Greece 0-3 England
Jarrod Bowen started the game on the bench for England as interim boss Lee Carsley took charge of the Three Lions for a must-win Nations League game away to Greece. Carsley made the bold decision to drop captain Harry Kane, opting instead to start Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, who justified the choice with an early goal.
West Ham’s Konstantinos Mavropanos will be disappointed that Watkins slipped by him for England’s opener, though he otherwise performed well. England had the better of the first half, with Jude Bellingham looking much improved, while Conor Gallagher and Noni Madueke were particularly impressive.
However, captain Kyle Walker appeared to have the irritating habit of passing backward when England had opportunities to press forward from good positions.
Mavropanos was called into action again early in the second half, skilfully switching feet as Anthony Gordon closed him down at high speed.
Mavropanos attempts to tackle Watkins
Bellingham hit the post as Greece pressed aggressively following a flurry of substitutions. The overly fussy referee, keen to be the centre of attention, refused to let the game flow, punishing minor offenses while ignoring dangerous tackles—a bizarre performance from the German official.
West Ham captain Bowen entered as part of a triple substitution in the 65th minute alongside Harry Kane and Morgan Rogers. Bowen may have felt like he was at the London Stadium, spending his first 10 minutes defending as Jordan Pickford earned man of the match consideration with a series of saves.
England quality shines through
Bellingham eventually made it 2-0 following a neat flick from Rogers. The Madrid midfielder may not be credited with the goal, which took a big deflection off Odysseas Vlachodimos.
Bowen made his mark in the 82nd minute, sending a through ball to Morgan Gibbs-White, who set up Curtis Jones to score with a sublime flick. Bowen then got involved again, playing in Harry Kane, who failed to return the pass and was dispossessed.
Overall, it was an excellent result for England, and Bowen’s promising performance may earn him another run-out against Ireland next week
Not surprising to see Bowen do well in a team with young dynamic players that enjoy their football under a forward thinking manager.
Good piece Gonzo nice to read positive stuff
instead of the negative crap the doomsters keep
Spouting
Here’s something interesting
Using the first 11 games of West Ham’s 2024-25 season, here’s a comparison with the results of the same fixtures from the 2023-24 season.
2024-25 Season First 11 Games:
1. Aston Villa (H) – Lost 1-2
2. Crystal Palace (A) – Won 2-0
3. Manchester City (H) – Lost 1-3
4. Fulham (A) – Drew 1-1
5. Chelsea (H) – Lost 0-3
6. Brentford (A) – Drew 1-1
7. Ipswich (H) (EFL Cup) – Won 4-1
8. Tottenham Hotspur (A) – Lost 1-4
9. Manchester United (H) – Won 2-1
10. Nottingham Forest (A) – Lost 0-3
11. Everton (H) – Drew 0-0
Results in Corresponding Fixtures in 2023-24 Season:
1. Aston Villa (H) – Drew 1-1
2. Crystal Palace (A) – Lost 1-4
3. Manchester City (H) – Lost 0-2
4. Fulham (A) – Lost 0-1
5. Chelsea (H) – Drew 1-1
6. Brentford (A) – Lost 0-2
7. Tottenham Hotspur (A) – Lost 1-2
8. Manchester United (H) – Lost 0-1
9. Nottingham Forest (A) – Won 4-0
10. Everton (H) – Lost 0-1
Summary of Differences:
• Improved Results: West Ham showed improvements this season with a win over Manchester United and a draw against Brentford, Fulham, and Everton, compared to losses in those fixtures last season.
• Similar or Worse Results: Nottingham Forest (from a win last year to a loss this season).
People need to heed this. It seems the majority of the fans have forgotten the last year and think we have a divine right to be qualifying for Europe.
Being marginally better than a woeful season last time out is not ambitious or progressive.
We have no devine right to be at the top end of the Premiership. It is looking like we’ve missed a big opportunity to secure a European spot though with so many teams not pulling away from the pack.
Wishing for Moyes to stay / return or JLo to turn things around just shows a complete lack of vision.
Blimey, that’s a lot of work… 10/10 for effort!
0/10 for relevance 🤦♂️
We need to look forwards not backwards!
Well Done ‘hmm’.
At this time in 2023;
West Ham had 14 points from 14 games
2024, 12 points from 11 games.
Go figure?
Nice response / some people think Moyes had Pep like qualities 🤦♂️