Southgate – Neil’s Role Model?

[MK Iron]

Southgate (who obviously went on the same coaching course as Neil Cox) seems determined to defend our way to becoming Champions.

There are a few factors that seem to be escaping him.

1. Excellent refereeing (the best ever in a major tournament?) and proficient use of VAR has made defending very difficult in this tournament. Defenders have to get tackles and blocks absolutely correct. Off the ball blocking, excessive shirt pulling and deliberately “slightly” late tackles are now very dangerous parts of a defenders tool kit. Great time to be a quick and/or skilful forward. Gareth’s response? Pick more defenders and apart from Kane pick the forwards on defensive discipline rather than pace and skill.

2. Germany are sh1te at the back but still have some talent going forward.
Gareth’s response? Keep it tight (let them have the ball).

3. It is now the knockout phase. That means you have to beat 4 decent teams. You can possibly defend your way to 1 or 2 wins. But 4 times? I don’t think so.
Gareth’s response? It works in qualifying against shite teams and in the group stages against average teams so why do anything different. It’s only sneaky foreigners that change tactics depending on circumstances.

4. Mourinho (surprise surprise) allowed Kane to stop playing as a centre forward. Harry takes the easy option because this false 9 nonsense is much more fun to play and can still get you a few goals against average Premiership teams. Harry has brought his new style to the national team. Seems a bit harder to get the goals here but what the hell, nobody else is scoring much either..
Gareth’s response? Tell Kane to get up the field and remind people why he was once valued at £100m. Or let him do as he likes because it means we get an extra body behind the ball. It has been the latter so far.

You can probably work out I am not, and never have been a fan of Southgate. He is a poor coach and has always been overly cautious. I suspect the fact that his defining moment as a player was (in his head at least) to make a mistake that cost his country a great opportunity to win a major tournament means his main drive as a coach is the futile search for a team that makes no errors.
There never has been such a team and if there ever was we would all stop watching football anyway.

Apologies for the long rant. It would have been easier just to say I think Southgate is a w1nker.

Needless to say as a football fan I sincerely hope he proves me wrong because never in my lifetime have we had a better group of attacking talent and such an easy run to a final in our half of the draw. Meanwhile the good teams are going to all but eliminate one another in the other side of the draw.

Is it too early to start on the beers?

[Heath]

KVV was our own false No. 9 when he played last year, gaining more plaudits for his tackling back than actually spending any time in the opposition’s penalty area.

[Ferrite]

The game’s not even started and you’re moaning. England are rightly favourites tonight but even if they win the whole tournament, there’s a section of the England supporter base who will still moan that they didn’t win it well enough.

France ground their way to the last World Cup, it seems a reasonable model to follow!

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Iron-awe

[MK Iron]

Hope you’re right Ferrite – I really do.

By the way I’m not moaning about England. Just sharing an opinion on the manager and his apparent similarities with our own.

[Northumbiron]

Ferrite wrote:

France ground their way to the last World Cup, it seems a reasonable model to follow!

Also an example of what happens when your wonder kid doesn’t score!

[Iron-awe]

I’ll settle for Southgates last three results being repeated by Cox for us when the season starts.

[MK Iron]

If he got those results in 3 of the first 10 games it would be a massive improvement on last season.

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bartonscorpion

[MK Iron]

Keeper and 7 defenders. Neil will be buzzing.

[lesgeo]

Good win.

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Iron-awe

[Awaywego]

Any win is a good one, hope Neil plays more attacking than Southgate next season,up till we scored tiddlywinks would have been as exciting, and we would have cheered just as much, all that matters was the win, Come on England.

[MK Iron]

Agree any win is a good win.

Thankfully the poorest German team in living memory.

Top performances from the back three and the midfield two. Sterling and Saka did really well. Pickford probably edged MOM for me.

Not ready to eat my hat yet but well done.

[Iron-awe]

Grealish changed things, part assist for the first and assist for the second goal, his ability to change things is a great asset for Southgate whether he starts him or uses him off the bench. Sterling has been sensational so far, some fans have a chip on their shoulder about him but for me he scores, he assists and he works hard for the team but well done every player against Germany, they all contributed and special mention for Pickford he was brilliant.

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bartonscorpion, inspector

[mistertonmick]

I have compared Pickford and Rory Watson has clones but Pickford has upped his game and he was my man of the match as well, he has played well in all three games, also the out of form Rajeev Sterling is buzzing again plus the cameo of Jack Grealish changed the game around.

[Iron-awe]

Heath wrote:

KVV was our own false No. 9 when he played last year, gaining more plaudits for his tackling back than actually spending any time in the opposition’s penalty area.

Incorrect, KVV wasn’t a false no 9, KVV was a false prophet!! That bloody beard made him look like Elijah, real Old Testament stuff, he should relocate to Pennsylvania and join the Amish community. 👀

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alcazar

[Northumbiron]

Iron-awe wrote:

Grealish changed things, part assist for the first and assist for the second goal,

Leaving the one man who can make things happen on the bench for 70 minutes is either stupidly or genius!

[Heath]

Genius so far and the players that have started matches in his position, Sterling and Sakha,have also played well. Let’s hope Kane improves after his goal today.

[alcazar]

Sterling scored, yes, but for 90% of the game his first touch was woeful.
Kane much the same.
At least Sakha will try and beat a man.
So Vanilla Southgate takes him off.

And I was under the impression this Leeds lad, Phillips?, was our main playmaker?
Was he playing?

[Iron-awe]

Alcy quote ” Sterling scored yes but…. ” dear me alcy your entitled to your opinion but….what a load of crap man. That’s my opinion on your opinion, now get back in your shed. 😂

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Heath, open hearth iron

[Ferrite]

MK Iron wrote:

Hope you’re right Ferrite – I really do.

By the way I’m not moaning about England. Just sharing an opinion on the manager and his apparent similarities with our own.

You called him a “winker”, what would you say if you were complaining?

There still seems to be a large set of England fans who still aren’t happy that England aren’t winning well enough.

[Northumbiron]

alcazar wrote:

this Leeds lad, Phillips?, was our main playmaker?
Was he playing?

If you were German you’d have known he was playing!

Saka was taken off because he was getting his arse kicked by their defenders.

Sterling still makes too many wrong decisions, but not as many as Timo Werner!

[Heath]

“Sterling scored, yes, but for 90% of the game his first touch was woeful.
Kane much the same.
At least Sakha will try and beat a man.
So Vanilla Southgate takes him off.

And I was under the impression this Leeds lad, Phillips?, was our main playmaker?
Was he playing?”

Alcy – you are such a happy fellow!!

They all played well apart from Kane. I think I saw Sterling run with the ball and beat several men on several occasions.

[MK Iron]

Ferrite wrote:

MK Iron wrote:

Hope you’re right Ferrite – I really do.

By the way I’m not moaning about England. Just sharing an opinion on the manager and his apparent similarities with our own.

You called him a “winker”, what would you say if you were complaining?

There still seems to be a large set of England fans who still aren’t happy that England aren’t winning well enough.

I don’t care how we win Ferrite. I am suggesting that the manager’s tactics made the game against a poor German team much tighter than it needed to be. Hummels, Kroos and Muller are a shadow of the great players they once were but if Muller had put away the games easiest chance I am not sure we would have won the game.

Maybe Southgate is a tactical genius. What do I know about football? I watch the Iron for goodness sake.

Hoping to eat my words and apologise to the wizard from Watford a week on Sunday.

[cassidystash]

“They all played well apart from Kane.”

I think I only saw Rice twice, does that mean that he goes about his job quietly without fuss or that he has no influence on the game at all?

[Greylag]

Managers should be judged by results, and to my mind there have been few better England managhersthan the current post holder

[Awaywego]

Can I take it Kane played as well as Loft does, having not seen Loft play yet, Thank god Southgate isn’t our manager so bloody boring, (can’t say about Cox yet) but hope he can still keep being lucky for another 3 games, the game reminded me of the Millwall home playoff game but unlike England we didn’t get lucky.

[Ferrite]

MK Iron wrote:

I don’t care how we win Ferrite. I am suggesting that the manager’s tactics made the game against a poor German team much tighter than it needed to be. Hummels, Kroos and Muller are a shadow of the great players they once were but if Muller had put away the games easiest chance I am not sure we would have won the game.

The Mueller chance did come for a freak mistake by Sterling, not sure you can really judge too much from that. Whereas in general play, Germany didn’t create much.

I agree it’s not a classic German side and England were rightly favourites for the game.

I think England’s biggest stroke of luck was Phillips staying on the pitch after stamping on Kroos’ leg. When you look at what Ampadu got sent off for in Wales’ game against Italy, I think Phillips was incredibly fortunate.

[Northumbiron]

Bremner & Giles would have been proud!

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