We were 'lucky' on the lottery of penalties and he has put some self belief in the players. But his decision to try to hang on to a 1-0 lead with 15 mins left against a team who were at that stage clueless and resorting to thuggery and cheating was a poor one. We were in control and his decisions had us hanging on in the first period of extra time.

So pleased we won a penalty shoot out, but I hope he has learnt from his mistakes. He also perseveres with Ali and Sterling who are offering very little threat.

Once Dier came on we suddenly ceased to have a midfield. I understand the thinking but it wasn't the right tactic IMO as it invited pressure and broke the link between defence and attack, especially given we play it out from the back. RLC, Delph or Rashford would have been better options than Dier, or even with Dier but taking Lingard off, whose first touch last night was awful. Apart from one link up behind their left back Lingard may as well have been a brick wall for all the control, link up and threat he offered.

I do think he's quite limited in his options, with Vardy and Sterling both offering little. Could have started Rashford though.

But in Southgate's defence he at least has a plan A that is reasonably solid and helps ball retention and picks players to suit the system rather than trying to shoehorn as many Manure or Liverpool players in as possible. He also has clearly managed to create a good atmosphere in the camp and made the right call against Belgium by throwing the game.

'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)

We may have practiced, we indeed won, with some wonderful penalties. Still maintain that it ended up going to extra time due to Southgate's substitutions. Rather that sticking Dier on to shore up a game we were well in control of, I would have brought Rashford on for Dele Alli. He could have stretched the Colombian defence if they pushed forward, and if they did equalise, he is more likely to create a goal out of nothing than Vardy is.

Done nothing to suggest he is our greatest manager for awhile yet. All a matter of opinion of course!

Do you mean the England manager with the best win % of all time (discounting Big Sam's one win)?

Agree though, that Southgate has done a great job. If England make the final, which is certainly possible, that would make him the most successful England WC manager after Sir Alf.

Can't picture a win against France, Brazil or Belgium in the final, but if they have the rub of the green, who knows. One can hope but not expect, I think.

P.S. And Sven managed to get England into the quarter finals (including Euros) in all of his 3 attempts.

I'm pleased Southgate is doing well, but let's keep some perspective on previous managers. Except McLaren, he really was awful

Edited by the_mcanuff_stuff (04 Jul 2018 12.24pm)

And here we've only beaten Columbia and could quite easily lose to Sweden. Let's not get carried away.

Red and Blue Army!