UEFA European Championship 2021

(12-07-2021 02:05 )southsidestu Wrote:  Watching this match felt like watching England vs Croatia in the World Cup…

Nice round-up of the similarities with 2018, Southsidestu. All very good points.

I still struggle to condemn a manager that got his team to a final by conceding just two goals: a free-kick wonder-goal and a very scrappy one off a corner kick. Unless you’re Brazil, tournament teams are built on solid, composed defence and I think England have that now.

I don’t have a problem with them sitting back to defend a lead. The missing piece of the jigsaw IMO was a counter-attacking threat in that defensive set-up. He arguably could have sacrificed one of Rice or Phillips earlier in the game to give them one more speedy outlet to aim for whenever they got the ball back.

The team needs finessing, not an overhaul, so I’m not sure a new manager — least of all some egotistical Mourinho-type — is needed. Southgate is the apex of a much more robust England set-up, which includes a national training centre, improved player development, more and better coaches, a sports science capability, etc..

We once decried the lack of a footballing culture or identity for the England team. We’re finally getting one and it’s working. The team is getting better.

If Southgate were to hang it up — and I hope he doesn’t — I’d want a manager who’ll come in and adapt his own thinking to suit the system that’s been created. Not some primadonna with a cupboard full of club trophies who’ll want to uproot the whole thing.

What the fuck do bookies know anyway

and anyway its 8/1

Shame the country let everyone down - booing the Italian anthem, storming the Wembley gates/entrances, trashing Leicester sq, the violence, racist comments. Disgraceful

Regardless of what happened with the penalties, England had a terrific tournament and we should be happy about that. Remember the Euros last time when we lost to 2-1 Iceland. Now we only concede 2 goals in 7 matches and that includes playing Germany and Italy. Well done to Gareth Southgate and all the players. Apart from 1966 this is our best tournament ever.

Good tournament only regret was we didnt go for it last 15 mins of regular and then in Extra time would rather have us got the likes of sancho and grealish on and lost 2-1 in regular or extra time than to be negative and lose on pens

we have a great young squad that will only grow well unless what happened with the racist crap fucks with there heads and who could blame them

hope this will power them on to next world cup or Euros or even world cup after most will be hitting peak then

It was a disappointment of a match , Southgate went to type and tried to defend the whole match when Italy where on the ropes in first half and 2nd goal would have ended to game,
And so poor at the end seeing experience pros like sterling throw a young kid under the bus for that 5th pen, also poor management putting two on to take pens at the end who had not touched the ball in the match that never works,

The penalty takers were decided by Southgate not Sterling! He will have based it on the penalty practice they had been doing in training and each of those players stepped up so lets not blame them or Sterling please

VAR didn't seem to work very well. If the ref and the back up team got it right then Italian captain Chiellini should have been sent off for dangerous play rather than just being booked for a shirt pull.

It wouldn't have changed the result as it was at the end of extra time but it would have stopped a cheat from holding the trophy.

I'm not happy that some bigots are bringing race into the penalty shootout.

On a positive note we can now lay the ghost of Pickford being an international goalkeeper. He's proved to be the tournements top keeper.

(12-07-2021 11:38 )winsaw Wrote:  And so poor at the end seeing experience pros like sterling throw a young kid under the bus for that 5th pen

Gareth Southgate:
“I chose the penalty takers, not the players. It was my decision not theirs. I chose the penalty takers based on what we've done in training".

(12-07-2021 11:49 )Charlemagne Wrote:  it would have stopped a cheat from holding the trophy.

Unfortunately that isn't true. All squad members of the winning country are allowed to lift the trophy, regardless of any red cards or suspensions.

Zinedine Zidane for example was told he was free to collect his silver medal in the 2006 World Cup, despite his ending off in the final.

The same is true in club football, which is why John Terry and other suspended Chelsea players lifted the Champions League trophy in 2012.