May I say as a Briton and a Scotsman, well done England.
I wouldn’t get to excited about beating a mediocre Ukraine team, England do seem to be coming into a bit of form at the right time though.
55 years since England won a tournament, 55 is a lucky number, good luck England.
Apparently it was 2019, see http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/...7_DOWNLOAD.pdf...Law 14.
I think trying trying to claim some kind of moral victory for one decent performance from Kane in 5 matches is the clueless bit, we could already have been knocked out by now. Until he repeats more of his second half performance yesterday (which is what we all want), the fact is he will have had a poor overall tournament. Sterling has really showed how to step it up for a competition.
No, that would be silly. The point is, you don't drop a player like Kane (arguably the best in the world at what he does) after a couple of games because he's been a bit quiet - ESPECIALLY if the manager has set the team up in a way which effectively takes him out of the game. What you do is correct that mistake, which Southgate has now done; in fact, that blistering volley should have given Harry a hat-trick last night... very, very unlucky not to have scored with that one.
Anyway, you armchair fans with no real football knowledge really make me laugh. I'll say again, there probably isn't a club side in the world that wouldn't have Kane in its first 11. There's a reason for that, as his goals and assists stats for club and country demonstrate.
Fully recognise that Dave - and believe it or not I would have gone into this tournament picking Kane ahead of Sterling every time. Sterling has contributed so much more so far though, across all the games, I know Kane can play to the standard he did in the second half yesterday but he hasn't, otherwise he would have scored 5 or 6 by now. The simple fact is if Kane gets involved like he did yesterday we have a real shot at winning, if he stays on the pitch for 90 mins based on reputation and has another game where he puts little effort into closing down, touches the ball twice per half and looks generally lethargic and in a defenders pocket, Southgate should have taken him off and tried something different. Hopefully the real Kane will turn up again, as 1 in 5 not good enough for a player of his quality and reputations don't win titles, how did Mbappe get on...
Yes it would be silly, like suggesting Kane would make the first 11 of any team in the world. So he'd make any starting 11 in the world, the reason he has played poorly for England in the opening Euros matches (more than a couple) is that according to you he has inferior players around him vs Spurs that don't play to his strength, wow Tottenham must have had another great season then..... oh we do love a good laugh here us armchair critics that know nothing about football.
Kane is a prolific goal scorer. When the ball cone through to him invariably he scores. The first few games he was quiet but that was mainly how the team was set up. He just wasn’t getting the service. That’s now changed and the goals are filtering through. I think the real Kane has been there but he can’t score if he doesn’t get the service. The team is growing with every game. Maguire has been excellent and has proved the doubters wrong imo.
It’s not that black and white though.
With Kane’s reputation, Opposition Managers set up to nullify him by doubling-up on him at every opportunity. This then creates space for others, such as Sterling, to exploit.
Of course, you also have the added bonus of Kane then getting free and banging a goal in. It’s an old adage but no less true… form is temporary, but class is permanent.
And I’m not a Spurs supporter, by the way.
Totally agree. The question is how many games do you leave it when something isn't working and try to make a change?. And then does having one decent game justify 4 poor ones or heaven forbid 5 if we lose against Denmark and Kane has a poor game. I know who will be the first to post if England do win and Kane plays well, that's fine as I want England to win the event and to do so Kane needs to play well.
So as a parallel, I think McIlroy is one of the, if not the most talented golfers in the World. But playing one decent round with flashes of brilliance in 4 isn't getting the job done, it's a results business and consistency is a big factor to justify selection.
Quite right, Howard, and this is precisely what I mean when I talk about armchair fans with no football knowledge.
Kane has been involved in 27 goals in his last 26 international matches. I think that says it all.
As for this:
You're now just making a fool of yourself, and proving my point about you.thegreatdogwood: So as a parallel, I think McIlroy is one of the, if not the most talented golfers in the World. But playing one decent round with flashes of brilliance in 4 isn't getting the job done, it's a results business and consistency is a big factor to justify selection.
Golf is a poor analogy, as it’s an individual sport, not a team game (Ryder Cup aside), so what McIlroy does or doesn’t do has no affect on anyone but himself.
I’m interested to know why you think “it isn’t working”? We are in the semi-finals having not conceded a goal.
I think it’s working ok, so far.
But would Harrington play McIlroy in every Ryder Cup match if he wasn't delivering, or sit him out for one or more matches. Generally the answer is the captain will drop the player to give them a rest and also send a message that more is needed to play regardless of reputation.
Up until last night we have simply not created enough clear chances, especially in open play. Wins have been predicated off good solid defensive displays, keeping it tight. It's difficult winning any league, tournament through 1-0 victories, for instance is anyone really confident we could keep a clean sheet against Italy so need to create more chances, if I'm Italy, I'm thinking that if I keep it tight I've got a very good chance of winning as they counter a bit like Liverpool, fast and effective vs our more ponderous build up.
Yesterday was a great result, I'd like to see more interplay too like the first goal to create chances than relying on headers from set pieces where a decent side will have picked up the England player in the box. England has a hugely talented squad, it needs to be more direct and the link up play with Kane has to be better, he hasn't been double marked much in truth but still been disconnected for long periods.
Last edited by thegreatdogwood; 4th July 2021 at 11:42.
I like the rest of England was chuffed to see England do well last night
On reflection - and please this is just about opinion as I’m no big footy fan - Ukraine only went through by default and actually aren’t very good though are they?
Now..... the Dane’s - if I recall from the past, always turn up for a tourn
So I’m looking forward to the next chapter - and do really hope we make the final
It’s what the country needs
My money went on Italy pre tourn and Kane for golden boot - both are bubbling
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Don’t fear the Danes, they have Kurtan on their team
I’m pretty sure that winning 1-0 in all your matches will win you every league/tournament.
As you say, last night was a great result, but do you not see that as England growing into the Tournament?
And I disagree, Kane has clearly been singled out for extra attention in this tournament, albeit to varying degrees of success. Ukraine didn’t execute it particularly well, and look what happened as a result.
And using the golf analogy still doesn’t work. In fact, it seems to me that Ryder Cup Captains have regularly picked players based on reputation rather than form, especially when it comes to wild cards, because of what these characters can bring to the Locker Room/Team dynamic, and the psychological affect it can have on the other team.
Ukraine weren’t the biggest hurdle to overcome tbh but England played well and that is what is important. It’s raised the confidence of a team who are now the only team (I think) to keep five clean sheets since the start of a European (Major?) championship and have kept seven clean sheets in a row in all, which is a first for England. They have steadily improved as the tournament has unfolded and get to play at Wembley. At the moment I think any team would be wary of playing them.
It doesn’t really matter that Kane was quiet in the earlier games as the team played well....England is not a group of individuals....and as we have progressed he has perked up a bit. A world class player will always be a danger.
By the way, I am in no way a Spurs fanboy so just to balance that hasn’t Kane told Spurs he wants to leave this summer so he can actually win something?
(Written from my comfy armchair with a cup of tea at hand)
I know Paul McGinley very well - he will tell you that there is a difference between selecting someone as a wildcard "for effect" and playing them, he's shared with me some of his past decisions. Many is the time they bench big names out of form, the challenge is when to make the call. Kane should be in the squad, the question is whether to always pick him
Congrats on beating the Ukraine, but I'm afraid your run is now over. Denmark are running away with this, fans on the stands or not! Jokes aside, this will be a great semifinal, and you will have the advantage of being at home with a lot of fans. But Denmark are feeling good about this game. Besides the Finland loss (unreal circumstances), the only team to beat us in the last 30 or so games is Belgium. We are tough to score against and Dolberg is finally scoring!
It's a shame we play Denmark as they were the team I was supporting after England (Belgium 3rd). I think Denmark have done superbly to get so far without Eriksen. England won't take them lightly that is for sure. It will be a Premier League-style game on Wednesday I think
I think it’s about 60-40 in your favour. I think it’ll be an amazing game, and I hope that a lot of Danes living in England come to the game. Danes here can’t go due to quarantine restrictions.
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It's a shame that we're meeting Denmark in the semis. The Danes have played with heart and courage all the way through and are experiencing a fairytale tournament since that first game, they'll have many that would otherwise be neutral on their side. I think we'll win on Wednesday however I'd rather we were facing them on Sunday just so the Danish dream could last a little longer.
Was nice to see the shackles finally come off a bit in that 2nd half. I was starting to get frustrated with the the continued cautious approach when the Ukraine were clearly there for the taking.
I know he didn’t have a direct influence on any of the goals, but think Sancho gives the team an extra dimension. Having him and Sterling buzzing around gives the defence so much more to worry about, as they both love to run at them with the ball. So much more space created for Kane with their movement, and the hesitation it causes with the defenders. As good as sako has been he doesn’t pose the same threat as Sancho - it’s like have another Sterling on the pitch when he plays.
Denmark will be a much tougher test but no reason to think we can’t do it - bar the odd shaky back pass we have pretty much looked in complete control up to now.
I think that was key last night, in that Ukraine couldn't really afford to double up on Kane the whole time. It also helped having Mount back in midfield as he's quite progressive and looks to play the ball forward instead of sideways/backwards (personally I'd love to see Foden given some game time, though).
As for the coming match, I thought Denmark were very disappointing last time out and I expect England to sweep them aside and progress to the final full of confidence. I hope it's against Spain, as Italy worry me a fair bit.
On the one hand I was talking about having a sound understanding the game (I played Sunday League standard for a decade and have been watching live football for over half a century with barely a break), and on the other I was talking about personally feeling confident based on recent performances. Can you explain the contradiction please?
Personally, I agree with Tony, I don’t think Denmark looked convincing against the Czech Republic (but neither did England TBH) whilst England are definitely getting better as the tournament goes on (unlike 2018).
I think England should win quite comfortably but there’s always the nagging doubt.....It is England after all!
So what are we terming being comfortably swept aside?
Minimum 3 goal victory?
I would say a comfortable win. 1-0 Would be enough
60k fans at both semis and the final. 180k total.
I predict a lot of Covid
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