What are the problems with the England team and can they be solved? [I Love Real Football]

@Kwek00 Possibly true. International teams spend less time with each other so maybe it needs three or four years of a group of players being together before you develop cohesion. This makes me think that it's even more likely that France will be champions.

However, England should still be doing better. Look at Italy, who arguably has inferior players.

@Burnley123 Well, I put Italy in my 2nd place to win the tournament at the beginning (which I repeated yesterday). They might have "inferior players", but they have some people in there that are used to play in a tournament scene. These old guys do a lot of work in the locker room too. Experience is just important, it's not comparible to a normal season.

I didn't consider England a favorite, because I just don't see it. I don't know a lot about football, but there is just stuff lacking in the English team. I also have the impression (pure personal) that the English team AND the media surrounding it, have praised it to much by getting victories against teams that aren't candidates for any title. Something that also happened to the Belgium team 8 years ago. And this mental image of being good because you won against teams that on paper should be the lesser team, isn't helping. Belgium has a generation now, that looks back at failure. We failed against Wales 4 years ago. We failed against Argentina 6 years ago. The team has wasted it's precious time by thinking it was good enough and taking on opponents that they should be able to beat with the attitude that they already won just because of who they are. This mentality is over since last year, the players just are frustrated for their failures and lost against a better opponent (France), but only after excelling over their potential by defeating a good Brazilian team. England doesn't seem to be in that mentality yet.

If you look at the World Cup on 2018, I personally think that england did better then what was supposed to be expected from them. Mainly because they got some easy opposition after loosing against Belgium. And the most important game against Colombia, was decided by penalties. Croatia, I still believe, should have been an opponent that England could have been beaten... but Croatia excelled and England did not, because I honestly think... they didn't in any of their games. And this 4th place, gave Southgate a reputation that I'm not sure if it's deserved. But he had his 4 years now, if no miracle happens then it's time to let him loose and find someone else that can create a team and put all the players in the right position. I think the change to Martinez helped Belgium a lot, and the experience they got from failure also helped.

@Kwek00 I can't disagree with any of that.

@Burnley123 Well, you have a lot of young players and more young players on the way. Just get a manager that can put everyone on the right spot and can make them understand that every 2 years they don't win is an opportunity lost. A person that can push them to new heights before they end up like Belgium with 1 more shot in a moment where the best players are starting to suffer issues (or just loosing players) that are correlated with age. This sense of urgency, and this drive to not be happy with a quarter finals, is something the staff should cultivate and the players should incorperate. Time and being content with sub-optimal performances, are the enemies here.

@Kwek00 I agree let Southgate loose

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@BabyLonia It's not just Southgate, the issue with these kinds of things is that you can't throw out the players. But players need to get some selfreflection here too... and they don't really seem to be happy with what they are doing on the pitch honestly. It just seems that they are taking it too easy. A manager can push them, but there is saying that you can lead the horse to the water but you can't make it drink.

@Kwek00 We don't necessarily have a lot more great players coming through. The junior age group trams for been mediocre for a few years, after dominating four years ago when the likes of Mount and Foden were there. This generation will be at absolute peak in three years at the next world cup. Its an opportunity we can't afford to miss.

I've said myself that we iverachieved at the last world cup. There were at least 6 teams (including Belgium) which had obviously superior players. We had no midfielders then and had to play with wing players in the middle.

I think Southgate is an excellent figurehead but maybe not the best coach. He has good ideas and the players like him but we've never looked capable when attacking decent competition.

This is the tine when he needs to show he can find an answer because if England don't at least make the last eight then there will be pressure on him to go. Quarter final should be the minimum expectation for one of the eight best squads in the world, young players or not.

There isn't an obvious contender to replace Southgate. We don't have a lot of good demostic coaches and foreign coaches in the past (Capello and Erikkson) did badly. If the FA appointed a mid name foreign coach because they interviewed well and looked like a good fit (as Belgium did with Martibez) then our media would be against them from the start.

Eddie Howe might be favourite to replace Southgate, because he is English and fits a profile. He got Bournemouth relegated though.

I'm getting ahead here. All is not lost and Southgate still has chance to turn this around.

@Burnley123 Could be, but we are 3 years later, and I honestly don't see a lot of improvement in the squad. And I blame that on the team, but... you can't fire the players and you need to find a manager that can squeeze out players full potential to the last drop. And even if you are a good coach, some coaches just can't get the same done that other coaches can with a similair group. It has to do with compatibility of individuals and a culture in the locker room. I don't see it with the staff you have now. Even if you make the final 8, it will just be being happy with scraps again.

@Kwek00 We have had some good games with Southgate since then. It's too early in the contest to make a final judgement. I'll decide what to think on this after all the games are played.

@Burnley123 It's the players, I think, rather than the Coach. We have this mentality in this day and age to sack the coach if the team aren't up for it.....which I don't believe is right. It's the players not playing to their optimum for the nation; maybe they need rest, a bit of physiotherapy or psychology.....

Fact is, we are England....Overachievers? Nope. Underachievers? Nope....but the nation, thanks to the media, things we're gonna clean up the silverware every single time....

We've won the World Cup once....the Euro's, never....in god knows how many decades...

England always play better as the Underdogs...

SJD x