The Euro 2024 Thread

[PuntsWolf]

It's an interesting conversation. Losing to Coventry hurt me more than tonight and tbh it's not particularly close. I really want England to win, it's not close to Wolves contextually though.

Not really into England at all nowadays. Probably how Mark alledgedly is about Wolves.

I don’t know why it’s happened. I cared in 2021 and before that. But I don’t watch the qualifiers or friendlies unless it’s on and I’m doing nothing else.

I was more emotionally involved for the T20 semi final last month.

 

[Tony Towner]

But I just don’t agree we have better players than this Spain team. Certainly not trying to play possession football. Play Gordon instead of Foden. Gallagher instead of Mainoo and just play direct then maybe we could have.

I disagree, I think we do. I mean we have the best player in the Spanish league playing for us, the best in the English league and numerous others. They are just better coached

 

[PuntsWolf]

I disagree, I think we do. I mean we have the best player in the Spanish league playing for us, the best in the English league and numerous others. They are just better coached

Bellingham didn’t show anything in this tournament though. Coaching or not he didn’t look a world class player. Cole Palmer barely played. Whatever Harry Kane was on paper, he wasn’t in this tournament. And then I’ve already covered the issues in CM.

I’m no Southgate lover. I’ve thought he was rubbish since god knows when. He massively holds us back, agreed. But the players aren’t clearly better than what Spain can put out. Having great AMs and wide players is all well and good when you can only play 3 and you can’t get the ball to them and they are paying alongside a traffic cone

 

[jd1981]

It's an interesting conversation. Losing to Coventry hurt me more than tonight and tbh it's not particularly close. I really want England to win, it's not close to Wolves contextually though.

Just depends how you view it just wanted that experience tonight of winning a major trophy, if I’ve got one in me before I die I’ll be happy whether it’s England or Wolves.

 

[darlowolf64]

I watched the game hoping for an England win, was hopeful then we equalised but then the inevitability of Southgate having us sit back, hoping for extra time sank in.

Full time was just a bit "meh", it's how Southgate wants them to play and it's a fucking waste of some excellent players. The sooner he goes, the better for the national team, depending on if the FA can be trusted to select a manager who can help these players thrive and play to their full potential... I won't be holding my breath!

 

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

As someone else mentioned, the fact that he was about to bring Trippier and Gallagher on just before they scored sums Southgate up.

 

[AndyWolves]

I don't think it really hurt as much was say the Watford semi is because it was so very predictable and expected. The game itself went how most of us thought it would

 

[Tredman]

As someone else mentioned, the fact that he was about to bring Trippier and Gallagher on just before they scored sums Southgate up.

That’s the thing I’m most angry about - we basically gave up after we scored.

 

[White Wolf]

Watford hurt a lot more, the manner of the defeat was devastating when we should have won and normally saw out games like that comfortably. Two goals up, conceding the equaliser in injury-time. The confidence completely went after they pulled one back and I found extra-time a complete misery. While we were on an upward trajectory under Nuno it still felt like we missed potentially our one chance to get to an FA Cup final. Man City were excellent but you do have that lingering what if, we did the double over them the following season too. I'm 25 and am unsure if I will ever see us in a final, I don't expect us to win a major trophy in my lifetime.

As for England, as disappointing as the defeat is we now have made it to three semi-finals and two finals since 2018. We have had more than one chance, not taken any. It makes you more frustrated at how we have missed those opportunities.

 

[nimrod]

Would have been nice to win one, god knows it feels like we’ve earnt it over so many years of disappointment. but I don’t feel the same joy at an England win or the same crushing feeling at a defeat any more. I can get close to it occasionally but never in an all consuming way. I’ve wondered if it’s a generational issue, or because we’re now in the Prem and up against these players, or because I support a team of mainly non English players, or because gamesmanship is the norm and taken the game’s integrity away. Compared to that, until a season is effectively over, mid table obscurity, any Wolves defeat can leave me devastated for a few days. Any injustice we face is a major crime.

I think if we could have swapped Rice for a top of his game Gazza we’d win things. When the Prem league started I thought we’d end up just importing all the talent but we have so many good players that have come through I was wrong about that. But I don’t know if we have produced many of the game controllers yet, and as the pundits like to say, is that in our dna. Mad as he was off the pitch, it was why we loved and embraced Gazza so easily. He sort of came from nowhere.

Of course there are ways to win football games without that sort of player. Sitting back and staying in the game waiting for a mistake, some luck, penalties can do it but I don’t think that’s our dna either and it’s fkin tedious to watch at times.

 

[GLASGOWOLF]

That defeat is on Southgate.

We started just letting them have the ball no press. Sat back with no attempt to win the game.

Went 1-0, changed it up, pressed high forced the keeper to go longwon the ball back, looked dangerous.

Scored a good equaliser, ok we are the team in the ascendency go and win it.

No, lets just revert to the first half, without the olayers to do.it.

Before the winner we had the ball, there was no forward run like there was at 1 down. We lose the ball and the fucking game.

He said he had learnt from the Italian final, he learnt fuck all.

Thank Southgate but go now, or wast a true golden generation.

 

[Langers]

Well I'm absolutely gutted and I think it's a bit daft quantifying how much it hurts compared to Wolves! It's shit seeing your team lose a huge game, it doesn't make me feel any better because it's 'only' England.

I didn't think we were too bad last night, certainly nowhere near as poor as we were in the group stages, but we were just nowhere near good enough, Spain always looked like they had a goal in them and they've comfortably been the best side in the tournament.

We did well to get as far as we did, particularly after those first few games which were dreadful.

Although it was very encouraging to see us grow into the tournament, we do need a fresh approach re: tactics .

 

[sycophantia]

I'm not sure we just stopped playing after we equalised, maybe more that Spain upped their tempo again after being pushed back for 10 minutes, they were just a better team all round on the night (and tournament). Better coached definitely but also individual performances.

 

[Lycan]

I think it's only natural to compare experiences and for some people international football just doesn't matter as much as it does for others.

I was more annoyed by Scotland's underperformance than England rolling over last night. I think partly because I felt that England were incredibly lucky to get to the final in the first place and partly because you could see how dominant Spain were throughout the game, it really wasn't much of a contest and the equaliser came completely out of the blue.

Also, I don't know what watching England out is like in other parts of the country but in Warwick & Leamington it's an absolute nightmare. You have to book a table to be able to even get into a pub and it's full of girls who just want to get a cute photo wearing an England top for their Instagram, scream at the top of their voice every time the ball goes into the penalty area or don't even bother pretending to watch the game and groups of lads who are just there so they can lob beer over each other if England score (and probably to get a cute photo wearing an England top for their Instagram). I watched the game round at a mates house, which was fine but definitely contributed to the feeling of the entire night being a bit of a damp squib.

 

[Langers]

My local pub is always good to watch tournament games in. It's not full of 'part time fans' who only ever watch the major tournaments and definitely no chance of beer being thrown everywhere (I really don't understand that at all). The people there are the people I speak to about football all the time, not just for 2 weeks every 2 years.

Great atmosphere last night - really enjoyed it aside from the result.

 

[YoungWolf]

Not that it would have made any difference but I’m still pissed off that the ref blew up on exactly 4 minutes when they’d clearly wasted at least two of it with players “injured”.

 

[jd1981]

Well I'm absolutely gutted and I think it's a bit daft quantifying how much it hurts compared to Wolves! It's shit seeing your team lose a huge game, it doesn't make me feel any better because it's 'only' England.

I didn't think we were too bad last night, certainly nowhere near as poor as we were in the group stages, but we were just nowhere near good enough, Spain always looked like they had a goal in them and they've comfortably been the best side in the tournament.

We did well to get as far as we did, particularly after those first few games which were dreadful.

Although it was very encouraging to see us grow into the tournament, we do need a fresh approach re: tactics .

I think I agree in its individual moment it’s gut wrenching, it’s all subjective but from a personal point of view losing a final will always be devastating. Regardless of how the game pans out.

 

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

That’s the thing I’m most angry about - we basically gave up after we scored.

If we'd have continued to have a go at them after the equaliser, I could have seen us getting a 2nd. Instead we let them come at us and, with those two planned subs, the manager was basically holding out for pens. Even when we attacked for the last few minutes we nearly
scored again.

The most frustrating thing is that, apart from the odd moment of individual skill/brilliance, we offered very little going forward all tournament. That's the result of a manager who tries not to lose games rather than win them.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

You put Klopp in charge of these players and I reckon it would be a rather more decent watch, and there would be a good chance of winning things.

 

[Wolftone]

Bringing Palmer on for Mainoo obviously did the trick in that he scored within a couple of minutes, it left us exposed in the middle of the park though which resulted in their winner. Should have bought Gallagher on for Mainoo and Palmer on for Foden.
Having said that we deserved nothing from the game really.