Bias aside, subbing on two cold young players who hadn't contributed much to the tournament (let alone the game) to take penalties in the final minute just seems like a bad idea whether they score or not. I was yelling at the TV as they were being subbed on... it just felt like a bad decision.
This is a smart analysis. Southgate deserves lots of credit but it seems like they might need to make a change to get to the next level (that their talent indicates is a real possibility). It reminds me a bit of NBA teams that can get so far under a coach but it takes a change (even if it seems harsh in the moment) to truly unlock their full potential (e.g. Chicago Bulls and Golden State Warriors). It’ll be interesting to see if England mistakenly keep Southgate too long out of respect rather than making a bold change to unlock their attacking potential (see Germany).
Re the talent levels of England and Italy point. A far better gauge of talent than transfer value is wage levels. And the starting 11s of last night’s teams were almost identical, with Italy actually just a little higher. I think to say England’s team are more talented than England’s is not true. The potential is higher but the two teams that started last night were imho actually very evenly matched.
Bias aside, subbing on two cold young players who hadn't contributed much to the tournament (let alone the game) to take penalties in the final minute just seems like a bad idea whether they score or not. I was yelling at the TV as they were being subbed on... it just felt like a bad decision.
This is a smart analysis. Southgate deserves lots of credit but it seems like they might need to make a change to get to the next level (that their talent indicates is a real possibility). It reminds me a bit of NBA teams that can get so far under a coach but it takes a change (even if it seems harsh in the moment) to truly unlock their full potential (e.g. Chicago Bulls and Golden State Warriors). It’ll be interesting to see if England mistakenly keep Southgate too long out of respect rather than making a bold change to unlock their attacking potential (see Germany).
Also Allegri: Note that I said stars on the pitch. Not on the bench. Just saying in case England wants another Italian as a manager.
should lsat sentence read "position to do well"?
Re the talent levels of England and Italy point. A far better gauge of talent than transfer value is wage levels. And the starting 11s of last night’s teams were almost identical, with Italy actually just a little higher. I think to say England’s team are more talented than England’s is not true. The potential is higher but the two teams that started last night were imho actually very evenly matched.