@@Karma2Babylon Thanks again for the very kind comment, mate. I think the approach from both the coach and the players is cowardly. It almost looks as if they set up to incredibly conservative in the first half before easing the handbrake slightly in the second before introducing the substitutions. This format lends itself to that sort of collusion - I don’t like it. Teams that didn’t win a single game are progressing into the next round which will dilute the quality of games we see in the last 16.

Thanks for the comment, mate. England have some great players, but they’re not a good team. They haven’t been a good team in a long time. The bigger picture is if England were to play like that against a top team, not one ranked outside of the top 20 like Denmark, they will be punished. The tactical naïveté on display was baffling. All is not lost and playing against better opposition might actually suit this team, but based on what I’ve seen so far, I’m not convinced.

@@FrontalLobeFootballI hear what you're saying, but I was around for Italia '90, and let me tell you, in the early stages, Bobby Robson and his team's performance was about as popular as Bernard Manning getting it on with Lily Savage on a Gay Pride float...a real clumsy mess. Then, David Platt pulled off that roundhouse kick during the Belgium match-where we were getting absolutely mullered, by the way-and suddenly the spirit of the nation was lifted. That goal carried us into the semi-finals, only to lose in a penalty shootout. This is tournament football. Teams with character grow, and I believe that's what's going to happen. As the greatest football song ever says, "You never give up, that's how it should be." And if that fails, well, just take all our unfulfilled hopes and "run it under a tap." for the next time ;)

@@davidsphere I get it, I really do. I’ve actually been accused of being a Southgate apologist prior to this tournament and I did defend his “conservative” approach as one that was best suited to getting over the line in major international tournaments, however I can’t defend the way that he’s set his teams up in these opening games. I don’t expect to see high-risk, fluid, counter-pressing football, but I do expect some semblance of structure in possession and not dropping 10-15 yards after they’ve taken the lead early in a game against sides like Serbia and Denmark. I fully appreciate what you’re saying and I admire the positivity, I just worry about this team from a tactical perspective. The game has evolved so much in this respect and I’m not sure Southgate has the nous to navigate this gifted squad to a European Championship.

​@@FrontalLobeFootballI understand why many England supporters may question Southgate's conservatism, but I believe it is well-founded. He has to be careful because we have stirred up quite a few people around the world over the years and did ourselves no favors with that "coming home" nonsense, which has made below-average teams come at us with preternatural force on occasion. Living in Denmark, I can guarantee that the last match against Denmark was nothing more than a revenge match for the Euro 2020 semi-final that the Danes lost. The ill feeling of losing to England was immediate and petty over here. For instance, the main sports shops in Copenhagen refused to sell England shirts leading up to the final, while every member of their staff was dressed in an Italian shirt. This reflected the national mood, which has persisted religiously. So despite the very average team that the Danes put up against us, led by what many consider an internationally aging Christian Eriksen, they were far more motivated than anyone in England could possibly imagine. Denmark might be a small country, but it really sees itself as a big nation. This was a moment when they had a chance to prove this, if only to themselves. Since the match, Denmark has been happier than a Cheshire cat with the cream, and all for a draw. But it's a draw that has put a cat among the pigeons for England, at least for the moment. That's their perverse pleasure and all they will get out of this tournament, and they know it. If Southgate had not been so cautious against such a motivated Denmark, I feel it might have ended without any points at all. The group stage is not where we need to take risks; it's where we negotiate them. The points he has gained so far suggest that his strategy-if we can call it that, as the jury is still out-is working. Can't believe I just talked myself into believing something I didn't believe when I started! I need to lie down.

Do you think that’s under instruction from the coach? Southgate claims that it’s not, but I’m not convinced.

If Slovenia did beat them, England mightn’t even get through to the knockouts… 😶‍🌫️

Vielleicht ist England nur auf dem Papier stark? 🫣

Thanks for the comment, mate. Much appreciated. I completely agree. You could have described me as a Southgate apologist as well before it felt like he started paying attention to the media when selecting his squads and picking his starting teams. You’d think that these experienced players could recognize that they’re dropping deeper and just push 10-15 yards up the pitch. Surely Stones, Walker and Trippier can see this happening? I cannot believe that there were no structural or personnel changes made to that team at halftime. A lack of leadership all round it seems. They can still win this tournament, but lots of things need to change, and fast.

The word that comes to mind with England under Southgate: fear of conceding a goal. It reminds me of Conte at Tottenham. Get a goal and sit on the lead by getting 11 behind the ball.

@@stevendale7301 as a spurs fan, YES! And yes. Tough being a fan of both 🥲🤣

@@stevendale7301 Southgate claims that that they didn’t sit back under instruction, whereas under Conte it was at least his tactical approach, as awful as it was to watch his Spurs side.

Thanks, mate. Appreciate the comment. I’m fairly new to this, so there are definitely a few things I do need to figure out with my microphone and sound.

Thanks for the comment, mate. I’m guessing that it was all negative on Twitter… you’d swear England lost 4-0 based on what I heard on Talksport as well.

Cheers for the comment and for subscribing, mate. Much appreciated! I think Arne Slot would do very well to get Liverpool close to Arsenal next season. I’m a huge fan of Arteta as a coach.

Thanks, mate. Really appreciate it.

Thank you so much, mate. Really appreciate the comment. Really looking forward to the tournament getting underway!

Thanks, lad. I appreciate it. Plenty of big international sides have had terrible results in friendlies going into major tournaments that they’ve won.

Thank you so much, mate. Really appreciate the comment.

Thank you so much, mate. Really appreciate the comment and you subscribing to my channel.

Thank you, mate. Really appreciate the comment. I find that a lot of football analysis these days is just agenda-driven nonsense.

@@FrontalLobeFootball Respect.

Thank you so much, mate. Appreciate the comment. Tactically inert is a great way to describe him actually. When I ask people to explain what Southgate got wrong in Qatar from a tactical point of view, nobody seems to be able to coherently explain their point of view. It’s just the popular narrative. I think he’ll take a few more risks this summer too. They played a higher line against Brazil and we saw Trippier inverting into midfield at times against Bosnia, which could be a sign that he’s at least making subtle changes to improve the team as an offensive unit.

Thank you so much, lad. I appreciate the comment. I think so too, they’re favorites for a reason.

Thanks for the comment. That wouldn’t surprise me after what happened at Euro 2020 when Southgate brought on playes specifically to take penalties.

Thank you. I really appreciate that.

Thank you so much, mate. Really appreciate the comment.

Thanks for the comment, lad. It’s hard to argue with that. In surprised more people aren’t speaking about Portugal. They have such a brilliant squad of players.

Thanks for the comment, lad. On paper, their team is definitely up there with the best sides, especially that forward line!

Thank you for your comment, mate. I do think I will a few more Euros-related videos, but no concrete plans yet, aside from covering all of the England games when the tournament gets under way.

Thank you so much, mate. Much appreciated!

Thank you so much, mate.

Thank you so much for the comment, mate. I really appreciate it.

Thank you, mate. Much appreciated!

Thanks for the comment, mate. Of course, it’s impossible to know how players will perform under the new manager, however my video was about Slot’s philosophy and how it compares to Klopp’s. Kieran Trippier was defensively very good at Newcastle last season and I wouldn’t describe him as a “monster” defensively at Atletico. It might have more to do with different systems and leagues more so than the manager - there are lots of variables. Stefan Savić is a poor example. He left Manchester City when he was 21 and gradually proved himself at Fiorentina before getting the move to Atletico. You can also cherry pick examples of players who have continued to develop under a new manager (Watkins, Kimmich, Valverde, Firmino etc.).

Couldn’t have said it better myself, mate.

Thanks for the comment, mate. I really appreciate it. I do think, in an ideal world two powerful all-action holding midfielders would be perfect, with one functioning more as an 8 when required. Curtis Jones could play there so I’d be keen to see who Slot prefers. I definitely think we’ll see him there in at some stage during preseason. I completely agree though, the squad is unbalanced and so vulnerable in defensive transitions, but hopefully Slot, who is more tactically flexible than Klopp, can find some solutions.

Thanks, lad. Really appreciate the comment.

It would be nice to see Jota stay fit for an extended period of time. Mo certainly is slowing down, but he’s still our main goal threat by some distance and I think him playing inside a bit more will benefit him. Gakpo ended the season well and Núñez does need a big season next year. I’m just looking forward to see how Slot goes about setting up this team offensively.

Thank you so much, mate. Really appreciate the comment and you subscribing to the channel.

Thanks for the comment, mate. I do like Núñez on the left, especially as an inside forward like you said. I do think Slot needs to improve Darwin this season. It’ll be interesting to see what he does with him. I don’t think you can start Trent in midfield, but having him inverting means that he can play in that Pirlo-like quarterback role when we’re in possession. Again, Slot could see his future in midfield, but I’d be very surprised given his lack of defensive awareness and capabilities.

Cheers, Jamie. Really appreciate the comment mate.

Thank you so much for the comment, mate. It is much appreciated. I genuinely do think Trent inverting from left back is a possibility depending on what we do in the transfer window. I’m excited to see how this team performs under Arne Slot as well.

Thanks again, Dave.

Thanks for the comment, mate. I think I remember the game. He’s always been capable of big performances, but I think it’s consistency that lets him down. He is 26 now though so he’s a much more mature player, so I’d happily defer my opinion to Atalanta fans. His performance in the Europa League final was hard to ignore. Three top quality goals and he had Tapsoba on toast for 90 minutes. Really impressed with his defensive work rate as well. It will be very interesting to see where he’s playing his football next season that’s for sure.

Thanks - it’s amazing - I’m cautiously optimistic with slots appointment. Liverpool need to improve in defense and especially defensive set pieces - hopefully slot and his team can deliver this to us. Also we don’t need to keep conceding first and relying on comebacks to win.

Thanks so much for your comment and insight, mate. I am really to happy from an actual Feyenoord supporter. I watched the KNVB Cup final. Tough game, but I’m really glad you won. The fact that Slot tweaks his teams depending on the opposition is huge. I was actually quite critical of Jürgen Klopp for not doing that more often. He sounds like a big personality as well, which is massive for a club like Liverpool. Hopefully you will be taking more of an interest in Liverpool next season to see how Slot performs. ❤️🤍

Thank you so much, mate. That feedback means a lot.

Thank you so much, mate. I really appreciate you leaving a comment.

@@FrontalLobeFootball thankyou for replying I really do think you have very good insight. One small criticism of sorts. You need to get a better condenser mic for your videos I would go for the blue yeti for budget use or the at 2020 usb . Your videos deserve it . Well done .

@@benitezkebab Thanks again, mate. You’re 100% right about the mic. I always said that if there was any interest in my content I’d get one, so perhaps I should invest. Thanks for the recommendations as well. I will definitely look into it.

@@FrontalLobeFootball you definitely have the content to make your channel a success , there are many channels that are no way near as informative and just spout the same news over and over again . remember if you do not get a usb mic you will have to invest in a mic preamp if the mic has an XLR connection. If you need any advice on issues like that I will be glad to help . Ynwa ( your new subscriber from the island of Malta )

@@benitezkebab Thanks again for the kind words and for the offer, mate. I shall get back to you if I need any help. Hope to speak to you again soon.

Thank you so much, mate. I genuinely think it’s a possibility. I guess we’ll have a better idea of how we’ll set up after we see what business the club does in the transfer market.

Thank you so much, mate. I really appreciate it.

@@FrontalLobeFootball No worries. There are so many lads on here just talking out their arse, fair play to them for making the effort, but you actually know what you are on about, which I'm thinking will stand you in good stead. 👍

@@sl11tenderhand 100%. That’s actually the reason that I started my own channel. I couldn’t listen to some of the nonsense spouted by certain lads. I watched your video on Naby Keita earlier. It was excellent. Why did you stop posting videos?

@@FrontalLobeFootball ​ Ah, thank you! I thought about doing the football analysis thing but have a few too many side projects/hobbies to commit to producing stuff regularly. Do you have a Twitter/Substack account for this stuff, Dude?

@@sl11tenderhand Fair enough, mate. You’re definitely very good at it. You even had the ability to include lots of visuals and background music. I’m not quite there yet, haha. I don’t, unfortunately. I did have Twitter, but I deactivated my account because I couldn’t listen to a lot of the nonsense on there. What’s your Twitter and I’ll follow you if/when I decide to reactivate my account?

Thank you so much, mate. Much appreciated.

Thanks a lot, mate. Greatly appreciate the support.

Thank you, Andy. Really appreciate the comment, mate.

Thank you so much, mate. Really appreciate the comment. I don’t expect a massive overhaul of this squad either, but I would hope to sign a holding midfielder with the profile to play in Slot’s side. Yohan Bakayoko would be a good understudy for Mohamed Salah and a much better rotation option in that position than Harvey Elliott. If we did sign Geertruida, I’m not sure what that would mean for Trent? Like you said, it’s difficult to know where Trent fits in, but I think it’s most likely that we’ll see him inverting from fullback and hope that the defensive structure under the new manager provides him with a bit more protection. Obviously it’s a case by case basis, but I’m always weary about signing players for the Eredivise. Do yo think that Darwin Núñez will have a big role to play next season?

@FrontalLobeFootball it's very difficult to guess what will happen come 1st June. So many things have changed from just a week ago. Knowing FSG, I don't expect a huge wad of cash for the manager to play with and given recent events with fair play, their wallets will continue to be tight. The new manager however, will expect funds to strengthen especially given the likelihood of a change of playing style. From the leading figures in the media who are "close to the club" there are a few names being linked. The general concensus is that a holding midfielder,a CB and an attacking winger are in the offing. Every man and his dog is throwing names out and eventually a couple will stick. As for Nunez, I don't see him leaving and expect the new manager to be given a year to see if there can be an improvement. I like Nunez, I stood by him as I could see the effort and willingness to affect a game. For the majority of efforts he hits the target, so he just needs to pick a side and not hit it right at the keeper LOL. Unless there is an astronomical offer, I expect Nunez to be there next season.

@@IgorsUncleDave I’ve seen a lot of speculation that one the reasons FSG and Edwards opted for Slot was his track record of doing well with limited financial resources. You’d imagine that was a consideration. Another factor was that his style of play is more similar to Klopp’s than the likes of Amorim’s, who prefers to play with a back three. Hence, the squad won’t need as much surgery. I try not to pay too much attention to who we’re linked with. When I see them holding up the Liverpool jersey, that’s when I’ll speak about them, haha. I do think FSG need to back the manager to recruit players in the positions that you mentioned, especially a top class sitting midfielder. Surely there are going to be a few outgoings as well. 100% agree on Núñez. He has all the attributes, aside from that killer instinct. Hopefully this clean slate benefits him and the new manager will help him improve. He really needs a big season next year. You should be making a few videos yourself given your level of analysis.

@@FrontalLobeFootball Thanks for your kind words. I don't really have the time to make videos now but am happy to help out with opinions and any info I can glean. I also sound like Sean Dyche and have a face for radio lol. FSG and Edward are a marriage made in heaven, add Ward to the group and you can see a strong, analytical and stats based process surrounding recruitment. FSG run a tight ship and I can not complain about that. You just have to look at what has happened to Everton and Forrest; and the possibilities surrounding City, United, Newcastle and Chelsea. These later clubs are all under pressure to sell to ensure that their book balance. I know FSG is not the flavour of the month with many Reds, but you only have to look at what they have achieved whilst maintaining profit and sustainability. Clearing the debt, Increasing two stands, Building state of the art training facilities AND improving the squad to challenge or the league and in Europe. We are not looking over our shoulder and long may it continue. With regards to Slot, I agree he appears from what I read, to be similar to Klopp in many aspects and the playing style will need very little tweaking. Our problem for last season, strangely centred around or defence. It was, in effect, the same defence we have had for a number of seasons, yet we were shipping goals all too easily. It wasn't just the number, it was the timing of the goals and teams seemed to find a way to score very quickly in games. Concentration perhaps? But when it was happening over and over, there must be more to it IMO. Endo was brought in and seemed to make a difference, yet even he seemed to fade off. So, a World class Defensive midfielder, stopper, must be a priority. Mats Wieffer at Fayenoord is both quality and known to Slot, his price tag is around £25m so could be an ideal signing. Whether he is World class or suited to the English league is open for debate. Anyway, I have taken enough of your time. Thanks again for the kind words and keep at it

Despite him being the Everton manager, I do like Sean Dyche. I could listen to him all day, haha. I agree with your balanced take on FSG. I don’t think they’re the best owners one could wish for, but they’re certainly not bad owners. Addressing the defence is an absolute must, which hopefully Slot can address. Starting games better, like you said, and managing defensive transitions will be key. You can’t fault what Endo’s done for us, I just don’t think he’s good enough. Wieffer, for that price, might be worth the risk, and I trust the club to make the right call regarding his readiness. You haven’t taken up my time at all, mate. I love chatting about football and you took the time to comment on my videos. I’m sure we’ll be in touch much more in the coming months.

Great point, mate. I’ll include that in the future videos for sure! Cheers!

@@FrontalLobeFootball thats my signature commemt:) when i watch these are my words for your channel:)