Harry Kane bites back at Gary Lineker’s comments while Jordan Pickford urges England fans to stay calm and enjoy the pubs.
Lineker was the most animated that many viewers had ever seen him as he had criticised Kane’s performance in England’s 1-1 draw against Denmark.
Gary provided a detailed analysis on the BBC studio about his perceived lack of impact, despite Kane scoring a goal, he was largely contained by the opposition – a situation reminiscent of his performance against Serbia in England’s Euro 2024 opener and Kane ended up getting subbed off against Denmark.
“I think he needs to do a lot better.” š³@GaryLineker doesn’t hold back when analysing Harry Kane’s performance against Denmark š£#DENENG #Euro2024 pic.twitter.com/d30AznVEl1
ā BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 20, 2024
āTheyāre just a bit lost tactically… and that comes from the manager Iām afraid.ā@GaryLineker and @MicahRichards unwrap Englandās ādisappointingā draw with Denmark in the latest episode of the podcast out now š§ pic.twitter.com/JeGea0IbZq
ā The Rest Is Football (@RestIsFootball) June 21, 2024
āI donāt think I saw a sprintā š
Is Harry Kane dropping back too deep for England? pic.twitter.com/DaTSvIFYQZ
ā The Rest Is Football (@RestIsFootball) June 21, 2024
Lineker’s criticism included remarks about Kane needing to ‘do a lot better’ and his movement was ‘minimal’, while it is what he said on the Rest is Football podcast that has also led to a response from Kane.
Lineker said: āI think we have to reflect the mood of the nation. I canāt imagine anyone who is English would have enjoyed that performance because it was lethargic, it was dour. You can think of all sorts of words and expletives if you like, but it was s***.ā
In light of this, the England captain has addressed Lineker’s comments, suggesting that the Match of the Day host should have chosen his words more carefully.
Kane, who also denied a ‘players-only’ meeting, said: āIād never want to be disrespectful about any player, especially a player who’s worn the shirt and knows what it’s like to play for England.
“Maybe ex-players or ex-players who are pundits now have got to realise that it’s very hard not to listen to it [what they say] now, especially for some players who are not used to it or some players who are new to the environment.
“I know they’ve got to be honest and give their opinion, but also they have a responsibility of being an ex-England player that a lot of players looked up to.
“People do care about what they say and people do listen to them.
“Everyone’s got their opinion but the bottom line is, we haven’t won anything as a nation for a long, long time.
“And a lot of these players were part of that as well, and they know how tough it is.
“It’s not digging anyone out, but it’s just the reality that they do know that it’s tough to play in these major tournaments, and tough to play for England.
“I’d never disrespect any ex-player, all I’d say is just remember what it was like to wear this shirt, and that their words are listened to.
“Some of the lads, I don’t know how many of the lads, but do you do hear it.
“We all want to win a major tournament, I’m sure they want us to win a major tournament.
“Being as helpful as they can and building the lads up with confidence would be a much better way of going about it.”
“Remember what it was like to wear the shirt!”š
Harry Kane hits back at recent criticism from Gary Lineker on @England‘s performances so far at @EURO2024š³
šhttps://t.co/DGP1EaStPQ pic.twitter.com/KMZ77SkP4d
ā Hayters TV (@HaytersTV) June 23, 2024
Speaking on BBC One, Lineker said: “In all honesty, I think Harry Kane needs to do a lot better. I think his movement was minimal.
“He didnāt look to go behind and he doesnāt often. But even when he comes short, heās just drifting short very, kind of, lethargically.
“Heās plodding short. Thatās not going to help.
“When youāre a striker, your two jobs are, obviously to score goals which heās brilliant at. He has been all his career, he’s wonderful at that sort of thing.
“But I think he needs his manager to say āright, I need a little bit more from you Harryā. I wouldāve expected that if Iād had that kind of performance.”
In response Micah Richards said: āThereās a conundrum with how England want to set up. They want to press and have got the players to press. But Harry Kane is so good at scoring goals and his record is unbelievable. When his goal comes, you think, āOK, Harry Kane is confident.
āBut the other side of the game, he just needs to improve. When youāre talking about goals, heās one of the best.ā
And Rio Ferdinand agreed, adding: āI would be going mad. Iād be screaming at him. I couldnāt have my centre forward not filling in with the workload the other players are putting. I need to see that intensity. Put their centre halves under pressure as Iām feeling as an England defender.”
Jordan Pickford’s message to the England fans…
“Stay calm, enjoy the pubs” š» #BBCEuros #Euro2024 pic.twitter.com/p3RkGq1LHD
ā BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 23, 2024
England number one Jordan Pickford meanwhile said to The Independent: “We are fine, we are chilled. It is tournament football. You have to enjoy the moment while you are here. We have got four points and we are top of the group, we are chilled. We know we can do a lot better in the games, but we havenāt been beaten. We have the same points after two games as the last two tournaments and I would say we are calm. The outside noise is that we have to perform come Tuesday but there is no need to panic.”
Questions have also been asked of Gareth Southgate over his team selection, formation and choice of substitutions, however Pickford insists the squad remain behind Southgate.
He said: āEveryone is behind the manager. Everything we do in training and the meetings we have he delivers them brilliantly for us and gets us the right game plan. We werenāt perfect against Denmark, but that is a good feeling because we know we can improve. We know we have more to give in each game so to be on four points with a lot of improvement to come isnāt a bad feeling.”
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Twitter users reacted as Harry Kane bites back at Gary Lineker’s comments and Jordan Pickford urges England fans to stay calm…
@lennonkian_: Couldnāt have said it better
@JoshVessey31: What a crap question, stick to selling walkers I mean come on Gary was a top class player letās not forget
@Dazzzzzz86: Iām no fan of Lineker, but he was spot on with what he said after the game on Thursday. It was refreshing to hear him and Shearer say what the majority of us were thinking
@BlueDiamond0000: What can anyone say against that? Harry is 100% spot on. All the ex pros slating us very vocally have never won anything in an England shirt, so they know exactly what the players now are going through.
@Bambi799: The problem with the modern player is that they canāt take constructive criticism. Gary Lineker critiqued his performance and backed it up with a coaching element, which for a layman was very interesting. Players never say anything when there getting praised from the same people
@SkinnerAdam: Wrong. They only have a responsibility of being a pundit paid to offer their honest opinion. Kane needs to be accountable for his own performances. Captain of England – Step up and own it.
@MikeyBCFC: Part of the game to take criticism, to deal with it and to show more. Fans deserve much better from what weāve seen so far in this competition. Tuesday is time to prove theyāre capable of playing well as a team, rather than limping into the knock out stages.
@AbramLatic: Lineker was right with his comments on BBC and the podcast. The manager and players need to step up to the plate, deliver what we believe they’re capable of and there’ll be no criticism.
@mbquane: Exactly @HKane all these ex England players who are pundits now havenāt and didnāt win anything with @England well said Harry šš»
@ianrow29: The pundits should get into Southgate more. He gets far too easy a time, yet itās undoubtedly his tactics that have led to this situation.
@Warren1978: Kane needs to accept some constructive criticism here and own it. His own poor performance too. Heās an amazing striker but often goes missing in big games. All he said wouldāve have been fine had he also acknowledged they can play a lot better and understands the frustrations.
@StefromBurnley: I donāt like what Iāve heard from the squad recently, which is new as theyāve largely been very honest and accountable under Southgate. Kane just needed to admit he didnāt think he played well and that heāll be focused on producing better on Tuesday. The above is whiney.
@LFCGavlar: At Englandās next press conference, I hope a journalist asks Harry Kane to explain what he thinks a football pundit’s role should be.
@corfgar: Always backed you as a player, Harry, but if you’re going to be honest with yourself, you need to accept fair criticism along with the plaudits you get. You looked off it in the 1st game and woeful in the 2nd.
@RobertsCW: Doesnāt sound good. They canāt get wound up by pundits when they know they are making valid points, especially the ones that have given them so much time to get it right. Sounds like the pressure is getting to them.
@finn10000001: Fair play to Harry. Very measured response. Tbh I think most ex intl. players have been measured too. But most criticism has been about the system rather than the players. Harryās probably the one whoās had most criticism. Needs to do the good captain on the field.
@Funtimefreckle: Doesnt override the points being made by pundits & fans. The performance was limp, as a fan that travels along with thousands more, paying large sums of money, at the very least, we expect effort that matches that. They need to accept Thursday was not acceptable, really poor show
@GeorgeStevens11: Absolute loser mentality from Kane there. Does he expect Gary Lineker and the pundits to just pretend England haven’t been shit in both the games they’ve played?
@SmnLlyd5: Actually thought it was good hearing Lineker stray away from being purely a presenter the other night. Very insightful. Shame weāve not had more punditry from him
@ryanlewis79: Really donāt think these players have a clue on how BAD Thursday actually was. Lineker rarely criticises the team on air, even after an awful 2016 I donāt think he did? Maybe the players should look at themselves and the manager and leave stuff like this alone?
@TrickyBunny: might wanna remind Harry of these words when he is a highly paid pundit in a few years time. If you are so brittle you can’t take a bit of fairly constructive criticism from someone who has been there themselves then focus on your very lucrative club career
@pauljhnst: Get a grip Harry you wet flannel. You get praised when the goings good. Youāve all been awful & deserve the criticism. Howās about come out fighting in the next game & all of you put a shift in šš»
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