Robbie

@Wheelbarrow repair man If you were on X you would see the hero worship going on for Southgate, for what he has done for England. They need a reality check. He won absolutely nothing. You don't get anything for being a finalist or a semifinalist. I'm glad he's gone to be honest and we need someone in charge who is going to take the difficult decisions & be able to say to some of the players, thanks but England needs to move on without you. The new England Manager needs to do things his way and not the FAs way. I'd like to see him look at players in the Championship as well as the PL. I don't want the new Manager to be a yes man either, but we know very well that all my wishes will not be realised.The FA will appoint the perennial yes man who will do as he is told. Nothing will change because the league rules prevent the large number of English players that we need to make England competitive with Spain and Germany for example.

In this case it seems the parents encouraged their child to practice with a gun and if the gun is registered to the parents they should have been responsible for securing that weapon in a lock up. The gun should have been in the charge of the parents at all times, ie, in a lock up when not in use, and the child could only handle it for target practice in the presence of either parent & under their supervision. At the very least they should have been charged with failing to secure a gun and allowing the gun to be used illegally by the son. But charging the parents with manslaughter is a step too far in my opinion.

Just one England player in the 11 chosen as the team of the tournament. On the other hand there are six Spanish players in the team Tells you all you need to know.

We thought that England had a great chance of following up their win in 66 with a win in 1970. When we were 2:0 up we were confident of getting to the semis but that was dashed rather quickly with the German comeback. So we have seen disappointment too. That was a very hard defeat to accept at the time.

Do you think the FA will go for a different approach when selecting the new England Manager, or will they go for a similar type Manager, character wise, that will just carry on with a similar style of play? I believe that the FA should go for someone different, but I don't think they will. The continental style holds sway, & I don't think that I'll change. What do PON members think?

So Gareth Southgate has resigned. The hunt will be on for his successor. Lee Carsley would be a good pick who is the Manager of England under 21 & has had success in winning the under 21 Euros. https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/talked-tactics-potential-next-england-29544748

@Wheelbarrow repair man After we won the World Cup Ramsey could walk on water till his first defeat after the World Cup win was against the old enemy, Scotland. Then the knives were out for him, so much so that a quarter finals defeat against West Germany in Mexico 1970 after England were 2:0 up then lost 2:3, proved to be the end for him

Now that the recruitment team have brought in seven new players, eight, if you include Jatta, since Stuart became head coach, it is now incumbent on Stuart to mould a team from the players he has, to challenge for promotion. On paper the recruiters have done well to bring in players that have performed well for their previous clubs. Stuart's honeymoon period is over. He will be judged by results from this point forward. Now he has to show that the owners were right to have confidence in him. He has a great opportunity with these players to make a mark for himself. It is down to him now.

I get your point @Simon Clark If we take Sanderson as an example, if there are seven players allowed on the bench, he should be there. A determination has to be made early whether an academy player is going to be good enough. Sanderson has shown that he is on the cusp. I say give the lad a chance and bring him on for a period of time every game & if he is good enough, give him a start. I would like to see Stuart play a couple of the leading academy players tomorrow night against Wealdsone.

So who could be the next England Manager? Let's look at some alternatives if the England Manager position becomes vacant. Do you have an alternative?

My take is that unless Southgate decides himself that it is time to go, he will stay as England manager because the FA like him and he is their type of Manager. What is their type of Manager, he is a yes man that does what he is told, & does not rock the boat at FA headquarters? He is also a manager that the players will like, because they know that their place in the side is virtually secure, because Southgate won't rock the team boat so much by making many changes. It was clear to everyone else, apart from Southgate, that when the substitutions were made, England improved & they became more dangerous to the opposition. So why didn't Southgate make changes and play those substitutes from the start in the next game? Because in my opinion, Southgate was either incapable of or just didn't want to rock the team boat & upset what he looked upon were the senior England players. And that is Southgate's big failing in my opinion.

When it comes down to it, it is mindset. England when behind, had attacked the Spanish goal to get back on terms, but once they had equalised, the England team, became cautious & negative once again. If you can sum up an England team under the Southgate Managership this would be it. It looks to me that Southgate is pushing this philosophy of safety first when drawing or in front, because for example, after Spain scored their second goal, England started attacking Spain again & nearly equalised when a header was cleared off the line in the last minute. Like I've said before, Southgate lacks boldness and this mindset spreads to the England players in how they play, when they are in front, or when they are drawing, compared to being behind. That's why I feel England will never win a tournament under Southgate.

I don't think there is an excuse not to include at least one academy player on the bench this season. League 2 clubs are allowed 7 players on the bench with up to 5 substitutions allowed. If the team is two or three goals ahead halfway through the second half, why not put an academy player on? Young players can improve if they are regularly playing with experienced senior players. Loaning them out to teams further down the football pyramid is not going to benefit a young player in my opinion.

You don't get anything for getting to a semi final or final without winning it. England were lucky to get the weakest side of the draw in Euro 24 and when it mattered, Southgate couldn't deliver. Three years ago in our HOME tournament he couldn't deliver. How many teams do we remember getting to the League Cup and FA Cup Semi Finals and Finals but fail to win it? The MSMedia try to concentrate peoples minds on semi finals & finals because there's nothing else to celebrate. Southgate is NOT successful because he has failed to win a tournament period. He has to be replaced with someone who is going to be bold enough to make the tough decisions on player selection. That would be a step in the right direction. But at the end of the day, while the FA allows so many foreign players in PL club squads, England will find it very hard, or near on impossible, to win a tournament with the lack of English players playing regularly at the top level. Jürgen Klopp nor any other foreign manager will not solve that conundrum. Only the FA itself can give England a better chance of winning by reducing drastically, the number of foreign players allowed to be in a PL club squad, but I don't see it ever happening.

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Both teams played in white shirts so it was just a good will gesture by the host Country England to let Germany play in their first playing strip & England changed to their second playing strip.

@liampie It would be nice to keep the unbeaten run going, & a clean sheet too. Wealdsone will be certainly up for this match, so it will be a tough test for us. I don't mind that, so long as we get a good result.

I just feel that the England side will always be at a disadvantage the way that the PL is allowing so many foreign players to dominate our top league, when Countries like Spain & Germany favour their home grown players as a percentage of their Premier League squads.