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Original poster

To feel really gutted for England tonight?

210 replies

Acapulco12 · 15/07/2024 01:28

This Euros tournament has been quite a crazy ride for England and it’s a tournament I’d rather forget (partly because of the way that Gareth Southgate and the team have been treated by the British press and their own fans).

I think that whilst the team has loads of fantastic world-class players, they haven’t consistently played well as a team, either in the run-up (e.g. in the Iceland or Bosnia games) or in the tournament itself.

I really feel that the team only managed to get through to the final because of moments of individual brilliance (Jude Bellingham’s goal, Ollie Watkins’ goal, Pickford’s absolutely top-notch goalkeeping).

I’m also quite disappointed with elements of Gareth Southgate’s management even though I still really admire his leadership style, his achievements as England manager and his attitude. Southgate has - undeniably - produced consistently excellent results with this team, but they haven’t yet won anything with him, and ultimately they will be judged on winning. They have got close to winning on two occasions now with him, and he and they obviously care for and respect each other, but I don’t think that’s enough anymore (feels harsh to write that).

I think it’s time for the team to find a new manager and go in a new direction, but equally I think it will take time for a new manager to find their feet with England and I worry that the new manager will not be able to create the same sort of culture that Southgate did, which I think really helped to shape this current team and make them so successful.

I know that there can only be one winner in the Euros - just like in any sports competition - but I just really feel for the England players. I’ve followed them for a few years now, they come across as a really nice team and I feel really sorry that it didn’t work out for them tonight.

Focussing on the final tonight, Spain were clearly the better team tonight - and throughout the Euros. Having said that, I do feel quite sad that the England players couldn’t achieve the win they wanted. They obviously really really wanted to win, and I think the team’s performance has overshadowed the individual achievements and excellence of the England players that I mentioned earlier in the post.

I know there will be many more tournaments to come, probably for most players in the team as most of them are still very young and are full of potential, but they had so much expectation riding on them and they came pretty close to winning, having got to the final.

They should feel really proud of themselves for getting to the final and coming close to winning, but I know that they would rather have won than been runners up.

OP posts:
KeirSpoutsTwaddle · 15/07/2024 06:40

I know nothing about football except it’s occasional domination of the media and everyone else organising their lives round last night.

Are we just not very good? Why do we have this fixation with ‘it’s coming home’ and never actually manage to do it?
If it’s been years since we have won, why do we keep thinking we might win, given we can’t be that good or we’d win more often?

I realise if you follow football the above must make no sense at all, but I’m just trying to grasp the context from a position of extreme ignorance 🤣

EmmetEmma · 15/07/2024 06:37

Who might be better at the job - Southgate has been the best England Manager in decades if we are going by results

I find this dissing of him odd and unpleasant

Parker231 · 15/07/2024 06:33

They lost because they weren’t good enough. Spain were a much better team. Many should now lose their place in the team in the same way as other jobs where you are replaced by someone who is better at the job.

notthefavourite · 15/07/2024 06:27

KnickerlessParsons · 15/07/2024 02:28

England didn't lose. They came second out of the 20 (?) teams in the tournament, not to mention all the others that didn't make it that far.
If your child won a silver medal at the Olympics you'd be delighted.

It's all the media hype and the "coming home" crap that winds everyone up that makes you feel like a loser. Coming second is brilliant. If Wales came second I and the rest of the Welsh nation would be over the bloody moon.

Agree completely with this

SleepingStandingUp · 15/07/2024 03:00

Maybe they could borrow the Women's Football coach for a bit?

Not a football fan, but sacking the guy who got them to the finals twice is stupid. It's hardly like they dropped out in the qualifiers or people thought the winning team were shit. He shouldn't resign, he needs to stand by his team and say we did bloody well thanks. Second place isn't winner but it isn't to be laughed at either

Original poster
Acapulco12 · 15/07/2024 02:51

KnickerlessParsons · 15/07/2024 02:28

England didn't lose. They came second out of the 20 (?) teams in the tournament, not to mention all the others that didn't make it that far.
If your child won a silver medal at the Olympics you'd be delighted.

It's all the media hype and the "coming home" crap that winds everyone up that makes you feel like a loser. Coming second is brilliant. If Wales came second I and the rest of the Welsh nation would be over the bloody moon.

Well yes, they did lose - because they didn’t win. I know it sounds pedantic to say it, but it’s the truth. In a sporting and a logical sense, they have lost. I hate writing that because it makes me sound like I only care about winning, which I don’t, and I love this team, love GS and I’m lucky to just be a spectator who enjoys football and to whom - in the grand scheme of things - wins or losses don’t really matter.

I can see that the players and GS clearly desperately wanted to win, partly because as sportspeople they will aim to win every game they play and because they wanted to win it for the country.

Unfortunately it didn’t work out for them, and whilst they still did brilliantly, they still lost. With respect, comparing Wales coming second to England coming second isn’t a fair comparison. There are way higher expectations placed on the England football team than the Welsh one, which I think are justified now more than ever, partly because of the way that GS has shaped the current team, and I think they could have won if tonight had gone differently, but very sadly they didn’t. Although Spain were excellent and a very deserving winner.

OP posts:
EurJumper · 15/07/2024 02:40

I'm not English but I've lived here a long time and was sad they didn't win tonight. I wasn't sure they would beforehand, Spain are just so good, but would have liked them to win.

Southgate has transformed English football and hope that one day he truly gets the credit he deserves even if he didn't win trophies. They were nowhere near reaching finals before him. England men's team hasn't won a trophy since the 1960s and rarely made it past the semis most of the time - it's mad that there's so much expectation on them to win when they haven't won in so long.

KnickerlessParsons · 15/07/2024 02:28

England didn't lose. They came second out of the 20 (?) teams in the tournament, not to mention all the others that didn't make it that far.
If your child won a silver medal at the Olympics you'd be delighted.

It's all the media hype and the "coming home" crap that winds everyone up that makes you feel like a loser. Coming second is brilliant. If Wales came second I and the rest of the Welsh nation would be over the bloody moon.

HolyJackaMoly · 15/07/2024 02:20

I'm not being funny and I know very little about football but I have to say Southgate has done a better job at taking a team to international success than any other manager for a long time. To sack him because he couldn't do better than a lot of other managers who couldn't do as well as him seems fucked up to me.

England have an inherent problem in that they are too polite. They have no fire in their bellies and no aggression to push forward and win. The players need that in order to get anywhere

Carnewb · 15/07/2024 02:03

I feel like he'll probably have little choice in resigning and nor will the team. Which makes me quite sad because I agree with how he's managed the team, the culture he's created and as you say, the consistent results - but not wins and it's the wins, or rather the losses, that shape everything .

Being honest I don't think that they have played particularly well as a team, there have been moments of incredible skill from players who have saved the day, and last minute rally's, and Spain were superior in all aspects tonight and I think our players probably had the whole "We always fall at the last hurdle" feeling when Spain were dominating the game. But, they rallied, and seemed to pick up and get going after the goal and others may disagree but I think they lost it again when Spain went up a gear, and were rattled again, it's exciting watching Pickford being tested because he's pulled off some fantastic saves, and Stones defending was outstanding at points - but again they were moments of skill from one player, not a cohesive team playing well together.

All that said they've done a great job and they, nor Southgate are deserving of the battering they're probably going to get again, I get that it's a passion for some people but it's a game, not life and death and I think the way they're treated is unwarranted.