6 months ago
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IT was not just England’s dismal performance against Denmark that had alarm bells ringing for Alan Shearer on Thursday.
Because the former Three Lions captain, 53, was also caught up in a fire drill at his hotel before the game – along with a group of interestingly dressed West Ham fans.
BBCPundit Shearer, who later was scathing in his assessment of Gareth Southgate’s side against the Danes, explained on the Rest is Football podcast: “All was going great until we got to our hotel.
“I’m just checking in and I hear a noise behind me and there’s a big group of nine, ten guys and they’re all in West Ham shirts on a stag do. The stag is dressed up in a gimp suit, with a gimp mask on, the lot.
“It was like, my goodness me. ‘Shearer! Can we have a picture?’ I thought, ‘Oh God, here we go’.
“So I had pictures with them all. They were all fine, all great, and I thought that’s the last I’ll see of them.
“I go upstairs and think I’ll have an hour or two’s sleep. I doze off and then the fire alarm of the whole hotel (goes off). And it was a proper loud one.
“I was lying there thinking, I’m waiting for a minute, it (must be) a false alarm. Two minutes, three minutes, four minutes, five minutes. I’m thinking, this is not going off. And I’m on floor 12.
“(A sign says) do not use the lift. So I look over my balcony and I can see the whole hotel outside and I can also see nine or ten West Ham guys with a gimp suit and a gimp mask and I’m thinking, ‘I don’t want to f***ing go downstairs again! But I’m going to have to’.
“I’m on floor 12, down I go. By this point, I don’t know whether there was or not, but I’m thinking I can smell smoke. So I’m thinking it must be something serious.
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“I go downstairs, I walk straight in… ‘Shearer! Shearer!’ It’s the bloke in the gimp suit, f***ing hell, that’s all I need!
“There wasn’t a fire. Ten minutes later I was back in my room.”
Pundits and legends lay into England
ENGLAND's lifeless display in the 1-1 draw with Denmark left pundits and legends queuing up to take a dig at Gareth Southgate's team.
Here’s the best of what was said…
ALAN SHEARER
“Awful performance, particularly after going up in the game.
“I don’t think one England player can look at themselves and say, ‘I’ve done my job tonight’.
“England were all over the place, far too sloppy in possession, gave the ball away too much and got caught too many times.
“There was no energy, no pace, no guile — Southgate is simply not getting the best out of England’s best players.
“It’s concerning and Gareth will get some serious questions.
“You saw England players lying on their backs — they look absolutely shattered but there’s no excuse for that.”
GARY LINEKER
The BBC host called the performance “lifeless and tepid”.
On Harry Kane he said: “He needs his manager to ask more of him. I would have expected that if I’d put in that kind of performance.”
RIO FERDINAND
“The players don’t look the same as they do for their clubs. It is a big concern.”
ROY KEANE
“Courage and bravery, we’re not really seeing it.
“There’s something amiss with the balance. Bellingham is waving his arms.
“This is a big test for Gareth. It looks like he’s overthinking things.”
JAMIE CARRAGHER
“My big worry watching this and for the rest of the tournament?
“England look absolutely knackered. They can’t get close to the ball.
“The surest sign of fatigue is dropping deep.
“Declan Rice is having to cover so much ground. No-one can convince me this is a strategy.”
JACK WILSHERE
“It’s strange that we have taken the lead in both games so far, yet instead of it settling us down and giving us the confidence to play, we have failed to take control.
“But what was most worrying was that Denmark had a clear way of playing — while we didn’t.”
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