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Ukraine vs England - Euro 2024 Qualifier | 5pm KO on C4 | Match Thread

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Comments

  • All very ponderous, but not that bad a result in the context of the group - beat Italy, draw with Ukraine in the two big away games.
  • Can’t work Foden out. What’s his role?

    He doesn’t seem to have kicked on as much as expected 
  • Callumcafc
    Callumcafc Posts: 63,755
    Ref desperate to blow the whistle as soon as possible there
  • MuttleyCAFC
    MuttleyCAFC Posts: 47,728
    I keep saying it but Southgate holds England back. He is too negative minded. He should have taken one of Rice or Henderson off, Henderson probably, not Bellingham. We needed more red shirts in the box. We won't win anything with this manager. Nice bloke but no balls!
  • Wellred
    Wellred Posts: 1,118
    Disappointing draw should be winning these games 
  • Laddick01
    Laddick01 Posts: 6,362
    Can’t work Foden out. What’s his role?

    He doesn’t seem to have kicked on as much as expected 
    Just isn't compatible with our current system. We don't really play quickly through the lines. We seem to spend most of of our time working it wide and looking for a deep cross.

    Same for Maddison really. 
  • Only saw the second half, which was turgid. We didn't deserve to win that, and with our comfortable position at the top of the table AND the bigger picture concerning Ukraine, pleased Ukraine got a draw.
  • I keep saying it but Southgate holds England back. He is too negative minded. He should have taken one of Rice or Henderson off, Henderson probably, not Bellingham. We needed more red shirts in the box. We won't win anything with this manager. Nice bloke but no balls!
    I do wonder if he'd be less defensive minded if we had better centre backs.

    Probably not, to be honest (I think he's just very safety first) but I have a certain sympathy for not being confident enough to expose Maguire and Guehi by being too attacking.
  • MuttleyCAFC
    MuttleyCAFC Posts: 47,728
    edited September 2023
    It was a game where he could have played Rice as a centre back. I'm not saying that is an option in most games, but it was in this one the way Ukraine set up. If you want to beat a team like that you have to get bodies in the box and attack quickly relying on your quality. Southgate for me, undervalues our attacking quality.
  • North Lower Neil
    North Lower Neil Posts: 22,943
    edited September 2023
    Maguire winds me up, not his defending for once, but the fact he thinks he's Beckenbauer, brings the ball out, then always plays the same ball he could have played ten seconds ago.

    Slows everything down.
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  • MuttleyCAFC
    MuttleyCAFC Posts: 47,728
    edited September 2023
    You have them flooding their own box and we build an attack with four defenders behind the ball passing to each other slowly. In this game we needed a bit of guts and had to try to find an extra player to drive into the box. With a lack of options on the bench he took players off that could offer attacking options but kept with his defensive midfield shield.
  • Manic_mania
    Manic_mania Posts: 2,257
    edited September 2023
    Italy have to play us and Ukraine twice yet. Arguably they have to win all 3 or it's the play offs for the champs
  • I keep saying it but Southgate holds England back. He is too negative minded. He should have taken one of Rice or Henderson off, Henderson probably, not Bellingham. We needed more red shirts in the box. We won't win anything with this manager. Nice bloke but no balls!


    When you need a meme there’s only one man for the job.
  • Manic_mania
    Manic_mania Posts: 2,257
    edited September 2023
    I keep saying it but Southgate holds England back. He is too negative minded. He should have taken one of Rice or Henderson off, Henderson probably, not Bellingham. We needed more red shirts in the box. We won't win anything with this manager. Nice bloke but no balls!


    When you need a meme there’s only one man for the job.
    as long as curbs is still 14-1 

    otherwise i'll see you in Makros car park
  • ValleyGary
    ValleyGary Posts: 37,973
    A really poor performance from us. Saka was shite and Bellingham wasn’t much better. Still didn’t get beat and we’ve basically qualified.
  • Only managed to catch the second half, but was struck by how many unforced errors we made in the opposition half. We see these players perform at a very high level every week, but yesterday they looked like League one quality. No touch, no anticipation, no communication, no real quality. 
    It was quite jarring to repeatedly see things like Saka miscontrolling a simple ball and letting it go out of play, Maddison passing to yellow shirts (or just nobody), Bellingham being dispossessed and so on. And it went on with the subs too. 
    All very odd. Hopefully they all had their one off-day in the same game.
  • CAFCsayer
    CAFCsayer Posts: 10,222
    We have Real Madrid's star man, who has 5 goals in 4 games from midfield, and we are sticking him on the left wing to accomodate Jordan Henderson ffs
  • JamesSeed
    JamesSeed Posts: 17,380
    edited September 2023
    I keep saying it but Southgate holds England back. He is too negative minded. He should have taken one of Rice or Henderson off, Henderson probably, not Bellingham. We needed more red shirts in the box. We won't win anything with this manager. Nice bloke but no balls!
    One goal conceded in five games, top of the table by six clear points, and you’d change the manager. You reckon some nasty geezer would improve things? Bold. 
    Who would you have in mind to bring in, after you’ve sacked the second most successful manager in England’s history? Sam Allardyce?
  • Chris_from_Sidcup
    Chris_from_Sidcup Posts: 35,994
    edited September 2023
    CAFCsayer said:
    We have Real Madrid's star man, who has 5 goals in 4 games from midfield, and we are sticking him on the left wing to accomodate Jordan Henderson ffs
    Madness really.

    To me and probably most other people most of the England team picks itself.

    Pickford
    Walker, Stones, Shaw
    Rice, Bellingham
    Saka, Kane, Rashford.

    The contentious spots are whether he picks Maguire or a centre back who actually plays, and whether he picks Foden or (on current form) Maddison for the attacking midfield spot.

    Unless he decides to go 352 then injury permitting i honestly don't see how there's any other complications to that team selection and i'm not paid 5 million a year to pick it.

    We have one of the best front 6 options in world football and we're trying to shoehorn Henderson in because our manager would rather not lose than go out to win.
  • JamesSeed
    JamesSeed Posts: 17,380
    edited September 2023
    Henderson has a role to play imho. Can’t always stick the most technically gifted players into a lineup. Henderson offers something that those players don’t necessarily. 
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  • JamesSeed said:
    Henderson has a role to play imho. Can’t always stick the most technically gifted players into a lineup. Henderson offers something that those players don’t necessarily. 
    Don't get me wrong he's a good player and for sure he has a squad role. But i can't imagine many managers in world football would be shifting Bellingham out of position to accommodate him.

    He's the best young midfielder in the world and you play him in his natural position where he just won La Liga player of the month.
  • CAFCsayer
    CAFCsayer Posts: 10,222
    JamesSeed said:
    Henderson has a role to play imho. Can’t always stick the most technically gifted players into a lineup. Henderson offers something that those players don’t necessarily. 
    You dont nees Henderson and Rice, especially not against teams like Ukraine
  • Cafc43v3r
    Cafc43v3r Posts: 21,600
    CAFCsayer said:
    JamesSeed said:
    Henderson has a role to play imho. Can’t always stick the most technically gifted players into a lineup. Henderson offers something that those players don’t necessarily. 
    You dont nees Henderson and Rice, especially not against teams like Ukraine
    No you don't but this is where Southgate, and potentially any England manager is damed if he does and damed if he doesn't.

    You don't get bonus points for scoring most goals in qualifying.  As it was said above probably 7 or 8 of the starting 11 are nailed on, as to is about another 7 or 8 who will go the Euros.

    With 3 games to go we have pretty much won the group, I am more interested in using the remaining games to find combinations to win the quater final, semi final and final of the Euros, not picking a team to score a cricket score against Malta.
  • Chunes
    Chunes Posts: 17,346
    edited September 2023
    Should Henderson even be in the England squad considering he's moved to a barely competitive league

    Let alone moving the best young midfielder in the world out of position to accomodate him
  • soapboxsam
    soapboxsam Posts: 23,229
    Allo, Allo, Herr Flick has been sacked by Germany.
  • North Lower Neil
    North Lower Neil Posts: 22,943
    edited September 2023
    Maguire winds me up, not his defending for once, but the fact he thinks he's Beckenbauer, brings the ball out, then always plays the same ball he could have played ten seconds ago.

    Slows everything down.
    Only been on 5mins v Scotland and he's already doing it again.