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The teams I added to the list probably show that teams need to grind out results rather than this idealised total football approach to winning tournaments.

Revisit those games and how they played. They went 1-0 down v Australia, only beat Peru 1-0 and drew 0-0 with Denmark - they did not look like they were going to win it all. In every KO game, bar Uruguay, they did not have a game with more than 40% possession. Against Argentina and Uruguay they...

How would our team look, if for arguments sake the following players are injured/suspended: Sheaf Torp MVE Thomas/Kitching I’ve selected these players because they’ve all had issues with injuries/suspensions. All of sudden we’re looking short. Andrews will not be a first team player, Allen...

We’re not really helping to achieve net zero if all we’re doing is exporting out carbon emissions. Usually importing fossil fuels that are a) more carbon intensive and b) there’s a cost to transporting coal from Argentina, for example. It’s like a lot of EVs, the initial outlay of carbon is...

You can add; France in 1998, Italy in 2006, Spain in 2010, Portugal in 2016, France in 2018 and Argentina in 2022 all had pretty uninspiring moments in the tournament before going into winning the tournament. All these teams knew how win ugly because tournament football is just about winning the...

We drew against the USA in a game that guaranteed we qualified for the next round. Again, which is all that matters in tournament football. I don’t think any team won all their group games in Qatar and likewise, only Spain this tournament. In Qatar, we had an xG in the top 5 of teams and...

Define ‘good football’, to save time, you can’t because it’s subjective. In 2022, the team was bang on and could go toe-to-toe with anyone, and they did. 2024, by contrast, Southgate away from his usual tactics and started a team with less runners and strong dribblers around Kane. Likewise, we...

Making tweaks, yes. In 2022, the formula was mostly right and a few subtle changes and it hasn’t quite worked out since. We battered Wales, Iran and Senegal and looked marginally the better team against France, imo. Come 2024, the rise of Foden and Bellingham as genuine world class stars has...

I’m not pleased with spending thousands of pounds for the matches I got to see. I’m just pragmatic that results are king and this is all that actually matters in the grand scheme of things. The choice of teams you used to describe how you wanted England to play was not great. Most of them lost...

Correct, we have 5 CMs to cover 3 positions and to be honest, I’m not sure Allen is up to the required standard. Sheaf and Torp have had their issues with injuries so we need that depth. Yes, Lati is there for cover too, but he’s covering CB and RB where there isn’t as much depth.

You look at the state of the team and their performances at major tournaments, and where he left it… it’s in a far better place. Highest win %, best tournament performances, most goals per game at a World Cup, first manager to beat Germany (and Netherlands) in a KO game since 1966. He didn’t...

Exactly, agreed on both points. It’s a fantasy appointment and one I do not believe is realistic. In international management, you need to be able to adapt to your personnel, the top managers do precisely the opposite. They buy players who will perform the functions they want in the system they...

Potter was in that bracket until he took the poisoned chalice at Chelsea. I’d love for him to get the England job and smash it for us to restore his reputation. He’s rejected quite a few roles already since Chelsea so clearly has his eyes on something… Carsley was rumoured to be more...

Agreed. His weaknesses has been the UCL where he’s arguably underachieved as a manager given the teams he’s managed. As with Klopp, these managers require their teams to be well drilled to a man. How would either manager react if, like this squad, you need to replace 12 players from the squad...

I know Howe is your favourite, to me it’s just not the move for him to make right now. Newcastle have an exciting project and he’s under contract. If we’re going English, it’s Potter or Carsley for me. Both managers hit well with the so-called ‘English DNA’ as both have proven to be tactically...

Not really, he’s coached most of the current and future England teams in his various youth setups. Won the U21 Euros against Spain playing the kind of free flowing football fans would like to see us playing. De la Fuente was a EFF ‘yes man’ and he looked a far more accomplished coach than Luis...

Sunderland fans are something else. Of all the many teams I spoke to out in my month out in Germany. It was only a group of Sunderland fans that gave it large about our plight as a club. Apparently we shoulda been ‘chucked out the league’ and made a low blow about Jimmy being in a box. In what...

Rudoni had a higher xG per game than COH so he clearly finds himself in better scoring positions. Yes, he missed plenty of chances but at 22, it’s fair to say he’s better than COH at the same stage of their career. In all honesty, the COH of Dec-Feb was on another level and from then, had good...

Rangnick got knocked out by a Turkey team Austria really should’ve beaten. On paper and on the pitch when they played. They looked good in qualifying and in the group stages but that literally means nothing. What actually matters is how teams perform in the KO rounds. Klopp doesn’t want a top...

I never said the performance was satisfactory. Without being cocky, it shouldn’t have got to that stage. Why use Georgia, Turkey and Romania benchmarks? All teams that had memorable moments but got battered by clinical teams. Turkey were lucky to beat Austria. Aside from Hungary and Scotland...