England Squad

Why not just sit back and enjoy it.
Sometimes posters on this site tend to over analyse things.

Go with the journey. Enjoy the ride.
Mr Southgate is paid a lot of money to get it right.

All I want is entertaining success. After watching the Mariners for over 60 years, I think I am due some fun!

TAA had to go as a bit of a wildcard. He doesn’t have to play right back and would probably be as good as a wide midfielder or even winger. He’s been in good form since his dropping. Surprised that Saka remains over JWP.

Think Lingard is unlucky based upon club form but like Southgate said he only got back into the frame due to injuries to others.

I still think our biggest issue is CB and defending in general, all of the defenders selected are really good players but never really seem to be on the same page as a unit.

What I would say though there’s bags of talent in the squad and they all seem keen to be involved so if the best players aren’t burnt out then we should do well but I suspect we’ll be plucky QF/SF ists again.

Quoted from HertsGTFC

Think Lingard is unlucky based upon club form but like Southgate said he only got back into the frame due to injuries to others.

I still think our biggest issue is CB and defending in general, all of the defenders selected are really good players but never really seem to be on the same page as a unit.

What I would say though there’s bags of talent in the squad and they all seem keen to be involved so if the best players aren’t burnt out then we should do well but I suspect we’ll be plucky QF/SF ists again.

All the defenders are error prone and injected with the Southgate keepball serum regardless of the danger to the team. This does not make them bad players per se but it puts a big question mark on whether they could ever get a clean sheet against a top team and puts  pressure on the strikers to get goals from open play which has not been our forte.

So if we go a goal down where is our touch line strategist suddenly going to find an answer when the opposition just shuts down the midfield and goes tight on the England strikers with a spare man at the back? This is the tactic sides used against England last time. This competition looks stronger and there’s no sign the manager has found an answer.

KO comps are about making the right hard headed decision at the right time. Talent will only get you so far.

Quoted from TheRonRaffertyFanClub

All the defenders are error prone and injected with the Southgate keepball serum regardless of the danger to the team. This does not make them bad players per se but it puts a big question mark on whether they could ever get a clean sheet against a top team and puts  pressure on the strikers to get goals from open play which has not been our forte.

So if we go a goal down where is our touch line strategist suddenly going to find an answer when the opposition just shuts down the midfield and goes tight on the England strikers with a spare man at the back? This is the tactic sides used against England last time. This competition looks stronger and there’s no sign the manager has found an answer.

KO comps are about making the right hard headed decision at the right time. Talent will only get you so far.

I seem to recall that you’ve always had a problem with Southgate Ron.

In all honesty, I can’t see Southgate leading us to any kind of success. The World Cup semi final looks good, but break it down and we got an easy run and even then struggled in some games. We’ve arguably got one of the strongest attacking squads in years, but I’m not confident the likes of foden, mount, sterling etc will flourish under him.

I hope I’m wrong, because this euros really is winnable with the squad we have!

Quoted from HertsGTFC

I seem to recall that you’ve always had a problem with Southgate Ron.

You have a good memory Herts!😀

I think ha may be a decent coach but not a manager. He fit the bill just at the time when Spain had been passing everyone into oblivion. But now something else is needed to win tournament games and I just have severe doubts that he has it. But we shall see, I’ll be cheering as loud as anyone if he proves me wrong! 😀

Quoted from Mariner_09

We'll end up going out in the last 16 to a Fernandes pen.

That’ll be after he’s dived ( oops sorry, ) been hacked from behind. If England play Portugal the at least 2 ambulances will be required for Fernandez and Grealish, both spend more time on the floor then on their feet.

Quoted from Mariner93er

In all honesty, I can’t see Southgate leading us to any kind of success. The World Cup semi final looks good, but break it down and we got an easy run and even then struggled in some games. We’ve arguably got one of the strongest attacking squads in years, but I’m not confident the likes of foden, mount, sterling etc will flourish under him.

I hope I’m wrong, because this euros really is winnable with the squad we have!

We may have had an easy run and arguably struggled in some games, but it was also a far lesser squad than this one.

In 2018 we had quite a weak and average squad so Southgate over achieved on that front.  In the 3 years since we've had an absolute glut of talent emerge that rightly puts us as one of the favourites.  I don't think Southgate can really be judged on 2018 either way, it was just an outcome most of us didn't expect.  This time around the expectations are much, much higher and he'll be judged on any failures.

Much is made of Southgate's negative approach and whilst I would like to see him unleash the shackles a bit, the one area we're still weak in is defence.  If we went all-out, the better sides would expose our weakness with ease.   I also think that in a tournament situation against the better sides, his style will better suit our pacy attackers on the counter.  It's against the so called lesser sides that I think he'll need to go for it a bit more.   For this reason alone I'm quite surprised he hasn't taken Ward-Prowse.  For games when teams will just park the bus, his ability from set-pieces could be crucial.   If Alexander-Arnold does have to withdraw through injury, I'd be disappointed if anyone else but Ward-Prowse who replaces him.

I can't see England ever winning a tournament. There is something that happens to an English player when he pulls on an England shirt that turns him from a decent player to an average one.

I don't know if it's fear or pressure or that England don't pay their wages so they're not that bothered. I just don't know.

It doesn't help that the moment we win a game in any tournament the media start screaming 'it's coming home' and the country looks like a Loyalist estate in Belfast.