He always seems to wait late for substitutions and it worries me as that could cost us in the long run. A wins a win but it shouldn't be that close when we have plenty of fresh legs to bring on.
Southgate not bringing on fresh legs at the right time could be trouble
DiscussionIt just baffles me as he always does this! I thought Southgate had learnt his lesson after Euro 2020 and world cup 2022 but no it's the same old "let's see how things go and maybe bring someone on when there's literally no chance to make a impact" I'm so done with this crap
Im sure there was a qualifier vs Poland(?) where we were crying out for subs + had one or both of Rice & Phillips on yellows and he made no subs. Can you imagine my non-surprise then they scored a late equaliser after going past our DM’s who couldn’t tactical foul them and because our press was non existent due to fatigue.
Exactly my point! Why doesn't he realise things need to change. We have quality on the bench and they are young and hungry so give them a try Gareth and don't just stick to the same old strategy that other managers have sussed out by now
It's exactly why we lost Euro 2020. Italy struggled for a while, they changed tactics, Southgate didn't adapt, and we lost. It's just exhausting to watch. He's just too slow to react.
Or doesn't react at all. Mancini played Southgate like a fiddle and it nearly happened again last night with the Serb manager
All very true- but also why do we have to be reactive? Can we not make proactive tactical changes when it looked like we were struggling and before they made any changes? As said everywhere else, so much talent on the bench that could bring something else- I thought Bowen and Gallagher were great when they came on, showing that there isn't a huge drop in quality or application when the bench is called on.
I completely agree, but sometimes things don't go as planned. Even the best managers mess up their tactics at times and have to adapt. Southgate's issue is that he won't adapt or at least not fast enough.
Yeah totally agree- the default just seems to be to wait and see what happens.
Nah we lost from a set piece and penalties.
Exactly. The man is tactically absolutely clueless. Having all these super talented creative players such as Palmer, Eze and Wharton on the bench that could have easily unlocked the opposite defense, he decided to play just Gallagher and Bowen instead. Southgate may have been a decent footballer back in the day but his football IQ is surprisingly low.
Agreed. We have 5 subs now so we can change systems and change half the team and destabilise tired players with designated roles. Use some more of them.
And we have arguably the best squad in many people's lifetimes. The drop off isn't as sharp as what it was in the noughties when bringing on replacements.
The best team since the Golden Generation. Maybe even better.
110% mate! Just need Southgate to realise this before it's too late.
Southgate’s fear of becoming hated again is what’s holding us back in my opinion.
That and leaving Rashford and Grealish out of the squad but that is probably more controversial.
We’ll rough it out as usual and hope for the best and expect the worst as usual.
I hope you enjoy the rest of the tournament, mate.
Rashford I can agree with as he didn't have a great season compared to his competition in attack but Grealish is controversial for sure as he is so good at winning fouls and play making but is what it is. Agreed! We hopefully will push forward and do better the rest of the competition. Thanks mate hope you enjoy it too! Cmon England!
Imagine bringing on grealish last night in the second half we’d have kept the ball much better
In the absence of Grealish, Gordon would have been my option. On for Foden with 25/30 mins left; would have been the pacey outlet we needed.
Unfortunately Grealish had a drop in form and only played about 3 of the last 15 games. He didn’t deserve a spot ahead of Foden, Eze or Gordon.
Totally agree but Kane needs a second strong and fast player who can actually move and keep the ball instead of just shooting on headers or kicking from a pass within the box so Rashford could have been helpful (even as a sub).
Grealish is practically this generation’s Beckham. He’s great at moving the ball around, has amazing vision and shouldn’t have been left just because he has a tendency to party after big wins.
Anyway, I’ll enjoy it anyway. Rooting for England but would be happy to see France (where I live) or Belgium win if it’s not us.
No chance for Norway as a fourth choice as they didn’t qualify. 🤣
So so true! It's about time Gareth let's them seize the opportunity and realise why some teams fear our young attackers!
He’s not going to break the habit of a lifetime
It will always be one of the reasons England will struggle
I thought Serbia did a good job with subs, one enforced early in the first half, but their manager changed things early and to good effect.
Imagine if Southgate did that! We might have sealed the deal much earlier
He got out coached by the Serbia coach, England were dominating the first half (albeit slightly drifting out in the last 15/20).
At half time Serbia changed tactics to get higher up the pitch and break the lines to midfield and Southgate just watched and hoped that we’d battle out to defend the 1-0 - really poor and he needs to be more on the front foot in the next games.
It's mancini all over again with changing formations to suit the game and Southgate stubbornly holding on
I’m just an armchair fan of course, so help me out here. Serbia press us much higher up, give us no time on the ball, and we collectively lose our shit a bit. Apart from making substitutions, what TACTICAL switch are we looking Southgate to make to counteract this? My worry is that it just needs our players to be better on the ball, and if they’re not, no coach is helping with that.
Watkins on for Foden, drop Kane deeper to help as an outlet and let Watkins threaten them in behind with his pace.
Basically switch to a 4-5-1 to help with midfield control.
Gallagher was a good addition but came on about 30 minutes too late.
You would have brought Gallagher on 5 mins before half time?
Probably at half time tbh. It was clear at the end of the first half that we were losing ground and allowing them back into the game.
Gallagher to midfield to press more, switch Trent to RB and take off Walker.
Not really sure why we played Walker and Trippier at fullback in the first place. Gomez and Trent would have added more height against a tall Serbia. They were never going to be a rapid threat in behind so Walker not really needed.
If you bring fresh legs on, someone who can occupy defenders or turn them around, then space can be created elsewhere. Bowen helped in that regard, but without prolonged periods of pressure all that achieves is a run, a cross and maybe a chance, but the ball generally is coming straight back. Bowen had a cracking game by the way.
A really brave move, bordering on reckless, is to push your wingers out wide and high, forcing the opposition to commit defensive resources (Pedro, Villa for Barca)
This has always been his biggest issue. He doesn't see danger until it's far, far too late. The Italy final is the worst example of this. It's a fatal flaw he has, and it's not ever going to improve
Exactly! Mancini beat Southgate in tactics when Southgate had the better team and bench to win the whole thing. Should have buried that game but instead held a 1-0 lead after five mins...
He's done it countless other times. I want a proper coach to finally get a chance with this talented bunch
I still hope that Southgate will figure it out as he is the best recent manager we have had but it just feels like he isn't using what he has effectively
I just feel like if he hasn't improved it after 6 years, I'm not sure he ever will
It's not even lack of improvement it's just literally the exact same thing every single time
I hear Klopp is available;)
The dude cannot pro-actively infuence a game. In big games, we always seem to lose control and end up defending deeper and deeper as the opposition take control. Any other manager would be on the touchline screaming at them to push up, and/or make a decision to positively change the game. Southgate does fuck and lets them have all the impetus, then makes a negative change to see it out. He never makes an attacking change unless it is forced upon him and it is always too late. The semi final against Croatia in the world cup, and the final in tbe euros against Italy were classic examples. Basically waited for them to equalise. I will never forgive him for the final. We had better players and were playing at home, but he just let the Italians back into the game by trying to sit on a 1 nil lead after five minutes.
Exactly this! Mancini figured out how to break the English set up, changed things and got the equaliser. Southgate nearly made another howler tonight trying to hold a 1-0 lead. I'm no manager sure but even I know that he should have switched things up earlier before the Serbs dictated the game.
Not early enough and not enough. Southgate is Gorman, frozen and blinking, needing a Ripley to grab the controls of the APC and get shit done
We need a manager that knows when to change the formation up earlier rather than later. It was clear the Serb subs changed their formation to a more attacking system yet Southgate stuck it out for reasons I have no idea. Sure we got the result but it shouldn't have been that hard fought.
I think it's been a thing of his going back to 2018. Can't get that 2/3 goal lead so Kane stays on but he's clearly breathing out his arse. Then when the other team brings it back you dare not take him off because its Kane. Especially in knockout games with pens on the horizon.
Like today (okay it's 2024 now) but watkins/toney absolutely should've come on.
He always does this when he has frsh strikers ready to change it up. Kane is a danger man and everyone knows it so he gets man marked all game but bring on fresh legs which can break free and won't be as marked as H then things can happen.
I guess the only thing you can say for him is in hindsight it has kind of worked out for him. But i would like to see it happen more often
Iirc off the top of my head when we beat Senegal in the WC he played the 90 and there was no need for it.
Kane defensively in the last 15 mins was pretty vital, Foden was the clear sub that needed to happen, the other was trippier when he had to go off stretching after a relatively poor show
Gomez on for Trippier would have added some height and defensive solidity when we were seeing out the last few minutes.
Was surprised Cole Palmer didn’t get a run out
Bowen looked solid tbf, would rather Gordon came on for foden
He did, looks like a great like-for-like for Saka. Can see why Southgate brought him
I understood it, same reason he bought TAA off they both take a lot of risks in possession whereas you want to kill this game. Couldn't have been worse than Foden though.
He's a little frustrating is Foden. He evidently has the skills but can't seem to impose himself. Hopefully, it's just an experience thing and he grows in to his role.
If him, Saka, Kane and Bellingham start clicking, hoo boy we're gonna be scoring for fun
Its always been the case for Foden in an england shirt though. Dont think experience can be blamed either when he's older than Bellingham and Saka, has 270 games at club level and 35 caps.
He just doesnt seem to be able to do it at international level. Wouldn't be the first player like that. I'd be tempted to give Gordon or Palmer a go against Denmark.
Killing game would have been easier with 2-0, which England could have secured if Southgate had encouraged them to seize initiative in 1st half and/or brought on someone like Gordon around 60th min capable of breaking at speed directly as soon as turnover occurred.
Top managers with top squads don't sit on 1-0 leads. They go for the jugular. From 55 minutes Southgate should have been considering a triple-swap up top, or certainly a double swap on the wings - Gordon and Palmer could have buried Serbia or at least given them something to worry about, instead Southgate defanged us, brought on dependable battlers when he had a bench full of match winners, and was clearly intent on holding out for the 1-0. He manages like a 90s defender who still hasn't really realised how much the game has changed.
Football is a higher scoring game than it was 20 years ago, you don't win tournaments with cagey 1-0 wins anymore, Serbia would not have been lucky to equalise there. Energy levels matter more than ever, particularly up front. I don't care how good Kane is, after 70 minutes you're much better off with a fresh Toney.
People will act shocked when we're all groaning at him by the quarters, but after watching Howe's coaching for the last 2 years I understand more than ever what Southgate is missing, you couldn't have asked for a better bench than that and yet his subs seemed more like performance art than an attempt to put the game to bed.
From 55 minutes Southgate should have been considering a triple-swap up top, or certainly a double swap on the wings - Gordon and Palmer could have buried Serbia or at least given them something to worry about
Certainly couldn't have been worse than Foden I agree. Thought he took too long with his subs and they didn't really have the intended effect of letting us hold onto the ball more either. I'd have brought Gordon on for Foden personally.
instead Southgate defanged us, brought on dependable battlers when he had a bench full of match winners,
He was just resting our best players, both of whom are nursing injuries in a game we were comfortably winning. You could argue his sub choices were wrong but the players he brought off were the right ones for me. Aside from Foden staying on the pitch.
Football is a higher scoring game than it was 20 years ago
Amount of goals scored has been relatively consistent over the past 70 years last I checked when I read The Numbers Game. Though maybe you have a more up to date source.
Serbia would not have been lucky to equalise there.
They didn't have a shot in our box and had a total of 0.17xG.
We could've played that game 5x over the same way and they wouldn't have scored, in terms of averages.
I don't care how good Kane is, after 70 minutes you're much better off with a fresh Toney.
I don't know about this. You might well be right but Kane was releasing pressure by hdimg up the ball well and winning fouls. Idk if Toney would've been the same or better at doing so, particularly the latter part, as I haven't seen enough of him
He manages like a 90s defender who still hasn't really realised how much the game has changed.
His assistant Steve Holland has won the CL, EL and the Prem twice. I think it's safe to say they're up to date with the state of the game.
The reason we sat back was because they posed no threat to us at all and we had a bunch of players, Guehi, Trippier, TAA, Saka, Bellingham either nursing injuries or who need game time.
What would be the point of pressing high and wearing ourselves out trying to get another goal when we can just sit back and be relatively comfortable whilst saving ourselves for the other 6 matches we'll have to play.
I'm not saying we executed this plan perfectly. We definitely should've kept possession far better than we did, but we won the game without having to worry too much about the biggest attacking threat in our group.
This! Take Foden off and let him rest and bring on Palmer Gareth! It's not that hard!
Foden looks lost outside MC
Always has in my view. He plays well under Pep but under Southgate? He is barely involved or gets involved
He was involved a fair bit last night just was shit at everything he did
Or at least swap Foden to the right
We’re missing grealish already
Take Saka off for Palmer and switch them around could have done wonders for Phil
There's a balance here. Tournament football is different from club football. Fact is Southgate has had more success than his predecessors, his pragmatism has seen England scrap victories by a goal. But he does wait far too long with substitutions, I doubt that will change but I pray he sees it now. He made brave calls leaving out some big names. Can he make an even braver call benching Foden for an actual lw (Gordon), or Eze although I don't think hes an out an out left winger. I liked that he tried Trent in cm, but I think one of the actual cm's should start alongside Rice agaisnt Denmark. Personally would love to see Wharton there but that would be huge call, more likely Mainoo or Gallagher. A wins a win but it is disappointing, one does feel a top manager would get the selection, play style / tactics, substitutions more on point than Southgate, who is reactive never proactive. England need to get lucky to win the euros from what I've seen. How they are / were favorites is beyond me
If by success you mean, still loses but loses later in the tournament then yes, he’s very successful.
The problem is whilst his methods are good at getting results against worse sides.
We wont ever beat a good side in the knockouts because he’s just not a good enough manager and coach. The game against Serbia really shown that he still has learnt nothing.
Failing to identify Foden and Kane having poor games, failing to identify England needed to switch to counter attacking to relieve pressure, failure to impact the game at all with the players he brought on.
He just doesn’t have it.
Hopefully is a case of the first game and that, we are top of the group and the Serbs are a decent side but we should have buried that game if we kept up the pressure. Southgate needs to let our attacking force do the talking and less of this defend a 1-0 lead which has been our achilles heel in past tournaments
Yes that is a problem. As is Southgate failing to realise that Foden is ineffective on the left for England.
I like Bowen on the right as a sub for Saka. Mainoo could have come on for TAA but it seems like Gallagher is his trusty go-to.
I feel like we have a stronger squad in terms of depth than we have had in the past so Southgate should be able to trust his subs more. We'll have to see what Southgate does in the next game.
I absolutely love Southgate as a man, for everything he has done for the culture of England football AND all the incredible memories he has created for us along the way.
But the bloke NEEDS to be DECISIVE and PROACTIVE with his SUBSTITUTIONS. It's INFURIATING. It was evident at the end of the FIRST HALF that we were losing control of the game. At half time he should have said 'if you can't get back control of that ball I'm changing things up sharpish', almost as a semi-threat to everyone on the pitch.
Once that didn't happen, Trent needed to come off for Gallagher (for pressing) or Mainoo (for ball retention) around 55 minutes. The patterns of the game were already SO incredibly clear to an absolute beginner starter kit football viewer.
Then, once Foden couldn't find his feet, he needed to come off for Gordon (for pressing/crosses) or Eze (for counter attacks) around 60/65 minutes LATEST. At the same time, the Bowen change for Saka would have made sense too.
Watching the game last night was like watching your best mate get beat up behind plexi glass. I felt so sorry for the players out there because Gareth was just leaving them out to rot without a helping hand whatsoever.
As we saw in the 2021 final and in the 2022 quarter final, this will literally lose us games once we come up against the big teams. I can remember 2 clear chances that a more proficient attack would have put away with ease, and those are just the ones Serbia created, never mind however many more it would be vs France et al.
It's so infuriating because it's so easy to fix. It's not like we're lacking talent, or the ability to take a lead, it's MANAGING that lead, CAPITALISING on it and MITIGATING any threats/changes in the game.
...and the 2018 semi-final!!
This is why it's so hard to watch Southgate England even though his win rate is good.
Even the wins are infuriating because of the game states he allows us to get into.
This is Southgate all over since he has been manager. He is useless at subs and adapting the game to the opponent. We won today against a team we should realistically thrash. I am tired of Southgate terrorist ball, and even if he somehow wins the euros, I will still dislike him.
Im not sure why you think we should thrash Serbia. They are not a bad team at all and they have a big physical presence. On a good day you might win 3 or 4 but I wouldn't expect that against them
No, he’s wrong to say England should smash Serbia. But we should be having the majority of the game and doing enough to put the match to bed.
A good coach would have identified Kane and Foden were having poor games and switched to a counter attack to kill the game off. Serbia were clearly vulnerable to balls in behind when they started pushing,
Gordon and Watkins for Kane and Foden in that second half would have been EXACTLY the change any good coach would have done, but he didn’t do it, he couldn’t identify what we needed.
We should smash any team we dominated so convincingly in the first 30 minutes.
The worry is that Southgate was unable to keep up tactically to maintain control and score one or two more despite us clearly having the advantage early in the match.
Serbia are a very strong professional side. Second group seeds for good reason.
If they show up no team in the world is thrashing them.
I get that we got the win and all, but was it convincing? I'm not too sure. We have an incredible young team that boasts arguably one of the best attacking forces in world football today and it's wasted on this whole defend a 1-0 lead...
This England trait of sitting back needs changing. We need to kill off teams
Been this way since Capello and for some odd reason has been drilled into the mindset
It’s bizarre. There are City, Arsenal & Liverpool players out there who are very front footed, so I don’t know where this hesitancy comes from. The lack of ruthlessness is worrying.
Southgate mate, he takes no risks
Which is fine from like the 75th minute when we’re in control, but always seems to hold back after we score. Like against Italy and France.
And Croatia plus others. It's a shame
I agree I was calling for changes when Saka was getting smothered on the right in the 2nd half when they realised they could double up on him with no consequences.
Foden needed to come off and a proper winger that could stretch the play needed to be brought on like Gordon.
I also didn't like the mentality of the team after we scored. We sat off and let them get a foothold in the game. It was always going to be a tough physical match because they have some giants and are going to get stuck in but that was pathetic at times.
I'm not going to be too critical because we won and limited Serbia to very few chances. However, TAA should not be in the starting eleven v Denmark. Slovenia showed that a high press will create chances, and he just can't operate in a high press midfield. I would hope Gallacher would start, and then Mainoo would come on around 70 minutes. I would also like to see Gordon start instead of Foden, I think this is unlikely, though. I'll defend Southgate because I think he gets massively over criticised for getting results most previous England managers failed to achieve, however he does need to learn how to close off games better, whether that be via tactical changes or substitutions.
Gomez should’ve came on as soon as Trippier cramped up. Entire front three and Trent should’ve came off by the 65 minute.
Making subs at the 85 min will not win games. How can a player that isn’t prime Messi or hazard or someone like that make an impact in 5 minutes??
The amount of quality we have on the bench had so much time to bring players on to change the way the game was going I would have brought foden off in second half and I would have brought Palmer or Gordon on
The midfield needed addressing earlier and he persisted and waited to long to change the game. Also gordan should have come on adding another dimension to the attack.
I think the more worrying change is the tactical inflexibility. He could reshuffle the same 11 and produce a different situation, but instead he makes pretty much like for like replacements when the opposition have changed the shape of the game. It seems like there's no sophisticated plan B, and the individuals are responsible for exceeding their mandates.
He got his subs absolutely bang-on in my opinion. Neither were the expected goal threat subs, but that was not what was required.
We've never been any good at seeing out games but those Gallagher and Bowen subs sealed that win. Gallagher, who I am not a fan of, tidied up a struggling defensive-to-attack midfield by just being around the main areas a lot. Bowen gave that left back something to think about, subbing Saka as be was ineffective in the second half.
I was really impressed with how we saw that game out in the end. We were struggling and those two subs created some ease. Gareth really nailed it with the subs in my opinion.
Both Gallagher and Bowen were fine. The main frustration for people is that Foden was kept on when he was playing rather poorly, and the fact that we have several options to replace him on the bench.
I truly get the frustration with Foden. It was the same with Gascoigne back in the 90s, believe it or not. Unbelievable talent, but so inconsistent
Wtf, Gascoigne was way better than Foden for England. It’s not even close
That's not what I said at all. Gazza could be really inconsistent and at times anonymous for England. He didn't boss every single game by a long chalk.
The issue is Foden hasn't bossed even one single game for England
Gallagher's energy made an impact, i think he is made for getting the last quarter of the game. I'd maybe have had Bowen on earlier, Saka looked tired quite early.
They came too late in my opinion and Foden should have been pulled at half time
It’s mental, trust England fans after not conceding any shots on target in our own box, three players, guehi, Bellingham and rice having stand out games, and calmly finishing the game out to win, to then go off about how they got it wrong. If Harry Kane scores that Bowen cross the whole dynamic changes, and he will score that 9 times out of ten.
That's why you can't trust stats, you can use them to prove any point. Serbia may not have had any shots on target in the box, but they were only a touch a way from scoring from passes across the box on 2-3 occasions, and nearly scored from outside the box.
Its not about fresh legs, he doesn’t change tactically in game at all!!
He will never change, and this is why we can never get over the line. He relies completely on ‘star players’ to pull it out of the bag every time. Part of his problem is not accepting that some of these players aren’t playing particularly well and he won’t swallow his pride and admit he got something wrong so he’d rather that we concede and then attempt to fix it. Foden should have been off at half time and it takes a brave manager but probably should have taken Kane off around 70 minutes. Serbia made him ineffective.
I would've hoped for the Trent sub much earlier, Watkins in for foden, and maybe Gomez in for trippier.
Decision paralysis. No balls at all,
We won... So on this occasion he made the subs at the right time.
Thats the ludicrous simplicity of substitutions in Football, they're far too over analysed
If he made the subs on 45mins, and we'd lost 2-1, with mistakes from Gallagher, would you berate the timing and the decision of the subs? - Same as had it happened in the 89th minute?
Serbia were not battering us, they had possession, they were creating crosses, but we were dealing with them each and every time, so why change it...? - Technically we didnt NEED to score again, because 1-0 does win you Football matches... It was a risk, but one that worked out.
I get your point but he does this all the time and it cost us against Italy back in 2020 and France in 2022. Holding onto a 1-0 lead against a hungry Serbia was something I didn't want to watch today but yeah we still won fortunately.
Yeah in some ways we were fortunate to start today... Trouble is, most of the time a team should be starting with their best players, so most players on the bench will be inferior, but offer fresh legs.
e.g. Bowen on for Saka
So in some regard, by bringing a substitute on to the pitch, you're in some ways weakening your team, and could well play into the hands of the opposition. Especially if they're quick enough at realising that fact, and counter against the tactical change.
It's easy for us to say what should have happened but end of the day we got the result and top the group so it's a good spot to be in.
Bingo 👍👍
Subs were fine imo
He has five fucking subs, players that are worth 50-80 million pound. How do you sit there watching this shite football thinking yeah those subs are great
Well Gallagher came on and provided us with the energy to close down Serbia a bit more and relax the pressure on our defence, which happened and worked seeing we saw the game out
Bowen, should have got an assist but for a brilliant save from the Goalkeeper
Mainoo wasnt on long enough to really make an impact.
I never said great, mainoo for Bellingham and bowen for saka, Gallagher for Trent, what others would u of done
Tony/Watkins for Kane, Eze/Palmet for foden. Fresh legs like the title says to try to do something. Against Serbia we held on. Against a decent team we’re out of the tournament. Two chances with those attacking players all game is not good enough.
Kane possibly yea but fresh don’t always mean u gonna see the game out, if we hitting long balls for the last 10 mins I agree
You didn't think Foden should have been taken off? Maybe take off Kane (who was doing a good job holding the defence but couldn't get into the game)
Kanes dealing with 3 CB, nothing on the left because no natural left footed LB , so all the play comes inside including foden, and kanes runs on the left stop because of it, foden goes off and I personally think same thing happens, maybe fresh legs may of helped like bowens did. Kane looked fucked but he’s the best in the world Imo , leave him on
Yeah true Kane is important to the team but that's a other reason he should be rested for the bigger test in Denmark. Oh well wins a win
Yea I did think watkins for last 10
That could have been good
Controversial take, imo the subs were questionable at best
His subs made sense. We needed players to battle against a very big, strong Serbia team, and Gallagher and Bowen were willing to do that. I'd have taken Foden off when Mainoo came on, but in fact for those last few minutes Foden was playing much deeper and using his technical ability to win free kicks. Of course, you can't do much when he immediately takes the free kick and gives it back to them, but that isn't Southgate's fault, is it?
My problem isn't the sub choices it's that he took ages to bring them on. Foden nearly cost us tonight and didn't offer much back so he should have been taken off in the 60th min or so and others should have come on about that time or earlier. The serb manager worked out England's set up and changed things accordingly yet Southgate didn't until much later when the Serbs had already gained momentum.
It’s always been the case e with Southgate. Never used his bench properly and is always outclassed by any other manager. We just have to hope they player better despite the charlatan of the manager.
It happened against Manchini and that should have been a game dead and buried yet we sat back like tonight. Just same old Southgates England things...
For most the 2nd half it was clear we no longer had the possession advantage and were not getting many opportunities to score either. Additionally they were sitting in our half and having more pressure than the first half.
That'd the time to either change tactics or make a change. He waited until the 70th minute and only made the one change.
The left side of the pitch was wasted for us as well and tripper also could have been brought off to not exacerbate a potential issue
Yea the left was vacant driving zero opportunities
Foden didn't turn up and the Serbs noticed and took advantage. Southgate needs to sort that out pronto
Exactly my point, Southgate doesn't take risks or even tries to combat the other manager changing the game. A better team would have punished us I feel.
We won the first game of the euros and people are acting like we lost/drawn the fuckin game jeez
Look wins a win I get it and am happy as we have topped the group but it's a long way to go and we need to be more aggressive and ruthless if we want to win the whole thing.
I get that people see Germany pump Scotland and Spain thrash Croatia and think oh England should walk Serbia... The fact is the dynamic of those games are were so different to the one last night, we were never going to thrash them because the way Serbia setup to absorb pressure in the 1st and go for it in the 2nd.
Serbia are quite underrated, they have good attacking players and are a squad with lots of physical power that can go the full 90 against top teams as we've seen yesterday. I won't be surprised if Serbia finished 2nd in the group.
Personally I felt we managed the game well even when Serbia applied the pressure, England was disciplined enough not to concede and the subs were effective in that they helped break Serbia's grip on the game and led to that Bowen-Kane chance.
Honestly man just enjoy the ride and stop expecting England to win it all - you'll have more fun.
Yeah I do need to not have such high expectations you are correct, it's only football and exciting international football at that
Waiting a long time to use subs is an issue in a tournement even if you win the game. You want to rest your best players so that they don't get burned out by the later stages of the tournement where games can go to extra time. A seemingly meaningless dicision in the groups can have a huge knock on effect in the later stages where we might not be able to chase a game as well becsuse subs weren't proactive enough in the early rounds
Great point. We should just accept we were amazing because we won. Hopefully the lads were on the piss celebrating last night
The disrespect shown to Serbia is quite astounding. They're a decent team, if you think they're shit like scotland then you don't have a clue about football
Yeah that half was crying out for subs. Any of the front 3 could/should have been subbed 2nd half. Trippier struggled too most of the game.