I agree re: dropping Rice. I don't know why few seem to have picked up on this?

I've lost count the amount of times he's played a bad pass or lost the ball. It was his terrible pass to Guehi in the Denmark game that almost cost us. If it weren't for Marc's pace to correct this mistake, we'd have almost certainly conceded!

Rice, saka, bellingham, foden, walker have all had long seasons. they look wrecked out there from the start of the game.

Ive lost count the times kane has come deep to pick the ball up or crosses in from the wing to where he should be to head the ball in.

everything looks disjointed.

It was less than a decade ago that we would have dreamed of such an outcome and the gallant losers would have been welcomed home by cheering fans.

The Southgate regime is currently hated but boy is it a victim of its own relative success.

The players give no appearance of being remotely happy and Southgate will need to deal with that. My guess is they feel shackled by the team set up and directions and are desperate to let rip. The whole world is seeing them bumble along and they feel the shame and share our frustration.

I think the management (not Southgate, he is just the part of that who takes the blame) had a plan and one thing caused the wheels to come off. The Danish goal was the Mike Tyson punch in the face. No team on earth could have stopped that goal. Without it we would have gone in last night having already won the group and could have done a Spain and field the B-team. Instead, we had to go for a point always keeping a close eye on the other game. It added a tension and meant we had to work harder and the card count accordingly rose. I don't think we had any cards by this stage in the last World Cup.

In response to this, you might say that, after the Danish goal went in, we should have pushed for a winner. Possibly. But that would have been against the plan!

I thought the team would be released last night as we have been in previous third games e.g. Wales. Perhaps the management has learned from that final when it was our turn to run out of gas as an older but canny Italy took control as the game went on. As others have said on this thread, our players tend to have longer seasons than their continental counterparts and we need to spread the energy thinner and longer.

HEARD HE ON 100K A WEEK (5M PA) SURELY NOT !

Edited by rob1969 (26 Jun 2024 11.29am)

He wants to have a look in the mirror - he's been the worst player on the pitch in the last 2 games.

Should've been hauled off yesterday - Southgate hasn't got the bottle to drop him in the KOs, so he should have at least sent a message and pulled him out of that s***show yesterday.

Wharton hasn't kicked a ball yet and Eze has only had a bit part. If both of them were playing England would shine. The downside is that their excellence would stand out in Southgate's otherwise drab setup and attract global attention and interest.

I'm hoping they will be kept on the sidelines. Keep your heads down lads. Come home soon and play exciting football with Ollie's team.

Dad and I watched games standing on the muddy slope of the Holmesdale Road end. He cheered and I rattled.