Euro 2024 column: Harry Kane's fury and big Luke Shaw gamble

Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer vs the England squad seems to be the favoured topic of the back pages ahead of the Three Lions' final group game against Slovenia.

In truth, the way the question that sparked these headlines was posed, was cowardly. It was nothing short of a disgrace.

'Gary Lineker had a word to describe England's performance in his podcast, is it helpful to describe it as s*** on the eve of such a big game, when you're top of the group on four points, or should he stick to flogging crisps?'

As someone who works in the media, you might have expected me to back up a fellow journalist. But it's questions like the one posed to Harry Kane which give the media a bad name.

The way that question was asked to the England captain was not only misrepresentative but completely fuelled to try and provoke Kane.

Kane will not have listened to the conversation in full. He might've heard a few snippets or been sent a few headlines by his mates, friends or others around him. Framing the question in that manner was completely misrepresentative.

Lineker and Shearer were vocal about England's poor performance against Denmark. Who wasn't, they were rubbish. They would not being doing their job if they tried to tell the nation, live on BBC One, that England played well.

But to take one word, said jovially in a tongue-in-cheek manner, out of context and pose it to Kane is bang out of order. The wider conversation both on the BBC and The Rest is Football was entirely balanced, fair and reflective of the mood of the nation.

Let's be fair, Shearer and Lineker know a few things about playing for England and centre-forward play in, particular. They are paid to give their views and what makes them top broadcasters is their balanced insight. When they have to be critical, they are and so they should be.

Kane handled it quite well. There were a few unnecessary comments about 'being positive' and the 'responsibility' that former England players have but he was put on the spot. This takes me to my second point.

It is not the job of the media to 'be positive' or 'build players up'. That is for the manager, the support staff and those inside the England camp. The job of a pundit, reporter or journalist is to be balanced and provide honest analysis.

Whether it's on a national stage like covering England or a local paper covering their team, you have to call it as you see it. That's how you maintain integrity and professionalism. If that ruffles a few feathers, then so be it.

But I suspect Kane, Gareth Southgate and everyone in that England camp would agree with what has been said by Shearer and Lineker if they listened in full. Deep down, they know the performances have been uninspiring and limp.

It's up to the players to provide a response on the pitch. And if they do, there will be plenty of positivity around England again. That's how it works.

Luke Shaw joined in with England's training session on Monday morning (Image: PA)

England View - Dan Barnes

Luke Shaw’s return to training is a boost for England – but should Gareth Southgate risk him against Slovenia?

The Manchester United left-back missed the recent group games against Serbia and Denmark due to a hamstring injury, with Kieran Trippier playing on his wrong foot.

Trippier has adopted that role a few times for the Three Lions and Gareth Southgate clearly trusts him. However, the Newcastle man didn’t have the best of seasons at St James’ Park and his threat from crosses is nullified compared to playing on the right of defence.

Moreover, there are also concerns over the 33-year-old’s fitness after it emerged he has been carrying a calf problem.

Joe Gomez is the only other potential left-back option in Southgate’s squad, having played there a decent amount for Liverpool in the Premier League.

Gomez is a reliable defensive option but lacks the attacking output required from elite full-backs in the modern game, which becomes even more of an issue in games where England are expected to dominate possession.

Southgate must decide whether the benefit of having Shaw back in the side outweighs the risk of further injury, which could rule him out for the rest of the tournament (assuming they progress to the knockout rounds).

The England boss has gained a reputation as a cautious manager and critics argue that his approach to games won’t get the most out of the attacking talent at his disposal.

However, Southgate made the bold calls to leave Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish out of his 26-man squad in Germany. Perhaps he will throw caution to the wind again in this instance.

One thing is for sure, England cannot afford a repeat of their lacklustre display against the Danes. If the plan was to go in front and sit back, regardless of how long was left in the contest, it clearly doesn’t work.

Hungary's Dominik Szoboszlai wears the shirt of the injured Barnabas Varga during celebrations of their side's victory against Scotland (Image: PA)

TV View – Marc Iles

You would have thought UEFA had learned their lesson with what happened to Christian Eriksen in June 2021 – but evidently not.

For the host broadcaster to even consider airing a replay of Barnabas Varga’s injury without knowing at the time what was happening behind the sight screens they had put up was heartless and irresponsible.

Thankfully, the Hungary striker will make a full recovery and his injury was not life-threatening but there is no way the match directors could have possibly known that as they played footage of his collision with Scotland keeper Angus Gunn on Sunday evening.

The BBC had to cut away to a wide angle of the stadium but not before one run of the incident had been played, presumably to try and settle the penalty debate that was also occurring at the time with the VAR officials.

Were we really that worried at that point about whether Hungary should have a spot kick?

It brought back bad memories for me, going back to White Hart Lane and the night Fabrice Muamba collapsed at Tottenham. I was doing co-commentary on BBC Radio Manchester at the game alongside my reporting for the paper, and I can sympathise with Steve Wilson and James McFadden, it is very difficult to talk about the trivialities of football when you can see something so serious has happened down there on the pitch.

A few years ago there was widespread condemnation of the pictures beamed around the world when Denmark playmaker Eriksen collapsed and I’d hoped broadcasters would have developed protocols for such eventualities – cut back to the studio, perhaps?

Whoever was directing UEFA’s match coverage seemed more anxious to settle the penalty debate than maintaining decency. And from a Scottish point of view, it wasn’t the only thing the officials got wrong on the night, either.