DE.

In a way it's perversely impressive how Southgate has made a group of very exciting, attacking players utterly painful to watch.

Enjoyed that

A good team would have torn us a new one tonight. Feels like 2010, where we'll get through on the back of multiple poor performances and then get crushed by the first decent team we face.

When the BBC pundits are going in on England this hard you know we've been rancid. Although there's still the usual blind spot for Southgate. All blame on the players it seems.

Haven't really got going at all in this game. Average for 20 mins, being generous, got a lucky goal then sat back and shrank until Denmark equalised. Serious words needed at half time as our collapse after scoring was ridiculous. Can't imagine Southgate delivering the verbal rocket needed mind.

Denmark look far superior to us.

Deserved. Sitting back and defending a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes FFS. Get some fucking courage.

Yeah but fortunately it seems to be affecting Denmark more than us!

Well done on ignoring the "if we win then w/e, we deal with it" line just to jump on that high horse.

It's just horrible watching us play. Slow, ponderous passing that usually ends in a comically misplaced ball which gifts possession back to the opposition. If we get the win then w/e, we deal with it, but we must be one of the least exciting teams in the tournament.

Gareth certainly has plenty to think about after tonight. He'll be happy with the three points, no doubt, but he must be worried by the way our confidence evaporated once the momentum started swinging the other way - and never really came back. Foden and TAA in particular just continued making mistake after mistake, and if they can't even cope with the pressure against Serbia can they really be relied upon when we come up against top teams? We have enough talent with the likes of Saka, Bellingham and Kane to get out of the group even if we aren't playing at our best. It's when we come up against the top sides in the tournament that we'll need to step up, and we need to make sure at that point that every player on the pitch is strong enough to deal with the challenge.

Hopefully that's our worst performance in this tournament, as we won't be going very far otherwise. Decent first 25 minutes, for a Southgate team anyway, followed by a very disappointing rest of the match. Serbia will be kicking themselves for not getting anything out of that, but if they're being honest they'll have to admit they weren't particularly good either. I don't feel like our system gets anywhere near the best out of our current set of players. Definitely feels like it's time for a change, fresh blood at coaching level as well as at playing level. Think a McKenna or even Howe would make us into a pretty exciting team. Still, it is what it is for this tournament. Maybe Gareth will drag us over the line with this functional, dreary style of play. If he does then fair play. If not then let's try something different for 2026. Back to the here and now in 2024, three points is three points. We held on, we move on. Improvement needed but we're off and running.

Shocking performance from Foden. I know he's not in his natural position but he can barely pass to a team mate tonight.

Trent is doing plenty to boost Adam's chances of getting minutes going forward. Nowhere near the level required.

Sad opener really. You ideally want competitive games.

I said the first goal might get Scotland to try and attack, but as it turned out, no. Maybe now. Appreciate it might open them up a bit, but at this rate they're going to get smashed anyway.

Early goal might be the best thing for the game, as Scotland were clearly planning to bed in at the back and try and grind out a 0-0 or 1-0. Will actually need to try and attack now.

Hah, yeah, a legend in his own mind for sure. Getting a parachute club up means absolutely nothing. Scott Parker did it twice. Getting a Luton or a Brentford or an Ipswich up, fair enough, pat yourself on the back. When you've got a massive financial advantage over everyone else though? Just comes across as a bit insecure. Say what you want about Mowbray, but when we got promoted from League 1 he quite rightly pointed out it would have been embarrassing not to go up with the financial advantage we had. No crowing about our football being "the best way". For the record, the best way is the way that gains the most points. Not that you'd think so with some of the bizarre managerial appointments being made recently.

I think Southampton have a lot of work on to stay up next season. Without the luxury of having a massively more expensive squad than almost every opponent they face, I don't think Martin's style of play will get them many points. We all know Arma is a top Championship player, but he hasn't shown himself to be effective in the PL yet, so it'd be a risk to rely on him again next season. Leeds froze today and truthfully bottled the last couple of months. Every time Ipswich faltered, Leeds did too - sometimes worse. They couldn't even beat us at home when the pressure was on (and thank goodness for that). Assuming Farke stays he'll need to identify those weak mental links if they are going to succeed next season. If he doesn't then whoever comes in will have their own ideas on what to do, just a question of whether there are any major restrictions as a result of failing to go up this season.

The club statement is exactly what I'd expect based on the people in charge. Gregg's statement on LinkedIn has a lot packed between the lines, arguably expressing more in what he didn't say. As far as leading a football department being "the most privileged job anyone could ever have" ? Jeez, people in football really do live in one hell of a bubble. I find it pretty difficult to judge GB's tenure here simply because of the incompetence and chaos above him. Now granted anyone who comes in at this point in time should be well aware of what Venky Rovers are all about (JDT included), but still, I have some sympathy - especially when it comes to last summer's window. With that said, no excuse for what happened in January with the supposed 'error' on hitting send. After last year Gregg should literally have been over Silvester's shoulder as he was doing it, then double checking everything was OK again before the deadline. After what had happened the year before, it's inexcusable for anyone in a position of responsibility to be ordering curry and celebrating two hours before the deadline and apparently trusting the same people who fucked up so badly just a year prior. I can't excuse that and to me it's tantamount to gross negligence - not just from GB, but he's included in that. Could very well have cost us our position in the division and nearly did. Ultimately JDT and GB never stood a chance. Nobody will until Venky's are gone.

JDT was ultimately a rookie manager and needed to be judged as such. The two flaws being brought up - a lack of Plan B and struggling with man management - are classic problems faced by inexperienced managers. The fact he was able to get us as far as he did in that first season is testament to the strengths of his footballing philosophy when it's working. The fact he was unable to arrest our decline both in the second half of his first season and the final couple of months of his final season is testament to the fact he's still a young manager with plenty to learn. I'm sure his experience here will stand him in good stead going forward, and if he can improve on his weaknesses then he's already shown here that his philosophy has the potential for a huge upside if all the pieces are in place and he's properly backed by the club's owners.

Since Venky's took over I think I've genuinely looked forward to two seasons - our first back in the Championship after L1, and JDT's first season. All others either apathy or dread. Next season probably a combo of both.

I did consider giving Tone a slight increase, but really I think his reputation boost came from last season when he unexpectedly snuck Sunderland into the playoffs. I don't think he did enough this year to decrease his reputation, but Sunderland weren't really improved from the season prior when he left (not his fault, but they just weren't), and his time at Brum was so short that it's difficult to say he impressed enough in that period to increase his reputation. Basically, I think he'd be considered the same now as this time last season by a chairman in the league looking for a manager. I don't think anything he did this season would change anything. Some chairmen could be concerned by the health issues, granted, but I don't think it'd be fair or reasonable to factor that in.

The problem is that taking an argument to the extreme of comparing Eustace to Kean undermines credibility and potentially invalidates legitimate points that can be made. There's good debate to be had about the pros and cons of JE's approach since he was hired, but it becomes nonsense if comparisons to Kean start being made. They're so far apart in terms of what they represent that it makes the entire conversation meaningless if it's suggested in a serious manner. Even Coyle can't really be compared to Kean. Technically by the SEM link, yes, but the fact is Coyle underperformed and was sacked within months. Still too long, but unlike Kean he wasn't bulletproof when it came to being judged on results. SK is the only manager we've had who, I believe, was genuinely unsackable and whose employment here was not based on results achieved. The fact Shebby had to be brought in to make Kean's life so miserable that he ultimately resigned says it all. Eustace is just another manager coming in to push a boulder up a hill that only gets steeper every year Venky's own this club.

Personally I think League 1 is a bit beneath Mowbray at this point. He's proven in his time with us and Sunderland that he's a perfectly capable and safe pair of hands for the Championship. Probably isn't going to get you promoted, but won't get you relegated either - and the majority of the fanbases at the clubs he's been at seem to take to him as well, even if results aren't great at times. With that said, if he is capable health-wise I can see him staying at Brum to honour his commitment there.