England’s coaching staff at Euro 2024 has faced numerous difficult questions, with few answers available.
Gareth Southgate and his team are tasked with devising a plan to compete for European glory on German turf.
The Three Lions have proved that unlocking their full potential can be trickier than it first appears, but more time will be spent on coming up with solutions.
Support
The gaffer 🙌 pic.twitter.com/qRg7vi8gbR
— England (@England) March 24, 2023
For now, England retain the support of many – including an expectant fan base still dreaming of seeing football come home. They can be found at 9/2 within the many Euros betting offers that present supporters with an opportunity to put in-tournament fancies to the test.
It remains to be seen how long such favour will last, with positive results and performances required in order for belief to build.
That is true across all forms of football, from Sunday League to the European Championship.
In order for tangible success to be achieved, talent must be blended with tactical nous and the odd slice of luck.
Somebody is required to steer that ship, with sporting intelligence being tested to the full when it comes to drawing up winning blueprints.
The finest minds in the business have found that tricky at times, with clubs around the world still searching for the right formula.
That is true from Lisbon to Lincoln, with those at the LNER Stadium still picking the bones out of a 2023-24 campaign that saw a late dip in results end any hope of reaching the play-offs.
League One is not about to get any easier, with the third tier of English football about to throw open its doors to Birmingham City – with NFL legend Tom Brady on board – and the Welcome to Wrexham cameras of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Lincoln are hoping that Michael Skubala and the players at his disposal can settle on a system that works.
Tyler Walker will form part of that project once again in 2024-25, with the former Imps loanee looking to recapture the form that once made him a fan favourite at Sincil Bank.
He has the perfect mentor on hand when it comes to professional advice, with father Des having graced the very highest level.
Creative
The former Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday defender earned 59 caps for England, representing them at the 1990 World Cup and Euro 92.
Tyler, as a man more concerned with scoring goals than keeping them out, is not a chip off the old block.
Des, who found the target once across more than 850 games for club and country, has said of nurturing a striker: “He is a more talented player than I was. I only had to kick people. I was not bad at kicking people and he is a creative player and they are the talented ones. If I start telling him how to score goals he will start laughing.”
Walker had not wanted Tyler to become a footballer at all, with the hope being that he would pursue a more academic profession.
Des added: “I wanted them to be doctors or lawyers but that was never going to happen. He spent seven or eight hours a day smashing up my house playing football and that’s why he has got where he has today. He has carved out his own niche.”
Tyler Walker now has to knuckle down when it comes to picking holes in opposition defences.
He must decide when to make a run, how far to push, whether to head for the front or back post and how best to beat the goalkeeper when presented with a clear sight of the target.
Solving those problems is no easy task, especially as most big calls need to be made in the blink of an eye.
Logic
😍 That is wonderful…#WeAreImps | #TW19 pic.twitter.com/gbLubHsX13
— Lincoln City FC 🇺🇦 (@LincolnCity_FC) July 12, 2023
He may not have landed the doctorate that his father hoped to see, but he is nevertheless sharp enough in the logic department.
His father was cut from the same cloth, with Des’ pace and power making him a force to be reckoned with, and it is those qualities that England could do with at present.
The Walkers do not form part of that project, with the wishes of a Three Lions icon being defied, but there is still time for England and Lincoln classes of 2024 to prove that they can be star pupils and earn the kind of distinctions that improve any CV.