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Jewels remain still cleaming

I thought we were decent and didn’t deserve to lose. Sadly Unfortunately, my wife is French, my daughters consider themselves more French than English, and we had a load of Haw Hee Haws over to watch the game. I’ve had a thoroughly shit evening and I’m now expected to support France. Not sure I can do that, they were lucky as fuck and we didn’t give MBappe a sniff. Unlike The Murphys, I’m as bitter as fuck.

Post of the tournament

I watched the match sober as a judge, no way were we far better. We were better in the second half but both sides cancelled each other out really and we were on the front foot a lot more but France scored two great goals from their POV and we were fortunate they gifted us a couple of pens. They edged it attacking wise as they had the extra bit of quality but had Kane equalised who knows how it pans out? It is about small margins and a lot of neutrals would have the winners of this tie going on to win it but again, as has been mentioned, I sometimes think the killer instinct isn't quite there yet with the national side. People say the winning sides find a way but I sometimes think England find a way not win even when they're winning in the big games deep into tournaments. Southgate's done as well as I think he can, he's been around these players for years and early on there was a lack of hype which helped so I wouldn't really call him at all but at the same time you'd be amazed if he ended up at a Liverpool, Man City etc.

There's an even bigger one in Boldon.

He'll have access to an EU passport and possible retirement in the South of France. Sounds okay to me tbh.

These three lines?

https://www.readytogo.net/smb/threads/are-the-moralists-still-not-watching.1595417/ Thread in which Sunderland fans argue with each other about the morality of watching the world cup and generally push the view that when it comes to football, morality should be left out of it. Yes, those Sunderland fans. "In the end it's three lines on the shirt marra" Actual quote.

Sorry, a bit late with this advent calender. Merry Christmas @Monkeys Fist (NSFW) https://boobsadventcalendar.com/ 7th December my favourite day so far.

so every home game we've had in the last 14 months including early round cup ties has been a sell out, doing so within a couple of hours of tickets being released. the mackems meanwhile close a 1/3 of their ground due to lack of interest then claim a sell out for the other 2/3 when it's clearly only 75% full. none of this of course means fuck all when you've got the brain of a decomposing slug, the absolute fuckwit cunt....

If he's our Martinez then I dread to think what every manager we've had since Robson has been? We outplayed the reigning champions and tournament favourites, and save for a bottling Kane we probably would have edged that in extra time. Mbappe barely had a sniff. Would be mental to get rid of Southgate. Belgium/Germany/Spain/Italy would snap your hand off for the tournament we've had

I think Howay was spot on. I’d be amazed if Howe took it at this stage. This is an absolutely incredible opportunity for a manager at NUFC at this time. When you look at what he’s built already and the potential to almost buy who he wants and take the team, club, city along with him. It’s a dream job, once in a lifetime chance. Of course the England job is massive and I’m not saying the Newcastle job is bigger at present but it’s very different to what he’s got here. He seems to thrive on the day to day stuff too.

More flip-flops than Whitley Bay in July.

Yeah, I think he might decide it’s time to move on / for some fresh ideas. He’s dove an excellent job all in all. There only one team that can win a World Cup every four years. Which I know is an obvious thing to say but one bit of bad luck / missed opportunity / a small error a can see you exit as that’s the nature of tournament football. I think the overly cautious approach in the final of the euros was much more of a missed opportunity than last night.

odd connection here but @Billy Whitehurst mentioning his wife was french made this song pop in to me mind. incidently, the lass in the video is perri lister, formerly of hot gossip, ex of billy idol and very much english. also the french lyrics are spoken by brigitte arens, who's actually belgian. anyway, two things.... was this the best 80s synth song ever? I'd say so! does the song contain the sexiest accent in a song ever? I'd say probably yes to that too!

Hope that's not a euphemism

No word of a lie, named our son after this madman and tried to tie in Edgar Allan Poe with the name. Ironically the lad is completely nonverbal but still capable of outsmarting everyone he knows. I blame Jazz.

light hearted piss taking aside with me allez les bleu stuff, I'm disappointed to have gone out. certainly more so than I would've ever have been as a young bloke in the 80s when I always viewed england as a sort of london united, the north/south divide was quite a poignant thing in those days, well, at least for me. still must linger a bit mind.... 21st dec v bournemouth, 7th jan v sheff wed infinitely more important.

On the bright side I saw the UK's biggest Christmas tree tonight

I’ve been largely critical of Southgate throughout his tenure, I think he’s done a good job of building a team rather than a collection of individuals and fostering a “club” type mentality which is something a lot of international sides lack. His failings imo have been tactical, the main one for me was as you highlighted his switching to a back 5 whenever he encountered a tough opponent - he finally didn’t do that and we gave (imo) the best team in international football a game (which I think we edged). He was let down massively by two blokes who he puts faith in and shouldn’t (Pickford and Maguire), which is definitely partially on him as he has other options and should have explored them. This is the first tournament since 2018 where I’ve actually wanted him to continue as the growth we’ve shown was evident to me, we controlled games and comfortably beat sides whereas in prior tournaments we suffocated opponents and didn’t score much, and then as mentioned we went toe to toe with France. I felt he should have been more aggressive with his changes, perhaps Foden into CM for Henderson and then bringing on Grealish/Maddison/Rashford, but at the end of the day as you say this one was very very fine margins. France got a number of lucky drops in the box where the ball was so close to being put in but bobbled to a French defender or was deflected away. The Italy and Croatia games were carbon copies in that we scored and looked good then sat back and invited pressure, this one showed growth and hopefully it continues. Agree on the last point too as I think squad wise we will be improving so I don’t see this one as our last chance, we have Rice, and Bellingham in CM who are both very young and will mature, players like Harvey Elliott coming through who will take over for possibly more limited CMs like Phillips and Henderson. Foden, Rashford, Saka, Maddison getting more experience along with possibly Sancho recovering form and others coming through. Defensively players like Guehi and Tomori are young and will prove better than Maguire.

I love how they think Allardyce going was a real sliding doors moment and they’d somehow be a top PL side if he’d stayed. He couldn’t believe his luck when he had an opportunity to get out as he knew he was firefighting / staving off the inevitable.

I thought that England did very well in the second half but France were back control of the game again when they scored their second. It was before when England should have pushed for another goal to win the game. Then a court of positive substitutions would really have helped.

So did Rafa but there was drastic differences between our reaction to it and theirs as well as drastic differences to the outcomes of both relegations but it's us that hound out managers?

Mackem logic in overdrive there

For fucks sake, they could have at least pretended given their faux indignation about us. What a pathetic bunch, love that them, the scousers, and man yoooo fans have all shown their true opinions with the mere whiff of these type of owners being involved in something they give a shit about. Why are they so obsessed with him? Also, imo he absolutely should have got to the first goal I’m fully confident that if that was Ramsdale or Pope that wouldn’t have went in. So rather than their dreamed hero his mistake, along with Maguire, cost England.

When’s the last time England actually performed well at a tournament before Southgate? 96? Southgate has had you lot putting in credible performances for three tournaments in a row. But for bad refereeing and Harry Kane missing a pen you could be looking at a great chance to win the WC. They’re the fine margins between disappointment and becoming a legend. It was encouraging to see Southgate not revert to a back five yesterday and show some belief in his own side’s quality. It would be very foolish of him to walk now. Despite the solid work he’s done for England there wouldn’t exactly be a number of PL clubs clamouring to appoint him which says a lot about how international football is viewed these days.

In the cold light of day we are a joke. We have got used to thinking of success as not winning a tournament when by the law of averages we really should have in the last 56 years. We beat Iran, Wales and Senegal and drew with the USA. It’s crap to think of that as something to be proud of. Success is about finding a way to win. It can be pretty or it can be dirty but we just don’t have it when it matters. France will win this and if they do it will be their fourth major trophy in just over 20 years. We shouldn’t settle for it.

The tags were fine on my jacket, just not the jacket itself.

🍿

This is just one side of this story. But somewhere, someone is telling the mag at work version of this where you get put right in your fucking place and maybe, if you make your mouth go, get your fucking head kicked in MARRA.

I see @The Fish has got himself banned from there. Was at my works do last night, people from all over the country, Europe, and wider afield. Talked a fair bit about football and NUFC specifically as the meal was in Newcastle. I'm sad to say for the mackems, not one single fucks was given about our ownership and almost everyone thought NUFC would be a significant force in Europe in the next decade.

Ho-de-Hole in the ground

Aye, my cousin got me then Saudi kit for my birthday and I love the top it's 10/10 but there was a wolves tag on it

Mosques, of course, famously have sports bars in them.

Only 18 months until the Euros and he is contracted till then. He'll stay I reckon. I kind of agree with both J69 and Ginolaandtonic. England played well, but at the end of the day they rarely beat anyone of note. Southgate is blessed by having 3 things, a good pool of talent to draw on, said pool of talent are cohesive, and the quality of other teams is exceptionally poor at the minute. He deserves credit for the middle point, but loses that somewhat on tactics and use of subs imo. England have never had a better chance of winning a major tournament but ultimately are blowing it. It might not come back again.

Agree with KD but I think Southgate might walk. He didn't sound like he was relishing the idea of Euros qualification in his interview last night.

Luckily, he’s locked in a block of Pallion flats so will never see any Newcastle fans in the wild