"Why do England always do the same thing?" | Q&A special

Ahead of England vs Slovakia, we're answering some of your questions! We wonder how different Gareth Southgate's tenure has proved to other England managers like Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello. Plus, who would we support if England get knocked out?
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[@Alex18NY]

My favourite English football podcast.

[@Ogma3bandcamp]

18:20 touchy, touchy ... proper redhead. 🤣

[@cannedham8630]

Southgate took over when confidence was an all-time low from the Iceland defeat in 2016. For me, the 2018 run in the World Cup was one of the most magical times supporting England other than 96 as we didn't have any expectations. The following Euros we got to the final.and In Qatar, 22 World Cup, we went out to a brilliant French side. this tournament, we look knackered, and there seems to be pressure again. Similar to 2006 where we couldn't handle the expectations. I hope it changed tomorrow with a win vs. Slovakia, which will be tough. However, the pressure of not winning anything plays on everyone too much. We need to just take 1 match at a time. Hopefully, the enjoyment comes back this evening..

[@badmoon2322]

Oof

[@IggyGoesPop666]

We can all see that our players are knackered but why can't Southgate as he's constantly playing the same 11 with the acceptance of one of the midfielders. Germany made some major changes last night and it worked. We have a really strong squad so why are we not rotating or playing some of them for 60 minutes and then freshening the team up with 4 or 5 players off the bench ... its not rocket science

[@cactusjack9846]

The ramblers are top guys, the red headed guy is very funny and knows his stuff... Keep up the good work boys, definitely the best football podcast out there, streets ahead of the ones who have played the game professionally... Come on England

[@ezeztztz]

England have always been this way,it’s the most baffling mystery in world football why English players constantly fail in international football,the list of players is endless and goes back decades,absolutely outstanding for their clubs but when they put on that England shirt they completely fall to pieces,it’s a mystery.

[@Thomas...191]

There is one constant: the arrogant English fans. I don't think it's a coincidence that the last few years of relative success happened at a time when the expectations were at an all time low. Now its back and topping the group is a disgraceful display of bad football...

[@NeilLewis77]

@@Thomas...191 yes we should be more humble like the french, brazilians and italians. they are always so laid back and they never assume they will win anything. i hear in brazil there fans were very happy with the 0 0 against costa rica and didnt have a bad word to say about it. jog on smeg head, people are trying to have a grown up conversation here. english fans arnt even arrogant. every tournement england fans expect to crash out in the quater finals. we sing a song that brings up all our LOSSES between 1967 and 1995. and even if some fans do expect to win, how does that make the team play badly? italians expect them to win. is belgiums shit performances this tournement the belgium fans fault? that stupid idea that england are arrogant because we expect to beat teams like serbia and iceland is so dumb. the reason england always play boring backwards football is because our last 6 managers have all been boring backwards safety first managers. the last time we had an attacking manager in th 90s,..... we attacked.

[@declanlightowler9529]

@@NeilLewis77 smeg head hahahahah, I agree though I'm sick of this rhetoric that the high expectations of fans are what result in poor performances of the team...

[@ezeztztz]

@@Thomas...191England fans are not arrogant,that’s just a myth put out by jealous Scotland wales and Irish fans,England fans expectations are no different than any other international team ranked in the top 10 in the world,England are always rated amongst the favourites at tournaments rightly or not,that’s not England fans doing.

[@DavidGreen-ot2ni]

i think how England should play an international tournament is to watch the England U21's. I've watched them from last year's U21's and they were superb. high press,counter attacking and lethal. Gordon,Jones and Palmer were superb. Gordon is an intelligent man , reads things that are outside the box. Palmer is so cool and know's he 's expceptional but is humble like Gordon. Tbh both are better than a tired Saka who I don't think us mentally as strong,not saying he's weak but not up there with these 2.

[@robinbishop468]

the answer is very simple - FEAR OF FAILURE -

[@telegraph2581]

Having lived in spain many years i think the answer is football intelligence from a young age. The skill young spanish kids develop playing a very techincal football on 5 a side pitches from a young age produces players like silva, iniesta or busquets who operate with precision in small spaces. Kids in england were taught to play football with rugby tactics. Yes it’s changing but it hasn’t fully changed yet

[@jimb9063]

"Yes it's changing but it hasn't fully changed yet." Yes indeed. Went to an U21 game v Portugal over 20 years ago at the then new Stoke City ground. Didn't need to look at the shirts to tell who had possession, you could tell just looking at the feet and how well or badly the ball was controlled. The average English player is so much better than that now. More players comfortable with either foot, passing and first touch is more assured There's still an element of players watching the guy in possession not being quite sure where to go or what the next pass will be though. It also looks like a bit of the fear of the shirt had returned in this tournie. They looked like they were enjoying themselves for the last few years for the first time in my lifetime, but they don't look happy at the moment. While not being an issue yet in Germany, we seem to also have lost the one skill we were traditionally good at, central defending, and being aerially dominant.

[@telegraph2581]

@@jimb9063 i was listening to the england match on the spanish radio to see what they were saying. It was along the lines of ‘they’re trying to play like us but haven’t really got it yet, why don’t they just play like them? With intensity and speed’ 😅

[@jimb9063]

@@telegraph2581 Heh yes. It's a bit like getting new equipment. It's clearly better, but you know how to use the old stuff really well and for a time can get a better outcome with it.

[@jimb9063]

Cheers folks, interesting chat. Difficult call with the size of the competition. There's pros and cons with 16, 24, 32 teams, it's the lesser of three evils. For me it's got to be either 16 or 32. Go for quality or inclusivity. Don't have a problem with the "best loser" concept, it's the unfair advantage that teams have in this format. Playing the last group games at the same time was brought in after that famous Germany Austria WC game. Now though, teams aren't just competing within groups, but against potential third place teams from other groups who either play before or after them.

[@nffclacey]

It's in the history the only way we win the euros is if we play against a team thats also never won it in the final

[@adrian_vsk7203]

It's not very complicated. Gareth was a defender and when he saw stats to back up the idea that winning international tournaments means being defensively strong, it's all he built his tactics around. We need an attack minded manager willing to be brave and beat teams by outscoring them. Might not win a tournament that way but then we'll have something new to complain about at least 😅

[@jasoncallow860]

The idea that we are defensively strong is laughable. We gave the ball away in dangerous areas in the group matches, the most obvious example being Trent's howler, but the group of mediocrity had no opponents that could exploit our weakness.

[@declanlightowler9529]

@@jasoncallow860 1 goal conceded and lowest Xg conceded in the whole tournament and you find it laughable that we are defensively strong? It is a statistical fact that our defence is exceptional. Defence wins tournaments.

[@lukepothecary5486]

@@declanlightowler9529it helps when you’ve got the easiest opponents and group in the whole competition, if England were in group B or D they would probably be out or at best qualified through being the third best

[@jasoncallow860]

@@declanlightowler9529 It hasn't been tested by any quality footballing sides. We will see later today and for the record, I hope I'm wrong.

[@declanlightowler9529]

@@jasoncallow860 can only play what's in front of you and the defence has proved it's worth. Our negative and delusional nation needs to realise that a solid defensive unit is the most important component when it comes to going far in international tournaments, NOT tiki-taka nor trouncing smaller nations. Southgate is obviously doing what he believes is necessary to WIN the tournament, not merely to entertain an entitled portion of the population for 90 minutes. BACK THE BOYS!!!!! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@Skellster84]

The Euros was better with 16 teams, more exciting matches in the groups.

[@John-qy9nw]

Why not make it 28 teams? 7 groups of 4 with 2 from 7 third place teams go through instead of 4 from 6.

[@heatonhaz]

enjoyable watching southgates england? thats a push

[@Thomas...191]

What England team played better football? 3-0 vs Wales and Senegal in the last world Cup.. 2-0 vs Germany and 4-0 vs Ukraine both in the euros knockout stages... but yeah capello putting heskey upfront in a 442 was much better... the short term memory loss of England fans is only beaten by their own arrogance.

[@heatonhaz]

@@Thomas...191 oh in comparison to other terrible england teams its par for the course, but in comparison to something enjoyable it falls short

[@Thomas...191]

​@@heatonhazGive me an example of how you want them to play... perhaps you should try another sport

[@heatonhaz]

@@Thomas...191 with purpose, not like scared and confused children. examples could be: sit deep with the threat of direct counter attacks, or play keep the ball man city style, we could have half a team coached by Pep. Or all action high press making loads of subs and lots of squad rotation to keep everyone fresh and involved. Or just keep going with Declan Rice as our playmaker with loads and loads of backwards and sideway passes because half the team ahead of him wants to play in the same position.

[@NinpoUK]

Southgate should only have ever been a caretaker for the 2018 run then replaced. The next best time to get rid was after the shocking capitulation to Italy at the last Euros. He's not a manager that knows how to get the best out of attacking talent, is safety first and plays to not lose rather than win. That's not a manager you have on the books to win things, at club or country level.

[@LEThavFUNnSMILE]

I want a lower bracket in euro a big team that losses might come through in the end might create some magic

[@MrReese]

The arguments in the beginning about why England play so boring football seem quite wrong. It's not about the players not having any more to give (many other teams do give more, including Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, etc.), it's about the coach not having any clue. You said yourself they would want to play like in the Premier League - well, look who the successful coaches in the Premier League are! You won't find any English coaches amongst those, that's for sure.

[@basementsnaxx]

How many English coaches have won major cups since the Premier League started?

[@thediplomat7040]

It's not a mystery. The answers is in opposition feedback. Too much kick and rush, passing and ball retention is poor. Too much hear and no brain.

[@jasoncallow860]

This England side is so dreadful to watch they should have been kicked out of the tournament for being boring. This is supposed to be entertainment. It's not about a bunch of blokes kick a ball around, it the crowd enjoying a spectacle of the beautiful game. I'd rather see England crash and burn playing attacking, exciting football than winning playing this zombie passing. Where is the entertainment? I want to see athletes playing brilliant football, not listless donkeys. I'm English, but I really hope Spain win this; they are a joy to watch.

[@MrKev82]

Surely keep the same number of teams, same number of fixtures, but in a Swiss league format, 24 team league, top 16 go through. Each match should then have something on it, maybe UEFA moving to this format in their club competitions will allow them to see how it goes with it then being an option for future Euros??

[@TheCAPTAINDESTROYER]

Boring 😴

[@noone-qg1od]

England are boring af... Just like this analysis.