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The Euro 2024 Thread


AlexLaw76
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England (and Scotland) preparations start tonight...

Will it be our year, or more glorious failure....with the likes of Kane, Foden, Bellingham and co, England have significant firepower..

 

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That England team is a right mess. Unless it's a back 3, Alexander Arnold in midfield, and christ knows who at full back apart from Trippier on one side.

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9 minutes ago, Kenilworthy said:

Failure. As it always will be while Southgate is in charge.

I mean, it's been failure for everyone since 1966 so don't be too hard on Gareth.

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Don’t think anyone has got an eye for a pass more than Cole Palmer - threads through the tightest of spaces

Unbelievably talented squad so expect nothing less than winning the trophy. 

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33 minutes ago, sfc4prem said:

I mean, it's been failure for everyone since 1966 so don't be too hard on Gareth.

Previous managers have been reliant on the likes of Trevor Sinclair, Emile Heskey and Darius Vassell. Southgate is getting similar results despite having Kane, Palmer, Grealish, Saka, Foden, Bellingham, Maddison, Eze, Watkins and Toney to choose from.

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49 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

Previous managers have been reliant on the likes of Trevor Sinclair, Emile Heskey and Darius Vassell. Southgate is getting similar results despite having Kane, Palmer, Grealish, Saka, Foden, Bellingham, Maddison, Eze, Watkins and Toney to choose from.

I mean, you've picked the cream of the 2024 crop and selected the dross of earlier years.

Let's flip it, shall we?

Gareth's having to work with the likes of Dunk, Guehi and Gallagher, whereas previous managers have had the likes of Rooney, Lampard, Gerrard, Scholes and Cole to work with.

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2 minutes ago, sfc4prem said:

I mean, you've picked the cream of the 2024 crop and selected the dross of earlier years.

Let's flip it, shall we?

Gareth's having to work with the likes of Dunk, Guehi and Gallagher, whereas previous managers have had the likes of Rooney, Lampard, Gerrard, Scholes and Cole to work with.

We aren't reliant on any of those three, they get try outs in friendlies but ultimately are unlikely to be in the team come the Euros. We should have done an awful lot better in the 2004-2008 period with the players we had but that doesn't change the fact that Southgate has underachieved with this lot. Beaten by the first decent team we face in every tournament.

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I find the defensive nature of the England team very disappointing. 4-2-3-1 v a Bosnia 4-5-1, fuck me, tedious bollox. 
 

I’d love to see us go a 4-1-4-1. 2 full backs: TAA and Shaw inverted. One CDM who can slot in between the 2 CBs, probably Rice. Kane in front of Bellingham, Foden, Palmer and Saka. That front 5 will scare the shit out of Europe. 

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2 hours ago, whelk said:

Don’t think anyone has got an eye for a pass more than Cole Palmer - threads through the tightest of spaces

Unbelievably talented squad so expect nothing less than winning the trophy. 

Southgate will fuck it up but a midfield and attack of 

Bellingham Rice 

Saka Palmer 

Foden 

Kane 

Has to be the best in world football. It's like fantasy football ffs. 

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23 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Southgate will fuck it up but a midfield and attack of 

Bellingham Rice 

Saka Palmer 

Foden 

Kane 

Has to be the best in world football. It's like fantasy football ffs. 

That’s a very good midfield/attack

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Posted (edited)
5 hours ago, AlexLaw76 said:

England (and Scotland) preparations start tonight...

Will it be our year, or more glorious failure....with the likes of Kane, Foden, Bellingham and co, England have significant firepower..

 

As depressing as it is to say it, I literally couldn't care less about England or the Euro's currently. Southgate is appalling - I think tactically the worst manager we've had in my football supporting lifetime - and he's being wasted on a side with some of the best players in world football. Its embarrassing. The writing was on the wall / should have been sacked after Croatia 2018, should certainly have gone after that Italy fiasco/surrender at Wembley, and then again after the nations league pre world cup. How he got another world cup and now euros is just mental. There are some absolute dinosaurs at the FA. He's not had one convincing knock out game whilst in charge ffs. The sole blessing perhaps, is that at least with Southgate in charge its almost certain we won't win 😂
 

Edited by Saint86
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2 hours ago, sfc4prem said:

I mean, you've picked the cream of the 2024 crop and selected the dross of earlier years.

Let's flip it, shall we?

Gareth's having to work with the likes of Dunk, Guehi and Gallagher, whereas previous managers have had the likes of Rooney, Lampard, Gerrard, Scholes and Cole to work with.

Not to mention Shearer, Gazza, Robson, Linekar,  both Ferdinands...

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1 hour ago, East Kent Saint said:

Eze looked good , found many ways to beat a defender

Yep, positive.

I guess it depends on injuries but at the moment my list of the 7 players that will get cut is:

Trafford

Quansah

Dunk (or Guehi, undecided but Guehi is more versatile which we may need)

Wharton (he looked promising yesterday but I don't think Southgate takes him yet).

Jones

Gordon

I'm glad I'm not the one making the decisions though! Gordon I chose to omit over Bowen - his time might yet come but Bowen is the more experienced option with goals in him if it comes down to use needing him (and Bowen can also play as a striker if something happens to Watkins or Kane. There are also arguments as to whether Toney goes over Watkins but I think I'd take Watkins as the other striker. I tried to make the argument to take all 3 strikers but it would mean leaving o ne of Eze or Maddison out and I favour taking them over a 3rd striker (with Bowen as the possible 3rd striker if needed).

Put it this way - we're lucky the squad was extended to 26 players as cutting another 3 from that would have been REALLY difficult! 

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I guess with Che leaving we will only have Jan in the Euro's or am i missing someone else ?

Would prefer most of the squad is ready and available for a full pre-season and euro finals finishes on 14th July, even more so any new signings.

 

 

 

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26 minutes ago, Convict Colony said:

I guess with Che leaving we will only have Jan in the Euro's or am i missing someone else ?

Would prefer most of the squad is ready and available for a full pre-season and euro finals finishes on 14th July, even more so any new signings.

 

 

 

Che is still our player until (IF) Scotland reach the Quarter Finals I believe. 

 

Stu Armstrong could be fit enough for the Scotland squad too.

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12 hours ago, Lighthouse said:

We aren't reliant on any of those three, they get try outs in friendlies but ultimately are unlikely to be in the team come the Euros. We should have done an awful lot better in the 2004-2008 period with the players we had but that doesn't change the fact that Southgate has underachieved with this lot. Beaten by the first decent team we face in every tournament.

I mean, this is just palpable nonsense. :lol:

We got to a World Cup semi-final with Ashley Young playing as a left wing-back, FFS. Expectations were probably at an all-time low that year after the shambles of Euro 2016 and yet we got further than we'd managed since 1990.

Only one team can win each tournament, and there are usually multiple teams who have the ability to do so, other than if you basically piss the tournament but don't turn up in the final, there aren't really any "should have won that" teams. There's a reason the favourites for the upcoming Euros (and pretty much all previous tournaments) are 4/1, a one-in-five chance, and not evens or odds-on. It only takes one game where the opposition are also good and things fall their way - take France in Qatar, we played well in that game, should have at least taken it to extra time but you can't really legislate for Harry Kane landing a penalty in Bahrain rather than the back of the net. Then you're into a semi-final against Morocco, who we'd expect to beat, and then a final against Argentina who, let's be honest, weren't that good really... imagine the reaction if we'd lost to Saudi Arabia, FFS.

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Posted (edited)
12 hours ago, Lighthouse said:

We aren't reliant on any of those three, they get try outs in friendlies but ultimately are unlikely to be in the team come the Euros. We should have done an awful lot better in the 2004-2008 period with the players we had but that doesn't change the fact that Southgate has underachieved with this lot. Beaten by the first decent team we face in every tournament.

I think we've had a decent period since 2018, final appearances, Semi finals etc. Better than what we were doing under Sven. I think losing a final on penalties is luck of the draw, I wouldn't call that underachieving.

I think our attacking options are up there with the best, Saka, Palmer, Foden, Kane, Eze, Grealish, Bellingham (kind of) - it's a ridiculous pool of talent (I've probably forgotten one as well)

Where we can't quite match that is at the back, so he's having to work with quite limited centre backs outside of Stones. Defensively will be where we come unstuck (if we do). I just hope Southgate can get the best out of Foden, Bellingham, Kane and Palmer though - the top 4 English players right now. 

My only criticism with Southgate is that he's quite risk averse, my feeling is that with the attackers we have we just need to go for it.

Edited by S-Clarke
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4 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

My only criticism with Southgate is that he's quite risk averse

But that is what international football is all about, really. As a coach, you get such little time with the players that it invariably means that the best teams, and probably more importantly the ones who have the best chance to win tournaments, are the ones that control games. It's where we've got so much better during the Southgate era, we have learned over the years to control games on our terms.

As you rightly say, the defensive options probably aren't as strong as they have been in the past - Stones, Maguire and Shaw with fitness issues this season, and the depth options haven't yet convinced - but we are now finally giving that defence a bit of protection with Rice becoming a top player, and the dilemma is who plays in that role alongside him.

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39 minutes ago, stevegrant said:

I mean, this is just palpable nonsense. :lol:

We got to a World Cup semi-final with Ashley Young playing as a left wing-back, FFS. Expectations were probably at an all-time low that year after the shambles of Euro 2016 and yet we got further than we'd managed since 1990.

Only one team can win each tournament, and there are usually multiple teams who have the ability to do so, other than if you basically piss the tournament but don't turn up in the final, there aren't really any "should have won that" teams. There's a reason the favourites for the upcoming Euros (and pretty much all previous tournaments) are 4/1, a one-in-five chance, and not evens or odds-on. It only takes one game where the opposition are also good and things fall their way - take France in Qatar, we played well in that game, should have at least taken it to extra time but you can't really legislate for Harry Kane landing a penalty in Bahrain rather than the back of the net. Then you're into a semi-final against Morocco, who we'd expect to beat, and then a final against Argentina who, let's be honest, weren't that good really... imagine the reaction if we'd lost to Saudi Arabia, FFS.

We lost as many games as we won and we only beat Tunisia, Panama and Sweden. Fair play for finally winning a shootout but we still only got a draw against Colombia. For all the ifs and buts against France in Qatar, when push game to shove we didn’t win. Again.

The biggest nation we’ve beaten at a major tournament under Southgate was Germany in 2021, and they were somewhat mediocre in that tournament; scraping through their group after a late equaliser against Hungary.

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GIF by Ghostbusters

No reason why we can't bring it home. Southgate will be the fall guy if we don't though, we know that much. A first, fit, XI of (IMO)

PIckford, Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw, TAA, Rice, Saka, Bellingham, Foden, Kane is surely one of the best teams out there.

A fit Shaw gets in my line up - the only position I'd have as an uncertainty is Maguire's, he's in just on experience but Braithwaite or Gomez have made claims for that spot IMO.

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57 minutes ago, stevegrant said:

But that is what international football is all about, really. As a coach, you get such little time with the players that it invariably means that the best teams, and probably more importantly the ones who have the best chance to win tournaments, are the ones that control games. It's where we've got so much better during the Southgate era, we have learned over the years to control games on our terms.

As you rightly say, the defensive options probably aren't as strong as they have been in the past - Stones, Maguire and Shaw with fitness issues this season, and the depth options haven't yet convinced - but we are now finally giving that defence a bit of protection with Rice becoming a top player, and the dilemma is who plays in that role alongside him.

Yeah I appreciate that point, it makes sense - but it can sometimes be a bit of a chore watching!

I agree that having Rice in CM is an amazing plus for us now, I think he's one of the best in his position around at the moment - with him deeper, Bellingham a little more advanced....it does look good.

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9 minutes ago, Lee On Solent Saint said:

I have zero interest in watching England. I will be watching, but couldn't care less if they went out in the group stage or not. 

I think I always get a bit of excitement when a tournament comes around. I don't care much for the friendlies, but world cups or Euro's have resulted in some of my most memorable summers in my lifetime!

I'm a bit of a footballer watcher in general though, so there's nothing better for me than 3/4 games a day for a month.

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1 hour ago, S-Clarke said:

I think I always get a bit of excitement when a tournament comes around. I don't care much for the friendlies, but world cups or Euro's have resulted in some of my most memorable summers in my lifetime!

I'm a bit of a footballer watcher in general though, so there's nothing better for me than 3/4 games a day for a month.

I'll watch all the games, but guess I don't really class myself as an England fan. Never been able to get excited about the national team really. 

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16 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Proper oddball behaviour shouting to everyone that you don't care about the national team. I want us to win the bloody thing and be brilliant. I'm a football fan and an England fan. Crazy not to be. 

Couldn't care less about the national team. Being a football fan and wanting the national team to win aren't mutually exclusive. Would much rather Saints win a cup than having England winning a Euro or World Cup.

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12 minutes ago, Lee On Solent Saint said:

Couldn't care less about the national team. Being a football fan and wanting the national team to win aren't mutually exclusive. Would much rather Saints win a cup than having England winning a Euro or World Cup.

Similar to me.

I'd care more if England had some Saints players in the squad as they did with Lambert, Lallana etc. But then I'm really supporting those players to do well rather than the actual team.

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9 minutes ago, The Cat said:

Similar to me.

I'd care more if England had some Saints players in the squad as they did with Lambert, Lallana etc. But then I'm really supporting those players to do well rather than the actual team.

Think that's pretty much how I feel. I usually have more of an interest in the games that feature our players. Sadly, beyond Adams and Bednarek there isn't much else. 

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43 minutes ago, Lee On Solent Saint said:

Couldn't care less about the national team. Being a football fan and wanting the national team to win aren't mutually exclusive. Would much rather Saints win a cup than having England winning a Euro or World Cup.

It's not an either or thing. Why would you watch every game if you don't care less about it? Bizarre. 

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16 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

It's not an either or thing. Why would you watch every game if you don't care less about it? Bizarre. 

Of course it is. You can watch a game without caring about the outcome. Did you watch the Champions League final or the FA Cup final? Did you care about who won either game? I watch football but I only care about Saints. England winning doesn't have any effect on me at all. 

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2 minutes ago, Lee On Solent Saint said:

Of course it is. You can watch a game without caring about the outcome. Did you watch the Champions League final or the FA Cup final? Did you care about who won either game? I watch football but I only care about Saints. England winning doesn't have any effect on me at all. 

No I mean it's not a choice between Southampton winning a trophy or England. You can want both. clearly. 

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16 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

No I mean it's not a choice between Southampton winning a trophy or England. You can want both. clearly. 

Hypothetical speaking, if someone said to me would you rather Saints win the FA Cup or England win the World Cup, I would pick Saints winning everytime. It's just a personal choice, I love football, but just find all the hype surrounding the England team boring. I couldn't think of anything worse from a football perspective than watching England play live. Maybe is just a club thing that I find difficult to embrace. When these guys are playing for their clubs you give them absolute dog shit abuse, but when they come together for the national team they are all heroes. 

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12 minutes ago, Lee On Solent Saint said:

Hypothetical speaking, if someone said to me would you rather Saints win the FA Cup or England win the World Cup, I would pick Saints winning everytime. It's just a personal choice, I love football, but just find all the hype surrounding the England team boring. I couldn't think of anything worse from a football perspective than watching England play live. Maybe is just a club thing that I find difficult to embrace. When these guys are playing for their clubs you give them absolute dog shit abuse, but when they come together for the national team they are all heroes. 

Obviously but no one was arguing about a hypothetical scenario between saints winning a trophy hy or England winning one. That was never the conversation anyone was having. 

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52 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Obviously but no one was arguing about a hypothetical scenario between saints winning a trophy hy or England winning one. That was never the conversation anyone was having. 

No, but I was just expressing my personal opinion that I don't find watching England my thing. No drama if you don't agree with me. 

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5 minutes ago, Lee On Solent Saint said:

No, but I was just expressing my personal opinion that I don't find watching England my thing. No drama if you don't agree with me. 

Watching England isn't your thing yet you're going to watch every game. 

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Just now, hypochondriac said:

Watching England isn't your thing yet you're going to watch every game. 

I don't get what is so difficult to understand. Am non-plussed about England, don't care if they win, lose or draw. Same as if I was watching Scotland, Germany or Italy. It is possible to watch a game of football without having a vested interest in a particular team. Yes, I will most likely watch the England games, but not my thing to piss and moan when they get beat, nor will I be dancing in the street should they win the tournament. 

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2 minutes ago, Lee On Solent Saint said:

I don't get what is so difficult to understand. Am non-plussed about England, don't care if they win, lose or draw. Same as if I was watching Scotland, Germany or Italy. It is possible to watch a game of football without having a vested interest in a particular team. Yes, I will most likely watch the England games, but not my thing to piss and moan when they get beat, nor will I be dancing in the street should they win the tournament. 

So you want the games to be entertaining and don't care about who wins? Fair enough.

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I know England are not playing there, and it's only stadium related but I was in Leipzig last week so thought to show a few pics of the Red Bull Arena getting prepared for the upcoming tournament that might be of interest for some. Of course, they can't call it that during the Euros so the logos are all covered for it.

Yes I drove that little C2 there from the UK.

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Taken from the viewing platform on Leipzig's tallest building. Logos again covered.

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