. Switzerland beating Italy. Some other games I can't remember. Anything with Turkey in. Spain v France last night was excellent.
Sure, England have stunk the place out.
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A couple of the Austria games were pretty great as well.
I think the overall lack of worldies is noticeable but some good football played. -
There's been some good running about from the developing nations.
There's been a noticeable paucity of elite level skill, top teams in top form, the best players at their best.
Probably the best game was a 0-0. I forget which one.
