RiseAgainst

There was an astonishing story in the Guardian about why Magath bombed at Fulham, shortly after he left. It sounds like we dodged a bullet by not appointing him. https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/sep/20/fulham-farewell-magath-felix-madcap That said, it's extremely narrow-minded and parochial to dismiss a German manager because he'd supposedly turn the town of Middlesbrough into an enclave of ze Faterland. Wonder what changed in the run-up to Aitor's arrival?

Russia v Denmark D Finland v Belgium A North Macedonia v Netherlands A Ukraine v Austria D Croatia v Scotland H Czech Republic v England A (more in hope than expectation)

If I may indulge in an analogy, when we had lots of money, we spunked it right up the wall. Now we have limited money, we'll spunk it over the carpet instead. Our recruitment policy could be summed up in one word - bukkake. And in the meantime, better-managed clubs with smaller historic budgets continue to outperform us. I'm okay with signing lower-league players if that's all we can afford now. It's just sad that we wasted so many seasons throwing millions at the likes of Flint. We overspent and underperformed. And now we have to struggle along with a bare-bones squad and the prospect of

God, please let this be true. A head of recruitment could finally instil a philosophy into our recruitment, rather than yo-yoing between enthusiastic rookie and grizzled veteran with no bridge between those opposing ideologies and recruitment strategies. A Director of Football would be an even better appointment, but bringing in Kieran Scott would be a hell of a move considering how parochial we've been in recent years.

I've lived in Scotland for 34 of my 43 years, but (a) I consider myself English, and (b) I'm moving to Carlisle six weeks on Monday! Never met any other Boro fans north of the Border, so it's been a bit of a lonely existence at times, but at least I now live in the age of internet forums like OneBoro. It was a lot worse back in 1998 when I had to follow our First Division scores on Ceefax, waiting for page 2 of 3 to come round again to see if any more goals had gone in.

Sorry for being lastminute.com, @Youngy228! Spain v Poland H Hungary v France A Germany v Portugal A Switzerland v Turkey D Italy v Wales H

Told you I'd had a few! It does all feel unduly timid, though.

England are labouring, so Southgate takes off our best player in Foden. I know I've had a few Peronis by this stage, but Jesus wept.

Kane is playing purely for his reputation. He's contributed very little tonight. I'd sub him off at half time, but Gareth will play it safe and keep him on. Scotland will be pleased with their work. I don't think England will be.

I wouldn't say Southgate is inept, but as a club manager, he was unquestionably a failure. He took us from being European tournament finalists to the Championship in three seasons. He was sacked. And that was it. Hardly a stellar pedigree. I know we were cost-cutting towards the end of his tenure, signing the likes of Didier Digard, but I would still have expected more given the quality still at the club. We also had a ridiculously easy fixture schedule in the 2018 World Cup, but I accept you can only beat the teams you're drawn against. Ultimately, Southgate will be judged on games like

One more note on De Bruyne. I had an argument with someone on Twitter (I know, eh) who claimed De Bruyne wouldn't make it into a list of the top ten PL-era midfielders. I'm not sure I've seen a better midfielder in my 25 years following English football, never mind ten of the buggers. Though Phil Stamp pushes him close.

Graeme Souness says Jan Vertonghen is playing like he's towing a caravan 😆

Belgium simply cannot string more than three passes together. They've been awful even in possession. Compared to Denmark's excellent, proactive play, they look lumpen and tired.

Good luck @SmogDaneand @Borodane. No idea how this one will pan out, but hopefully the boys can concentrate on the game and do their stricken teammate proud.

Netherlands v Austria H Ukraine v North Macedonia H Croatia v Czech Republic H England v Scotland H Sweden v Slovakia D Denmark v Belgium A