so much wrong it doesn’t matter.
England couldn’t have a more fitting send off for the Euros than losing their last warm up game to Iceland in yet another inept performance from players but mostly from Southgate.
It came as no shock that Southgate dropped Maddison from the squad, he doesn’t like the player, never has, Maddison’s form hasn’t been good enough in the latter half of the season but even when his form was good, Southgate didn’t want to take him to the last World Cup, where he never played a minute.
It did come as a shock that Maguire was left out. Southgate’s true love. Imagine an England player not taking their favourite just because he was injured and not fit enough to feature. But then Southgate has picked Shaw, who is injured and is only fit enough to possibly make the second game, maybe and of course won’t be match fit for that game and is injury prone.
But he has to take Shaw because he’s not taking any other left footed defenders.
And so we have yet again Trippier playing left-back against Iceland and yet again it was shown not to work but Gareth will stick with it. Previous he played Trippier in that position because he wanted the Newcastle player for set pieces but now Tripps is well down the pecking order for corners and free kicks, what is the point? Wouldn’t it be better to actually play someone who can kick the ball with their left foot? You know someone who isn’t all right foot so that they are facing the wrong way all the time and can only play the ball inside or backwards. One that can overlap when the wide forward in front of them invariably cuts inside and put a cross in with their left foot.
But then that would only work if we didn’t have Southgate as a manager because look at the right back. Walker. He’s all right foot – well actually his all arms and hands, kicking the ball is the last of chosen options – who barely gets past the halfway line and when he does only seems to pass the ball backwards, never puts a cross in.
But we’re told he’s the greatest right back that’s ever lived. Meanwhile he meanders back as Iceland break up the pitch and score. During which his City team mate ponces a challenge because he’s scared of injury – after going down earlier in the game.
What can we say about the rest of England’s loss to Iceland. Well, the visitors had a number of chances, it could have been even more embarrassing. While England were fannying about. Which results in Kane having to drop deep, or head wide and be the one that’s playing the balls in. He got one good delivery, from Palmer, and somehow managed to shin it over the bar. Gordon was doing some good stuff right until the final ball, which generally ended up be a shocker.
Shocker. There was enough of them. Don’t know if I’ve seen so many over hit crosses.
Foden, the greatest player there’s ever been was non existent. Even in his greed he managed nothing.
The pundits say Rice and Mainoo are too conservative in the midfield but they’re not for their club, it’s Southgate who instils this in them. But then some of them were screaming out for Grealish, another thing Southgate has actually got right. He had a crap season for City, where he barely featured and barely did anything when he did – wouldn’t be surprised to see baldy bin him off this summer – fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son. Because England were crying out for a wide player stopping, cutting inside and giving away the ball before falling over and rolling about.
England were clueless. Bereft of any ideas and scared of doing anything and it’s all down to Southgate. And yet people still have them as favourites…