In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Aston Villa attacker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, including why Luke Shaw is bang out of order, why Brighton deserve a pat on the back, why English authorities need to follow Spain’s lead and much more.
—
England’s poor form could mean a slow burn to glory… or glorious failure again
England manager Gareth Southgate
England’s poor performance against Iceland could be a perfect storm in terms of a tournament where the best teams always start slow and then move through the gears.
I watched Holland beat Iceland comfortably 3-0, they absolutely battered them by putting a lot of crosses in the box, but in terms of England at the moment, there are several players – John Stones and Kyle Walker to name just two – that obviously need minutes in their legs and aren’t going to get them until they go into games.
Jude Bellingham would have had a week or two off after the Champions League final to have a bit of party… Unfortunately, we don’t have six friendlies to play to give them and others the time they need.
I think that if we get to the semi-finals, for this group of players, that’s where they should be with a decent effort. Nine times out of 10 they should be semi finalists but if we have a good tournament, we should be looking to win it.
I don’t get involved in bookies odds and stuff quite simply because we’re in Britain and more people are going to vote for their own country than they are for others, but I do think there’s a very nice healthy dose of scepticism around the country which the Iceland result has only added to.
The weather is a bit flat still, we haven’t started the tournament yet… the expectation isn’t really there because people haven’t got used to the three games in a day which football fans love and which sets the tone.
I watched Portugal against Ireland and they look very, very good. I watched the Dutch, they look good. I watched the French, they look good. If we get to the semi-finals, we’ve got to be at our very, very best to win it.
At the moment, for me, it boils down to a few things. Several players are undercooked, one or two…
Source link : https://www.caughtoffside.com/2024/06/12/collymore-shaw-vinicius-england/
Author : Stan Collymore
Publish date : 2024-06-12 11:43:35
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.