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Feels a bit gutting because we got so close. Being honest though, we werenāt good enough, and Italy are deserved champions.
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Footballās coming, Rome.
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Fuck sake, some people, their football team loses so the first thing they do is hunt the team down on social media to abuse themā¦
I really do despair about a minority of our population, its about time they brought in Social Media licensesā¦
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So.
We thought the squad was wrong.
Sure our starting 12/13 were great throughout the tournament.
But, going into extra time in a final, when legs have gone in central midfield & up front and you have Henderson & some kids on the bench.
Now it isnāt just Southgatesā selection (his squad was always unbalanced) he simply didnāt have the CMs to choose from. Would JWP really have made a difference? Maybe but equally glad he was spared the anguish.
DCL was never a replacement/cover for Kane, different sort of player, Bamford, Ings, Watkins were Kanes legs had gone. Sterlingās legs had gone.
The set up, the style no issue, but IF you intend to play that way, the purpose of a squad is to have players who fit your system, then some like Foden/Grealish/Sancho who can add something different.
Not a critique just a lesson for Qatar.
Itās about time they brought in the Police & fines for SM companies who dont instantly remove such posts
I think he would have made a huge difference in the second half when we couldnāt get or hold on to the ball. Thatās what he does, and does it well.
And he could have taken a penalty. And better free kicks.
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And conceivably the odd corner that might actually trouble the opposition.
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Maybe a bit of āscore too earlyā syndrome? Wasnāt happy with 11 behind the ball from about 20 minutes. Giving The Italian team possession is like giving them a free hit, but the lads did well and we showed over the last month we can be a stubborn team to beat. I guess this team is together for at least a couple more tournaments so hopefully they remember the gut wrenching feeling of losing a final and if they find themselves in that position again, they have extra determination to get over the line.
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I would like to understand the thinking behind getting Saka to take that penalty at that point. He had never taken a penalty as a pro - hell of a time to dip your toe in the water. I am not saying that he shouldnāt have done it, but you have to wonder why they be of the more senior pros were not put forward
That said, what a team this England side is. It was the best I have seen and even got me believing that we could actually do it. Whatās more this team will be together for a long time. I hope Southgate continues to bring youngsters through and avoid the rebuilds that nations have to do every few years
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Apparently they had been taking penalties in training and the chosen 5 were the best from their training sessionsā¦
Different when you have 60k fans and the pressure of knowing youāre out if you missā¦
Iām glad Pickford saved Georghinoās penalty thoughā¦
Iām not normally a pessimist but when Southgate played JWP in that warm up game and spurned the chance to select the MotM I lost faith and interest. Looking at just his stats for the season you HAD to select him but nobody, be it the media, media pundits, even usually partisan neutral fan had a reason why he shouldnāt have been in the squad.
Watch that warm up game again, he was fuckinā everywhere. Always in space ready to receive the ball, just behind the front line to pick up the ball when an attack broke down, back in front of the back line to intercept the incoming, he covered every blade of grass for a full 90 minutes.
How valuable do you think he would have been in the second half last night when we were struggling to hold onto the ball legs were going and we were failing to create openings or chances. In the whole game we had 6 shots on goal, 2 on target whilst Italy had 16 and 6 on target.
We werenāt unlucky, Southgate got it wrong.
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The sooner Rice moves to a bigger club then the better for England.
He looked spent in last night and in previous matches. Heās put in performances like those of this tournament all season for West Ham (? barring a period of injury).
Surrounded by better players and being part of a rotation system will only help him and England manage his fitness levels better.
Moyes would not dream of leaving him out and because of his style of play I think he had very little left in the tank.
We all know who should have come on instead of Henderson.
Hopefully GS realises this too.
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Henderson was a disaster from the moment he walked onto the pitch. What makes this worse is that this was wholly predictable, to everybody except Southgate.
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Some pretty horrible footage being shared on facebook of Italian fans being chased down and beaten as they exit into Wembley concourses, security pretty much non-existent as people are punched and tackled to the ground and kicked repeatedly by multiple attackers. Fucking shameful.
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Hmmm, I might have been duped, conflicting story saying it is England fans attacking the ones trying to get in for free, not sure what to believe now 
Aye, thereās the rub. Stories like that get twisted very easily.
Hereās another case in point, it looks pretty convincing but Iām not certain it hasnāt been doctored a bitā¦