Euro 2024: England lick wounds after media mauling, Baggio robbed at gunpoint – live news | Euro 2024

“This noise about Wharton baffles me when Mainoo is a master of ball control,” writes Julian Keith. “I agree with Gordon or Palmer on the left ‘resting’ Foden, but the midfield is the problem and I think Mainoo offers resistance to the press and passes forward more than Wharton. Why would they take it otherwise?

“Slovenia is a chance to test some other players while you need the win, perfect for young players. Second place in the group is extremely dangerous as Germany are probably waiting… Shaw is also a necessity for the round of 16 and everywhere after that, but let’s see.”

Wharton or Mainoo: the question of England’s midfield that hardly anyone would have predicted months ago.

“I’m just participating because who doesn’t want to hear another armchair football ‘expert’.” writes Andrew Casey.

“As neat and tidy as it is to just talk about swapping players, and as much as it’s a good opportunity for fans to say that the players who play for their clubs are better than the players who play for their rivals, this it won’t matter Mainoo or Gordon or anyone else unless we actually decide how we want to play. It’s not at all clear to me that Southgate has any defined playing style other than a) getting certain players into the team and b) protecting the defense at all costs. Are we a high energy pressing team? No. Are we a counter attack team? no Should we stifle the opposition with control? No. We are not really one or the other. We are not playing on the front foot and we look shaky on the back foot.

“There are personnel changes that could be made that could help, but it’s a recurring theme with England; we reach tournaments without an established team and without an established way of playing. Sometimes you can come across something or someone new coming into a country and it will just magically work, but most of the time the best teams know how they are going to play and have players that fit. We’re still trying to cram people in.

“There is a question of how progressive Southgate is prepared to be. He has two extremely creative players in Foden and Alexander-Arnold and yet he plays them in positions and systems that don’t suit them (if indeed there is a system). How willing is he to build a team around the best players instead of just playing with them? Or, if the system is king, play the players that suit it. The only “systemic” aspect I can see is that he wants two midfielders who sit deep. Other than that… I don’t know. He flatly avoids dealing with how to mitigate Kane, who can’t/won’t press and still falls deep; and how to provide adequate coverage to our best passer and top scorer, Alexander-Arnold. Liverpool succeeded and won the League and the European Cup at the same time.”

Petition to go back to 2018, to 3-5-2: Henderson throwing balls to runners, Dele and Lingard finding space, Dier on penalties. Intoxicating days. The sun had risen in England too.

Aaron Ramsey has a heartfelt message for Rob Page.

“As an outsider looking in, I can’t help but feel that it’s all a bit far-fetched?” writes Vincent O’Brien. “I agree, In-ger-land have been somewhat underwhelming for 135′ of this tournament so far, but in previous tournaments they seem to be able to up their game against better sides (sorry Serbia) as they progress? I still expect (reluctantly) to see them in the last four next month, by then even Ireland may have named a new head coach! (Or maybe not..)”

I think part of the backlash has to do with how much more organized England have looked in previous tournaments under Southgate in the group stages, coupled with being billed as favorites in this one.

Rob Page has been sacked as Wales manager

“I won’t go into the complicated tactics because if the Football/Championship manager has taught me anything, it’s that tactics are not my area of ​​expertise.” writes Ben Lake.

“However, I will say that it is particularly disappointing to see England revert to England for most of my living history. I’m talking specifically about England after Euro 96. When it seemed like an incredibly talented group of players could never function together on the pitch. The sum of their parts never looked like more than a beat-up family sedan, and that sedan got worse and worse as time went on.

“It was epitomized by those grueling, tedious draws against the USA and Algeria, then it hit its nadir with Harry Kane repeatedly losing corners in the heroic loss to Iceland.

“In a way, Southgate has broken this current crop out of that funk, made everyone play more to their ability. Yes, we didn’t win anything, but at least every tournament didn’t feel like a completely wasted opportunity of the assembled talent. We were competing and winning, not stumbling against teams we should have beaten, there was a definite upward trajectory.

“But somehow we’re back again, right where we started. Endless positional debates, a lack of ingenuity and insight and a growing backlash against a manager who frankly seems to already be imagining how much easier it will be to commentate on this tournament in a studio.”

The last paragraph reminds me of a little something I watched a few weeks ago from Euro 2012. I highly recommend:

“Wharton for Trent and Gordon for Foden with Foden later on when the forwards start to disappear/balance better and Wharton was born to play that role – although until Iceland I thought that was true of Mainu too so here goes this,’ writes Nick Poole, exposing the fickleness of fandom.

“So according to Barney Rooney, England’s big problem is an invisible midfield, while Jonathan Lew identifies a lack of a left flank.” writes Jeff Wignall.

“The problem is, they’re probably both right.” (Shouldn’t central defense have been the main concern? They were probably England’s two best players.) Callow and inexperienced they could be at that level, but Wharton and Gordon would have a low bar to improve and each offers qualities clearly missing until now.

“Wharton, in particular, has the rare ability to read and understand the flow of the game and the moments within it, along with the technique to make the most of it.” You can’t say the same for TAA.

“And for all Foden’s skill, outside the context of playing in a dominant team pushed to the nth degree by a master tactician, he has yet to show much in over 30 internationals.”

Adam Wharton, from Championship midfielder to England savior in a matter of months. Good luck to him if he gets the nod.

Roberto Baggio robbed at gunpoint

“I can’t believe I stayed up from 12 midnight to 2am for this poor performance from England,” Boon-Teck writes from Singapore. “I was very let down by the quality of the previous (away England) games.

“Why can’t Gareth Southgate consider going back to the basics 4-4-2? Put Saka as left back, Gordon left wing and TAA on the right. Foden can play up front with Kane. All the best to the Three Lions”

I was going to bed at halftime. The left-back jacket is very 2020. And are you dropping Walker? I respect the unconventional thinking, but I’d be happy if Southgate, just for fun, played an unchanged XI against Slovenia.

Barney Ronay was also in Frankfurt.

There is a German word for the dark energy of this England team for 90 minutes against a decent Denmark side. Weltschmerz, weariness of the spirit. The energy has drained from this being. Outside of Jude Bellingham’s 45-minute game in Gelsenkirchen last Sunday, a tube of nitrous oxide screwed in, England played like a team with a migraine.

Sky Sports News reports that eight England fans were arrested in Frankfurt yesterday. A police spokesman was quoted as saying: “There was a great mood among the fan groups, both English and Danish fans. We can summarize that there was peaceful assembly in the streets all the time. “

And Spain really looks the part.

In other news, Lionel Messi: still knocking about Argentina.

Jonathan Liu sums up England’s misery masterfully.

So you’ve probably already seen it, which means if you’re still reading this, you’re either a masochist, sadist, or Scottish. Is it really worth kicking this twitching corpse any further? Of course it is. We may have lost two hours of our lives, but we’ve gained five days of rich, delicious discourse in return.

Preamble