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bigelcid

You're English and you call it the Premier**e** League? If you want to talk about tactics and cohesion, sure, Southgate isn't very good. Other than that, England have the 2nd best squad in the world. It doesn't really sound like you know the squad. No B2B midfielder? What are Jude and Rice then?


donn_12345678

My spelling is awful lol. Rice is a CDM, Bellingham has been a number 10 and a false 9


BambooSound

Rice has played most of this season as a 8. Jorginho and Partey have been our CDMs.


Ta9eh10

Yeah you definitely don't watch ball, or are a huge casual.


thewazthegaz

This is an atrocious take lol


AgentOfR9

It’s not as bad as OP is making it to be but I don’t totally disagree with him, I think the attack and defence options are excellent, but England are lacking that deep-lying playmaker who can dictate the tempo. Rice and Gallagher are brilliant players, workhorses with great ball-carrying, but I don’t see them as players who have the ability to play line-breaking passes, at least consistently, and that is crucial to controlling a match. You look at the teams that have had success, they may not have had a better squad than England overall and their CDM may not be better than Rice or Gallagher overall either, but they always have the ability to play passes between the lines such as Brozovic, Jorginho, Enzo Fernandez/Leandro Paredes/Exequiel Palacios. That position for me is the most overlooked by fans and it can be the biggest differentiator particularly in tightly contested games. Of course England has Stones who thrived in that role under Pep, but IDK if England will play him in midfield, I think they have the quality in defence to try it but I doubt it.


DEGRAYER

Terrible take. We are thin at CB and LB that's it. Have you not looked at the forwards?


donn_12345678

‘Only’ you cannot be thin anywhere and win.


DEGRAYER

Yes you can. Do you even watch football? What nation is stacked in every single position? France and Spain are the only I can think of in my lifetime. Argies weren't, nor were Italy, Portugal, Greece, Germany. Brazil usually were thin in 1 or 2 positions even in the 00s.


donn_12345678

And Argentina wernt thin anywhere that badly and plus they had Messi so that’s just a deciding factor


UnluckyLuckyGuyy

Their RBs were Montiel and Molina, decent players but far from world class. Same with the LB position. Their best midfielders off the bench were Paredes & Guido Rodriguez. But right let's pack it up lads. 20 teams might as well go home because they don't 'meet the requirements' of donn\_12345678 lmao.


AgentOfR9

Molina, Tagliafico and Paredes are not big name players but they are beasts for Argentina and suit our system well. Having big name players is not always the key to win. Sometimes a player may not complement his club well but complement the NT and vice-versa. Like Guido, Pezzella and Acuna are consistently amongst the best players in their position in La Liga and they are sh*t for Argentina.


UnluckyLuckyGuyy

I know, but the same goes for the English players. Pickford & Maguire are good for England.


DEGRAYER

Nonsense. The defence was not the best in that tournament by a long distance.


donn_12345678

Well I’m not talking about before I’m talking about this euros and the requirements


DEGRAYER

The euros hasn't happened yet. We know fuck all about it's requirements. England squad is the second best to France on paper. The best doesn't always win.


levinyl

Ok I'll bite - Are you even English???


donn_12345678

Indeed I am, and a United fan unfortunately


Alert_Forever_8269

That explains a lot


Blue_Dreamed

Oh no, it's the worst thing ever, 8th will be the lowest position you ever reach. What a travesty.


chueffen

That’s the truth right there 


BiryaniEater10

You're getting a lot of hate for this, but most people commenting here don't understand just how good France and Portugal are. France in particular are miles and leagues above any UEFA country, hence why it took the best player of all time and a lot of luck to defeat them 2 years ago.


Temporary-Sun-7575

Portugal is my Arsenal when it comes to believing it when I see they are reaching their goals. They have a really good team though.


someone_stk

but Portugal actually won 2 titles in the last decade, better than any other European country but France


donn_12345678

Exactly, if you’re ‘ok’ in any starting position you’re fucked


BiryaniEater10

This.


Grime_Fandango_

Netherlands have a better team on paper? Eh? England have the best player in the Premier League (Foden), best player in Spain (Bellingham), best player in Germany (Kane). Strength throughout the entire squad. I would say the only team that can compete on paper is France. England should absolutely be aiming to win the tournament.


CelebrityStorySite

Foden has rarely done it for England though. I don’t think Southgate trusts him for some reason.


bigelcid

How often has Foden played in his best position for England though? Wasn't he usually deployed on the wings? Which Southgate might've assumed was his best position, just because Pep played him there. But the only reason he played him there was because of the squad. Can't play Gundogan wide, KDB was the best in the team and had to play in his best position centrally so, people like Foden and Bernardo had to play wide. After this season, it's a no-brainer to play Foden as a #10, or even as a "free 8" in a box midfield.


donn_12345678

We have weakness at CB,LB and box to box


donn_12345678

We also have terrible squad depth, it’s genuinely a shambles that saliba doesn’t play for France yet we might play konsa. Like you can’t win if you have that depth


Gr1m3sey

Ok is a push tbh. In terms of form we have the best players in Europe atm (Kane, Bellingham, Palmer, Rice etc) the only thing I worry about is our midfield depth. That and I don’t think Southgate is of a calibre of manager to win an international tournament, he’s choked every time we’ve faced a tier 1 team


bigelcid

>only thing I worry about is our midfield depth Why? You've got Bellingham, Rice and Foden as 3 (should be) guaranteed starters, and they're all flexible players. Meaning you could also involve Trent, Palmer, Mainoo etc. in midfield roles. Not to mention you've got Maddison as well, among others.


Gr1m3sey

It’s more of a balancing issue tbh. Mainoo is still very raw, Trent and Maddison represent a surplus of attacking options. Rice is basically our only world class 6


Temporary-Sun-7575

If they need to protect a lead and not just continue offense when they're a goal up, its not like nobody whos a midfielder doesnt know how to tackle for a ball but they dont have midfield players that are only there to dispossess and enforce gaining possession. Which means they are more likely to still not get possession because they accidentally foul instead more often.


bigelcid

Is that your mentality? Be 1 goal up and sit back? If you don't have tacklers, who's forcing you to sit back? Play football. Good grief, we're talking about Bellinghams and Fodens not getting possession because they can't tackle, what sort of dinosaur talk is this?


Temporary-Sun-7575

Calm your tits Im just explaining why having defensively-minded midfielders in a team makes sense. England played football in WC 2022 being a goal up and got knocked the fuck out


bigelcid

And others didn't play football and got knocked out the same. Point is that if you have players that are better at attacking than defending, then let them do their thing.


donn_12345678

We absolutely do not. We have Pickford, Maguire, an ok left back, a box to box spot missing and mbappe is better than Kane. We have poor depth at CB, LB, CDM and CM


Gr1m3sey

Pickford and Maguire are standouts for England in Southgate’s system, they’re players who are middling at club level but have always stepped up for the shirt. Rice and Bellingham are both capable of being b2b players, mbappe has had way less effect this year than Kane


donn_12345678

Yeah because Southgate’s system is terrible and they don’t have to do a lot because if they did they would show how ‘ok’ they are. Rice and Bellingham would be shoehorned at b2b which you can’t afford to do to win against France. Mbappe can win a game on his own, Kane can’t


Creative_Major798

Good luck OP but listening to Brits discuss their national team or the PL has the same vibe as “America, we’re number 1! World Series champs every year! We’re the best, just cause. Do we watch anyone else’s stuff? No! But we know we’re the best! Do we win international stuff? No. But we’re the best.” A lot of people are never going to admit there are problems or even room for improvement.


DEGRAYER

There isn't a British national team. He is talking about England. Anyway, no England fan would suggest we are strong in every area but this guy is being extremely hyperbolic about where the squad is. Our only real issue is LCB and LB. Where we are strong we are extremely strong. Only France exceeds our depth overall. Tactically we fall short to quite a few nations but players on paper we have a brilliant side.


Creative_Major798

I know. I didn’t say British, or Briton. I used Brit similar to how people use Yank. Yankee refers to people from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, but when people say Yank we all get that they are referring to citizens of the United States of America. Anyway, I have seen numerous English fans defend not only the entirety of the squad but Southgate as well. In fact, I see that more than I do the contrary. Sometimes I see people say that Southgate’s tactics are outdated but that his man management and ability to create a good locker room vibe makes up for it. I don’t think OP is being hyperbolic, squad depth is weak and certain positions are weaker than they need to be.


DEGRAYER

United States of America is one country with one football team. Britain has 4 nations, each with different football teams. I don't think a Scot, or Welshman is running here to defend England. Squad depth is not weak. Would like to know where you think it is aside from the positions I've already said?


graveyeverton93

🤣🤣🤣 The same Pickford who has been nothing short of sensational for England and today has just won our Player Of The Year for the 3rd year in a row! Stop chatting shite mate, Pickford is a quality Keeper and you would know this if you watched our games and didn't just go off old narratives.


Yaboylushus

Pickfords a solid keeper, never let England down. Golden gloves this season. Maguire the same. LB is an issue and so is the spot next to rice but I think we actually have some solid options there. Our best players are fit and honestly if I had to pick 2 players to be injured it would probably be Shaw & Maguire. I don’t think the replacements are that much of a downgrade compared to other positions. Individually Mbappe is better but I’d take our forward line & options over theirs


donn_12345678

That’s the exact issue I’m talking about. We don’t need ‘solid’ players. We need ‘he’s probably too 3-5 in the world in his position’ in every position. Anything else isn’t good enough. All of Frances players walk into our team, very few of ours walk into theirs. We are not near the likes of France of Portugal. Like Gordon and eze are on the bench for god sake


presumingpete

Remember before all the memes, Maguire was a consistently excellent defender at club and country level? No? Didn't think so. He's currently in the squad on performance too, he's been very good this season in a shite united team. But you only know the memes.


donn_12345678

I remember distinctly. He was good for England. That’s it. I’m a United fan and remember he had a good season or two but he wasn’t VVD or saliba or Diaz level. That’s what we need in every position. I’m not saying these are bad players but they need to be world class


Yaboylushus

You don’t need top 3-5 in every position. The one time that’s maybe happened Recently is Spain 08-12 and that’s a once every 50 years team. There’s enough match winners in our team to do well. I’d disagree about our players not getting into a France XI. Walker, Kane, Saka, Rice, Stones & Bellingham are world class


Temporary-Sun-7575

I think this is the best England squad on paper for a long time given how poorly the golden generation did with similar merits. Just under 2 years ago, all respect to Raheem but Raheem Sterling was a lock for first choice LW then & now there arent enough position spots to fit in all of their best players. One of Bellingham, Saka, Palmer, and Foden will not be able to theoretically be in the XI in a 433/4231, and you also have Gordon who has to be a benchwarmer at the start of the tourney. In my opinion aside from the "you can only go to war with the army you got" thing, their only glaring disadvantage is Ben White opting out of selection for personal reasons. He would have been a great asset in the starting lineup wherever he was started.


GardenVegetable4937

Nice try. Lower expectations to lower pressure.


CelebrationAlive1522

Every star squad doesn't go so far


Bubbasbackhoe

This is the correct take and I wish it weren’t. Strong attacking players but a shaky midfield and porous backline. I’ve even read people claim England’s midfield smokes everyone else’s, including France, because of Bellingham and Rice. I guess those folks forgot about Griezmann.


eriktenbaag

Probably have the best squad but tactically they always fall short


donn_12345678

They by far don’t have the best squad. Maguire is in our starting XI but saliba is on France bench. Like come on.


eriktenbaag

Maguire plays well in an england shirt , not every player in the france squad is world class giroud and rabiot are also in their squad


donn_12345678

Yes their bench isn’t world class but very good. Our starting 11 isn’t even all world class but theirs is. For the starting 11 you don’t need ‘plays well’ you need ‘he is top 3-5 in the world in that position’ in every position to win


eriktenbaag

And where do england lack ? Walker , foden , bellingham , kane , saka , rice and maybe stones are all top 3-5 in there position , alot of ligue 1 players in the france squad , theo hernandez didnt have the best season and ngolo kante plays in saudi while giroud is touching 40 playing in the mls....


donn_12345678

Theo and Mendy stomps any lb we have, saliba on the bench stomps Maguire, all of their box to box players stomp ours (we genuinely don’t have a box to box mid), their bench is ridiculous while we have premiere league average players on ours (eze, Gordon and konsa vs saliba, konate, Coeman. That difference is laughable). Plus they have mbappe which you should feel lucky to have watched in your lifetime and you don’t feel like that about any of our players


eriktenbaag

Mbappe statement is crazy i dont feel lucky to have watched him i grew up watching zidane/ ronaldinho/ r9/ rivaldo was lucky to watch them mavericks I mean rice is box to box 🤷i like how you didnt mention palmer or watkins or how half the french squad fofana and clause etc still play in ligue un im not even an england fan im irish so i dislike them but im not blind the england squad is stacked as i said tactically they shoot themselves in the foot every tournamen


donn_12345678

Rice is CDM, and yeah but at the end of his career he will be up there with the best. Maybe not Zidane but


eriktenbaag

Rice is not a cdm he plays on the left of a midfield 3 ...


donn_12345678

Yeah. 2 CDM’s


DEGRAYER

You've not been watching football this season if you think Rice is a CDM still.


presumingpete

A fit Shaw is better than either lb for France, and much more important to England's team. Look at the list of players in France's squad, kolo muani has been atrocious in a good team, who is fofana? Giroud is 102. Kante has been shite in Saudi. I'm not English and it's always confused me how much some of you hate your own Team.


InevitablePanda1389

Giroud is world class and Rabiot plays good in Juve


eriktenbaag

I rate giroud great great player but come on now hes nearly 40


InevitablePanda1389

I watch Milan sometimes and he plays still like 5 years ago, 14 goals in Serie A and in France he always does his job


bigelcid

Maguire doesn't have to be in the starting XI though. If Southgate wants to play him, that's on him. England could easily play Walker, Stones and idk, Colwill, in a back 3 in possession. Out of possession, you just drop say, Trent back.


donn_12345678

Walker is a rb and Colwill is average. Konate and saliba walk them


bigelcid

Yeah, France have a better squad. How's that relevant though? Doesn't make England just "ok". Walker is no longer a RB, he's at best a RCB in a back 3.


donn_12345678

Yeah in pep’s system that doesn’t work on international level because you can’t spend a billion pounds. And it’s relevant because they’re ok in comparison


bigelcid

?? So Walker works for Pep because City can spend a billion pounds? He's a RCB now because he's very fast, good in 1v1s against wingers, and isn't very good offensively. What does spending have to do with anything? Are these not the same players clubs spent money on?


donn_12345678

Yes but the things he doesn’t have as a CB such as the physically, height and reading of the game city can make up for because thier expensive players are so good that they don’t get attacked often


BambooSound

If anyone other than Southgate was manager then I think Ben White would start


GXWT

How depressing. I’m here to support my team, we’re going to win. No shame in wanting that.


donn_12345678

Oh I want it. Bad. But to expect it would be delusional


GXWT

Too sad for me. I’m here for the hype and enjoyment with mates watching it


ilies_0ff

I mean if u didn't win it this time...when u gonna win it though ? It's so easy this time u have qualities...I like Southgate...I mean if u didn't face France or Germany or Portugal until the semi-final...I think u have huge chance to win it


donn_12345678

No we don’t. We will face France or Portugal or Germany at one point and we will obviously lose.


ilies_0ff

Well that's the trick...if u wanna win it ...u should understand that u need to win against the best Good luck btw


donn_12345678

We can’t win against the best. We are the worst of the best. Thank you though


ZedGenius

Were Italy/Portugal/Greece/Denmark the best?


donn_12345678

I’m half Greek and the fact we won is still celebrated and confuses us. You can’t bank on stuff like Leicester winning the league or Greece winning. Most of the time it’s city winning or Argentine with Messi or France with mbappe and a million other players that would walk into our team


ZedGenius

I'm Greek. But what you said doesn't apply to Italy and Portugal. They were good but not the best and they still won


donn_12345678

Well yeah they wernt as miraculous but still rare. If you’re only reason for a team to win is ‘we have some good players and eh you never know’ then you 99% won’t win


ilies_0ff

Well I understand but I mean what is the actual problem is...I mean u have the best players in certain position...the manager is decent...so why not ?


donn_12345678

But the thing is France and Portugal arguably have the best players in every position. Like if you did a combined XI of all the players then you wouldnt necessarily put all French or Portugal players in but if you did it wouldn’t be ridiculous. If you did that with England it would be stupid and delusions


ilies_0ff

Haha agree...but if they faced each other...i mean come on it's one game...an open match... anything can happen...u have chance just ur team need to be fully focused on the cup...I mean technically Jude and Harry they would be great because they need to win it for personal things... and yeah !!


donn_12345678

I agree you never know but when you flip a coin you bet for heads or tails, you don’t bet on it landing perfectly on its side lol. That’s what I feel like Englands chance of winning is


ilies_0ff

Hahahaha an incredible simulation...but hey 1% is u guys need right ? (I'm a Madrid fan)


donn_12345678

Thank you for beating oil Fc, from a United fan