My word England are woeful at the back, so so shaky. Why is Chris Smalling, arguably the best centre half in the league last season, Manchester United's deputizing captain, sitting on the bench while Gary Cahill continues to look like an accident waiting to happen? No complaints of course, sit there & stay injury free, Chris... but just curious.
Scouseinthehouse
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Much of a muchness. None of them are top bracket International quality IMHO. Stones maybe will develop to that point under Pep but he still has a LONG way to go.
Maybe not the absolute top bracket, but a Smalling/Stones partnership would be very decent imo, they'd compliment each other pretty well. Cahill is way too slow now, and hasn't got the positional awareness of say John Terry to make up for it either.
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Cahill and Stones especially Stones have been a liability!!! Townsend before Rashford :O
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So who's next after Southgate for the job?
Are you talking about Chris "Maldini" Smalling the best CB England has ever had. Tbh I would take him over Gary Cahill or John Stones. I'm still scratching my head as to how Everton managed to get 47mill for a CB who struggles with the basics of defending. England really are a shambles at the back when Smalling is their best defender.
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Cant believe some sky pundits and journalists on Sunday Supplement suggested Stones should be our new captain :O Tyler even said he could be the next Bobby Moore
))
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Sure hope Smalling starts next Monday night. But that's for another thread and another discussion.
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Watching Slovenia's 'attempt' at an all over press last night, you appreciate even more just what an art form the Klopp and Guardiola version of the Michel's Dutch total football ideal is.
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Think I would be correct in saying he is a Bielsa disciple
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Is he really? Interesting. Certainly fits given the respective styles.
Did he play under him at all out of interest?
*Edit* I'm impatient so investigated. Yup, he did way back in Argentina at Newell's. Bielsa's methods and philosophy had a massive impact on him by all accounts.
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In terms of coaching Bielsa is one of the greatest. Pity he is a bit of a nutter.
**** knows, but pray to god it isn't Southgate getting it.
Although Southgate is better than some other options being branded about.
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I was only going off memory but yeah you nailed it, there isn't just him I think Sampaoli learned under him as Chile coach. Dilakh nailed in terms of coaching I personally think Bielsa is one of the best but yeah he is an absolute ******* nutcase would love to see him get the England job at least he would.give us an identity
Marking Remembrance Day in October is part of a trend of empty gestures | the game | The Times & The Sunday Times
Good article by The Times. They reveal the truth behind the Allardyce debacle:
Allardyce lost England job because of public reaction, not the facts that matter
Over the weekend, I listened to the testimony of Greg Clarke, chairman of the FA, and Robert Sullivan, director of strategy, before the culture, media and sport select committee.
The hearing took place this month and one exchange was of deep significance, because it blew a hole in the argument that Sam Allardyce should have been removed as England manager.
You’ll remember that beyond the tittle tattle of a private (but covertly taped) conversation between Allardyce and undercover journalists posing as businesspeople (he had a bit of a giggle about Roy Hodgson’s accent and the Wembley debacle), there were two serious allegations.
A furore whipped up on social media helped to seal Allardyce’s fate
ANDREW COULDRIDGE/REUTERS
The first was that Allardyce had demonstrated greed by agreeing to conduct speeches in Asia for £400,000. In fact, as the FA confirmed in testimony, Allardyce merely discussed the offer and explicitly stated that he would have to run it by the FA first.
So, to clarify, this was a fictitious contract, deliberately designed to entice, which Allardyce never entered into, and may, on further reflection have rejected, and which he stated he would have to run by his employer anyway. This isn’t a smoking gun; it is a big, fat blank.
The other allegation was that Allardyce had advised on how to get around rules on third-party ownership. Except he did not. He merely stated what the rules were in answer to questioning on the subject.
As Sullivan put it with exquisite (and unanswerable) clarity: “His statement was a correct statement of the law.”
This isn’t a smoking gun; it is a big, fat blank
I hold no candle for Allardyce. He received a large payoff (presumably because the FA knew he could not be dismissed for misconduct).
But his career as England manager was ended not on the basis of evidence or due process, but because of a furore on Twitter and beyond.
It is a sad indictment of the age in which we live.
Good article by The Times. They reveal the truth behind the Allardyce debacle:
Allardyce lost England job because of public reaction, not the facts that matter
Over the weekend, I listened to the testimony of Greg Clarke, chairman of the FA, and Robert Sullivan, director of strategy, before the culture, media and sport select committee.
The hearing took place this month and one exchange was of deep significance, because it blew a hole in the argument that Sam Allardyce should have been removed as England manager.
You’ll remember that beyond the tittle tattle of a private (but covertly taped) conversation between Allardyce and undercover journalists posing as businesspeople (he had a bit of a giggle about Roy Hodgson’s accent and the Wembley debacle), there were two serious allegations.
A furore whipped up on social media helped to seal Allardyce’s fate
ANDREW COULDRIDGE/REUTERS
The first was that Allardyce had demonstrated greed by agreeing to conduct speeches in Asia for £400,000. In fact, as the FA confirmed in testimony, Allardyce merely discussed the offer and explicitly stated that he would have to run it by the FA first.
So, to clarify, this was a fictitious contract, deliberately designed to entice, which Allardyce never entered into, and may, on further reflection have rejected, and which he stated he would have to run by his employer anyway. This isn’t a smoking gun; it is a big, fat blank.
The other allegation was that Allardyce had advised on how to get around rules on third-party ownership. Except he did not. He merely stated what the rules were in answer to questioning on the subject.
As Sullivan put it with exquisite (and unanswerable) clarity: “His statement was a correct statement of the law.”
This isn’t a smoking gun; it is a big, fat blank
I hold no candle for Allardyce. He received a large payoff (presumably because the FA knew he could not be dismissed for misconduct).
But his career as England manager was ended not on the basis of evidence or due process, but because of a furore on Twitter and beyond.
It is a sad indictment of the age in which we live.
Just want to say how disgusted I am with Fifa over this not being able to wear a poppy for England vs Scotland next week because it classes as a religious symbol. Absolute bollox that is, poppy is a symbol to act as a remembrance to the fallen including civilians who lost their life.
I'm happy to hear that the F.A. will be going ahead with wearing poppies on armbands anyway and will take any Fifa punishment that may come.
I'm happy to hear that the F.A. will be going ahead with wearing poppies on armbands anyway and will take any Fifa punishment that may come.