leffe186

I refer you to my previous post.

Any chance you could hold back on the paranoid nonsense next year, lads?

Naah, he worked hard, defended well, made some nice runs forward. He did fine, but like others have said, Serbia were focused on that side because they weren’t asked any questions on the other. It’s just frustrating when it was so obvious Gordon should come on. To the point where I genuinely wonder if he’s carrying a knock or something.

Our draw is looking sweeter by the day

Not deadly serious? This is England, Sir!

Yup, we shouldn’t be considered favourites, but that’s because of the defence and lack of a LB. There’s an argument for Bellingham Rice and Foden in the middle, of course. Just…not TAA. And I think a water-carrier that runs and runs can do a job, as Gallagher just showed. I don’t give the slightest shit who Southgate leaves out if it makes the team better. I suspect the Venn diagram of people who think England are favourites and who think Southgate should be lynched if he leaves Foden out has a really big intersection in the middle. Leaving Greaves out was a big deal, and if it didn’t work Ramsey’s head would have been on a pike. I don’t fully follow you - you say you’d personally trebuchet him back, but you also say there’s no way Southgate should leave him out. That’s not fair. Southgate needs to make the best team he can. If that means Foden on the bench then so be it.

I agree with the first part. The worst culprit was probably Foden. The bit you can level at Southgate is that I think his structure and tactics left fewer passing options going forward - most obviously with the absence of Gordon. We did make some terrible sloppy passes (the one that spring to mind was Foden playing it behind Gallagher). Not having the second part though. There’s not a standout partner for Rice but there are two or three players who can and do do that job week in and week out and none of them is Trent. He is being shoehorned in, and that’s bad. If Wharton or Gallagher played there we might question whether they’re the best choice but they would be playing their position, as Gallagher’s performance illustrated. As for “Foden has to play”…come on man. Greavsie “had to play”. Lampard, Gerrard and Scholes “had to play”. Bollocks. You find what works, whoever that is. I do agree that no orthodox LB messes with the balance though.

Yeah you can’t criticize Trippier for not adding anything going forward because we would have been left exposed and he was clearly trying to allow Foden some freedom. Gordon would have meant a very different game.

Yeah, the trouble is you need a manager who’s willing to adapt. See Bobby Robson in 1990. If Foden starts the next match Southgate wants shooting.

Most of that was Serbia changing things up, but Southgate didn’t react at all…again. Every once in a while TAA will hit a cracking pass or make a driving run, but at this level and in this team he’s a luxury. Gallagher was exactly what was needed there, just we also needed to bring Gordon on.

Not the point though, is it? I’d rather have Walker on the right, and Trippier is the only player who can do a proper job at LB right now. We all saw the problems. Defence was fine, Rice was great. TAA and Foden just don’t seem able to play in those positions at this level. It’s been decades of this and we’re still trying to shoehorn all our “better” players onto the pitch at once. It’s so glaring. Rice, Bellingham and Gallagher/Mainoo/Wharton in midfield. Gordon and Saka on the wings. Keep it simple.

I think Trippier has played really well tonight, all things considered.

On corners? With our team? He absolutely should.

And there we are.

Makes sense tbh, Saka looked gassed.

Halle-fucking-lujah.

Yeah, like I say, we’re not very good when the opposition has the ball. It’s been like that forever.

Better than Scotland.

Don’t think that’s it, we just haven’t been able to get hold of and keep the ball. They’ve kept the ball really well and we’re not great defensively.

I think what Shearer is saying right now is wrong. Kane dropping frees up Foden to push on even more, and Milenkovic will struggle against his nippiness.

Fucks sake ref.

I confess I rather like all the England flags.

It’s partly a function of Serbia’s defence. They’re stifling Kane and when players receive the ball in the #10 position they just foul them. It’s partly why we’re getting so much joy down the right.

Great first 15, eased up after that. It’s just crying out for what I feel we all keep banging on about - Gordon on, Foden off, Kane drops deep, that big lump they have at the back doesn’t know what to do and we tear them apart on the wings.

Feels like Kane’s been told to stay up front to give Foden the freedom to move. It’s not really worked.