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The England Thread

SugarRay

Well-Known Member
Jul 6, 2011
7,984
11,110
What harm would it have done to bring Foden in to that squad today? That boy needs to get away from City. Sancho is the prime example for Foden to follow. Sancho was behind Foden now look at the situation
 

mpickard2087

Patient Zero
Jun 13, 2008
21,886
32,513
Yeah, that was one of the most boring games ever (well, for 80 minutes at least). Few factors at play - already having qualified led to some sleep walking through the game, needing a point led to us being a little cautious, I think Kosovo spooked us a bit in the previous game and that also led to a bit of caution/respect and trying not to leave counter attack opportunities, and maybe the playing surface didn't help as well. But added together at it's worse it looked like we were not actually trying to win the game! The 2-0 goal broke Kosovo's resolve and after that the England players perked up a bit sensing goals were now to be had and took full advantage. Wasn't a 4-0 game though by any stretch.

Momentum continues to be built though, and this attack and the options available will cause problems for any team. And though we are lacking in a couple of areas, slowly but surely depth is being built and a number of fairly big name players face missing out on the tournament in the summer if they don't pull their finger out and have a strong second half of the season.

If it was picked tomorrow, the squad would be something like (based on who is consistently getting called up, recently contributed, and that we've seemed to settle on 4-3-3 now):

Pickford, Pope, 3rd keeper.
Stones, Maguire, Gomez, Mings
TAA, Trippier, Chilwell, Rose
Rice, Winks, Henderson, Ox, Barkley, Mount
Sterling, Sancho, CHO, Rashford, Kane, Abraham

Walker, Dier, Alli, Lingard etc. are in a real battle, not just from those presently involved but others like Maddison, Tomori, Wilson, AWB who are also on the fringes of the squad.
 

Shadydan

Well-Known Member
Jul 7, 2012
38,247
104,143
So what do we think chaps ? Another QF?

Depends on the draw.

2 teams are out and out favs (France/Belgium)

England are in the 2nd bracket alongside Portugal and Netherlands.

I think the mentality has improved these days, we used to have the ability but didn't believe that we could go far in tournaments, this group seem together so QF should be the least they should aim for.
 

1966

Neutral England supporter
Nov 5, 2019
134
391
So unselfish by Harry.
Remember in the first half when he had a golden opportunity to chest it down and hit it on the volley - probably would've scored too with his current finishing form - but he tried to head it to Sterling instead? Kane's been a very unselfish striker for a long time now (pretty much ever since his managers/coaches realised he could be a playmaker and encouraged him to develop that side of his game).

In fact, sometimes I think he's too unselfish, for both Spurs and England. He is, after all, the best finisher on both teams and hitting that volley today would've been the higher percentage option.

I like Son a lot (how can you not?) but he's probably more selfish than Kane these days. If there's one player I want taking those pot shots from 25 yards, it's Kane, and I hope he brings those back into his game, especially when Spurs are struggling to score.

On an unrelated note, Kane seems to have a really good connection with Sterling to an extent that's rare for international players who've never been at the same club. It's like he's got a Son on the national team: clear similarities in their strengths and dynamics too. Great to see for anyone who supports England. :)

I reckon we've got an attack as good as any in the world right now. Shame about some of the other positions, but maybe we can just outscore everyone.
 

Shadydan

Well-Known Member
Jul 7, 2012
38,247
104,143
Remember in the first half when he had a golden opportunity to chest it down and hit it on the volley - probably would've scored too with his current finishing form - but he tried to head it to Sterling instead? Kane's been a very unselfish striker for a long time now (pretty much ever since his managers/coaches realised he could be a playmaker and encouraged him to develop that side of his game).

In fact, sometimes I think he's too unselfish, for both Spurs and England. He is, after all, the best finisher on both teams and hitting that volley today would've been the higher percentage option.

I like Son a lot (how can you not?) but he's probably more selfish than Kane these days. If there's one player I want taking those pot shots from 25 yards, it's Kane, and I hope he brings those back into his game, especially when Spurs are struggling to score.

On an unrelated note, Kane seems to have a really good connection with Sterling to an extent that's rare for international players who've never been at the same club. It's like he's got a Son on the national team: clear similarities in their strengths and dynamics too. Great to see for anyone who supports England. :)

I reckon we've got an attack as good as any in the world right now. Shame about some of the other positions, but maybe we can just outscore everyone.

I reckon he's conscious of the should have passed to Sterling narrative in the WC Semi
 

bubble07

Well-Known Member
Dec 27, 2004
22,959
29,896
Remember in the first half when he had a golden opportunity to chest it down and hit it on the volley - probably would've scored too with his current finishing form - but he tried to head it to Sterling instead? Kane's been a very unselfish striker for a long time now (pretty much ever since his managers/coaches realised he could be a playmaker and encouraged him to develop that side of his game).

In fact, sometimes I think he's too unselfish, for both Spurs and England. He is, after all, the best finisher on both teams and hitting that volley today would've been the higher percentage option.

I like Son a lot (how can you not?) but he's probably more selfish than Kane these days. If there's one player I want taking those pot shots from 25 yards, it's Kane, and I hope he brings those back into his game, especially when Spurs are struggling to score.

On an unrelated note, Kane seems to have a really good connection with Sterling to an extent that's rare for international players who've never been at the same club. It's like he's got a Son on the national team: clear similarities in their strengths and dynamics too. Great to see for anyone who supports England. :)

I reckon we've got an attack as good as any in the world right now. Shame about some of the other positions, but maybe we can just outscore everyone.

Let's just hope Pep hasn't noticed the chemistry
 

1966

Neutral England supporter
Nov 5, 2019
134
391
I reckon he's conscious of the should have passed to Sterling narrative in the WC Semi
Mate, don't even get me started on that one! The "should've passed to Sterling" bit is the bane of my YouTube comment history. :p

He is generally very unselfish for such a prolific striker though. He did it again with Mount at the end, which was great to see.
 

1966

Neutral England supporter
Nov 5, 2019
134
391
Let's just hope Pep hasn't noticed the chemistry
I can't lie and say that I'm not interested in what Kane and Sterling could do to the league together in that City team. I reckon it'd be carnage.

But I've grown fond of Spurs and many of the supporters, like some of the lads here and on RC. For that reason, I'm hoping Spurs can turn it around and Kane won't feel he has to move.
 

Danny1

Well-Known Member
Dec 6, 2006
5,622
17,169
I can't lie and say that I'm not interested in what Kane and Sterling could do to the league together in that City team. I reckon it'd be carnage.

But I've grown fond of Spurs and many of the supporters, like some of the lads here and on RC. For that reason, I'm hoping Spurs can turn it around and Kane won't feel he has to move.

To be honest as a Spurs fan, I think that unless the club can prove to Kane that we have the ambition to try and win something, then I couldn’t blame him for a move.

He is, for me, the best out and out forward in the world. If he played for Bayern he would score more than Lewandowski, and if he played for City he would score more than Aguero. We have to be sure that we match his ambitions otherwise we will lose him.
 

nailsy

SC Supporter
Jul 24, 2005
30,536
46,628
Harry could become the first player to win the England Mens Player of the Year three times in a row if he wins it again this year.
 

DJS

A hoonter must hoont
Dec 9, 2006
31,261
21,760
What harm would it have done to bring Foden in to that squad today? That boy needs to get away from City. Sancho is the prime example for Foden to follow. Sancho was behind Foden now look at the situation

Hopefully he’ll get more chances next season as have an idea they are looking for him to take over as Silva will be leaving (I don’t think I’ve made that up?).

Although by then he could well have more of a struggle to get in with England if Maddison and amount establish themselves.
 

nailsy

SC Supporter
Jul 24, 2005
30,536
46,628
All of our matches except the last 16 and quarter final games will be played at Wembley. That has to be a huge advantage for us.
 

'O Zio

Well-Known Member
Dec 27, 2014
7,405
13,785
So what do we think chaps ? Another QF?

I reckon things will pan out roughly the same as in the WC in the sense that we'll beat all the teams we're the favorites to beat, but once we come up against a team that's better than us we'll struggle. So it depends a lot on how lucky we are with the draw.

Southgate has done a good job of getting the team to be more "together" and he's also got them better at getting the job done against weaker opposition i.e. in the past we've made hard work of grinding out 1-0 wins against teams like Slovenia but this current team seam to be able to just get those games done with minimal fuss and come away with a 3-0 win etc. But I still think we're severely lacking in quality in both midfield and defence and ultimately that'll be our undoing against properly good teams.

Depending on the draw, I'd be disappointed with anything less than a semi-final.
 

LeParisien

Wrong about everything
Mar 5, 2018
3,212
8,169
I reckon things will pan out roughly the same as in the WC in the sense that we'll beat all the teams we're the favorites to beat, but once we come up against a team that's better than us we'll struggle. So it depends a lot on how lucky we are with the draw.

Southgate has done a good job of getting the team to be more "together" and he's also got them better at getting the job done against weaker opposition i.e. in the past we've made hard work of grinding out 1-0 wins against teams like Slovenia but this current team seam to be able to just get those games done with minimal fuss and come away with a 3-0 win etc. But I still think we're severely lacking in quality in both midfield and defence and ultimately that'll be our undoing against properly good teams.

Depending on the draw, I'd be disappointed with anything less than a semi-final.
You reckon Croatia were a better side than you ? Weren’t you favourites in that game ?

I was desperate for a France england WC final. Stuff of dreams
 
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