ashwin

True! 😂

Seems like a perfectly reasonable comparison. People can be sold for multiple reasons, including their own lack of comfort in their situations due to the manager, playing style, country, weather, etc. We have plenty of examples of players who peak in their late 20s. To think that a player cannot improve in their mid 20s doesn't make sense. Lukaku was never a player I liked during his time in England but he has matured into a truly fantastic striker. His passing, vision, strength, awareness and eye for goal all have improved. You can be sure that Lukaku will be there to finish off a number of the many crosses that we spray low across the box. Lukaku + Havertz is quite exciting. Overall, Haaland is much more attractive but Lukaku is far less of a risk in so many ways.

Good post... Hope he finds that something extra this season.

At the risk of derailment (nothing much happening on the Haaland front anyway), am I the only one who felt he was a bit not nice? Banter aside, he made some pretty obnoxious statements early on that were overtly homophobic/racist/sexist, can't remember which.

Spain was a surprise to me. So dominant with such an inexperienced team. And managed to score goals with Morata as their leading striker 😂

Ok 😂 Could this feeling of great welcome, by some outlandish chance, be because you were British?

You have been around on the forum for approximately 3 seconds. Your sample size is single digits. And with one contrary post, you feel you are being "attacked"? And you wonder whether the entire forum is out to attack you? Bizarre. At least spend some time on the forum to understand it. BTW, for someone who feels so strongly about how people should be treated, your initial post was dismissive of many lived experiences in the UK about racism. Several studies and reports discuss the systemic racism in England which makes it more difficult for ethnic minorities to get access to healthcare, housing, even employment. For example, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/27/structural-racism-led-to-worse-covid-impact-on-bame-groups-report People do not claim institutional racism because of the abuse Saka and others got. If you really think so, you probably need to take a step back and understand what institutional racism even means. All the incidents during the Euros have highlighted what is a far deeper issue in English society. Just the fact that a section of the crowd can boo a group of players protesting their lived discrimination in full support from MPs is symptomatic of this issue. Also, this 1% of the English population is almost half a million people in case you didn't realize. Don't be surprised if you use strong, contrarian language and expect strong contrarian language in return. I'm also curious, which is this country you now live in?

Well, I did try to argue like an 'adult' 🙂 Made a number of points which you do not seem to want to address/discuss. Including in the previous post. Anyway, I'll stop here.

Ok 🙂 Southgate is the best manager ever, England had the most difficult draw ever, England have the best fans ever and everyone has an agenda against England. You've convinced me. Absolutely no substance to the criticism that either the fans or the manager are getting. And certainly not worth a nuanced discussion. France didn't even win anything in 2016. And I have no idea where you got this set of match ups. France had a tough route to the 2018 World Cup that included Argentina, Uruguay, Belgium and a prime Croatia. But of course, not even close to as difficult as England's matches during 2018 and 2021.

But of course, this England squad is extremely good! There's no disrespect towards other teams there, just an acknowledgement of how good the squad really is. Before Italy, England managed to evade all the powerhouses except a transitioning Germany - all of France, Portugal, Belgium, Spain would have provided sterner tests. It's easy to overestimate the competence of a manager when so many things go your way. I strongly believe that with a better manager, this team is capable of playing like one of the best in the world, not just stumbling through to an advanced stage. Despite the run to the World Cup semis, these are the teams that England beat over 90 mins + extra time 1) Tunisia 2) Panama 3) Sweden Teams that they failed to beat without penalties 1) Columbia Teams that they lost to 1) Belgium 2) Croatia (a prime Croatia) There's a pretty clear pattern here - England are happily beating low to mid rung teams but failing whenever they come up against a powerhouse. And that is because the manager is severely limited.

He's a clueless 'coach', but certainly a good manager of players and a good motivator. You act like a manager has never been carried by a set of players. This would make Roberto Martinez world class because he led Belgium to the top of the World rankings. And probably would have won the previous World Cup if not for France. So much progression, best manager right? And how about Avram Grant and Di Matteo? So much progression. Best Coaches. What a bizarre argument. England have their best team in 50 years with skilled footballers in practically every position. Progression is inevitable, but it will take a good coach to have them play to their potential. Some of the decisions Southgate made were inexplicable. And to have such a huge squad and use so few substitutes (throughout the tournament) also suggests severe limitations. And despite your outrage, England did have an easy draw 😂 can't be so hard to see that.

That MP, something Patel who Mings called out.

Yeah, he's clueless as a coach. A team with this quality deserves more than just a nice person and people manager.

Agreed. The massive reaction bodes well I think. There's no doubt whatsoever that everyday discrimination is far far less in England than, say, in Italy or most European countries. And it's a real credit to the nation that the reaction to discrimination is so strong. But there is still enough discrimination that most people who live for extended periods in England face this at least a few times. Given the ideals to aspire to, this racist section of fans must be weeded out completely. As opposed to condoning discriminatory actions like booing anti-racism gestures which only serves to encourage them.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/breaking-tyrone-mings-racism-patel-24520124

It's just appalling, all the racist abuse that Saka and co are getting online. And some people feel that they take the knee because they align with some abstract movement in another continent? Racist abuse is part of every non-white person's life in white majority countries even today and this will hopefully help some people get out of their bubbles and see why athletes and institutions must continue to take a stance. People who boo an anti racism gesture must simply be banned from attending matches. And this is likely the same fan base that's been such an embarrassment to England throughout this tournament.

Why do it though? Just lacks class. And why does something done in the past justify it being done today? And that is not the only thing - just one classless action would be overlooked but there's been so much more.

Yeah, sad to see Mount do it especially.

Southgate is a likeable person and deserves some credit for taking England to heights they haven't reached for a long time with a very young team. But while he is a decent 'manager', he is not a good coach, and does not know how to get a team to play offensively as a complex force. And that is where proven world class offensive managers like Mancini make a difference. Guardiola, Klopp, Tuchel all have teams playing complex attacking football. And I haven't seen a manager use a squad more poorly than Southgate during this Euros (or ever). Only one plan from the start to the end of a match, no addition of complexity with players of different profiles like DCL, etc. Such limited use of substitutions which shows absolute tactical ineptness. Did any team make fewer substitutions? Simply put, Southgate is too limited a coach and tactician. The only reason England got so far is that several favourable factors aligned through a combination of determination and luck rather than skillful football.

The luckier keeper?

Of course, this is only possible because of the early goal. Basically this means that the onus is now entirely on the Italy midfield to create something imaginative which they are not particularly great at. But they have some good individual players so lets see...

Perhaps not surprising because Italy do not have anyone in their midfield capable of playing that killer pass to unlock a team that is sitting back. You do realize that this is exactly the sort of situation where Jorginho's skillset is inadequate. Southgate seems to have understood that very well. Italy will have to look to some trickery by their wingers or a long shot to break through.

Well, entitlement doesn't arise from optimism. You can be the most pessimistic person in the world (or nation) and still feel entitled. Just as Man U and Liverpool fans are often pessimistic, but believe they 'deserve' silverware because of their 'history'. That is entitlement. "It's coming home" in its popular usage (maybe not in how it was initially intended) reeks of entitlement, or that is at least how it is perceived. And pessimism or optimism has nothing to do with it. And here's a random article I found with a Google search that explains the difference http://www.realitycheck.focusonclarity.com/archives/1444 And it's funny that so many people here suddenly find these ref-favouring-a-team type conspiracy theories so absurd 🙂 The forum is full of such absurd theories in any post-match (or match) thread. Against several clubs, including many English clubs and Barcelona, Real Madrid. Somehow this reaction doesn't manifest then. And finally, the English media, fortunately or unfortunately, reaches a very large part of the world. So while other countries' media probably talk up their teams, the 'world' doesn't get as big a dose and therefore perceptions are likely to be different. And it's very convenient for you (all) to forget the other reasons people have grown to dislike English fans: A section of English fans have been consistently booing other countries' anthems, a completely unnecessary thing to go and disrespectful. Most countries' fans have not done this, not even an "ungeneralizable section" as we love to say. A section of fans choose to consistently boo the personal political/social choices of the very team they claim to support, i.e., the kneeling. Again disrespectful, and does the fans no favours in the eyes of the 'world'. And this is excluding the spitting, the laser pointed at such a vital moment, etc. I think all the talk about "unfairness" because of home advantage and "diving" etc. is absolute nonsense because every team has benefited from these at different times, even from dodgy referee calls. Personally I find the team and manager really likeable and wouldn't mind England winning at all. It's just really amusing to see everyone brush the real reasons as to why the team/fans are disliked and pretending that the behaviour of the fan base is no different from anyone else while creating straw men to discuss on the forum. And this is the same forum where fans of Tottenham, Palace, West Ham, Millwall and other London clubs are routinely called obnoxious but when they (and other clubs fans) all come together and act like idiots, they must be defended with vehemence 🙂 It's really ok to condemn the actions of these fans, acknowledge that the current match going fan base has some issues, while continuing to support the national team. It's really ok.

Haha of course not, I picked on what was said in Scott Harris's post. "Rest of the world" was what he said 🙂 In India, the current English team is pretty well liked.

So basically you are calling all the fans on here who don't support the English National team "bitter f**kers". With fans like this, it's no wonder most people dislike this team 😂 What a bizarre statement by someone who supports a club currently owned by a Russian who now has problems entering the country. A club that has 3 starting English footballers out of which 2 have been completely sidelined by the National team. The world dislikes the English National team because of the cringeworthy sense of entitlement that supporters and commentators seem to have. And all the Grealish worship is truly nauseating... the media and commentators speak as if he is some supernatural force but in reality, he is not good enough (yet) to even be a starter at a top club. Otherwise, the team is quite likeable. And Southgate is a limited but likeable manager, and I admire the way they have dealt with the idiots who boo the kneeling.