Wales were incredible tonight, a truly magical incredible performance. A team of players who in the main play for unglamorous clubs are a credit to their manager, their former sadly departed manager (Gary Speed) & yes, to the UK. I do hope the suits full of f**k all at the English FA take note while they quoff their Champers & think of another way to make the Premier League monster even bigger & more powerful, eating its way through the rest of English Football while they're at it......sorry, rant over, but congratulations to the Welsh FA, their brilliant players, manager, & supporters who also showed the English how to support their team!!
Difficult to know what conclusions to take about England looking at Wales. We outplayed them in the group game. I don't subscribe to the theory that our players didn't try their best. Nor that the Premier League is rubbish. Nor that we were 'burnt out'. I put it down to the fact that it is a knockout tournament now and these things can happen, and that we lack belief at key moments. Maybe there is a burden of expectancy that weighs heavy. Also perhaps that their lack of selection alternatives helps them in that they have a fixed way of playing and a very settled team. For some reason Kane et al turned into a mess for us when it mattered but a player released by Reading who has a very modest goal scoring record turned into Messi for them. Anyone who truly knows why should be appointed manager immediately.
When you have a manager who makes error after error the players start to lose faith and him. From not taking in form players in favour of half fit players, trying to shoehorn Rooney into the squad, persisting with a player who is clearly lacking in confidence if not ability and not having a clue what his best team is or what system suits that team and then he confounds everyone by making six changes for the most important fixture of the campaign where a win would have secured top spot and an easier passage to the final. No wonder the players looked mystified and deflated.