qwertyell

Thought Belgium were surprisingly poor. Spent the whole second half just hoofing the ball long. No plan or patterns of play - the midfield disappeared completely. Don't see them troubling Italy too much. Yes, they were bang average against Austria, but at least they continued to play football and vaguely looked like a coherent outfit. Belgium were a rabble tonight.

Imagine having the chance to sign Maehle but fucking it up to penny pinch.

Calamity from Neco Williams. I was asking the other day what exactly people who think we should sign him rate about him - looks a poor player to me. Just because someone's not good enough for Liverpool doesn't mean they're good enough for us.

Not very controversial to imply our defence is shite. We're conceding 60+ a season regardless of who's in nets.

He's played pretty much his entire career in this formation. His body's fucked. Moves like a fridge. That's why he's been dropping deeper over the past 18 months - he can't run in behind anymore. Can't argue with his goalscoring output, but it'll be interesting to see who's prepared to stump up £100m+ for a 28 year old in the early stages of physical decline. Once the legs start going, even the best players can drop off a cliff rapidly.

Has anyone seen much of Williams? Whenever I've watched him - which hasn't been all that often - he's looked pretty unexceptional. What's notable about him other than not being remotely good enough for Liverpool?

I'd be surprised if we can find £10m down the back of the sofa to fund a back up full back.

He's a striker and completely fluffed their two best chances. Maybe that worked against him - he didn't do his job. Gilmour was their best player.

Nah, he's just garbage, always has been. No serious club in England would hire him as a manager; he lucked into the u21 gig - where he did nothing of worth - and has since lucked into the senior job. Not because of footballing merit, but because the FA needed a nodding dog to tow the party line and not make waves. He sticks steadfastly to the script - which can also be said of his tactical approach. The easiest ever run in a world cup, where he lost three times and only beat Tunisia, Panama and Sweden somehow elevated him to "elite" manager status - whereas he's still the guy who's only meaningful contribution to football management is getting Middlesbrough relegated. Watching a keeper, two centre backs and two holding midfielders slowly pass the ball backwards between themselves while an array of attacking talent stands in a line 70 yards away alongside opposition defenders who can't believe how easy a night they're having isn't a new development. He's been playing this way - no matter the formation - since day one. He's one of those basic managers that saw Spain dominate the 2010s with possession football and concluded that keeping the ball was all that's required to ensure success. No nuance to it. Just keep passing back and the wins will follow. Propaganda-ball. And he's not helped himself by picking a squad of injured players. By my reckoning, Henderson, Maguire, Rashford, Kane, Grealish and Saka (he's been managing a hip problem for months) are way short of optimum condition. More poor management. I mean, even Spurs haven't tried to hire him.

While we lord it over them from the comfort of our Sinclair C5.

Vestergaard didn't cover himself in glory with that Belgium equaliser. Pity - he'd been playing all right until then.

Only because that's his top speed.

Depends how far ahead our planning has been. If we've long had the replacements and reinforcements lined up and ready to go and were just waiting on the funds to trigger the pre-agreed fees, then yes. If we're just staggering around aimlessly in the market with money burning a hole in our pocket - and every club knowing we're both flushed and desperate - then no. Not sure why anyone cares if Vestergaard leaves. Apart from around 15 games at the start of last season, he's been total garbage during his time at the club. Can Prowse be replaced? Probably not his set piece quality, but the other aspects to his game aren't unique at all. Hard working sideways passers are ten a penny. Ings is the one who'll be the big miss - but he's leaving one way or another anyhow, so we might as well get a fee for him that can be reinvested.

Not the best run in - 5 defeats in the final 8, minimum. Apr 2 Leeds United (a)Apr 9 Chelsea (h)Apr 16 Arsenal (h)Apr 23 Brighton & Hove Albion (a)Apr 30 Crystal Palace (h)May 7 Brentford (a)May 15 Liverpool (h)May 22 Leicester City (a) That Brighton, Palace, Brentford triple header will be make or break.

He's already said he doesn't want to return to Dortmund, so their buy back clause is somewhat redundant. Not sure he views his previous experience there with any affection.

Not true. After a slow start he became an integral player in an Inter side that just won Serie A. Sadly, that'll almost certainly be his last achievement as a player, but there are more important things in life.

Walcott (RW/Bench/Tella's football friend) is our first signing. And so far, our last signing. Exciting times.

He's skinny with a beard. Neither attributes are particularly useful in keeping the ball out of the net.

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think we're limited to just two domestic loans - but overseas loans don't count towards that. So Lookman from Leipzig on a loan would be a fairly painless roll of the dice without wasting a domestic loan slot. He's decent. Bit of a pea heart, but who isn't these days?

Good luck to him. Seems a decent lad. Just has no presence at all. It was like having a ghost between the sticks.

Roberto Carlos: 5' 6" Phillipp Lahm: 5' 7" Bixente Lizarazu: 5' 7" Dennis Irwin: 5' 7" I shouldn't worry about it too much. Quality players find a way. We struggled with Cedric because he was shit. His height had nothing to do with it.

I don't see any scenario where Southgate is starting Grealish, Foden and Mount. He's not known for his adventure. Two out of three at most. If he plays a 433, the midfield will be Rice, Phillips/Henderson and Mount. The front three will be Kane, Rashford and Sterling/Foden/Grealish If he plays 343, the midfield two will be Rice and Phillips/Henderson. The front three will be Kane, Mount and A.N. Other (probably between Rashford and Sterling as there's no pace up top otherwise).

I'm loving the reimagining of Prowse on here as a game changing impact sub. He's not even an impact starter for us most weeks. England struggling, Southgate looks down the bench and sees Grealish, Sancho, Sterling, Foden, Saka, Calvert-Lewin, Bellingham... and thinks "nah, this one's set up for Prowsey". Maguire's not going to be fit for possibly the entire group stage. Taking another CB is the obvious option. Not taking a badly injured player in the first place would be a better option, but England have done that more often than not in my lifetime. And it's never worked. But still they persist...

Because he was 24 and needed to be someone's first choice LB. Also, we were (and still are) skint, and £15m-odd for a back up player helped fund Adams' transfer.

How many do we need? I think the squad suggests Southgate is committing to 3-4-3, in which case there's only a need for two central midfielders. Five in the squad, therefore, is plenty of cover. He'll use one of his right backs as a right centre back in a three. If everyone's fit, the line up for the first match will be something like: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire; James, Rice, Henderson, Chillwell; Rashford/Sterling/Foden, Kane, Mount. Pretty negative, but that's Southgate in a nutshell.