During the recent games, I never actually went into them looking forward to games, at times it became a chore and quickly registered as a duty to watch and in all honesty your mind tends to wander or get distracted, or even stifle a yawn as the clock grinds it’s way tediously through the 90 minutes?
What happened to the game that entertained, it seems the football ‘technicians’ have surrendered their talent and spontaneity for grim tactics of success at any price to secure the maximum financial return on their investment.

Only watched the Scotland, England and 1 other game. One eye on the tv the other on my phone. Every team seemed to be set out exactly the same, playing very similar style of keep ball with the only difference being the technical ability of the squads.
Who were the must watch entertainment ers of the tournament, or the disruptors playing more direct football, where was the passion and the crunching tackles. Pretty boring throughout imo but unfortunately it's the way the game is developing (regressing).

If pools were as boring as these England games we would be up in arms, thankfully were either getting hammered by some pub team or we put on a performance, but its rarely dull, we might be rubbish but we accept that. England have 100 million quid players in their team and its turgid, infact its embarassing the way the whole of europe has basically mocked us for being boring, were like watching the italians and how they bored everyone senseless for years. Getting to semis and finals is easy when your playing teams 3 or 4 times weaker than you, everytime we pkay a team in the top 10 in the world we lose, the tactics Southgate came up with were pathetic, i couldnt handle a world cup again with him in charge.

in some ways football mirrors life in general. now its all about winning and getting to the top. really we do not like those who are technically good in any walk of life but prefer the ones with flaws but at least they entertain you. possibly my most hated car i have owned never let me down once, sailed through a mot but bored me to tears. its the same with lasses and most other things are no different. what annoys me as a fan are those who try to tell me i do not understand the game but my eyes and brain tell it different.

Football was ,and should still be , a part of the entertainment business. At the highest level it is now just a business.

Who said ‘ I can’t get excited about 22 millionaires chasing a ball’.

They’re not so much sportsmen anymore, just Sports Technicians programmed to harvest points and points mean prizes….not goals.
There really is no excitement anymore. I never watch one time unmissable Match of the Day.
Pools, even with all it’s faults, at least stirs some emotion in me ….. from irritation to very occasional joy, but it grips me in a way the product that is top level football never could, it’s human and humans have faults, which adds to the game I like to watch.

thats the difference watching your team to any other game where you are not bothered who wins but want to be entertained. know for a fact in an average game my lad gets more out of his teams games at stockport than i do when we meet up. just wish he,d move closer to avoid going there. thing is i used to enjoy non pools games but not anymore.

I had two teams ..Pools and England…but me and England have slowly drifted apart over the past 20 years, the players just seem to be on a different wavelength and probably too bleedin rich to relate too.

one of the reasons why most top non league games now all get 4 figure gates that were unheard of 40 years ago hen clubs got excited by just over a thousand turning up for a derby game. kids actually get a shock from league 1 downwards as the players will actually speak to them unlike the miserable looking millionaires with their head phones on.

Remember back in the 70’s, apart from big matches it was usually about 12 to 1500, if you got 2,000 it felt like you’d won the lottery.
In those days people loved to take the piss for going to Pools, but I always took people aside and explained sensibly to them my wish to support my Home town club and a parted amicably after telling them in a gentle voice to ‘ Fuck right off’’.

Leaving Grealish out of the squad tells you that Southgate did not want skilful entertaining players like the Spain team's wingers.

I suspect he liked his kind of players around him and not necessarily players he couldn’t see fitting into his style of play.
Unfortunately for us.

Can't believe Kane hasn't had more stick. He was so obviously unfit and should have done the decent thing and stood down as Southgate didn't have the balls to drop him.

Kane was like that car that was a bit temperamental …but goes like a belter when it’s working…unfortunately for us, he needed a major service, but Mr Southgate decided to flog it to get it going, he was wrong.

now nobody takes the piss if they said they supported a northern league side due to how they see the game at the top. once they were looked at in the same way as train spotters were as being real excentrics.