Gallowgate Toon

There are a lot of ownerships I wouldn't be happy about, tbh, much of the business world absolutely shits on society without thought for consequence. This is obviously at the extreme end of the spectrum and I'd say I'm uncomfortable about it but feel like I can rationalise certain elements to a point, particularly as my sister lives in the Middle East and talks about some of the good signs of progression (albeit very slow in some areas). Though, one thing I selfishly think to help get past this is that this is an opportunity for the region as well as the club. From what I've seen, the group want to build the club sustainably, but they seemingly want to invest in local communities and some level of infrastructure. How they go about doing this will really influence how I feel about them.

How much space did we give Ronaldo there?

Love Miggy when he's in this sort of mood - direct, always looking forward, trusting himself. He's had far too many passive games over the last year; too many times he's just taken the easy route.

Ouch

We were shit and didn't deserve much, but VAR and refs

I went today. I've barely been for 6 years but I've moved back, my dad has refused to give up going, and he's not been well for a while. So I've made a choice to go back with him because it's a chance to spend quality time. I really don't have a lot of care for the team these days but today was worth it being with him and the pre-match buzz in town is still class. Tbf, the atmosphere in the beginning was brilliant, but it was amazing how quickly that apathy returned at 3ish goals in. It was actually quite nice not being too frustrated about the result and still enjoying the day for what it is. Best moment for me was when the divs started booing the knee but far more people started to cheer for it instead. I felt proud seeing people around me react that way - it actually restored some faith in humanity for me, as I was expecting to see what I read online all the time. A powerful reminder there are still many well-intentioned people out there.

Thought we were good first half but you could tell West Ham could kick it up a gear - they were great at setting up overloads. Pretty scary how easily we collapsed from a bunch of players who know each other's games very well. Getting caught basically 2v1 at 65 mins is pretty shambolic.

Oooof that's really nice.

It is easy to forget though is how good he generally has us defensively - he deserves credit for that. Everyone was shitting it about the defence going into the tournament but that's the best we've looked as a general unit in donkeys, considering the lack of talent back there compared to what we have going forward. Now, some of that is down to how overly defensive we have been, but we also know that it's not as easy as chucking loads of bodies back and hoping for the best - it requires organisation, awareness, and communication. It does feel like with some nurturing & tweaking that he could have the team in a really good spot for next year, but I just don't believe he has that in him. The best hope is that some players come into form over the next year that essentially perfect his Plan A.

I don't think the shape was the problem at that point, just the personnel. We were struggling to get through the middle for most of the game and then got rid of the one thing that had seemed to work with consistency which was overloading the full backs. Felt like we ended up not really being good at anything.

Yeah, we did. I actually think that was a bad move, tbh, because it nullified Shaw who had been our most consistent attacking threat.

More gutted about this this morning than I was last night The more I think about it, the more Foden being out was a big problem for us - I think he'd have caused real problems had he come on after 60 minutes. Once Kane was marked out of the game, we didn't have anyone savvy enough to pick up pockets of space and create attacking momentum in the central areas of the pitch. I've been disappointed by Mount this tournament because he's shown for Chelsea that he can make big moments happen, but he was meek in a lot of games and struggled to find purpose in the team - probably wasn't helped that we tried to make him into some sort of wide playmaker yesterday. Where does the side go from here? I do think they might've outgrown Southgate, tbh, but there could be enough talent to get past that at the World Cup. I really hope Bellingham continues his rise because we definitely lacked in central midfield all tournament and need a General in there. Rice actually played really well last night but I don't think he's the man to consistently deliver that type of performance - he feels a bit like Tiote to me in that he might suit really specific games well but then then be ineffectual in others. Ultimately, I think we were undone by a lack of confidence more than anything. The Italians were fantastic at building their way back into the game and you could just tell they had belief in what they were doing from half-time onwards. And what a lovely player Insigne is too; some outrageous technique on display.

Southgate lost us that. Really awful from half-time onwards. Ah well, a fun ride. Italy deserved it!

Rice has been excellent, like.

I think it was a pen, like. This is where the barrage of slowed down replays is a bit pointless - lots of close situations are going to look soft in that scenario as you have greatly reduced context of speed & force. I'm absolutely not rapid by any stretch but I've had slight clips when playing that have made me fall over. Would I be happy if it was given against us? No, but there are lots of pens that I've been livid about that were pens by the letter of the law, the letter. The first Danish defender does a Dummett classic and the second defender is clumsy.

Totally get the Rice comments. Some journos on twitter say he does the stuff you're not paying attention to, but I'd say that's bollocks after keeping a closer eye on him during the tournament. His passing is very meh & unadventurous, he's not a great athlete, he's not consistently good at breaking up play (imo), and he's got an annoying habit of breaking shape when he shouldn't. He does run around a lot and do the odd good bit of grunt work. He's Colback, basically. There's absolutely no need to have him drop so deep all the time when Stones is one of your CBs too.

Honestly, think we might take a beating. I just can't get away with Phillips and Rice together and think it'll be a big weak point against a side who really are a step up from anyone we've played so far (not diminishing our run, we've played some good teams). Got a feeling the defence will be exposed a fair bit. It'll be an interesting tactical battle; I think we're better suited to a counter style but we've aimed to control the ball a lot so far. I wonder if Southgate will be happy for us to cede some ground. I'd put Henderson in for Rice and Foden in for Mount.

Foden during the celebration he was class when he came on. Not his tourney but we've got lots to look forward to with him. What a leader Sterling has turned into. He's a weird, frustrating player, but he's provided cutting edge all tournament and always looked to step up when it counts. Class. I think Italy will tear us up a bit, tbh, but this will have been a great journey regardless - you've got to enjoy these moments.

I was thinking this they seem to be everywhere.

Immense. Football is so much better when you're invested like this.

I don't agree with starting Rice & Phillips but can sort of understand it. What was unforgiveable was that the game was largely in front of us for the entire match, so you need someone in a central spot to open up the lines a bit, but Southgate either didn't see it or refused to do anything about it. Really poor subs. Dour football under a dour (but canny) manager.

Desperately poor from Southgate today. Think he'll be chuffed with a draw, tbh

Streaming it on YT (officially too)

City, somehow, appear to have nobody available ahead of players, massive gaps at the back, and don't seem to be winning many second balls in the middle either.

Good player, seems an even better lad. Wish him all the best. I think he'll have a good PL career - he's got a decent amount of attributes that could work well in a few different set ups. Don't think he'll find that at Arsenal though...