England tonight

[The Bedlington Terrier]

Thinking the same thing CiB, the players were apparently shocked that Grealish had been discarded, one of them even went to Gareth to ask just WTF was going on. Whatever credibility Gareth had left with the players has just been shot to pieces.

I've seen Jack the Lad 5 times playing live, he's an unbelievable talent both on and off the ball. HTF he can not be playing for England is way beyond my comprehension.

He would have unlocked the Viking defence faster than he gets in a footy groupies' knickers.

[sinkov]

They make me laugh ( especially the punditry) Foden ( who I admire immensely) is the prodigy of a generation who has the world at his feet - but afterwards just couldn’t break down two banks of players in blue - Anthony Gordon tried bless him but simply has no end product at all.

Not really Foden's fault, Gareth played seven defenders, one striker and just three players, Foden, Palmer and Gordon, with the skill set to break down a packed defence, against an Iceland team reluctant to even come out of it's own penalty area. Palmer on the right, Foden in the centre, Gordon out left were never going to be enough on their own, they got little help from Rice and Mainoo, not their fault, it's not their job to break down packed defences, Walker scooted up and down the right as usual, to no effect whatsoever, as usual, while it was embarrassing to watch Kieron on the left, he was no help to Gordon at all and plays as though he knows it. Again not his fault, he's not a left back, and has never looked like one in every England game he's played there, but still Gareth persists.

Some posters are wondering why anyone would want to watch this dross, but I find it fascinating, it's a bit like the fascination of watching a slow motion car crash I suppose, you can see what needs to happen, but you can do nothing to make it happen, in this case you could see the need for a Maddison or Grealish to come on, as army says, but that couldn't happen could it, nice one Gareth. And god help us when the serious stuff starts, I really hope I'm wrong but this England team, with this manager in charge, reminds me of the Titanic setting out into the North Atlantic. Somewhere out there is an iceberg waiting for us, it's just a matter of when we hit it, not if.

[ballcock]

Only thing woke Gareth and his England team do better than anyone else is taking the knee.

Go woke, go broke, like Nett zero

[Swissclaret]

I gave up watching England many moons ago. Everytime we are going to win a tournament we fail.

I was thinking though, despite how wonderful our players are according to the pundits, when you look at the PL, who are the real stars - Man City (with exception of Foden) Haaland, De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, - The Arse Odeergard for example - Man Ewe Bruno Fernandes, Hoyland and so on.

How good are the English players really? Just asking.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

I gave up watching England many moons ago. Everytime we are going to win a tournament we fail.

I was thinking though, despite how wonderful our players are according to the pundits, when you look at the PL, who are the real stars - Man City (with exception of Foden) Haaland, De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, - The Arse Odeergard for example - Man Ewe Bruno Fernandes, Hoyland and so on.

How good are the English players really? Just asking.

Bellingham & Foden are world class, the rest are bobbins.

[Swissclaret]

Bellingham & Foden are world class, the rest are bobbins.

I agree, BT. Even worse that Tarks, who I do rate, doesn’t get a look in.

[sinkov]

Bellingham obviously, Pep thinks Walker, Foden, Grealish and Stones are up there with the best, Hsrry Kane, Bayern tend not to sign players who sre bobbins, Saka and Rice from the Arsenal, now one of the best teams in Europe, Pickford is as good a keeper as there is, Cole Palmer must be one of the best young players in Europe, James Maddison, earlier this season before his injury, was outstanding for Spurs.

That's eleven who are quite good, problem is there's a rapid fall off in quality after that and the manager's a buffoon.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

Kane's won nowt nowhere, he even cursed Bayern's seemingly impregnable winning streak in the Bundesliga.

Stones is injured more often than Robbie Brady ditto Saka. Rice is overrated, even Claret discard JBG had the measure of him. Pep obviously rates Grealish as highly as Southgate does because he can't get near the City starting eleven.

Walker and Trippier are past it, Pickford's OK but hardly a Buffoni and young Cole could yet fizzle out like a shooting star.

I have more chance of winning the Euro millions than England have of winning the Euros.

We may struggle to get out of the group.

[sinkov]

I have more chance of winning the Euro millions than England have of winning the Euros.

We may struggle to get out of the group.

Yes quite possibly mon ami, but because of the manager, not the players. When you have a manager, so afraid of his own shadow, that he sets up his team with 7 defenders to take on the might of Iceland, you have a manager who will win nothing, whatever the quality of the players he has available.

The difference between what you say about Grealish in posts 11 and 15 shows that you are on one of your weekend fishing expeditions, so I'm not biting and not taking you at all seriously. There's an old cliché 'form is temporary, class is permanent', in his dumping of Grealish and Maddison it seems Gareth has never heard of it, or forgotten all about it, and it's already come back to bite him on the bum, even before they've got on the plane to Germany. He seems to attach some importance, as do several journos, to the fact that Grealish has not started a lot for City recently, and in one recent big game Doku was preferred to him as a sub. Fair enough, but City have one of the strongest squads in world football and Doku is a world class winger, to have dropped down the pecking order at City does not mean you're suddenly not good enough to even be on the bench for England, but Gareth, bless him, thinks it does.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

Yes quite possibly mon ami, but because of the manager, not the players. When you have a manager, so afraid of his own shadow, that he sets up his team with 7 defenders to take on the might of Iceland, you have a manager who will win nothing, whatever the quality of the players he has available.

The difference between what you say about Grealish in posts 11 and 15 shows that you are on one of your weekend fishing expeditions, so I'm not biting and not taking you at all seriously. There's an old cliché 'form is temporary, class is permanent', in his dumping of Grealish and Maddison it seems Gareth has never heard of it, or forgotten all about it, and it's already come back to bite him on the bum, even before they've got on the plane to Germany. He seems to attach some importance, as do several journos, to the fact that Grealish has not started a lot for City recently, and in one recent big game Doku was preferred to him as a sub. Fair enough, but City have one of the strongest squads in world football and Doku is a world class winger, to have dropped down the pecking order at City does not mean you're suddenly not good enough to even be on the bench for England, but Gareth, bless him, thinks it does.

I think we can both agree mon ami, Grealish should be on the 'plane to Germany and Southgate shouldn't.

I'm going to have to try a different bait.

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