21 Jun 2024 09:00:41
Media agenda is in full flow already though this morning. Someone had to replace Henderson as the England scapegoat I guess, so who better than another Liverpool player!

Please Trent, just walk away like Scholes did. You deserve better than being played out of position, with no preparation in qualifying, in a broken system, by an incompetent fool.

1.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 09:44:28
The football game with 11 men on a pitch always has to be Trents fault doesn't it? Manager needs to take responsibility as these are the same tactics we have seen for years.

Every player was terrible but I don't understand how others get a pass. Foden, like Trent, is playing in a position he does not play, yet seems to be immune from criticism even though he has been awful.

Rice was uninspiring, defence was terrible and don't even get me started on Kieran Trippier who shouldn't be in the squad, let alone starting at left back!

2.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 10:06:43
The scapegoat should be the manager. He’s been an embarrassment for ages now. The team set up and tactics are absolutely woeful.
Don’t mind Trent getting the stick though, he will have something to prove in the coming season and Southgate might get the unite job if nobody realises how inept he is.

3.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 10:11:06
Southgate might be a fool but you are missing the actual point that he is no center mid. And honestly he is no better than Walker to play as a right bank which makes it clear he has no place there.

{Ed001's Note - give it a rest. You are the only one missing the actual point.}

4.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 10:11:40
Only from what I've seen but it appears that the fans have turned on Southgate over Trent.

Southgate is like a politician and is a media man but i can't see him surviving post Euros so Trent would be silly to sacrifice his international career over media clickbait.

New manager to come in and hopefully play him in a position that he has proven he can be world class time after time.

5.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 10:42:00
Yep it's Trent's fault Southgate is clueless and didn't play any runners last night. The media are so far up Southgates backside because he's a yes man.

6.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 10:47:16
Many (myself included and I stand by it) had said that Southgate had essentially washed his hands off Trent set up Trent to fail the day in 2021, he criticised him overtly for his then poor play in the 20/ 21 season and hung him out to dry. It has been open-season on Trent since that day 3 years ago. This is something he had and has NEVER done to any other England player since then.

Since then, nothing has changed. If England play well and win with Trent playing well, you hear nothing. When they play badly and win, lose or draw, Trent is more than likely to be singled out. The fact is that regardless of whatever and wherever Trent does/ plays for England under The Waist Coat, it will NEVER be enuff for the media who have had it out for him from 3 years ago and use him to protect the blatant incompetent coward Southgate is who IMO, literally is hiding and let's Trent get near all the blame. Cowardice and incompetence at it's finest.

7.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 10:50:20
Southgate doesn’t know what he’s doing. He never has. There was some cobblers on here a while back about Southgate being our best hope (or some such nonsense) in the last 50 years. The man has never won anything as a manager. His whole attitude is not to lose. TAA is going to get hung out to dry by the press no matter what now. God help him if he is still being thought of as ‘out replacement for Phillips’ - which in itself is an incredible statement by the manager - and we lose a big game like the semi or final, itself.

@MK, as an aside, I think Maguire has (rightly so) been the scapegoat-in-chief for the hopefully soon to end Southgate era.

8.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 10:55:56
I agree mk there is a reason Ben white englands best defender this season refuses to play for the clown, plays Bowen and Eze when Cole palmer has the highest ga in the league last season and Saka looks tired so he should be before him. Defensive line deep no movement he should be sacked now.

9.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 11:00:33
Jaguar, I don't know what game you watched but Trent was the only midfielder last night to win any tackles, create any chances or win any headers. Rice put on the worst performance in an England shirt since Heskey retired; it was so bad I even started to wonder if he always felt Irish and this whole thing was just a master plan to take England down from the inside. Bellingham was also useless losing every duel he contested, and having absolutely no effect on the game. Gallagher came on and did his best Lee Cattermole impression as well. Trent was decent, nothing more. But that was comfortably enough for him to stand out as the only midfielder working hard to win the ball back and trying to make things happen. Southgate has set the whole team up to fail ultimately and the buck stops with him.

JK23, my worry for Trent is that Southgate's comments a few years ago fuelled a media agenda and the general population have all jumped on the bandwagon like sad little sheep who can't make their own assessments. What he's doing now, essentially making Trent the scapegoat for his own inability to set up a team correctly is only going to make that worse. So even if a new manager comes in and wants Trent in the team, he's never going to respected or appreciated by England fans and pundits. Even some Liverpool fans have been brainwashed. In the game last night Bellingham lost the ball trying to shield it out, Rice then completely missed the cutback, and Trent spared their blushes by reading the situation and getting goal side of the attacker (who Rice had allowed to turn 5 yards out) to nip it off his toes. Commentators said nothing. Few into the second half Trent fizzed a pass in to Rice who took an embarrassingly heavy touch and the commentator said "ooohhh Trent". He literally get's blamed for other peoples mistakes now.

England don't deserve him and I'm starting to think Liverpool don't either. I swear, If Roberto Carlos or Dani Alves had played in this country the media would've hounded them over what they lacked instead of just appreciating how good they were.

10.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 11:22:55
Shhhhhh Southgate is a footballing genius, and should be the next Man Utd manager after Ten Hag's inevitable sacking.

There's nothing new here. Gareth Southgate has been boring us with his approach for a decade now.

11.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 11:26:42
Nobody has turned on TAA. His talent and ability are unquestioned. But facts are facts and he has played poorly, with the main reason being that Southgate has not done enough to ensure TAA knows what he's supposed to be doing. It's clearly apparent on the field. Why is it that when TAA is in the midfield for LFC his play is still miles better than for the English team? Granted there is no unanimous opinion on his being in the midfield in the first place, but what is clearly unanimous now is that Southgate has demonstrated he is completely out of his depth. I'd send him back home tomorrow, put an assistant in charge, and tell the players "boys, do what you do for your clubs and go out and win our remaining games for us". I bet you there'd be a marked difference. (I know it's not as simple as that, but my point is that Southgate is a drag on the whole team, and the players would be better off without him) .

12.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 11:42:35
Did it improve when he went off?

13.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 11:59:19
For me (only my opinion) Trent is better suited to right back because he has a great range of passing and the whole game is in front of him.

Against Serbia more of his passes were backwards than forwards because you can't pass it forwards if the majority of your options are beside or behind you.

Similar to the NFL and a quarter back. Imagine sticking them ahead of the rest of the team and asking them to pass forward.

14.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 12:39:28
for all of the credit walker gets for being a great "defensive" fullback. the best of his defensive plays that I see is when he's using his pace to chase back and get a tackle or a block in. and then when he has to actually defend he's gets cooked 1:1 as much as any other fullback does or he's woefully out of position his pace can't help him recover.

15.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 12:52:02
To be fair JK he hardly got on the ball to pass it any direction, never mind forward. Denmark never gave him any space to receive the ball. A lot of the time Trent ended up standing on so close to another team mate.

16.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 14:09:47
This morning I've read asky Sports, Talksports, BBC sport, ITV and ESPN and I'm not seeing all the hate to Trent that you are all shouting about? Rice, Fiden and Kane are the three names consistently mentioned for very poor performances. Even Keane says it hasn't worked out as it's a really tough position to play if you're not used to it, hardly scathing attack? I suppose it's where you get your news from, maybe the tabloid are different but then we all know they are trash so I don't read them.

17.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 14:10:03
When you’ve got so many players who want to get on the ball standing close together and nobody pulling defenders out of their shape off the ball or making runs in behind, then you have nothing but disaster, Kane is England’s best number 9 but only if a team is built around the way he plays, he drops deep to receive the ball and connect the play with the other forwards, if you have other ball dominant players who want to get the ball in those spaces and look to create it just doesn’t work.

Just bloody use Watkins instead and you’d have much better results, if you have nobody running in behind then of course Trent will be ineffective, when there were people to pick out getting into the box yesterday Trent did find them, so I’m pretty sure he was doing his job correctly?

Is there some kind of official England policy that dictates that the most talented footballers with the ball at their feet need to start together, rather than a unit that moves and runs for each other, like turkey for example (who also have excellent ballers but actually have coordinated and systematic movements off the ball, creating confusion for the opposition)? Surely anybody with a modicum of football sense should know that the best team is the one that works the best together, rather than the best ball dominant talents, given that there is only one football and there is a whole lot of defending to do when you don’t have it?

18.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 14:57:02
Pelican, absolutely. The best, and most successful, England manager in the last 50 years.

If you embrace mediocrity, you're certainly welcome to it.

19.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 15:22:15
McGovern you listen to Talk sport that's enough for me to consider your comments null and void.

20.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 15:26:21
I mean England were awful - took far too much time on the ball, multiple touches and nobody moving looking for a pass - the entire team set up was just so passive.

No pressing, forward runs etc, too many players all just standing around and passing 5 yards here and there - they were criticising Kane for not having enough touches in the opposition box and I was like, seriously, nobody is near the box, their defence could be sitting in deck chairs - what is he supposed to do?

No running from Foden or Saka to support him at all.

The entire left side is unbalanced with Trippier looking lost at lb and Foden is awful on the left wing

Gomez would be better at lb, he did a job covering Robbo and did he not bring left wingers? Does Gordon and Eze not play lw?

I mean, Foden usually plays centre or on the right does he not? Better further forward than the middle where some pundits wanted him, Palmer I think a bit more central?

You'd think Eze and Gordon would contest the lw and Bellingham, Palmer the no 10 and Foden, Saka the rw?

Trent getting abuse, but who is he going to pass to? Nobody making any runs and the lw may as well just not be an option for all Foden did - and that's not a dig at Foden either, the kid is quality but just completely wasted out on the left wing.

Terrible match, great Denmark goal mind and as an Irish man the result doesn't annoy me too much lol lads but jeez that team could be so much better.

21.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 16:15:03
Endo, so its lucky you are not an Ed or you wouldn't allow any other comments unless they agreed with yours! I think you are missing the point of the site, it's to allow comments and points of view from all and then maybe posters to have a modicum of respect for others comments/ opinions?

22.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 16:18:55
Also forget Trent for a minute all modern top teams compresss the pitch by having defenders on the half way line and England sit on edge of box with a massive gap between them and attackers leaving midfield exposed. That man Southgate is a idiots.

23.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 16:38:07
I’ve never liked Southgate but results at major tournaments have kept him in a job. The FA need to act as yesterday was appalling. Clueless, hopeless, embarrassing are three words that spring to mind. He clearly has no idea how to coach if we can’t organise a pressing system.

24.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 17:48:54
Agree with much of the above. Southgate is an awful coach who has zero clue on how to use his best players or adapt mid game with new tatics. However I have commented before on this and I will die on that hill, that many of these England superstars are simply not as good as they appear in the EPL and they are made to look better by the over seas lads they pay alongside and when they come to play for England they settle to their level adapting to what's around them. Foden being one, dare I say Trent being another. They are good players yes but perhaps not what they appear in the EPL with the over seas lads surrounding them. Southgate can help much of what has happend, but can't help it of his players are constantly misplacing 10 yard passes like yesterday. that's down to quality under pressure and England have little of that.

25.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 17:57:07
Southgate is a clown, if he had it mind to play Trent in midfield then he should have done it during qualifying NOT wait until the game before Euros.
His best position would be as wing back where he’s free to roam a bit, attack and not worry too much about defending.
Side note I think our best player has been Guéhi, I’m sure the England premium on his price tag but wouldn’t be averse to signing him.

26.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 17:59:01
MK, the stats don’t match your assertion that Trent made the most tackles, or won the most aerial challenges. Whoscored showed that he won no tackles and won one aerial, he did make the most key passes which suggests to me that he’s not defensive midfielder material but better out wide. He’s Beckham without the PR machine behind him. Very good out wide, a bit suspect in the middle. To me he’s never going to make a great centre midfielder but he could become one of the greatest right backs since Cafu if he worked hard in that position.

27.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 18:20:11
Cannot believe in an after match interview Southgate said that the position for Trent was an experiment. Really in the actual tournament.

28.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 19:13:59
To the people who say he's not a midfielder, where should you play him? Because everyone seems to think he's a terrible defender. The hybrid role doesn't work either.

Personally I think he can play as a deep lying creative midfielder like what xabi used to do. Xabi too was pretty rubbish at defending, and very slow. So Rafa just told mascherano to defend and let xabi do what he does best - passing. No reason that exact same thing couldn't be done with Trent.

Everyone is just obsessed with "midfield destroyers " that do flying tackles every 8 minutes. Those days are gone, most top clubs don't have a 'hard tackling destroyer' almost everyone uses two or three players who all have high energy, good ball retention and decent at pressing.

{Ed001's Note - are you for real? Alonso was absolutely brilliant at defending. He didn't need to be fast because, unlike Mascherano, he could read the game and position himself in the right place to deal with the problem. Rafa did no such thing as tell Mash to do that anyway. If you had said Pirlo and Gattuso, then that would be an example of it, but Xabi? That is laughable. He is among the best ever defensive midfielders for a reason, he was exceptional at breaking up play and improved every team he played for defensively.}

29.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 20:35:13
Got to agree with Ed001 there Nevada.

Xabi himself said ‘if I have to make a tackle, I’ve already made a mistake’.

Defending is not always about brilliant recovery tackles like Mascherano, it’s about preventing attacks, stifling the opponents, regaining possession. Positioning, reading formations, reading attacks, breaking up play.

30.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 20:54:04
VV, I really can’t take those stats seriously when I literally watched Trent tackle someone in the 6 yard box just off the top of my head and also saw him win at least 2 headers. I guess it’s important to realise that what is defined as winning a tackle or a header is still subjective so if the person logging the stats is also in on this weird anti-Trent agenda they will warp the numbers how they see fit.

31.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 21:01:56
Ron I think it was Paolo Maldini who is credited with that line.

32.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 21:32:39
Alonso was a bad example to use; a very bad example.
As the Ed said, Pirlo is a good example. Or Glenn Hoddle. Both good players, mind.

33.) 21 Jun 2024
21 Jun 2024 22:40:17
Maybe Gaga, could be Xabi quoted him.

34.) 22 Jun 2024
22 Jun 2024 07:58:13
I’m not judging Trent’s positional suitability for Southgate’s England.

Southgate has made Foden look poor. That says it all.

35.) 22 Jun 2024
22 Jun 2024 09:01:24
I enjoy watching England, I don’t rate Southgate and I do rate Trent (just getting my viewpoint across) . Trent from my point of view played poorly. One of my pet hates is when players stroll around the pitch not moving in to space and wanting the ball in possession or showing and urgency getting the ball back when not in position. Trent was the worst culprit of this on the pitch against Denmark, although he wasn’t alone.
I think he is guilty of this when playing for Liverpool also. At times last year, when he was receiving the most stick for his lack of defending, it was this type of performance that I noticed in him. He genuinely looks uninterested and mardy. At the time I put it down to him maybe not wanting to play RB anymore (although that shouldn’t excuse it) .
You would think that playing in a major tournament, in a position that you want to move in to and the fact that your place in the team is probably the one with most question marks around, you would be busting a gut to put in a performance. He certainly didn’t!
We can blame Southgate.
We can blame tactics.
We can blame experience in that position.
Maybe all the above had a part to play, but his constant strolling around the pitch made him look uninterested and that’s on him.

36.) 22 Jun 2024
22 Jun 2024 09:35:43
I don't think Foden is playing in his best position though.
Anyway, it's now being said that the players are tired. I'm not going to dispute that because it's something that's always been said about English footballers. I know two of our better- if not the best- players play in Europe but I reckon they both played a lot of games last season. Why not play fresher players and and manage the team better then?
Bellingham and Kane were taken off but when the game had drifted away from us.

37.) 22 Jun 2024
22 Jun 2024 09:44:32
Sorry, I didn't mean to say Bellingham was substituted. I meant to say he should have been. I don't know who by though ?.
I was surprised that Kane was but Bellingham should have been if he is tired and he looked it.
I'm not saying don't take your big players even if they are tired and carrying knocks but manage them better. The same does for TAA and Foden and where they play.