Mykolenko and Ukraine hold England to a draw

Sorry to be ginerist

1) Southgate is shite.
2) Mudryk is shite, £80M for him?
3) Mykolenko isn't a very good left-back (in fact he's shite) but in a more central role he looks half-decent.
4) Foden should leave Man City for us or another club where he can play every minute. Pep and gormless Gareth are going to ruin him.
5) Southgate is so bad he'd probably play our former player aka Iwobi if he hadn't chosen Jamaica over England.

Southgate out!!

The fact that by the end of the game the likes of Henderson, Maguire and Gallagher were on the pitch says it all.

Southgate isn't shite but he's very much a play-it-safe coach. The irony is when he first got the job he culled the former big names and picked players on form and is now picking his favourites which will inevitably get him the sack.

Too many players getting picked that aren't playing for their club or, in Henderson's case, have retired.

Zinchenko was better than any of the England midfielders.

Why anyone expects anything from England is beyond me; the players are beyond parody, they just can't do basic things.

About the 70th minute, Rashford had the opportunity to cross the ball on the move from the left near the byline. A technique that shows if a player has "it" or is a lower league duffer. The gormless oaf sliced it into touch because he lacked the ability to wrap his foot round the ball.

Terrifyingly, Rashford is seen as one of our "star" players confirming the standard of footballer produced today is beyond a joke.

An English player is ordered off after about two minutes, while VAR, or whatever it is called, have ten minutes to decide if an accidental clash of heads is deemed a red card, or only a yellow. They decide it's worthy of a red card.

Meanwhile, an Argie is ordered off for flattening an English player, and given ten minutes to await his fate! VAR, or whatever it's called, decide it's only worthy of a yellow card.

Very strange game, with even stranger rules!

Anyway, England lead 4-1.

From kick-off, the middle 3 should have been Bellingham, Rice and Maddison with Foden or Rashford on the left.

All will be okay if we beat Arsenal. Hope we have Beto with Calvert-Lewin fit to come off the bench. Would give Goodison something to cheer for at last !!

He's dropped from the squad altogether. Is Southgate bitter he popped home from the World Cup after his family were robbed at gunpoint?

Henderson has a crap season, is told by Klopp his days are numbered, and drops his principles to go to Saudi Arabia as it's best for his family.

Do they speak Arabic? Does he wife like wearing a hijab? Are their fair northern skins suited to radiant heat in the desert? Or is he a greedy bastard?

But he starts of course, as does Maguire who's assumed Phil Jones's spot on the Man Utd bench for the last 2 years.

The preppy Maddison, after one good game at Spurs, of course starts ahead of the scruffy Manc treble winner.

And then how do we approach this mediocre opponent? We bore them to death with sideways passing.

Southgate should have walked after the Euros. If you can't beat a lackluster Italy at Wembley you're never going to win a trophy.

The Premier League should only stop for the FA Cup rounds or an act of God... ONLY.

Most of the world speaks English, she wouldn't have to wear a hijab as a head scarf should suffice and I'm sure they have air conditioning even where you live.

Somebody in NW Australia was hated for calling it life in the refrigerator as you went from the air-conditioned house to the similarly equipped car, shopping mall and work place. And who doesn't want a pay rise with a lower rate of taxation?

Or I'm getting thin skinned in my dotage? And while your posting isn't about it, I do wonder at those who seem to think that Everton going out backwards both financially and on the pitch is just some sort of glitch. It is possible that the last memory of Everton FC won't be as Liverpool's original football club or one of the founders of the Football League but as the builders of a white elephant on the banks of the Mersey or even worse, history repeats itself and some other club moves in.

Apologies to the thin-skinned, it's Sunday morning and England v Ukraine in Poland really isn't of great interest to me, aside from a left-back and a goalkeeper.

I never have understood why we lose a week of the domestic season so early on for these games and then have to cram in about 10 matches in December, it's mental.

We can't have it interfering with the winter break, with or without underground heating. Surely this was brought up during Brexit, not to mention that most players might come from the "Sky Six" and we can't have them playing three games in a week.

My observations? Southgate picks his favourites. I suppose you could say that about a lot of coaches and managers. They will tend to go with who they believe that they trust.

Harry Maguire. The expensive version of Michael Keane.

I thought Kyle Walker done well and not just because of his goal. No spring chicken but fit and competitive. Only a year younger than our Seamus.

We have to pay against them – except Jordan Pickford of course – over the next few months so our chances appear to be much improved!

Having got that off my chest I must say that Alan (16) speaks sense; I just hope his thoughts do not become reality!

If the stadium is a white elephant then let's demand that the people who started building it get out of our football club, and let's start fighting for better owners before these bastards really stitch us up in a similar way David Moores stitched up Liverpudlians, when he sold their club to Hicks and Gillette.

Take no notice of me, it's not as if we can we do anything anyway! Of course we could, but it seems to have gone very quiet, with most people just accepting that Bill Kenwright will never really be seen again at Goodison (I'm paranoid – I don't believe this for one minute).

But what is being done behind the scenes to make us a better football club? Because the silence from the board and the whole club is totally embarrassing.

That game on Friday between Saints and Leigh was brutal. True effort.

Rugby Union: 3 points for a drop goal. Says it all.

It will be our 4th playing pitch in the city before we become the first team to win league titles in three centuries (there you go, Tony!!). And settle my even number OCD by making it a 10th.

But, always a but. He can't come back. He never can. It would be rightfully poisonous. I think the song was Silence is Golden. No. This is deafening and is a total lack of leadership from the top. If this was WW1, this is Lions led by Donkeys, although that is disrespect to Donkeys. Communication. Just tell us what is going on.

Don't get paranoid, Blues. Bramley-Moore Dock and the Liver Building are ours. They are going to hate it.

Those images of the blue and white cranes at Bramley-Moore Dock pointing towards Goodison in respect to the funeral of Michael Jones was very poignant.

Meanwhile, the manager and coaching staff will be focussed on next Sunday, which is the closest crocodile. Are we all meeting up?

I'm not an expert on American "Football".

But having spent a lot of time out in the US, I see a lot of similarities and parallels between the two.

Likewise with Australian rules and Gaelic Football. Those two confuse the hell out of me as you just seem to be able to do what you want!!

Utterly boring, and any half-decent side will pull us to pieces.
No chance of winning the Euros at this rate.

Blood some youngsters against Scotland, the current fringe players are the future. Clear out the old brigade!

I have tried watching Rugby League but, having watched the 15-man game for over 50 years and played it for over 30 years, I just can't get into it.

I used to love watching the Aussie league, when I lived in New Zealand, especially the state of origin, which must surely be one of the best sporting events in the world.

But when I watched a rugby league game live, I was bored to tears, and wonder how many modern-day football fans would be equally bored if they had the same experience, rather than just watching on TV?

As a midfield anchor (the modern version of a Sweeper), Rice is a CB in midfield of sorts. This should mean we can release the full backs (and use the likes of Alexander-Arnold on the right) and dispense with a limited runner like Henderson in midfield. It was a game for Foden in midfield and runners / dribblers in attack to provide movement and feed off Kane.

Danny, I agree that Konoplya looked good at RB (he looks like a 1970s British footballer) and his Shahktar teamate Sudakov looked quitely effective orchestrating quick counter attacks from their midfield.

I did think Mykolenko looked very comfortable against Saka also - and hope that by the end of the season, we'll be more encouraged with our full-backs under Dyche's organisation than we are now.

You're right about Rugby League not being what it used to be. I grew up in Ormskirk, attended secondary school in Wigan, and followed Saints. I took a lot of stick at school but it was friendly.

I bought my cup final ticket in Wigan and I was with my Wigan friends for the '66 cup final when Saints thrashed them, Billy Boston and all. 1966 was a very good year.

I've always thought Widnes and Everton are similar clubs in their respective sports. Widnes aren't the best run club either!!

It bodes well for the Arsenal game that Saka was mostly frustrated.

Agree with Robert that Sudakov looked a good player with some really good passing and link-up play.

England are way too slow moving the ball. Less tiki-taka and more like tippy-tapper. We seriously bore the opposition into switching off. Can't play Henderson and Rice all game. Rashford was also awful when he came on though. Saka didn't do too much either. I think Bowen, Eze or someone else should have been involved. Sterling? Grealish?

Mykolenko did relatively well considering he's still short of game time. These two internationals should get him back to full match sharpness. He'll come back in for Young against Arsenal.

England were clueless for the most part, the only piece of magic was Kane's pass to Walker then his control and finish. Mykolenko maybe could have cut it out but the bullet pass and finish were of top quality.

Southgate has got to be brave and stop picking Henderson, especially now he's in semi retirement, it's time to move on. Also, there's got to be better options than Maguire at the top level. It's all looking very stale.

Before the game, I asked on my Whatsapp group how an England side can start without Foden and Rashford (Henderson and Maddison, are you kidding?).

Surely the Red-nosed retiree has done enough for a one way ticket back to the land of money and repression. Maddison can go back to his hairdresser.

Starts well. I am going to get some informed opinion?

"Former Daily Star journalist Paul Brown told GiveMeSport (8 September) that Dyche even prefers the likes of Ashley Young and Nathan Patterson to play at left-back over the Ukrainian despite them starting the season off poorly",

Then oh dear. How to write an article with never seeing him.

"Mykolenko, in a similar way to Patterson, is probably better going forward than he is on the other side of the game. I don't really feel like his Everton career has ever got off the ground."

Mate, he doesn't cross the half-way line. He's not bad as a defender, but offers fuck-all going forward. A bit like your journalism Paul Brown.

It's been a slow weekend...

How on earth can you pick him vs Foden in a game that you know will need something special to break the opposition down.

Agree with people who feel if Southgate could be a little less cautious, the team might be a bit more successful.

On their day, I feel England could be capable of beating most teams.

Regarding the weekend match against Ukraine, a few points to be made...

It's still early in the season

Players are feeling their way back in

Quite a few players injured - Stones, Shaw, James, Mount, Alexander-Arnold, Grealish

Many players likely to be involved in Champions League matches so may have been holding back

With qualification likely to be reasonably guaranteed, perhaps players not as motivated as might be if playing a major team. Not saying that's the right way to play

Ukraine are a decent team

Lastly, Colin, all the way back to post at 2, assume you meant Demarai Gray :)

As for Mykolenko I thought he did okay against Saka. I reckon his best position is a left side in a back 3. How the kid has played football over the past months beats me, what with his parents and relatives back in Ukraine, wondering on a daily basis is a Russian missile coming our way. He deserves a medal: Long Live Ukraine.

Regarding the England game, that was absolutely excruciating to watch: pass, pass, pass, pass, sideways, backwards… absolutely boring as hell.

I thought Mykolenko done well against Saka, gave him a few kicks and was physical against him. Jordan Henderson was hopeless and Why play Maddison on the left? Surely Foden is better there in his natural position.

How Foden isn't one of the first names on the team sheet is beyond me.

Assuming a remedy for a problem is sent instantly, the remedy is applied instantly on Mars and the result sent back, it will take about an hour for an issue to be resolved.

This, I think, is similar to the problem of Southgate (and Dyche). It's as if the shite play on the pitch in the first half doesn't register until half-way through the second half.

At that point, something resembling thought takes place, and substitutions are made in the 87th minute, just in time to send on a bunch of extremely inexperienced players who won't have any time to overcome the initial adrenalin rush or to get enough running around to warm up.

Furthermore, if, like the Italian manager in the 2020 Euros (as played in 2021, of course), you react to problems and restructure the play at half-time, Southgate completely failed to react and, instead of countering the changed formation and players, kept his team playing against the Italian first-half team – which was no longer on the pitch.

Moyes used to wait too long, Southgate waits too long, Lampard waited too long, Dyche waits far too long. All have second-rate (at best) results, even with decent players as the England squad seems to be.

The trouble is that, when you get up against a Guardiola, Mancini, Ancelotti, or Scaloni, their ability to change stuff around in adversity will very, very often overcome the slow thinkers.

I've always thought that, if Bellingham was 2 years older, England would have beaten Italy in that final — if Southgate would have picked him!

Hopefully Dyche starts making a few more substitutions a lot quicker, especially if or when we play 4-4-2, because it's very hard work playing in a midfield four, especially because most teams play with an extra body in the midfield nowadays.

Southgate knows that it's the pragmatic teams that tend to win tournaments.

I often read that overdone strengths become weaknesses. You're right – Southgate's pragmatism becomes a lack of bravery.

If he picked any centre half other than Maguire, the team would be at least 10 yards further up the pitch. The pressing would be better and the likes of Bellingham and Foden would have more chance to shine.

As for this tweet, from Robin Bairner Sep 11, 2023

Jordan Pickford hasn't saved a single shot for England in Euro 2024 qualifying, despite playing every minute.

He's only faced 2 shots on target and conceded from them both.

His last save came when England were still 1-1 in the World Cup quarter-final vs France.

well Phil McNulty answered him by saying and should he have saved those two shots? No!

“After a magnificent end to the Premier League season with the Toffees, Doucoure seems to have turned the page on the Malian national team.

A bad experience with the Eagles
According to Sport New Africa, Abdoulaye Doucoure is no longer in contact with the technical staff. "He is not responding to calls and messages", we learn. The reasons for this refusal are not yet known. “