Southgate's record v top 10 nations

£5m a year to 'watch a lot of matches' but by and large play the same players and system - he's havin' a giraffe - no wonder he's a yes man to stay in that cushy number!

comment by Glazers Out (SE85) (U21241)
posted 1 hour, 30 minutes ago
I'd have Ole back over Southgate any day. I bet you'd struggle to find a Utd fan who wouldn't.

If it's Ten Hag v Southgate for next season then we really are lost as a club. But that's an easy stick with Ten Hag decision e ven for me who thinks we can do better.
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I dont think that Jims big master plan to back his talk since he got his feet unfder the table is to install Gareth.. or Potter for that matter. I think he knows United fans wont buy that. It would be a complete waste of his Billions investment and all that bidding nonsense that took months.

However what he does want it seems is a yes man as a manager. Hes made it clear the manager will be just be in charge of training and the 'style of play' will be decided by himself/INEOS and the D of F. So maybe Erik doesnt want to be that man... and Gareth/Potter might be OK with it. I get the impression with Jim that its going to be his way or the highway for a lot of the currentstaff at OT.

I think up until very recently, his decision to play two sitting midfielders made some sense because we just didn't have the talent in the middle of the park to control a game so we needed that protection. Now though, we have the opportunity to play Rice as the only sitting midfielder with Bellingham and Foden in front. Nearly every player we have in midfield and attack will play for a side that controls the game and defends from the front by pressing high. It's more natural, surely to play a system more familiar to them. We have the talent now to control games where we didn't before so for me Southgate has no excuses. Gallagher was woeful and playing Foden on the right of the front three will be problematic when Saka comes back. When he does, where does Foden play? You cannot leave him out. If he's on the bench at the Euros then shame on Southgate because he would be sacrificing a generational talent for more caution. Crazy.

comment by Glazers Out (SE85) (U21241)
posted 1 hour, 51 minutes ago
comment by WeekendOffender (U22920)
posted 21 seconds ago
Just 2 of Flatrack Kane (pen) 62 England goals have come in competitive matches against top ten nations.
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Now that's a stat. 😲

If true doesn't surprise me though. We just look lost against any decent side that knows what they are doing tactically as I said above.

Luckiest man alive to have had this job for so long is Gareth.
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How did he even get to choose whether to stay on or not after 3 goes of managing England and ultimately falling short? It's so small time from the English FA to allow him to have a choice. Should have been let go of after the last World Cup.

comment by Glazers Out (SE85) (U21241)
posted 2 hours, 22 minutes ago
comment by WeekendOffender (U22920)
posted 21 seconds ago
Just 2 of Flatrack Kane (pen) 62 England goals have come in competitive matches against top ten nations.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Now that's a stat. 😲

If true doesn't surprise me though. We just look lost against any decent side that knows what they are doing tactically as I said above.

Luckiest man alive to have had this job for so long is Gareth.
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to give that stat meaning, how many competitive matches vs top 10 nations have we played?


It isnt many.

Spain, France, Germany all created amazing, successfull teams playing very good football so i am not buying the England cannot given the talent we now have.

Southgate has been with England long enough now to ingrain a clear style and that is very clearly one that errs of the defensive and we really haven't seen any real attempt to be more daring and creative.

He may only have a few weeks a year with the squad but he is very well paid for a full time job so he will be watching a lot of football, witnessing a lot of different tactics and approaches, so has ample opportunity to evolve Englands tactics
[...]
Italy are Euro champs and theyre bang average and beat us to win.

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Those finest Spain and Germany sides benefitted from the fact that there was not only a fairly consistent national footballing identity that players were brought up in, but having cores of players who were teammates in generationally dominant clubs. England is very different, because our best players are scattered across lots of different clubs and the PL has more diversity in tactics and playing styles than any other major league. Meanwhile, the most fluent attacking clubs sides these days rely on 'automatisms' of choreographed collective movements that rely on weeks of training to perfect. I don't think it's accurate to suggest that England would be able to play that way with a better manager. Indeed, two CL-winning managers (Flick and Luis Enrique) utterly failed at the last WC with teams that boast a lot of talent. France looked excellent not because they played tactically sophisticated or possession dominant football - Didier Deschamps also gets criticised domestically for his boring, safety-first approach - but because they have such an array of talent.

comment by Insufferable-Piffle (U4388)
posted 2 hours, 44 minutes ago

I'm certain he knows more about all faucets of football than I do
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It does worry me that he hasn't been able to do something about our leaky defence...

comment by Devonshirespur (U6316)
posted 32 minutes ago
comment by Glazers Out (SE85) (U21241)
posted 2 hours, 22 minutes ago
comment by WeekendOffender (U22920)
posted 21 seconds ago
Just 2 of Flatrack Kane (pen) 62 England goals have come in competitive matches against top ten nations.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Now that's a stat. 😲

If true doesn't surprise me though. We just look lost against any decent side that knows what they are doing tactically as I said above.

Luckiest man alive to have had this job for so long is Gareth.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

to give that stat meaning, how many competitive matches vs top 10 nations have we played?


It isnt many.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah all of the other top 10 teams have been on the other side of the draw from England, hence them reaching semi and final recently, and losing to the first good team they face.

With Kane also never having won his team a trophy with any of his goals, coupled with the international flat tracking, could it be said that Kane, now in his 30s, has never scored a meaningful goal??

comment by Willie Dyer (U1734)
posted 7 minutes ago
comment by Devonshirespur (U6316)
posted 32 minutes ago
comment by Glazers Out (SE85) (U21241)
posted 2 hours, 22 minutes ago
comment by WeekendOffender (U22920)
posted 21 seconds ago
Just 2 of Flatrack Kane (pen) 62 England goals have come in competitive matches against top ten nations.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Now that's a stat. 😲

If true doesn't surprise me though. We just look lost against any decent side that knows what they are doing tactically as I said above.

Luckiest man alive to have had this job for so long is Gareth.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

to give that stat meaning, how many competitive matches vs top 10 nations have we played?


It isnt many.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah all of the other top 10 teams have been on the other side of the draw from England, hence them reaching semi and final recently, and losing to the first good team they face.

With Kane also never having won his team a trophy with any of his goals, coupled with the international flat tracking, could it be said that Kane, now in his 30s, has never scored a meaningful goal??
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Nail. Meet. Head.

comment by Willie Dyer (U1734)
posted 8 minutes ago
comment by Devonshirespur (U6316)
posted 32 minutes ago
comment by Glazers Out (SE85) (U21241)
posted 2 hours, 22 minutes ago
comment by WeekendOffender (U22920)
posted 21 seconds ago
Just 2 of Flatrack Kane (pen) 62 England goals have come in competitive matches against top ten nations.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Now that's a stat. 😲

If true doesn't surprise me though. We just look lost against any decent side that knows what they are doing tactically as I said above.

Luckiest man alive to have had this job for so long is Gareth.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

to give that stat meaning, how many competitive matches vs top 10 nations have we played?


It isnt many.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah all of the other top 10 teams have been on the other side of the draw from England, hence them reaching semi and final recently, and losing to the first good team they face.

With Kane also never having won his team a trophy with any of his goals, coupled with the international flat tracking, could it be said that Kane, now in his 30s, has never scored a meaningful goal??
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