UEFA European Football Championship 2020 (21) , the Time has Come

I wanna see some Italian flags on those profiles.

Whoop ! ! ! !!!!

YES! Viva Italia!!!!!



Hard luck England. Penalties huh.

Good final!

Very entertaining and dramatic.

Sorry the English side that there has to be a winner.

🍺

So predictable.

The best team on the night won.

It would have been a travesty if we'd won on penalties.

I honestly think we gifted them it.
We were overran in midfield, they pressed hard and we sat too deep and had limited opportunities to push forward.
Kane was anonymous.
We ended up with a flat back 5 who were defending too deep.
What midfield we had also sat too deep.

And we didn't press anywhere near with the intensity and regularity that Italy did.

Our substitutes struggled to pick up the pace of the game.

Italy looked scared when we ran at them, we just didn't do it very often.

Not being wise after the event, I did sort of predict that.

Hopefully they'll learn from that, pick themselves up and come back stronger for the World Cup.

No taking it away from Italy though, they were the best team in the tournament right from the outset and thoroughly deserved their victory.

Now let me go away and try to figure out how to put that damned bloody flag on my profile somewhere.

a reply to: Freeborn

You called that earlier with the way the defense was being set up.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Yes, one of the few times I absolutely hate being proven right.

And as my Dad said, 'You can't win the game sat in your own half'.
It was really was just a matter of time before Italy equalised, the only surprises were that it took so long and that they didn't go and get a winner in normal time.

But England have a young and talented group of players.
They'll learn from this....lets hope the manager does too.

I'll have that flag up some time tomorrow when I should be able to stomach figuring out how to do it.

a reply to: Freeborn

That Sterling guy is amazingly fast, they needed to get him the ball more often.

Stumbled upon this re-creation of what happened when looking for highlights on Youtube...

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Yip, so is Saka and Sancho and Grealish is very tricky.
Great talents.

But there was no-one in midfield to win the ball and pass it to them.

Didn't take a tactical genius to work that out.

Mancini reacted quickly with his changes and with no half measures.

Southgate waited an age to make a single change. By then the momentum had shifted far too much and the game was lost. We were lucky to make it to penalties.

It was like watching Maclaren or Hodgeson screw things up, with their dithering half measures, thinking they can play a whole game protecting a one goal lead. Pathetic management! We should’ve seen grealish and sake on start of second half, then rashford for Kane at 65 minutes if no improvement.

For me Rice was England’s best player. While he was able he ran Italy ragged in midfield winning untold balls and driving forward time and again. No one can keep that up for 90 and once he tired Italy took control.

Gotta feel sorry for shaw, who scored an incredible goal and Pickford, saving two penalties, as well as a couple of great saves during the match, all now forgotten, thanks to Southgate’s ever so English timidity.

I’d hope to see some balanced and critical discussion on his shortcomings in the press to hopefully course correct his mistakes, but I’m sure he’ll continue to wear the emperors new clothes, with everyone pussyfooting around, terrified to be the first to speak the truth. This great generation of players carried him through a series of dodgy choices and indecision and they deserve better.

originally posted by: McGinty
Mancini reacted quickly with his changes and with no half measures.

Southgate waited an age to make a single change. By then the momentum had shifted far too much and the game was lost. We were lucky to make it to penalties.

It was like watching Maclaren or Hodgeson screw things up, with their dithering half measures, thinking they can play a whole game protecting a one goal lead. Pathetic management! We should’ve seen grealish and sake on start of second half, then rashford for Kane at 65 minutes if no improvement.

For me Rice was England’s best player. While he was able he ran Italy ragged in midfield winning untold balls and driving forward time and again. No one can keep that up for 90 and once he tired Italy took control.

Gotta feel sorry for shaw, who scored an incredible goal and Pickford, saving two penalties, as well as a couple of great saves during the match, all now forgotten, thanks to Southgate’s ever so English timidity.

I’d hope to see some balanced and critical discussion on his shortcomings in the press to hopefully course correct his mistakes, but I’m sure he’ll continue to wear the emperors new clothes, with everyone pussyfooting around, terrified to be the first to speak the truth. This great generation of players carried him through a series of dodgy choices and indecision and they deserve better.

I totally agree about Southgate. He talks a good game but when it comes down to being brave, he hasn't got the balls to make big decisions. Yet again no substitute until very late in the game.
This England team are the best group of seriously good talent ive ever seen. They were held back by a manager who i believe genuinely didnt know what to do in the second half. Even 15 minutes into the second half it was obvious the substitutions Mancini made were working and Italy were now controlling the game.
But like you say Southgate will be put up on a pedestal and wont be sacked. Whoever criticises him will be lambasted in the media. I thought 3 lions on the shirt meant bravery.
Maybe he'll stand down, recognise his own shortcomings and his lack of guts.

Southgate said last night that he picked the penalty takers. So the one big decision he had to make he got wrong. I thought players put themselves forward to take one when it comes to penalty shootouts. Penalties are a mind game. What if one of those players didnt feel up for it and kept quiet? Sancho didnt look confident, he was only on the pitch 2 minutes. Southgate didnt ask them who wanted to take one, he told them they were taking one. Surprising.

I wonder did he pick the 3 that missed because of their colour? Southgate thinking he'd shove it down the racists throats and have the last 3 takers black players. I doubt it but its a thought...

a reply to: SecretKnowledge

Personally i don't think the penalty choices had anything to do with colour. And to be fair, his choices weren't bad, apart from Saka (surely Grealish and Sterling go up before him!). I was surprised to see Maguire go second, but you can't argue with his spot kick - best of the night by far.

Getting rashford and sancho on for the penalties was imo the right move. The mistake was putting them on with just minutes to spare, depriving them the chance to acclimatise to the pressure, the occasion - get their mojo, basically. Given all of that and up against that absolute giant in goal it's not that surprising they didn't score. It was nice to see the fancy crap of georgino failing and rashford trying so hard to give the eyes that he missed, whereas Kane and Maguire putting their laces through it scored. Maybe i'm just old fashioned!

I think the racism debate around this game distracts from the real issues with Southgates dodgy management and gives those twats spouting racism oxygen. Had Southgate reacted, as Mancini did, promptly and decisively, countering italy's shift to a high press game, then penalties probably wouldn't have been necessary. If they were, then the personnel would've had game time, improving those penalties.

Everyone will focus on the pressure southgate put on poor saka's shoulders by making him take the penalty. But that irresponsible mountain of pressure had already been dropped on Saka by making him the 90's only attacking sub. That was a pathetic, naive, dick move by Southgate, crystallised by the red card yankdown chiellini did to him. Italy swamped Saka, because Southgate had made him the only real target that needed italy's attention. What on earth was the poor kid meant to do all on his own. Saka and Grealish should've started the second half, with Henderson and sancho on at 55. If that didn't improve Kane's service, then swap him for Rashford's pace at 65. Then it would've been a game, rather than a walkover.

Special note has to go out to the bent as fook ref... Something wasn't right with him, letting multiple bad Italian fouls go unnoticed. The thigh stamp on grealish was dangerous play deserving a red. And i can't recall, but if memory serves when chiellini yanked saka to the ground there was no other Italian defender between saka and the Italian goal; isn't that an automatic red? Maybe the some Italian familial entities had had a word with him!

a reply to: McGinty

Shame those racist pieces of # have to take the headlines.

Surely it can't be hard to track them down.
As much as I'm all for free speech etc I #ing hate racists with a passion.

Give them 12 months in somewhere like Wormwood Scrubs or Pentonville....I'm sure some of the guys in there will be able to 're-educate' them and help them see the error of their ways.

How can people go from praising and cheering players on and then turn on them and spout such bitter vitriol in such a short space of time.

Pure #ing scumbags' they should be publicly named and shamed and given a good #ing kicking.

It really does boil my piss.

Back to the game;
So predictable.
Southgate's limitations were exposed for all to see.....unfortunately as you say, no-one in the F.A., MSM, has the balls to call him out.

Surely Southgate must me sat at home now full of regret.
He should be crucifying himself.
If someone like myself could see what was so bloody blatant and obvious how on earth couldn't the manager?
It's honestly beyond me.....so #ing obvious.

Give him an administrative role - I'm sure he'll excel in something like that - and bring in a forward thinking, progressive manager who can take us to the next level.
I am absolutely certain that this group of players are more than capable of continuing to grow and develop and become a potent force on the world stage.

And I need to see Mr A.M. flying The St. George's Cross.

originally posted by: Freeborn
And I need to see Mr A.M. flying The St. George's Cross.

I think a World Cup rematch is in order.

Tell you what, if Italy or the US isn't in the final and you boys are, I'll root for your team. You're all class Freeborn, respect.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

I think a World Cup rematch is in order.

That's a given my friend.

Tell you what, if Italy or the US isn't in the final and you boys are, I'll root for your team.

You're all class Freeborn, respect.

Many would disagree mate.

But ditto, cuts both ways.

a reply to: Freeborn

Bummer....

images.app.goo.gl...

a reply to: Oldcarpy2

That needs to go in your signature, use this and take the spaces out between the brackets...

[ pic ]jk60eb6968.jpg[ /pic ]

I think some of the comments are a little harsh about Southgate as he did not have the benefit of hindsight. It was a fine margin and had those missed penalties been converted last night then opinions could well have been very different.

If anything, the early goal made England over cautious. Italy were nullified and frustated in the first half and caused only a few problems. Southgate should have foreseen Mancini making changes at half time. But he left the team sitting back. Italy seized the initiative and England paid the price.

In Southgate's defence, he's taken England to 4th [WC 2018], 3rd [NL] and 2nd place [EC] in the past 4 years. Which means he is the most successful England manager since Sir Alf Ramsey. Who managed in a much different era when the competition was nowhere near as strong as it is today.

We've tried the 'elite foreigners'. Cappello was useless. Sven was good for a year or two, but then seemed to lose interest.

The previous Englishmen have been a mixed bag. Keegan, McClaren and Hodgson were mediocre. Allardyce, shot himself in the foot just as he got going. Hoddle was as enigmatic as his England playing career. Even Bobby Robson only beat Poland, Paraguay, Egypt, Belgium and Cameroon across 3 major finals. Terry Venables beat Scotland, the Netherlands and Spain [after penalties]. England doesn't really have a great international track record if we are honest.

But it's all about opinions and roll on desert football in Qatar next year. If we qualify of course....

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus


I'm on a crappy phone. How do I put this in my sig?

a reply to: Oldcarpy2

I'll try that again....