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Who is the best England manager you’ve seen then?

That’s assuming the EV’s batteries last up to that. A friend of mine who’s a keen environmentalist pointed out that a newly released JLR EV needed something like 210k miles on one battery to ‘break even’ and the batteries will not last that long, especially as the range on EVs wanes pretty...

Did Sven not cost us tactically in any of the KO games he lost? Winning our groups in 2002 and 2004 would’ve helped secure a ‘lucky’ draws. Likewise with Capello in 2010 - winning our group and we avoid all the top teams. How did he tactically cost against Spain? We made a defensive error right...

You’re still wrong. If I used your logic, I can justify every KO lose under Southgate: 2018 - Croatia had a ballon d’or winner and their midfield and arguably defence was better than in their team, battered Argentina in the groups. On top of this, our worst WC squad since 1994. 2020 - Italy...

You said Southgate should go even if we did win the Euros… As the older statesman, please remind me how many semi finals and finals you got to see England play in before Southgate came in?

We do, Spain tweaked their tactics against us. They typically bait teams with their pressing and didn’t do this so much against us compared to their usual games. In fact, Palmer’s goal came about when we beat their press. I do agree that this tournament, we didn’t get the right mix and the next...

… It’s only luck when it’s an achievement involving Southgate. I’ll let you and @Evo1883 battle this one out.

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...