Patrick O'Shea

Smokes cigars and drinks in bars with elderly men. He'll tell you bout himself and then he'll tell you again.

[Patrick O'Shea @poshea84]

@AlexComber_ If there are any injuries or suspensions, we're going to have to play a guy who's about our 12th best available midfielder.

Just because he's, like, a really top chap, who's got a leadership haircut and reminds everyone to pick up the cones after training.

A gamble.

[Patrick O'Shea @poshea84]

@CricketTragic5

[Patrick O'Shea @poshea84]

@florianederer Assume if Massing had missed him too, someone would have run over Cannigia with their car.

[Patrick O'Shea @poshea84]

@ZG1999_ Yeah, me 100% on your last point. Have felt this for about a year, and am now more convinced than ever.

Hope I'm wrong.

[Patrick O'Shea @poshea84]

@philmcraig @SarahLudford @UniofOxford @WilliamJHague @michaelpforan Free speech for me, not for thee.

[Patrick O'Shea @poshea84]

@dfitzgeralds @CarlH_THFC77 @NicholasTyrone Ok, I just think that's ridiculous tbh. But let's leave it there.

[Patrick O'Shea @poshea84]

@jakeevans1239 @Assyrianhammer @LFCLaurie He was also perhaps the worst player in the entirety of Euro 24. Exacerbated by the manager being too much of a coward to sub him, no matter how awful he played.

[Patrick O'Shea @poshea84]

@Negrodamus175 @LFCLaurie Exactly.

His role should be to come on for the last 20. Can think of no one better for that job.

But his ego won't allow it.

[Patrick O'Shea @poshea84]

@dfitzgeralds @CarlH_THFC77 @NicholasTyrone Sorry, but 2 finals, 2 semis and quarter out of 5 tournaments, is not "par" for any team in football history.

I know its annoying we didnt win at least one of them, but to say we were "par" is just silly im sorry.

[Patrick O'Shea @poshea84]

@dfitzgeralds @CarlH_THFC77 @NicholasTyrone You forget how crap he were. Every victory in 2018 was an unlikely victory based on the previous decade.

FWIW, I dont think the reasons he was a mostly good international manager would make him a good club manager. Would be surprised if he ever became one again.

[Patrick O'Shea @poshea84]

@dfitzgeralds @CarlH_THFC77 @NicholasTyrone Anyone we beat, ipso facto, cant have got that far in the tournament so we can therefore conclude they were no good. Because we beat them.

And most of the teams other you are dismissing (Denmark, Ukraine, Colombia etc.) beat quality teams to get to the stage they'll got to.

[Patrick O'Shea @poshea84]

@dfitzgeralds @CarlH_THFC77 @NicholasTyrone Ok but you can always find a reason why every team was, actually, no good.

I just dont accept that a team can somehow get to two finals, a semi, and a quarter in consecutive tournaments, while somehow not playing a good team at any point.

[Patrick O'Shea @poshea84]

@dfitzgeralds @CarlH_THFC77 @NicholasTyrone I mean, its a value judgement. But would be silly i think to say (WC finalists) Croatia and Germany in 2020, and Netherlands in 2024 were not high quality teams.

None were epoch-defining great sides. But all had multiple world class players. Beat them all in 90 mins.

[Patrick O'Shea @poshea84]

@dfitzgeralds @NicholasTyrone This "losing to the first quality team they play" thing always gets trotted out.

Its circular crap. The logic rests on the idea that if we beat them then they cant be quality.

Southgate's major blemishes for me are the second half tactics vs Croatia 18 and Italy 20.

[Patrick O'Shea @poshea84]

@radio_bellers @NicholasTyrone But unfair on the 80s.

82 they were undefeated, but the format meant they went out in the second phase.

86 we got to the quarters and came up against someone who had the greatest individual World Cup in history.

Not saying we were world beaters (clearly). But not terrible.

[Patrick O'Shea @poshea84]

@Robbie_OR The issue wasn't that we weren't prepared to grease some palms.

It's that we massively underestimated the scale of the palm greasing required.

[Patrick O'Shea @poshea84]

@TheSecretScout_ So we should take weaker players than we could, on the logic that they'll be fine about not playing because they realise they're bad.

Whereas if we'd taken someone good, they'd want to play.

Laughable.

[Patrick O'Shea @poshea84]

@TheSecretScout_ Then make him a coach. Or an assistant. Make him a frigging tea lady.

But don't bring a player who is on merit about 12th in line for his position.

Take a better player. There are loads.

[Patrick O'Shea @poshea84]

@phoenix669056 @AdamSants_ Sorry, but this is nonsense.

His career average is 35.

Between 2016 and 2023 (an eight year period) he averaged 39 with the bat. For an allrounder, that's more than good enough.

Since then he's averaged 27. A big dropoff. But let's not pretend it was always like this.

[Patrick O'Shea @poshea84]

@tacticodemundo @AliMaxwell_ @Ankaman616 Yeah, hard agree.

Kane dropping in was more effective with Rashford and Sterling constantly trying to run into the space he'd left. We were brilliant for a short while.

Euro 24, we had four guys all wanting to receive in that same space, no one looking to burst beyond. Turgid.