Next England Manager

[BR2]

I'm going to the game on Sunday. Only my second ever England game, first one being a 2-0 defeat against Chile in 1998. Hopefully it will be a thrilling goalfest.

Hopefully you enjoy your day out.
I will be watching Doncaster v Plymouth which is a shoot-out for the Div 2 championship and I expect to be more exciting than watching England in a qualifier.
There is a monetary aspect, I have Doncaster at 9/1 to win that division and they are now 1/7.
If they win they go 9 points clear.

As for England last night the Germans played it as a friendly whereas we don't do friendlies.
Some good passing movements by England in the first half but they were given so much free space , something that will probably not happen even v Lithuania.

Podolski goal was totally out of keeping with the game but a fairy tale end to his career-some strike though.

[Kitsondinho]

Took Kits Jnr (1) to his first England game today. Really enjoyed it. We played well enough, but (as is to be expected) Lithuania mainly parked the bus. Probably should have converted a few more of our chances into goals, but we got the job done with minimal fuss. I like the way Southgate is developing our style (reminds me a bit of our Jaap...) but obviously there are much sterner tests that await. I suppose the worry is that it'll be in the World Cup that we get these tests and (yet again) we'll collapse at the first hurdle.

[No Fixed Abode]

Best thing about yesterday was Bradley Lowrey. Chuffed that Defoe scored and got MOTM for him.

[Winston Smith]

Didn't even know England were playing until I heard it mentioned we had won last night on the radio

[Hoop Blah]

England U17s lost on penalties to Spain after a 2-2 draw in the U17s Euro Final on Friday night (not that you'd have noticed much too comment on it in the media) after conceding a last minute equaliser. The U20s also beat Argentina 3-0 in their U20s World Cup opener on Saturday.

[Hoop Blah]

A bit of a disappointing performance and result against the Jocks on Saturday, but a great grandstand finish to the game to wipe the smile off their faces.

A few questions raised, not for the first time, off the back of the squad and performance too.

- Is Hart going to recapture his form and keep the number 1 shirt? Southgate is apparently giving one of the other keepers a chance against France so I'm expect Butland to get the nod there unless he and Forster get 45 minutes each.

- We're still guilty of not taking our chances clinically enough. That game should've been dead and buried before the late drama

- What's happened to our midfield options? Dier and Livermore each did ok but we desperately need more guile and, probably, mobility in the middle of the park. It's that bad that I've read that Southgate has told Chalabah, amongst others, that he stands a chance of getting in the 2018 squad if he's playing regular football. We were crying out for a Wilshire or Barkley against another weaker and defensive minded side.

- Will Southgate trust Stones or is Smalling and Cahill really going to be his first choice pairing moving forward.

- Rashford, as good a talent as he is, doesn't warrant shoehorning into the side at the moment.

I'm looking forward to the game with France to see what Southgate will do to try and shake things up. He seems to be thinking an planning ahead to next summer and so keeping an eye on his experiments could be interesting.

[John Smith]

A bit of a disappointing performance and result against the Jocks on Saturday, but a great grandstand finish to the game to wipe the smile off their faces.

A few questions raised, not for the first time, off the back of the squad and performance too.

- Is Hart going to recapture his form and keep the number 1 shirt? Southgate is apparently giving one of the other keepers a chance against France so I'm expect Butland to get the nod there unless he and Forster get 45 minutes each.

- We're still guilty of not taking our chances clinically enough. That game should've been dead and buried before the late drama

- What's happened to our midfield options? Dier and Livermore each did ok but we desperately need more guile and, probably, mobility in the middle of the park. It's that bad that I've read that Southgate has told Chalabah, amongst others, that he stands a chance of getting in the 2018 squad if he's playing regular football. We were crying out for a Wilshire or Barkley against another weaker and defensive minded side.

- Will Southgate trust Stones or is Smalling and Cahill really going to be his first choice pairing moving forward.

- Rashford, as good a talent as he is, doesn't warrant shoehorning into the side at the moment.

I'm looking forward to the game with France to see what Southgate will do to try and shake things up. He seems to be thinking an planning ahead to next summer and so keeping an eye on his experiments could be interesting.

We definitely should have gone with 2 up front on Saturday. I think we gave them far too much respect and as you say, Rashford was wasted out wide and would have been far more effective up with Kane.

I thought Livermore did well but why Barkley isn't starting is beyond me. Chris Smalling looks accident prone, and as much as love Bertrand for the player he is and his connections to us, he's hardly following in Ashley's footsteps. We should have gone 3 at the back and done away with 2 holding midfielders - it's this kind of tentative approach that will get us nowhere, especially in tournament football. Get the kids on a go for it or don't bother at all.

[Hoop Blah]

- Is Hart going to recapture his form and keep the number 1 shirt? Southgate is apparently giving one of the other keepers a chance against France so I'm expect Butland to get the nod there unless he and Forster get 45 minutes each.

Apparently Heaton will start with Butland playing the second half. Kane will also continue as skipper.

[Hoop Blah]

We definitely should have gone with 2 up front on Saturday. I think we gave them far too much respect and as you say, Rashford was wasted out wide and would have been far more effective up with Kane.

I thought Livermore did well but why Barkley isn't starting is beyond me. Chris Smalling looks accident prone, and as much as love Bertrand for the player he is and his connections to us, he's hardly following in Ashley's footsteps. We should have gone 3 at the back and done away with 2 holding midfielders - it's this kind of tentative approach that will get us nowhere, especially in tournament football. Get the kids on a go for it or don't bother at all.

I'm not sure I'd agree with needing to play 2 up front, although it sounds like they might've tried it in training, but I do agree we need to be more positive and I'd rather see the likes of Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wellbeck or Sterling out wide than Rashford (although he seems quite effective out there as a sub so perhaps he can grow into the role).

[Ian Royal]

It was a lot like watching a slightly better Reading. Lots of standing around looking for an option, static and pedestrian passing waiting for Scotland to read the script and let us waltz through unmolested. Letting the ball slow to a crawl and thinking we could play through the most congested part of the pitch rather than stretch their defence to find a space to play through.

[Hoop Blah]

Not really sure where to put this, but it's kind of England related and a nice read about an ex-Reading player doing well for himself.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jun/12/alfie-mawson-england-under-21s-euros-swansea

Now the cynic in me might usually doubt a lot of this but I love the bit about how excited and proud he was to sing the national anthem.

[Hoop Blah]

A hit and miss performance last night from England. I thought they played quite well for long periods and troubled France just as much as they did us but just didn't quite have the edge or energy to make enough of it.

Once France settled into having 10 men they became the better side which I think was down to England slacking off too much as they thought it was going to be easier to pick them off. The lack of a central midfield really was highlighted last night and it's a ever growing hole in the squad by the looks of things.

I thought Jones and Stones looked good in the back 3 but I don't think it suits Cahill even though he played it most of last season with Chelsea. Kane just looks more and more accomplished and I thought Sterling caused France all sorts of problems and played well but, as ever, just needs to improve his final ball.

Ali and Oxlade-Chamberlain looked a bit lost last night. I like the Ox as a winger and he'd be in my squad if fit but I don't think he cuts it as a central midfielder whilst Ali just looked like he was coasting a bit. Whether that was as a result of a long hard season and a game too far or, more likely in my eyes, he just didn't seem to know who or when to close down in the new formation and so got caught in no mans land far too often.

Attacking wise though we are looking alright (Kane in front of 3 from a Lallana/Ali/Sterling/Ox/Barkley/etc looks strong enough if given the right service) but it's having the balance in the middle of the park that is going to cause us issues. Oh for Jack Wilshire to have a good season!

[No Fixed Abode]

Quite clearly England's weak spot is central midfield. Offered no protection whatsoever.

[Royal Rother]

A hit and miss performance last night from England. I thought they played quite well for long periods and troubled France just as much as they did us but just didn't quite have the edge or energy to make enough of it.

Once France settled into having 10 men they became the better side which I think was down to England slacking off too much as they thought it was going to be easier to pick them off. The lack of a central midfield really was highlighted last night and it's a ever growing hole in the squad by the looks of things.

I thought Jones and Stones looked good in the back 3 but I don't think it suits Cahill even though he played it most of last season with Chelsea. Kane just looks more and more accomplished and I thought Sterling caused France all sorts of problems and played well but, as ever, just needs to improve his final ball.

Ali and Oxlade-Chamberlain looked a bit lost last night. I like the Ox as a winger and he'd be in my squad if fit but I don't think he cuts it as a central midfielder whilst Ali just looked like he was coasting a bit. Whether that was as a result of a long hard season and a game too far or, more likely in my eyes, he just didn't seem to know who or when to close down in the new formation and so got caught in no mans land far too often.

Attacking wise though we are looking alright (Kane in front of 3 from a Lallana/Ali/Sterling/Ox/Barkley/etc looks strong enough if given the right service) but it's having the balance in the middle of the park that is going to cause us issues. Oh for Jack Wilshire to have a good season!

I think that's a massively over-optimistic post.

I thought we were rubbish - outplayed by a vibrant exciting French team.

Sterling is terrible - of course the occasional thing comes off (nice backheel) but he has sod all awareness and just runs into trouble all the bloody time. International footballers who are going to make an impact on that stage against decent opposition see things as they are about to happen - he doesn't. He's a split second too late in everything he does, too slow to react, to slow to pass, too slow to shoot....

The fact that he's quick, has good ball control and can dribble, just isn't enough.

[Hoop Blah]

I think that's a massively over-optimistic post.

Yeah, probably, but I always like to look at the positives with England as otherwise there's just not a lot of point!

I thought we were rubbish - outplayed by a vibrant exciting French team.

I'd say they had the last 10/15 of the first half and much the same in the second but, if you're not looking at it negatively as most people do with their own teams, we gave as good as we got. Both teams created some good opportunities which they failed to make the most of too often, but France certainly looked the more dangerous.

Sterling is terrible - of course the occasional thing comes off (nice backheel) but he has sod all awareness and just runs into trouble all the bloody time. International footballers who are going to make an impact on that stage against decent opposition see things as they are about to happen - he doesn't. He's a split second too late in everything he does, too slow to react, to slow to pass, too slow to shoot....

The fact that he's quick, has good ball control and can dribble, just isn't enough.

I wouldn't go that far, he tries things and creates things. When you do that, and you're trying to draw players in before beating them then you're going to make mistakes here and there. The French players did the same but we tend to overlook the oppositions mistakes and focus on their good play.

Their replacement left was awful for example. I don't remember him making a successful tackle and he got beaten time and again but I think I've only heard positives about the way France defended.

I don't think it was a good performance but France, even with all those changes, are one of the most dynamic sides out there and have two or three very exciting individuals coming through together. Yes that's the benchmark for England, but I genuinely didn't see it as us getting off lightly last night.

[Ark Royal]

Watched the game on ESPN. How frightening are France going to be next year? Their depth of talent is incredible. Mbappe and Dembele were superb, as was Pogba and Griezmann on the bench!

Also superb stuff from the commentator on France's third: "Crouching Cahill, hidden Butland".

[Snowflake Royal]

I'm not sure if ITV could possibly make their coverage of England worse if they were actively trying.

Less than 5 minutes played and the commentator was saying England must equalise quickly. 10 minutes and he's talking about the scoreline being terrible for England.

FFS. It's played over 90 minutes, not 12.5 you oxf*rd tart. It's not even a knockout game.

[Sutekh]

The scoreline is terrible for England. More so when you know full well they're going to spend the rest of the game huffing and puffing and generally struggling to create anything worthwhile. It's no wonder media go over the top when EngLOLand suffer a setback because they know generally how poor the quality available is overall.

[Snowflake Royal]

The scoreline is terrible for England. More so when you know full well they're going to spend the rest of the game huffing and puffing and generally struggling to create anything worthwhile. It's no wonder media go over the top when EngLOLand suffer a setback because they know generally how poor the quality available is overall.

LOL @ You and ITV

[Winston Biscuit]

Didn't watch it but can I assume England fans are unhappy as they decided we are much better than we are, that the opposition were rubbish and we should be easily beating them and that we were terrible to watch?

England fans are the Newcastle of the international stage