6 months ago
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ROY KEANE left his fellow ITV pundits in hysterics after a trademark dig at the expense of Gary Neville.
Keane’s joke came after another drab England performance against Slovenia.
ITV
ITV
ITVMark Pougatch was presenting the ITV broadcast alongside Keane, Neville, Ian Wright and Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou.
The pundits were discussing the growing pressure on Gareth Southgate after an uninspiring group stage for England.
England finished as group winners of Group C but did so having beaten Serbia 1-0, drawing 1-1 with Denmark and yesterday’s 0–0 draw with Slovenia.
The Three Lions’ latest drab performance saw Southgate jeered by parts of the travelling England crowd as well as having two plastic beer cups thrown at him.
Reacting to the growing criticism of his conservative tactics, Southgate said: “I understand it. I’m not going to back away from it. The most important thing is we stay with the team. I understand the narrative towards me.
“That’s better for the team than it being towards them but it is creating an unusual environment to operate in. I’ve not seen any other team qualify and receive similar. I’m not going to back away from it.”
Reacting to Southgate’s comments, Neville drew on his own managerial experience and said: “Mark, I was over in Spain for a very short period and they [the media] were brutal and I suspect that if you talked to…”
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Keane then interjected to say: “That was just at Valencia. You were somewhere really nice.”
Keane’s no-holds-barred joke saw Postecoglou and Ian Wright in stitches, leaving Neville flustered.
England player ratings: Southgate's Gallagher experiment fails miserably vs Slovenia
ENGLAND served up another underwhelming performance – but still managed to top Group C.
England dominated the ball, but Southgate will have plenty of questions to answer after a third straight display that lacked inspiration.
SunSport’s Tom Barclay has given his ratings of the England players.
Jordan Pickford – 6
Largely a spectator due to England’s dominance on the ball. Asked the touchline what the Denmark score was during one break in the second half.
Kieran Trippier – 6
The one positive of having a right-footed player playing left-back is that he can dispatch in-swinging crosses, and one such one should have been headed home by Conor Gallagher before the break.
Marc Guehi – 7
Cruyff turn early doors showed his confidence from excellent displays against Serbia and Denmark, and barring one loose pass was good again.
John Stones – 6
One of many to miss his target with his passing. He wasn’t bad but, like others, way off what he has produced for his club.
Kyle Walker – 5
Played so safe, rarely looked to get forward. Was lucky at one point that Pickford was alive to his blast of a pass-back. Sliced cross after break summed up his off-night.
Conor Gallagher – 4
Got the nod after the Trent Alexander-Arnold midfield experiment ended, but was poor, particularly, in possession and replaced at half-time by Kobbie Mainoo.
Declan Rice – 7
Had promised an “in your face” performance from his team, but he was really the only one to produce it. Very good out of possession, much better than against Denmark.
Phil Foden – 7
Liveliest of England’s attacking four by a mile and went close with a stinging free-kick. Booked for dissent, summing up England’s frustration.
Jude Bellingham – 5
Cut a very frustrated figure as he and Harry Kane got in each other’s way at times, while he was often shunted wide left as Phil Foden moved into the middle.
Bukayo Saka – 6
Tapped home on 20 minutes, but it was ruled out for offside in the build-up. OK but once again subbed after the break, perhaps due to fitness concerns.
Harry Kane – 6
Insists he is 100 per cent fit and maybe he is. What is 100 per cent certain is that he has been nowhere near as effective in this tournament as he usually is for England, albeit he was marginally better here.
Substitutes
Kobbie Mainoo (for Gallagher at half-time) – 7
Made a difference when coming on, making England much more positive in their play. So much more confident with his touch than Gallagher.
Cole Palmer (for Bukayo Saka on 71) – 7
Finally made an appearance at this tournament and one clever ball through for Mainoo showed what he can do.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (for Kieran Trippier on 84) – 6
Came on for the final few minutes at right-back, with Walker going to left-back.
Anthony Gordon (for Phil Foden on 88) – 6
Like Palmer, first minutes at the Euros, but too late to make an impact.
He then continued by saying: “The questions they [journalists] ask you are a lot more tactical and a lot more dangerous for a coach than maybe with the English broadcasters.”
Neville’s ill-fated spell at Valencia saw him take charge of 28 matches, winning 10, drawing seven and losing 11.
His time in charge lasted from December 2015 until March 2016 with him having to wait until his 10th LaLiga match for a league victory.
Valencia dropped from eighth to 14th before he was dismissed – with the side sitting just six points above the relegation zone.
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