Nick D'Ambrosio’s Post

Not the 3–0 I predicted but are we being too harsh on England? Let’s look at the facts/positives: 1.      We have won the group 2.      Every other team in our group were happy to draw 3.      Slovenia and Denmark will go through without winning a game 4.      We are the only team to get a win in the group. 5.      The only group where there was just 1 game won 6.      We now get to play a 3rd place team in the last 16 7.      Followed by a 2nd place team in the quarters 8.      We won’t face a group winner until the semi-final 9.      We avoid Spain, Germany, Portugal and France until the final 10.   No one is singing “It’s coming home” 11.   I'm still backing England to win the Euros! 😮 Does anyone agree with this? Am I too optimistic? Let's hear your thoughts... #England #Euros #GroupWinners

England is celebrating the ascension of its football team to the Finals at the Euros. Listening to the post game highlights and commentary from the public, so many people have said they just believed England was going to go to the finals at the Euros this year. Even when Netherlands scored first, 7 minutes into the game, people held on to their belief that England was going to win. Belief. Belief in abilities. Belief in desire. Belief in each other. Belief in themselves. Belief in the team. Now imagine if you had that kind of belief in yourself. Come what may. Unshakeable. After all, it isn’t about the end result (while a win is always great). It isn’t about proving our worth. Our worth is inherent. Belief is what carries us through challenges and disappointments. It is stronger than hope. And hope is incredibly strong. It’s about belief in who we are. Belief in the space we hold. Belief in the evidence of all that we have already accomplished. Belief in our journey of ups and downs. Belief in always showing up. Belief that we are here for a reason. 📷: The FA/Eddie Keogh #football #euro #sport #winningmindset #belief #growthmindset #sportspsychology #lifecoach #personaldevelopment

On Saturday 16th December, the Premier League game between Bournemouth and Luton Town was abandoned after Hatters captain Tom Lockyer collapsed on the pitch. Since then they have beaten Newcastle United. And today secured all three pints in a comeback win at Sheffield United. And the presence of their missing captain is there for all to see. In their goal celebrations. Togetherness. Spirit. This is a team with a cause. And in sport, and in life a cause can be a very powerful thing indeed. With a cause you can move mountains. With a cause you can go beyond what you might have been personally able to achieve. A Cause = Power. A cause is when you are serving something greater than yourself. Like doing it for someone else. Who is not there. But you are there on their behalf. And when you have a cause you do not want to let that person down. So...you go the extra mile. Run longer. Harder. Faster. You have Cause Energy. The team have Cause Energy. You feed off each other. And now, suddenly, everything feels possible. A cause creates emotional fuel. And emotional fuel, when channelled correctly, is a very potent force indeed. Luton Town will want to see their captain back in action as soon as possible. But right now, they have one of the most powerful things in sport at their disposal. For a team with a cause is a team that feels unstoppable!

Why can’t the best England team in years win a final? On paper, this is indeed the most exciting England team in a generation. We were even made favourite for the Euros by the bookies, but unfortunately Southgate is tactically inept ….That is the simple truth. Once again, his very predictable starting 11 tactical choices failed him. We replicated the improved semi-final play, we pressed, but Jude Bellingham looked isolated for extended periods. An unfit Harry Kane at centre-forward was slow and ineffectual AGAIN. The Spain manager noted all of this, he also recognised we had another player who was not match-fit at left back with Luke Shaw. We ‘luckily’ won our way to the final because of the ‘reluctant’ use of substitutes by the manager which provided the necessary balance and attacking edge. Yet once again, ONLY in the final 20 minutes, when Ollie Watkins and Cole palmer came on did England find a dangerous attacking formation. They should have started the game, anyone that understands football knew this, that is everyone apart from Southgate … unlike his Spain counterpart. Instead, England have had to rely on fleeting moments of inspiration from its superstars, but Spain had a system and a highly competent manager to make effective use of such. So another lost final. But I truly believe the best for England is yet to come 🙏🏼, unfortunately that will never happen with Southgate as manager. …..Adiós Gareth. #success #winners #tactics #inspiration #innovation #management

Villa making the Conference League semi is a big deal, right? West Ham winning it was a big deal, right? Roma winning was downplayed by many & it wasn’t a big deal, why? Rangers getting to the Europa League final was luck because, you know, farmers league, right? Football is a bad business. Look at the ROI for English clubs. Transfer fees, wages, staff budgets, infrastructure are all massive compared to what their ‘dominance’ in European football should be. Spain has double the Champions League winners In the last 10 comps. 6:3. It’s 7:2 in the Europa League. Germany picked up the other in each competition. Things don’t get much better when it comes to international football. Every tournament we hear, ‘It’s coming home.’ It hasn’t. England does have great players but they don’t play great together, why? No English manager has won the EPL title since it changed from the First Division. This isn’t an anti-English tirade by a Scotsman, it’s about asking English football to look passed itself. If clubs were actually run well & money was invested with thought rather than just thrown at problems, the league might be even better, the national team might actually win & an English coach might lift the Premier League trophy. I’ve worked in 4 continents, seen clubs produce players, coaches & results on tiny budgets. Being innovative, reducing ego & learning from others rather than using them as tools may be England’s best chance at real football dominance. #Football

Who else thinks England was lucky to have qualified for the next round? Certainly, Slovakia was very unfortunate to lose that game with just a few seconds on the clock. So far, the Three Lions have never had a dominant display throughout the entire campaign. They have enjoyed flash moments of individual brilliance from the crop of quality players they have. However, time will tell how far it will get them especially when they begin to face super star nations like Germany, Spain, France, and Portugal. Personally, I think Southgate is yet to figure out how to use the players. Jude playing as a number 10 is not great. Just because a player scores goals does not make him fit to play that number 10 role. He didn't play number 10 in Madrid. Before you come at me, I'll use Scot Mc Tonimay as an example. He scored many goals last season for both club and country. But that does not qualify him to play in the number 10 role because he is a bad passer of the ball. Another player being underutilized is Trippier and Foden. Trippier has more balance than Trent. When teh team is attacking, he is a perfect crosser of the ball, unlike Walker. Sadly, there are no contributions from either flank because Walker cannot deliver good crosses, and Trippier is handicapped when playing as a LB. Similarly, Foden playing on the left wing is completely out of place. His performance so far says it all. He should be playing the number 10 role, while a natural right-footer comes from the left. These are the experiments South Gate should have done during friendly, and when playing smaller teams. Now, let's see how far the team survives. Switzerland may not have the same level of superstars as England, but they surely have the determination and composure we have seen so far in their performances. Will England survive the next round? Only time will tell. #uefaeuros #euros2024 #england #spain #judebelingham #harrykane #sportswriter #sports #gambling #contentwriter #football #soccer #opentowork #hireme #july #newmonth

Rugby is in a pickle...but looking within the game for the cure may not be how to fix it, when you haven't diagnosed the root cause. 1. Society - 🥊the cost of living crisis and rugby's attritional nature means it is a risk to people's livelihoods to play the game once past school age and it currently doesn't pay enough to make it worth the risk 2. Aspirational - 🥇when you can earn millions of dollars at home why would you play a sport which risks your brains and your body 3. Academies - ⚽️ Football has academies and young people sewn up and schools can't afford to play rugby. Anything you would add? Money would help but without the guarantee of success and a clear plan less people will want to put their money in. Some ideas rugby could explore: 1. Make the game less attritional and focus on speed, space, athleticism 2. Give touch rugby some proper investment 3. Find a closer symbiosis with Universities to catch the football drop outs, let people find a career and a hobby them explore professionalism, create a draft. 4. Create a touring team of Barbarians who's focus is to be the Dude Perfects, Harlem Globetrotters, And1s for a rugby audience. Pay them as a media channel not as players. 5. Make international rugby your pinnacle. Focus on the nations that play it and give them the funds to grow and compete. Let the leagues be the feeders. Let University be your ladder. Let touch be your starting point.

English premier league comes to an end. As a football fans (Manchester United 😂), there’s always something I can learn from this. 1) both Manchester city (4th times champion in a row) and Manchester United had a good manager. 2) both had support from their owner (money). 3) Manchester City had better and reliable top management than Manchester United. In term of signing the right player 4) Manchester City had a better and reliable players. (With the substitue players can make an impact) I don’t want to go into deep but in projects, No matter how good a manager is you cant have a success project if you dont have support from the owner, a reliable top management and a good team members.

https://lnkd.in/et5rmQdU By any standard that was an exceptionally incompetent performance by Scotland at the Euros and in particular, by a mgr. who is way out of his depth. The reality is the Association are operating on an amateur basis & are always posted missing & unaccountable when it all goes pear-shaped. Why? They wouldn't have the ability or know-how to explain what went wrong nor do they have the knowledge to set up, or set a path to, a realistic ambition. Slovenia is a great comparison on how to successfully negotiate a group & they don't have anywhere near the resources of Scottish clubs/MGMT. Unfortunately, once Scotland qualify (the current hidden ambition) then complacency sets in quickly from MGMT to Association & it all begins to fall apart. Professionalism goes out the window & all & sundry flee from responsibility. The evidence is clearly on the table as the team who actually qualified were way more robust than the one that played in Germany with a very limited game plan. The entire tournament goes down as an embarrassment, however, it is not the first time - in fact, it happens every time. From 1978 where Scotland were a team run on big ego & an inferiority complex right up to now - the difference being the '78 players had enough about them to beat the finalists. As it stands currently if Scotland needed a point from anyone to get out a group they wouldn't get it. The current crop of players are left adrift & brittle by poor MGMT from all of those above. A team that can't defend, score or register a threat is utterly bankrupt in football terms. A lot needs changed before Scotland reach an understanding & maturity of performance sufficient to find progression. FED is open for club investment & direction strategies: 1. International Advisors & Match Agents to club & national teams 2. Inclusive of exhibition, tour, testimonial, friendly for top tier Euro clubs 3. International Competition Designer (FIFA World Club Championship 4. Club Partnership Specialist (FED Director, Paul Bistiaux set up Antwerp/ManUtd partnership) 5. Club Directors of UK Club 6. Club Founders of UK Club 7. Club Direction Facilitators 8. Club Strategy Implementation Advisors to several European Clubs 9. Club Acquisition/Sale Advisors to a host of top European clubs.

Is the England DNA hindering the Men's National Team? I'll share some things and you can make your own mind up... Scoring goals requires two things: minimal touches and time (Dom Haynes) The average time for a Spain goal was 14.8 seconds. England's, not including the penalty, was 33 seconds. The average passes per goal for Spain was 4.2 - killers on transition! England's was 11.5 passes per goal. Both Spain goals last night came from throw-ins Thomas Grønnemark and in 37 & 14 seconds the ball was in the net! England's goal last night came from a 5 pass move and scored in 15 seconds... Possession allowed the Spanish to rest so they could defend aggressively. Until the final England had the same possession stats but they never defended aggressively. I could discuss the strategy and methodology for days all linked to research but fundamentally I remember something from my Level 2 Tutor in 1999/2000. "Football is a simple game, made difficult by coaches" Thoughts?