Andy

Not too worried about the interview tbh. Most of what Howe has said is fairly normal given the changes directly above his head. The only slightly concerning aspect to me is the suggestion that we're not sure about transfer targets/budget with only a few weeks left until the season starts. Hate seeing players come in at the backend of the transfer window, always feels like a waste of the pre-season.

Calm down lads, it's just a power play to push through the transfers of Trafford, O'Shea, Berge and Odobert, nowt to get all worked up about.

I think Almiron's energy can be useful off the bench tbh, the priority is ensuring we aren't going into the season with him as first choice. Selling isn't as easy as it sounds if we can't get good money and he doesn't want to leave. Admittedly a new contract is not really the answer.

I don't think it's bias. If Potter had still been at Chelsea, for example, nobody would really entertain the thought of him leaving them for England. At the very least it would be a major suprise if it happend. International management is a graveyard these days. It's rare now to see managers at the top of their game going into it.

Aye almost all of her videos are absolute quality. One of the few true football "journalists" out there these days.

Incredibly damning when you look at the quality of attacking players available to Gareth.

Howe would be mad to take the England job imo. It's a complete poisoned chalice, and also doesn't suit his hands on style either. Couldn't see it going particularly well.

Would argue Olmo and Williams made their mark too, but outside of Spain you'd be struggling aye

Yeah good as Spain have been against the teams they've played, it's just a weak tournament in general. As KI said earlier, the likes of their 2012 team would have dusted them off no bother IMO. They wouldn't have laid a single glove on them.

This Spain team would definitely have lost to the teams you listed, but those three teams would have won this tournament without a single glove being laid on them. Over the course of this tournament though, Spain have definitely deserved to win for me. They've played the best football, won every match without needing penalties, and swept aside all the other favourites on their way. They are a poor team relative to some other winners, but still the best "team" in this competition.

Aye fair, they're the exception I suppose

You can't keep relying on "moments" to win you tournaments. I think what was most frustrating with watching England there though is it felt like Spain were on the ropes after Palmer's goal, then we just dropped off completely, I don't believe for one moment it isn't instructional at this point as it happens time and time again. You can get away with that against teams like Slovakia and Switzerland to an extent, but teams with absolutely quality like Spain will punish you as they did tonight. Best team won the tournament ultimately.

Bit of a daft question, surely people watch games of football that they have no emotional investment in all the time? I completely understand his sentiments. I am "happy" England are winning, but it's more just out of a sense of duty than an actual emotional connection. I'd compare watching this England team to the way I would watch someone like Leicester when they won the league. Happy to see them do well, but if they get beat it doesn't really phase me, and I don't exactly gan mad when they score either. Not sure when it changed for me, but I've found international football more of a neutral event than anything else for as long as I can remember.

I remember us being good up until we scored then dropping right off with it feeling inevitable they would win. I know stats aren't everything but they back that up:

Olmo has arguably been player of the tournament and he's spent a large chunk of it on the bench

I think there's been a handful of good games and a lot of shite, probably pretty standard for a Euros tbh

Been a pretty bad tournament but at least there's no obvious winner from the remaining teams, you could see any of these four winning it. Spain have obviously been the pick of the bunch but you wouldn't put it past France to shit-fest their way past them.

No doubt the interview didn't go down well, he veered away from what was clearly a very deliberate party line, the interviews with Walker, Kane etc prior to that were bizarrely out of touch and overly positive after the dreadful performances. It was all a very clear attempt at manipulating positive PR.

Wish I had it in me to get behind this England team. Neighbours were screaming like Newcastle just won the champions league. I might as well have been watching Fulham taking penalties in a pre season tournament against Stoke.

Southgate got more plot armour than Jon Snow.

Like with Ashworth, I find it hard to get excited about any directorial appointment tbh. I'm sure the guy is good, but it seems to me like these people are often credited with work that they aren't necessarily directly involved in, especially when it comes to player identification and recruitment. Like I say, I'm sure he's competent, but the coverage this kind of appointment gets is always odd to me

That save was unbelievable like, one of the first times I've exclaimed "NO FUCKING WAY" at a save in a neutral football match, it just looked a goal all day long. Easy to blame the finish, but the keeper still has no right to keep that out.

Obviously should be taken with a pinch of salt coming from Luke, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was at least somewhat true. Offering him to his boyhood club is obviously going to turn his head, and it also comes across as us seeing him as being disposable. Poor management from the club if it's true.

Switzerland will put us to bed no problem unless we improve massively.

Knew it would work.