The Euro 2024 Thread

[Jinky]

My point remains.

We got to the final in 2021 the best we've done in my lifetime, instead of enjoying that fact it's always "it was an easy route" "Germany aren't what they were" "we should have won the final"

But generally the very obvious criticisms aren't made about 1990 or 1996? Why is Southgate's time held under so much more scrutiny despite him clearly being our most successful manager since 1966?

And all these comments may well be true to an extent (although we smashed Ukraine and hadn't beaten Germany in a tournament for decades), but it's just so bloody English to want something so much, but then moan about it when it happens.

It's like the weather, "I wanted it to get warmer, but not THIS warm"

"I want England to progress, but not like THIS"..

What do you want the outcome of this discussion to be?

People are commenting on what has, at least up to this point, been 4 insipid performances from a team packed with superstars.

Of course there will always be the odd idiot who takes it too far, but in the main, much/all of the criticism I have seen so far has been fully justified.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

And rightly so. The manager blew what was essentially a home tournament with a group of players good enough to have won it and individually better than the opposition.

.

But Venables is lauded for blowing a home tournament with a group of players capable of winning it?

 

[Tony Towner]

But Venables is lauded for blowing a home tournament with a group of players capable of winning it?

Again only really in the media in my experience due to Venables being their guy. I can only speak for my peer group, the feeling was mainly of disappointment, definitely not triumph.

 

[leedswolf]

It wasn’t the fact that he brought him on that’s annoying me, it’s the fact that he decided that the 92nd minute would be the best bet to do it.

FIFY

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

But Venables is lauded for blowing a home tournament with a group of players capable of winning it?

Also made NO subs in the semi-final!

Euro 96 has always been mythologised.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

What do you want the outcome of this discussion to be?

The outcome? I'm just giving my opinion that whilst I think performances have been poor, I'd much sooner we progress playing poorly rather than go out playing well.

I don't think GS is treated with the fondness he should be compared to other managers who have not achieved as much (perhaps that will change in time), I also think fans have very short memories such as Iceland, 2008, 2000, 2014 which were truly fucking dreadful periods and that there's a lot of entitlement.

 

[Johnny75]

Of course there will always be the odd idiot who takes it too far, but in the main, much/all of the criticism I have seen so far has been fully justified.

I don't think you've taken it too far Jinks.

 

[jlo]

What's worse, we can all probably rightly predict the team to play Switzerland is going to be the same but with Konsa in for Guehi. Despite looking more threatening when we changed the system.

 

[Sniffer]

I think that Southgate has been praised on here for his stint as England manager and even those who have not been over enamoured by him have given praise for how he bought the squad a new mentality and togetherness. There's also an acknowledgement of how far we've gone in tournaments being as good as most of us have seen in our lifetimes.
That being said, I think that the criticism of him in this tournament has been fair and most of it is due to the decisions of his making. No left back, no balance, not making changes, running players into the ground. There's a lot to go at

 

[prawnking]

it's just so bloody English to want something so much, but then moan about it when it happens.

It's like the weather, "I wanted it to get warmer, but not THIS warm"

"I want England to progress, but not like THIS"..

"I wanted Labour to win a GE, but not THIS Labour!"

 

[jd1981]

Southgate has won more knockout matches than every other manager combined since 1966. Tells you just how bad England have been.

 

[Tony Towner]

Southgate has won more knockout matches than every other manager combined since 1966. Tells you just how bad England have been.

And how bloated tournaments have become. The first knockouts of the Euros used to be the semis

 

[Kenny]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1807776855446950127

 

[ROVERT47]

What did he do?, just saw him cupping his ear which was fair enough.

 

[White Wolf]

Look at the comparison with the defeat to Italy! It was met with anger.

I wouldn't go that far. There was some horrible racism experienced by players on social media (not all of which came from British-based accounts I should add) but I am struggling to recall a great deal of genuine anger directed at Southgate and the players for any of our tournament defeats, save for the Nations League embarrassment. Croatia and Italy were missed opportunities but compared to the treatment other England teams have got, until now it has been rather soft. England were utter rubbish in the cycle leading to Russia but the atmosphere was weirdly very positive, that has mostly been maintained.

Those who follow England have also been pretty supportive, I can only recall frustrations being aired at players after the loss to Hungary at Molineux and then the most recent two games; I was in Cologne fwiw and the atmosphere during the match against Slovenia was actually very good, it was only at FT that a small minority of idiots made the headlines.

Most people can remember Iceland very well and we were one last minute wonder goal away from replicating it with a better group of players. The criticism in this tournament has all been very valid.

 

[Tony Towner]

@ROVERT47 Made a gesture to the Slovakia bench which involved doing something with his cock. Which as you'd expect was just an in-joke to his mates in the crowd .

Rice called their manager a bald cunt after the game so there was definitely some animosity there.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Most people can remember Iceland very well and we were one last minute wonder goal away from replicating it with a better group of players. The criticism in this tournament has all been very valid.

Absolutely.

And while I'll still continue to largely defend his reign as a whole, this tournament exists in its own sphere, especially in real time. You can't play like shit and say "well we were good in X game six years ago", what value is there in that? You wouldn't do it with Wolves in isolation, there's no writing off or mitigating the Coventry game in 2024 because we beat Man Utd at the same stage in 2019.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

I wouldn't go that far. There was some horrible racism experienced by players on social media (not all of which came from British-based accounts I should add) but I am struggling to recall a great deal of genuine anger directed at Southgate and the players for any of our tournament defeats, save for the Nations League embarrassment. Croatia and Italy were missed opportunities but compared to the treatment other England teams have got, until now it has been rather soft. England were utter rubbish in the cycle leading to Russia but the atmosphere was weirdly very positive, that has mostly been maintained.

Those who follow England have also been pretty supportive, I can only recall frustrations being aired at players after the loss to Hungary at Molineux and then the most recent two games; I was in Cologne fwiw and the atmosphere during the match against Slovenia was actually very good, it was only at FT that a small minority of idiots made the headlines.

Most people can remember Iceland very well and we were one last minute wonder goal away from replicating it with a better group of players. The criticism in this tournament has all been very valid.

"I wouldn't go that far" followed by "there was some horrible racism...." I mean come on!?

There is absolutely genuine anger directed at Southgate now, and just like above with you trivialising the racism, you're trivialising that he had stuff thrown at him.

You only have to scrape the surface of twitter, Facebook or instagram to see more anger too.

 

[ROVERT47]

@ROVERT47 Made a gesture to the Slovakia bench which involved doing something with his cock. Which as you'd expect was just an in-joke to his mates in the crowd .

Rice called their manager a bald cunt after the game so there was definitely some animosity there.

Is that all, Michael Jackson made a career out of doing it.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

England were utter rubbish in the cycle leading to Russia....

Sorry? What?