Gareth Southgate is a liability; he is the weak link. Should have replaced him after the Euros'.
World cup football/soccer.
- Thread starter taffy
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- #82
Who would you pick to manage the team. I have never been a fan of Rob page, but I also believe that a Welshman should be in charge and I struggle to think who. Do you think it should be an Englishman or are you happy for an international manager to step in, plus I think the fa love Southgate.
I think we are at cross purposes here, I was writing about the England manager Gareth Southgate. I believe Eddie Howe was the favourite replacement but he is not going to leave Newcastle United now that the Saudi Arabia PIF has invested in the club. With a blank cheque book they can buy their way to the top of the Premier League just like Manchester City.
With regards to Wales, you have a good team there but you cannot carry Bale and Ramsey any longer. They are past it and have become a liability. Rob Page needs to understand that and move on working on a team without them.
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- #84
I was curious to know who you think England should go for if Southgate gets the boot. I feel he has done quite well for England, perhaps they may run out of patience as he has managed now at quite a few tournaments. Eddie Howe is doing well at Newcastle, but the pull of being England manager may persuade him and potter is a another young potential manager.
Well it doesn't sound like I missed much last night! Bit more like the England we all know and love. 
I've not seen any stats on this yet and how it compares to previous, but my impression is that his tournament seems to be curiously low scoring so far for the group stages of a WC. Especially given the amount of added time being played and the introduction of VAR.
(Perhaps they had VAR in 2018 too?)
I've not seen any stats on this yet and how it compares to previous, but my impression is that his tournament seems to be curiously low scoring so far for the group stages of a WC. Especially given the amount of added time being played and the introduction of VAR.
(Perhaps they had VAR in 2018 too?)
It does seem like the overall quality of the matches is lower than previous world cups. I wonder if holding the tournament in the winter, in the middle of the major national leagues, means that players are more tired and they have had less time away from their clubs to train as a team. Maybe the heat isn’t helping either. It’s the same for everyone, but it does seem to be making the quality of play lower.Well it doesn't sound like I missed much last night! Bit more like the England we all know and love.
I've not seen any stats on this yet and how it compares to previous, but my impression is that his tournament seems to be curiously low scoring so far for the group stages of a WC. Especially given the amount of added time being played and the introduction of VAR.
(Perhaps they had VAR in 2018 too?)
I was quite concerned about the health implications when they suddenly started adding 20+ minutes of extra time to games, but they seem to be backing off that now after the first few games. And I guess Qatari spectators don’t seem interested enough in football to watch for so long.
Yeah that's a good point, probably is having some effect I imagine.
Poland and Saudi Arabia just played 12 minutes of injury time in the 1st half alone (!)
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- #88
It was all done by FIFA, interrupting leagues to hold the tournament over there. Usually teams have a couple of friendly games before they go to a world cup, was not even time to do that for this world cup.
I’d like to see Lampard, or Gerrard, or even both, given a chance.
Give them a chance to build a team that would just concentrate on football and forget politics.
I won’t hold my breath.
Alf Ramsey, Bobby Moore, Brian Clough, Terry Venables, Harry Redknapp.
The FA’s got an outstanding track record of doing the dirty on the best.
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Yes, they’ve not been covering themselves in glory have they!
I’m slightly surprised that the European teams didn’t call their bluff over the armbands. I doubt FIFA would’ve had any legal recourse if it came down to it.
Well done, Poland. That makes this group interesting. There’s a lot of pressure now on Argentina v Mexico.
France still looking very good, I think. Some true greats in that squad. Perhaps not the strongest defence in the tournament but they do look like a squad that should be there for the big game at the end, and the way they play is worthy of world champions.
So, France the first team to qualify for the knockout stages. Looking forward now to see if Argentina can save their world cup….
Oh for bloody hell's sake! First game I've put a coupla bets on but decided just to keep them very small, because frankly I never win anything when betting on sport. And guess what happens...
Desperately, desperately dreary game otherwise though. Argentina are not looking good.
From what I have seen up to now Spain, France and Brazil deserve a spot in the final.
Apparently Serbia are being investigated by FIFA because they hung a flag in their dressing room before the Brazil match with a map of Kosovo on it and the slogan “no surrender”. That’s some pretty serious stuff. Will FIFA send them home?
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- #98
Argentina did not get on my list of potential winners, looked quite average.
I am sceptical about Lampard, he assembled a lot of players at Chelsea but could not get them to gel as a team. He is struggling at Everton too but then they don't have an open cheque book. He does have an advantage in that he was a goal scoring midfielder during his playing days so I think his style of play would be far better than Southgate.
Vamos Los Ticos!
We were just sandbagging for the first 200 minutes of the tournament. Lull 'em into a false sense of security, and then... BAM!
We were just sandbagging for the first 200 minutes of the tournament. Lull 'em into a false sense of security, and then... BAM!
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