KB1862

@liampie I think he would do it with honour of course, he's spent enough years here to love the place particularly Liverpool. But, being a German in charge of England if things go bad the criticism will be off the scales due to this reason. There's not many English managers to take chances on really. Eddie Howe, who you've mentioned, is the clear choice when talking of English managers. Behind him there's Graham Potter and probably Sean Dyche in the mix. Other than them, there's the likes of Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney. None of which stand out as a potential England manager. We just don't seem to produce many English managers to do a job like the likes of Spain do. So I think a foreign option could be the way to go but it has to be someone who has worked in this country and system before. Pochettino doesn't get enough mentions. Ange Postecoglu is another that could be worth a punt on. Lee Carsley will be the man the FA take a gamble on to succeed Southgate given his work with the u21s.

But then you're losing out on potential transfer fees with the sale of players coming through the academy which could potentially be more financially beneficial to the club more than saving money on an academy being closed. A braver coach might be a good option to take the chances on these players but again it comes back to the point that I made about being a League Two club. Young player breaks through - has regular first team football - clubs start looking into player - club higher up offers a transfer fee that the club can't turn down - player gets sold.

@Robbie I agree, it feels like this was a huge missed opportunity. Me personally I would be more gutted about England losing a final. Last night I wasn't too gutted because I had low expectations going in to the tournament and Spain were by far the better team in the tournament and it proved to be closer than I would have thought. However, when England lost to Italy in the Euros final 3 years ago that really hurt. It was devastating to lose on penalties. The other reason I'd say England losing a final is that, there is the long wait of 2 years to go again in a major tournament, if they qualify, where as in club football you go again a few months later for a whole season and another shot.

@Piethagoram Having a German in charge of the England National team doesn't quite sound right but Klopp could be what this crop of England talent need. His style of play and the way he sets his teams up could really get the best out of the players. I agree with @Wheelbarrow repair man I think the only thing that would tempt him would be the German National team.

I agree with this. Palmer and Gordon deserved more of an opportunity and Gareth Southgate didn't know what to do with the creative talent. Spain were undoubtedly the best team of the tournament by far and they were also the better team last night but what makes it slightly frustrating is that England helped them look like the better team. Spain have always been a team that handles possession, breaks lines and has a lot of creative spark when they get in to the final third which they did last night but we allowed them to play there game. England were set up in a low block, counter attacking set up that allowed Spain to play to their strengths passing the ball around and making motions forward. The winning goal could have been avoided had players been closing down the ball quicker and stepping up to players receiving the ball. When Spain played France, the French were at them not giving them a moment on the ball and it forced them to play long balls at times and it was the only time this tournament that Spain looked like they may not have all the answers even though they still got through. Whenever we broke at their defence, they didn't seem to be very comfortable when defending our advances but the way the team was set up meant that was limited and we were starved of the ball. They have shown cracks in their defence all tournament, when they conceded possession, but it wasn't exploited enough. You have to feel that had we been more adventurous and taking them on the front foot that we may have been in with more of a chance. We got the goal back and then proceeded to sit back when it was clear to see that we had the better of their defence.

@Wheelbarrow repair man Agree with the points you have made in this. Brian Clough was more than good enough to become England manager and quite possibly should have, taking nothing away from Sir Bobby Robson, but with the way Brian Clough was the FA wouldn't have been able to handle him the same way they would have wanted. He'd have done it his way and stuck to his guns never giving in to the pressure. I remember reading that about Walter Winterbottom in a book and wasn't it Alf Ramsay who came in and stamped his authority on the FA and told them he should be the one to select teams rather than a committee? Southgate does appear to be a yes man but I think the tactics are his own, being a defender himself. Whether it's true or not only Southgate and the FA will know.

Unfortunately, the best team won the tournament. Spain played and beat Croatia, Italy, Germany, France and England on their route to lifting the trophy. As the saying goes "To be the best you have to beat the best" and that's exactly what Spain did. Breaking multiple records along the way.

@Wheelbarrow repair man I get the point in the post that players just seem to graduate and are given limited opportunities and the club tends to send them out on loan to gain experience but then never breaking through to the senior squad before ultimately being sold off. It can be frustrating seeing this happen to many players especially the likes of Brooks, Mahovo and Munakandafa who probably all were capable of having a shot but to reiterate @True Magpie point, maybe Notts just haven't got the facilities or capabilities that other clubs have at their disposal to help them along and reach their full potential. Curtis Thompson, another player you mentioned in this post, was a great player who should've been kept on rather than sold. He shown he was capable while he was at Notts and went on to further show himself as a good player at Wycombe. There may be players who manage to break through but unfortunately being a League Two club, those players who break through will be sold off to clubs higher up as it will generate an income for the club, the player will have a better chance of reaching their potential and it's hard for a club such as ourselves to say no to and deprive these players of opportunities like these to move up.

I've often been critical of Southgate but only because the way he sets up tactically isn't up to scratch. His in game management is poor as we've seen with late substitutions, lack of changes and not being able to make the necessary changes to impact the game. He just doesn't have the ability to do so. This got exposed in the games against Croatia in the 2018 World Cup semi final and against Italy in the Euro 2020 final. However, what I will say for Southgate to his credit is that he made supporting England joyful again (tactics aside). What Southgate did was he ended the cliques that have hindered the National team for years and changed the perception of how the fans see the England squad by humanising the players. Everything he has done off the pitch has been remarkable and no matter how much people criticise him (myself included) he deserves praise for doing that. He took over an England side that were at the lowest of lows following a humiliating defeat to Iceland in Euro 2016, everyone was at rock bottom but he came in addressed the issue and took us from rock bottom to where we are now. I do feel like it is time for Southgate to step down as England manager though. He has laid the foundations for success but he's taken us as far as he can. I don't think he's capable of getting over that line, under Southgate we'll always be that nearly team but the foundations have been set by Southgate for someone to come in and get us over that line. With the group of players he now has at his disposal, this tournament was a huge missed opportunity. I don't think the players are suited to his way of playing and I don't think he's suited to the players he has. 100% agree with this. This is another example of what has let Southgate down as a manager, his loyalty to players has been detrimental to the squad. I've mentioned the prospect of doing this before. Kane likes to drop deep which is fine at times as he can distribute the ball but when he's a lone striker he can not be doing this and Southgate has needed to address this but when it happens every game, you have to think it's part of the tactics. Having someone like Watkins up top with Kane allows Kane to drop deep and Watkins to run in behind. It worked in the 2018 World Cup when Southgate played Sterling just off of Harry Kane. This is a worthwhile listen. They all hit the nail on the head when they talk about Southgate's future. Agreed. Southgate, by playing Kane when he doesn't look fit and even admitted after the game last night that he came into the tournament with a lack of games, has almost practically put Kane in the firing line rather than allowing him to recover or changing it up.

The problem is with the quota set about having to have a certain amount of home grown talent to meet the quota when registering a squad. Clubs exploit the loophole with this. Take a look at Manchester City, they have Scott Carson sitting as a 3rd choice keeper with no real intention of playing him he is only there to meet the homegrown talent quota. PL clubs seem to go for foreign imports rather than homegrown players. I understand the figures as @Piethagoram has pointed out as to why they do go more for foreign players rather than homegrown but even when clubs do take a chance on signing a homegrown talent from either the lower half of the PL or in the EFL, they seem to waste away on the bench, loaned out or get limited opportunities before being sold on. As @Robbie has said, Spain have a majority homegrown in their clubs maybe it's time we try do that in England to encourage clubs to do the same thing. Even in Germany, they have a brilliant reputation of developing talent. Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham enhanced themselves in the Bundesliga. Germany's u21 team that beat England u21s in 2009 consisted of players like Boateng, Neuer and Ozil. Altogether that squad from 2009 went on to win over 400 caps for the senior team winning a World Cup in the process. The England u21's however have about 300 less caps with James Milner having the most at 61. There's a combination of problems with the system from a lack of homegrown players playing for the top clubs in England to not bringing through the young talent of the u21s to the senior side. Luis De La Fuente coached the youth teams of Spain and has brought from those youngsters and they have all gelled well together. Maybe it's something the FA should look into doing more of.

What's everyone's recommendations on sizing for the shirts? As in previous seasons some have said go a size or 2 higher. Also noticed this when I went on to the club shop website...

I read and heard it's also the latest goal ever scored in a Euros semi final during regulation time as well.

Jatta or Scott will get it but it depends on who we bring in before squad numbers are assigned. I agree with @liampie numbers don't seem to mean anything these days as they once did.

I love the back and forth banter between England and Germany. This is a great message.

It's a difficult one to judge. Even with the replays I saw both sides of the argument. I do understand why the penalty was given after the referee saw the footage back, it could seem a harsh one to concede but I think the main judgement from the referee was how high Dumfries foot was and the fact his studs caught Kane's foot with the angle he raised himself at. I'm not 100% certain that's a stance a defender would make to block a shot like that. The thing about this type of situation is that had a striker done that to a defender anywhere on the pitch, it's given as a free kick. As is usually the case, they say "anywhere outside the box it's a free kick". So if it's a free kick anywhere else on the pitch surely it's a penalty when it's inside the box? So based on this I think the correct decision was made. I do get the frustrations by the Dutch with this being given as we'd all be up in arms about it if it went against England. Had Kane not stayed down like he did, I don't think that's given as a penalty. But, football boots are super thin these days and when a stud collides with a players foot while they're connecting with the ball like Kane did, it probably was a painful one to take cause of the combination of the impact and thin boots catching on studs.

From the things I've heard about the lad, he sounds like a promising defender and could possibly be a welcomed addition to the club.

The game last night was by far England's best performance of the tournament, especially the first half. Dominated the midfield so much so that when Memphis Depay came off Ronald Koeman had to bring on another midfielder to regain some control in there. Phil Foden looked to be on form last night. He was closing down well, running with the ball well, making spaces for himself to receive a pass and get attacks going. He can feel hard done not to have scored. That little jinking run he had in the box deserved a goal but unfortunately got blocked on the line. His other effort from distance that hit the post was unlucky and would have been deserving of that goal had it gone in. After a good first half, thought the game was there for the taking. But whatever was said at half time or changed tactically, it hindered our performance. We looked a different side in the second half to what was out first half. We allowed Netherlands to get themselves back in the game, had shades of Croatia in 2018 and Italy in 2021 about it when we were comfortably dominating the game only to allow them a route back into the game with a chance. Fortunately that wasn't the case. Was it a penalty for Harry Kane? I understand why it was given and there is a case for it. Had it been awarded to the Netherlands of course we'd all be up in arms about it. Maradona handled it in 86, Beckham shouldn't have seen red in 98, Sol Campbell's goal should have stood in 2004 and Lampard's shot went over the line in 2010. So it was nice for us to get a little bit of luck. Even better when it was against a team led by Koeman. Payback for 1993 when he should have been sent off for the foul on Platt. Harry Kane had a better game, still not 100% convinced by him this tournament. The substitutions were, again, late but it proved to be good subs as Palmer linked up with Watkins to grab the winner. Watkins took his chance superbly well, I thought he had gone too wide but he someone managed to bang it in far post. I'm still not sure why Saka's goal was disallowed, Walker looked level to me on replays would have liked to have seen Var show the Semi automated offside replay of that one to settle it. Everything that happened in the game was something all of us England fans have wanted to see. 3 at the back, Mainoo in the midfield, Foden playing as a 10 and Harry Kane off for Watkins. Weghourst should have seen a yellow at least with some of his fouls. There were multiple of them worthy of being booked. But in terms of the Netherlands breaking and looking dangerous, I thought our defenders matched up to them especially Guehi. He's been superb this tournament and continued that last night. It was a great hit by Simons, take nothing away from the strike however I think it could have been avoided Rice was caught out needlessly and Walker perhaps could have closed him down sooner.

It's amazing how there are people commenting on how we're going to finish mid table or lower this season and that the manager will be gone before christmas based on this pre-season friendly. From what I heard of the game, there were a few good signs especially from the trialists as @ARLukomski has highlighted. But what is key to note about this pre-season game is that, it's not just about performance it's about players get match fit and ready for the season ahead.

Here's hoping that England will meet Spain in the final. I think Spain can be got at, Georgia got at them so to did France multiple times. Plus take how good the French back line has been this tournament, Spain didn't fully play their usual tiki taka game and at times couldn't break the defence down like they would normal, instead they went for diagonal long balls to get in behind. With that being said, England's defence has been well organised and I think we could nullify their game if we end up meeting them in the final.

All set for the game tonight. Dropped kids off at dance class and informed their dance teacher that I'll be fetching them earlier than usual tonight. It was either miss dance altogether, see out the whole dance lessons and I miss the football or miss just one lesson and be back for the football. Plus, my daughter doesn't mind missing one lesson cause "we can't miss the football tonight" ???? Would agree that it's quite possibly the goal of the tournament. Based on like you mentioned the importance of it plus it was a tremendous strike, no keeper was ever saving that. Gary Lineker has been raving about him all season tbf and I can see why, I just hope that they allow him to develop rather than hype him up too much and then it amounts to nothing as we've seen with many players in the past who had bright futures.

I think this is the take that the game will shape. I feel as though it will be the Netherlands who will take the game to us and force us to play. It's not necessarily a bad scenario because when we are forced to play, we can blow teams away as has been shown before but we shouldn't need another team to force us to play to our strengths so I'm hoping that we get going from the start and don't sit back on it. This could be a more open game than we've seen from either side so far in the tournament. Neither England nor the Netherlands have been exactly great throughout this tournament in terms of performances. Keep to the same system as the previous game and we can get at them. As @Robbie mentioned subs can make an impact and it could be that that turns the game. Hopefully he makes them earlier than he has previously, especially when things need freshening up if they do.

Thought there was potential in the lad but I wish him all the best and hope the transfer works out for him, seems like it could be a good move.

Think for sure Matty Palmer is the first point of call to take the armband.

It was inevitable that Langstaff would eventually be sold to a team higher up the divisions than us. He's been remarkable over the past 2 seasons, 71 goals in 97 games is an outstanding record irrelevant of level it's played at. Thought for sure that when he was given the armband, we'd at least have him for at least one more season. I hope that the fee for Macca is higher than is being reported or there are some decent add ons to go with the deal. But, I'm sure the owners have a player or 2 in mind to potentially come in as a replacement. All that's left to do now is watch a Macca goal compilation and wish him all the best going forward. ????

@Joshua You can understand the disappointment of going behind, no one likes to see their team go behind especially with the timing of their goal but the main thing was the performance. All fans wanted was the team to turn up to this tournament. Of course they want to get the win but given how they turned up finally and played good football that wasn't boring to watch, I don't think many would have come away too disappointed had we lost compared to how frustrated they'd have been had we lost and played like we did in the previous 4 games. It's good that England gave us all some joy and as you mentioned about fans backing the team confident that they'd come back into the game. Something we wouldn't have seen in the previous 4 games. I think the whole performance was benefitted by players playing in their natural positions, which also helped fans get behind the team that bit more. It feels like everything England fans wanted during this tournament was finally given to them for this game and it proved to be successful.