I do think that England need to find a “national” style of play that suits them, I think Germany, Italy, Spain, and to a lesser extent France all do and that helps craft a team out of talented individuals. Talented players inevitably don’t play, but you have to try to negate weaknesses while still playing to strengths, as opposed to always reacting and hoping someone has “a moment of quality” every game. It just does not hold up over long tournaments, especially as the stakes get higher and choices get more conservative. There must be a Plan A and then a Plan B and England always seem to play in Plan B when the games get bigger because they don’t trust the system. prolly just rephrasing what you’re saying tbh
anywho, really lovely write ups all tournament Grace, enjoyed reading each and every one. on a personal note - re: the end of your last piece - I wanted to add my delight at your well being and celebrate your choices, without being a random well meaning cis straight white guy gumming up a space on the other piece that felt more intentionally intended for trans folx. congratulations on well earned greater peace 🫶
I think England will be looking for a long, long time for a national style. The PL is too diverse and the clubs cannot give a rat's arse about the national team.
A manger like Howe or Lampard would be fine; keeping it tactically simple but balanced and absolutely not Sven-style 'best XI players at any one time'. I know everyone else in the known universe will pooh-pooh Lampard but he can pick a talented player alright and knows what a bad England culture feels like to the players. I doubt the FA will go for a non-English manager again so I'm discounting both Poch and Tuchel. Potter? Just no. England really don't need a manager with a dogmatic attachment to a particular plan married to absolutely no ability to convey it to players.
I don't think that's quite a fair description of Potter. In his first season at Brighton, certainly, he realised pretty early on he didn't have the players for what he wanted and switched to a different style.
I'll confess my cup of appreciation for GP does not runneth over, and I didn't follow his tactical journey at Brighton overly closely. That said, observing him (often from behind the sofa) at Chelsea: it wasn't that he was tactically rigid, quite the opposite. His schtick was flexibility (the 'plan') but it took a very close reading to spot the difference from 'making it up as you went along' , or possibly 'everyone knows there's a pattern but no-one knows which pattern it is'. I would have a real fear that in the stop-start world on international football he would really, really struggle to get tune out of even the very best players.
Thank you for your daily Euro 2024 coverage Grace 🙏
Enjoy your well earned break ☺️
I do think that England need to find a “national” style of play that suits them, I think Germany, Italy, Spain, and to a lesser extent France all do and that helps craft a team out of talented individuals. Talented players inevitably don’t play, but you have to try to negate weaknesses while still playing to strengths, as opposed to always reacting and hoping someone has “a moment of quality” every game. It just does not hold up over long tournaments, especially as the stakes get higher and choices get more conservative. There must be a Plan A and then a Plan B and England always seem to play in Plan B when the games get bigger because they don’t trust the system. prolly just rephrasing what you’re saying tbh
anywho, really lovely write ups all tournament Grace, enjoyed reading each and every one. on a personal note - re: the end of your last piece - I wanted to add my delight at your well being and celebrate your choices, without being a random well meaning cis straight white guy gumming up a space on the other piece that felt more intentionally intended for trans folx. congratulations on well earned greater peace 🫶
I think England will be looking for a long, long time for a national style. The PL is too diverse and the clubs cannot give a rat's arse about the national team.
A manger like Howe or Lampard would be fine; keeping it tactically simple but balanced and absolutely not Sven-style 'best XI players at any one time'. I know everyone else in the known universe will pooh-pooh Lampard but he can pick a talented player alright and knows what a bad England culture feels like to the players. I doubt the FA will go for a non-English manager again so I'm discounting both Poch and Tuchel. Potter? Just no. England really don't need a manager with a dogmatic attachment to a particular plan married to absolutely no ability to convey it to players.
I don't think that's quite a fair description of Potter. In his first season at Brighton, certainly, he realised pretty early on he didn't have the players for what he wanted and switched to a different style.
I'll confess my cup of appreciation for GP does not runneth over, and I didn't follow his tactical journey at Brighton overly closely. That said, observing him (often from behind the sofa) at Chelsea: it wasn't that he was tactically rigid, quite the opposite. His schtick was flexibility (the 'plan') but it took a very close reading to spot the difference from 'making it up as you went along' , or possibly 'everyone knows there's a pattern but no-one knows which pattern it is'. I would have a real fear that in the stop-start world on international football he would really, really struggle to get tune out of even the very best players.
Dean Smith for England manager is my own wild opinion. Great writing as usual
Just a quick note to thank and congratulate you for such excellent coverage of the tournament. Great job.
Loved all of these articles over the tournament. Lovely accompaniment. Thank you. Well done and enjoy a rest.