GS did a sterling job and got back pride of the Nation. He's made his decision and quickly. Neither Potter or Howe inspire me, nor Carsley come to that. I've said it before and will say it again, the FA need to break the bank and go for Klopp or Pep. I'm not stuck up on 'he must be British" Why? No British manager has been successful in the PL for years. However I fear it'll be one of Potter or Howe.
Potter and Howe are good managers, much more tactically adept than Southgate. What's to fear?
Potter did well at Brighton but not at Chelsea. Too many big names at Stamford Bridge may be? Howe is a safe pair of hands, but doesn't set the game on fire in my opinion. We have a great squad of talented players, we need a manager who can get the best out of them playing attacking football. Neither of the above are, for me, that person.
There does seem to be that perception on here about Howe. Newcastle fans absolutely adore him for the brand of attacking football he has brought them and most say that it is the best since Keegan was in charge. This is reflected in some of their wins in the last two seasons:
Fulham (4-1), Brentford (5-1), Villa (4-0), Southampton (4-1), Leicester (3-0), West Ham (5-1), Spurs (6-1), Brighton (4-1), Villa (5-1), Sheffield United (8-0), PSG (4-1), Palace (4-0), Man Utd (3-0), Chelsea (4-1), Fulham (3-0), Spurs (4-0), Sheffield United (5-1), Brentford (4-2), Burnley (4-1), Wolves (3-0) and West Ham (4-3).
First season he was at Newcastle they were heading for relegation and hadn't won a single of their first 12 matches when he took over - they finished 11th and won 12 of their final 18 games. The following season they qualified for the Champions League in 4th and last season ended up in 7th after a horrific list of injuries. For a fair chunk of the season they were without 10 plus players and (not including those that missed a game here and there) the likes of Tonali (banned and missed 30 PL matches), Pope (missed 23), Botman (missed21), Barnes (missed 21), Anderson (missed 17), Isak (missed 8), Wilson (missed 18), Murphy (missed 17), Trippier (missed 10) and Joelinton (missed 18). The ones in bold would almost certainly be in their best starting XI but the likes of Barnes, Murphy and Wilson are viable starting players /potential game changing subs.
He should have had the job before Southgate. I’m not sure what else he is supposed to have achieved with that group of players.
Except of course he had not done any of those things at Newcastle at the time. Southgate was appointed in 2016, Howe didn't join Newcastle until 2021.
He's still probably the best candidate if it has to be English but saying he should have had it before Southgate is pure hindsight bias.
Why would Klopp, Pep, Howe see the abuse Gareth Southgate has had to endure despite his team getting to two major tournament finals and think “yep, that’s the job for me… lower salary too, bonus!”.
You’re basically deemed a failure and holding the team back if you don’t win the World Cup in 2026 - the expectations of the public are wildly out of touch with reality.
Over the last decade we have seen a steady improvement in the technical quality of English footballers. We used to churn out world class centre backs because we had muddy pitches that favoured the big lads who could head it and hoof it away. As the likes of Trevor Brooking and Gareth Southgate helped to improve the academies across the country, genuine talent has emerged. That's not changing - we are still seeing excellent young prospects come through, and that side has a LOT of potential - not to mention players who won the U21s Euro final last year (beating Spain of all teams).
I've seen a few comments in this thread stating that we have to start again or that we won't come close to winning anything for a decade. I don't understand that. As much good as Southgate has done to get us where we are today, I think he's just started a process. His tactical limitations held us back, and I wish he'd left after the last tournament. Still, he's done a great deal of good and I think we should be really optimistic about the World Cup.
Southgate was clearly part of the process, but most of the credit must surely be given to the clubs, and indeed the influx of top foreign coaches that have changed the way the game is played.
Can you imagine the likes of Foden and Palmer coming through at City with Big Sam as their manager for example, and without the incredible UAE financed training facilities there.
Why would Klopp, Pep, Howe see the abuse Gareth Southgate has had to endure despite his team getting to two major tournament finals and think “yep, that’s the job for me… lower salary too, bonus!”.
You’re basically deemed a failure and holding the team back if you don’t win the World Cup in 2026 - the expectations of the public are wildly out of touch with reality.
I don’t agree. The expectations aren’t to necessarily win the World Cup, but the expectations are for the team to perform at a level that the players we have are capable of. The team giving it their all with an attacking intent. That just wasn’t how Southgate approached it. That has been the frustration with the fans. We do have the players to be able to win the World Cup.
One thing that has to be added to the equation is who do the players want. Whether we agree with Southgate's tactics or not (and I'm very much in the category of wishing he'd played more on the front foot) one can't get away from the fact that he brought the players together as a unit. They won't want someone who will divide the dressing room with perceived favourites or one that isn't open with his decision making. That rather rules out a Mourinho type Manager who has a history of doing great things for a couple of years or so then quelling a rebellion.
Made Tottenham really challenge Leicester for the title
Did wonders with Southampton
I cannot, cannot express this enough. We cannot have an Argentinian as head coach
I'm sure it will be Graham Potter, can't hold the Chelsea job against him and if he was still at Brighton he would be a heavier favourite than he already is. Lee Carsley would be the sensible choice for continuity as a handful of his U21s have already made it to the senior squad and shall continue to, I believe this really helped Gareth Southgate get the buy in he did when he was bringing those players into the senior side.
Things don't need ripping up, I think whilst the draw favoured us this tournament a few things didn't go our way. No Maguire, a clearly unfit Kane, no left back for most of it, not using Adam Wharton from the first game, Bellingham not having the impact he usually does and also not looking fully fit, also taking Bowen and Gordon then not using them when a couple of the games were screaming for runners. Same for Toney and Watkins.
However, most of the squad can come again certainly in 2 years time and at least a third will be there for 2028 at home.
Bit sorry to see him go, nice bloke but the right decision.
Think the FA and England Managers/Coaches are like the British Psyche, defensive, negative and play it safe/cautious. Equally this squad have been built up so much but perhaps they’re not as good as we think.
We need to change the mentality of English football, I don’t hold my breath it will happen.
Are you talking about San Marino ?
We have reached two Euro finals and WC semi final we don't need to throw the baby out with the bath water or a new broom; other cliché are available but the flair players/ fittest players still standing by the semi final and final need to be the 16 players used.
We have the template and many excellent players.
We don't need major surgery just a belief in young talents like Palmer and Gordon to be involved earlier; or in Gordon's case nearly totally ignored despite an immediate impact in his 89th minute cameo in an earlier match.
And we've won nothing.
I wasn't referring to players, I was referring to English footballs mentality, which is second best at the most and has been for decades.
England were for the most part awful throughout the tournament and Southgate wasn't willing to shake it up, being too loyal to players like Kane, when he clearly wasn't at the races.
We need a manager and an FA that allows the England team to approach their style in the mould of Spain, not in sideways, backwards passing, we've been playing like that for years.
We equally need a manager who won't always play it safe. This isn't a knock on Southgate, he's done well and seems a decent bloke but nice blokes rarely win anything.
One thing that has to be added to the equation is who do the players want. Whether we agree with Southgate's tactics or not (and I'm very much in the category of wishing he'd played more on the front foot) one can't get away from the fact that he brought the players together as a unit. They won't want someone who will divide the dressing room with perceived favourites or one that isn't open with his decision making. That rather rules out a Mourinho type Manager who has a history of doing great things for a couple of years or so then quelling a rebellion.
They should only get a say if they’re happy to take some responsibility if it doesn’t work out
ex players cane Capello yet never committed 100% to him and used to rebel against him to the extent of having McDonald’s parties in the rooms (that’s just an example of players not taking responsibility because they didn’t want to do what the manager wanted, so if they get consulted it has to be on them, to an extent)
He's done well but time to go and let someone else see what they can do
After not reaching a final for 55 years, certainly can't knock him for reaching 2. It's not easy to reach a final which i think many people forget. A lot of people still fondly remember Italia 90 and Euro 96 where we only reached the semi's!
However there will always be the regret of the Italy final. Spain were simply better than us, but Italy we absolutely should've won and it's hard to think we'll be getting a better chance anytime soon.
Over the last decade we have seen a steady improvement in the technical quality of English footballers. We used to churn out world class centre backs because we had muddy pitches that favoured the big lads who could head it and hoof it away. As the likes of Trevor Brooking and Gareth Southgate helped to improve the academies across the country, genuine talent has emerged. That's not changing - we are still seeing excellent young prospects come through, and that side has a LOT of potential - not to mention players who won the U21s Euro final last year (beating Spain of all teams).
I've seen a few comments in this thread stating that we have to start again or that we won't come close to winning anything for a decade. I don't understand that. As much good as Southgate has done to get us where we are today, I think he's just started a process. His tactical limitations held us back, and I wish he'd left after the last tournament. Still, he's done a great deal of good and I think we should be really optimistic about the World Cup.
Southgate was clearly part of the process, but most of the credit must surely be given to the clubs, and indeed the influx of top foreign coaches that have changed the way the game is played.
Can you imagine the likes of Foden and Palmer coming through at City with Big Sam as their manager for example, and without the incredible UAE financed training facilities there.
Ah yes, "The Best League in the World" being rolled out again.
Did you notice the composition of the Spanish team, where those players are from? Of the starting eleven, only one each from Real Madrid and Barcelona, and two from the Best League in the World. Three though from the two leading Basque clubs. The Basque influence even more pronounced on the subs bench, including our nemesis Zubimendi.
You'll forgive me therefore if I decline to join you in giving most of the credit to 'the clubs'. All that has happened is that England has hauled itself up to the level of most of the big European countries. And as for the UAE money, I look forward to hearing how Al Citeh answer the 116 charges of financial misconduct pending.
Yes you can only beat who's in front of you, but we were very lucky with the way the draw worked out in the knockout stages, which has made a real difference to how the performances of England and Germany look on paper.
Germany were very unlucky, as group winners, to play Spain in the QF. If the knockout fixtures had been the other way round, there's a good chance Germany would have beaten Switzerland and Netherlands to reach the final, and with the wave of home national euphoria given Spain a real game, whereas it's likely we would have been knocked out by Spain in the QF, giving two consecutive QF exits in major tournaments, which is our usual exit stage.
Definitely the right thing to do. He inherited a shambles, and despite what people say, his record was good. He has built something but has gone as far as he could. Time for somebody else to try and get us over the line.
But please, not Graham Potter.
Why would you be against Potter? I don’t know enough about him to form an opinion.
Obviously he failed at Chelsea and the rumours were that he struggled to manage the big personalities. Although apparently Southgate wasn’t great with that either.
GS did a sterling job and got back pride of the Nation. He's made his decision and quickly. Neither Potter or Howe inspire me, nor Carsley come to that. I've said it before and will say it again, the FA need to break the bank and go for Klopp or Pep. I'm not stuck up on 'he must be British" Why? No British manager has been successful in the PL for years. However I fear it'll be one of Potter or Howe.
Would you honestly want a German leading the country to a World Cup win? I would rather us not win anything the rest of my life if it means a German Coach/Manager leads us to a World Cup win.
Why would Klopp, Pep, Howe see the abuse Gareth Southgate has had to endure despite his team getting to two major tournament finals and think “yep, that’s the job for me… lower salary too, bonus!”.
You’re basically deemed a failure and holding the team back if you don’t win the World Cup in 2026 - the expectations of the public are wildly out of touch with reality.
I don’t agree. The expectations aren’t to necessarily win the World Cup, but the expectations are for the team to perform at a level that the players we have are capable of. The team giving it their all with an attacking intent. That just wasn’t how Southgate approached it. That has been the frustration with the fans. We do have the players to be able to win the World Cup.
If we played nice football in the next five tournaments under one of those managers but got continually knocked out in the round of 16 with one semi final (a la Spain during the last 12 years: group stage, 16, 16, SF, 16…), it would be deemed a massive failure.
Did wonders on the team spirit/organisational side, and leaves us with much better memories around England than we've had for years, deserves massive praise for that.
Do think he was pretty limited tactically, too defensive, and has also got to the point any long serving manager can of favouring players/not wanting to drop them (a half fit Kane, for example).
Definitely time for change and we have to hope it'll keep the progress from the former, whilst improving the latter. Time will tell.
When Southgate came in the whole setup was a mess and needed a root and branch renewal. Whoever takes over here just needs to make some tweaks and has some excellent foundations to build on. Southgate deserves huge credit for that. It's a shame he couldn't finish the story on a high on Sunday, I think he deserved it and it would have been an amazing story of redemption for the romantics out there.
My worry is, can we trust the FA not to screw this up and undo all the good work Southgate has done? And I think as fans we have to be careful of heaping undue pressure on the team and manager - being a bit more attacking might open up some possibilities for us, but far from certain that it wins us a tournament. Winning tournaments is bloody hard and there are never any guarantee. For that reason Southgate should not be viewed as a failure just because he didn't manage to win something.
He came in at the right time and made a big difference I think with the talent coming through now, the job has grown out of his skillset. What he does, which is perfecty valid, is to look at opponents and work out how to stop them. What Spain do is say, stop us doing what we want to do we will impose our game on you. The big question is do we have the players through the team to do the same. I would say yes but we need a top manager like Klopp to take us up a level. I have been critical of Southgate, but you can fail playing adventurous football too and his record is a very good one so I thank him and wish him well.
What his style does is always qualifies you and gets you into the latter rounds, and whilst there are no gurantees, attacking football can better get you through those later rounds but Germany IMO played a better game than Spain when they met them and Spain beat them and knocked them out so like I said, no guarantees. Germany had more chance of beating Spain than we did though but when you are playing top teams there are no certainties.
Just not having the "If you can't win, make sure you don't lose" stuff against Scotland, Slovakia etc and trying to make sure you do win would be nice.
And not immediately withdrawing 20 yards when you score.
Southgate had us playing like a non league side in the 3rd round of the FA Cup at times against teams we really should be beating.
What's interesting is the 48 team World Cups/32 team Euros leave a bit of room for error in the group and more chance of an easier game in the Last 16, so there's more to lose n early game and not worry, grow into the tournament etc which you can do with positive football.
Did wonders on the team spirit/organisational side, and leaves us with much better memories around England than we've had for years, deserves massive praise for that.
Do think he was pretty limited tactically, too defensive, and has also got to the point any long serving manager can of favouring players/not wanting to drop them (a half fit Kane, for example).
Definitely time for change and we have to hope it'll keep the progress from the former, whilst improving the latter. Time will tell.
When Southgate came in the whole setup was a mess and needed a root and branch renewal. Whoever takes over here just needs to make some tweaks and has some excellent foundations to build on. Southgate deserves huge credit for that. It's a shame he couldn't finish the story on a high on Sunday, I think he deserved it and it would have been an amazing story of redemption for the romantics out there.
My worry is, can we trust the FA not to screw this up and undo all the good work Southgate has done? And I think as fans we have to be careful of heaping undue pressure on the team and manager - being a bit more attacking might open up some possibilities for us, but far from certain that it wins us a tournament. Winning tournaments is bloody hard and there are never any guarantee. For that reason Southgate should not be viewed as a failure just because he didn't manage to win something.
The only other manager of England Men to reach a tournament final was Alf Ramsey.
Southgate did not fail and to some extent is a victim of his own success in reaching finals and semi finals.
Why would Klopp, Pep, Howe see the abuse Gareth Southgate has had to endure despite his team getting to two major tournament finals and think “yep, that’s the job for me… lower salary too, bonus!”.
You’re basically deemed a failure and holding the team back if you don’t win the World Cup in 2026 - the expectations of the public are wildly out of touch with reality.
I don’t agree. The expectations aren’t to necessarily win the World Cup, but the expectations are for the team to perform at a level that the players we have are capable of. The team giving it their all with an attacking intent. That just wasn’t how Southgate approached it. That has been the frustration with the fans. We do have the players to be able to win the World Cup.
If we played nice football in the next five tournaments under one of those managers but got continually knocked out in the round of 16 with one semi final (a la Spain during the last 12 years: group stage, 16, 16, SF, 16…), it would be deemed a massive failure.
it depends who you lose to losing to spain or france as we did was no shame even if there were moments we may have had a chance losing to croatia and italy not so good
if we get lucky runs again then we can go all the way but we have to break this lifetime hooodoo of never punching up and beating a team when we're under dogs of course losing to teams we shouldn't has to happen as well
Why would Klopp, Pep, Howe see the abuse Gareth Southgate has had to endure despite his team getting to two major tournament finals and think “yep, that’s the job for me… lower salary too, bonus!”.
You’re basically deemed a failure and holding the team back if you don’t win the World Cup in 2026 - the expectations of the public are wildly out of touch with reality.
I don’t agree. The expectations aren’t to necessarily win the World Cup, but the expectations are for the team to perform at a level that the players we have are capable of. The team giving it their all with an attacking intent. That just wasn’t how Southgate approached it. That has been the frustration with the fans. We do have the players to be able to win the World Cup.
If we played nice football in the next five tournaments under one of those managers but got continually knocked out in the round of 16 with one semi final (a la Spain during the last 12 years: group stage, 16, 16, SF, 16…), it would be deemed a massive failure.
Yes ofcourse it would be deemed that but the whole point is that not many people believe that will be the case with the right manager playing to the strengths of the players he has at his disposal. I personally think GS did a great job steadying the ship with the debarcle that he took over but at no stage had the nous to win anything. Yes he got to latter stages ( and the luck of easy pathways with draws going our way) but as alot of people said at the time lost as soon as he came up against a decent team. His decision making has been ridiculous at times (mainly down to him being loyal to players which can be argued is either a good quality or stupid) The whole Country could see that Harry Kane for whatever reason wasnt working this competition but he persisted with him even though it was basically playing with 10 men. This wasnt a one off his whole management period has examples of him trying to stick to plans that dont work when the chips are down.
I believe that we really do have a golden generation of players now and hopefully the FA will appoint someone who will play to their strengths if they do then we will have a great chance in the WC, if they go safe and stay the same style yes we will do ok but again fall short when meeting a decent team playing brave tactics
Don't care what the nationality of the manager is as long as we play attacking, attractive football.
Klopp, just to boil the piss of the 'we're Scouse not English'. Followed by Poch.
Wouldn't touch Potter or Howe with a bargepole.
How bizarre !
Eddie Howe achieved in every division getting promoted from League 2 until he reached the Premier. Managed to get the great underachievers Newcastle into the Champions league and this season overcome having eleven 1st teamers injured yet they still played attractive football. After 17 years he has the experience but the FA probably won't want to pay out the contract to get him.
Chelsea made Graham Potter rich assuming he has received the millions in compensation as he was in no rush to take the Leicester Job and other jobs he has been offered. Potter is as bright as a button and will continue to be a possession based manager, great against the top teams but hopefully a tad more direct against the lesser teams as you score one goal if there are 3 passes to score or 23 touches on the way to the net.
I predict it will be an Ex Chelsea Manager, so at least 3 contenders ?
Why would Klopp, Pep, Howe see the abuse Gareth Southgate has had to endure despite his team getting to two major tournament finals and think “yep, that’s the job for me… lower salary too, bonus!”.
You’re basically deemed a failure and holding the team back if you don’t win the World Cup in 2026 - the expectations of the public are wildly out of touch with reality.
I don’t agree. The expectations aren’t to necessarily win the World Cup, but the expectations are for the team to perform at a level that the players we have are capable of. The team giving it their all with an attacking intent. That just wasn’t how Southgate approached it. That has been the frustration with the fans. We do have the players to be able to win the World Cup.
If we played nice football in the next five tournaments under one of those managers but got continually knocked out in the round of 16 with one semi final (a la Spain during the last 12 years: group stage, 16, 16, SF, 16…), it would be deemed a massive failure.
it depends who you lose to losing to spain or france as we did was no shame even if there were moments we may have had a chance losing to croatia and italy not so good
if we get lucky runs again then we can go all the way but we have to break this lifetime hooodoo of never punching up and beating a team when we're under dogs of course losing to teams we shouldn't has to happen as well
Why would Klopp, Pep, Howe see the abuse Gareth Southgate has had to endure despite his team getting to two major tournament finals and think “yep, that’s the job for me… lower salary too, bonus!”.
You’re basically deemed a failure and holding the team back if you don’t win the World Cup in 2026 - the expectations of the public are wildly out of touch with reality.
I don’t agree. The expectations aren’t to necessarily win the World Cup, but the expectations are for the team to perform at a level that the players we have are capable of. The team giving it their all with an attacking intent. That just wasn’t how Southgate approached it. That has been the frustration with the fans. We do have the players to be able to win the World Cup.
If we played nice football in the next five tournaments under one of those managers but got continually knocked out in the round of 16 with one semi final (a la Spain during the last 12 years: group stage, 16, 16, SF, 16…), it would be deemed a massive failure.
Yes ofcourse it would be deemed that but the whole point is that not many people believe that will be the case with the right manager playing to the strengths of the players he has at his disposal. I personally think GS did a great job steadying the ship with the debarcle that he took over but at no stage had the nous to win anything. Yes he got to latter stages ( and the luck of easy pathways with draws going our way) but as alot of people said at the time lost as soon as he came up against a decent team. His decision making has been ridiculous at times (mainly down to him being loyal to players which can be argued is either a good quality or stupid) The whole Country could see that Harry Kane for whatever reason wasnt working this competition but he persisted with him even though it was basically playing with 10 men. This wasnt a one off his whole management period has examples of him trying to stick to plans that dont work when the chips are down.
I believe that we really do have a golden generation of players now and hopefully the FA will appoint someone who will play to their strengths if they do then we will have a great chance in the WC, if they go safe and stay the same style yes we will do ok but again fall short when meeting a decent team playing brave tactics
We will see I suppose, and I hope you’re both right, but things are never usually so simple.
GS did a sterling job and got back pride of the Nation. He's made his decision and quickly. Neither Potter or Howe inspire me, nor Carsley come to that. I've said it before and will say it again, the FA need to break the bank and go for Klopp or Pep. I'm not stuck up on 'he must be British" Why? No British manager has been successful in the PL for years. However I fear it'll be one of Potter or Howe.
Would you honestly want a German leading the country to a World Cup win? I would rather us not win anything the rest of my life if it means a German Coach/Manager leads us to a World Cup win.
Yup without a doubt. I don't get the, but he's German, comments, so bloody what!! I want the England team to be succesful, I want one of the top managers in the world to take it on, no matter what their nationality. The England team are crying out for success, if there was a genuine world class English manager I'd snap your hand off for him.....but sadly there isn't. I'm no Royalist, but their background is German, don't see anyone complaining about that. Football is about the team on the pitch, who picks the team and tactics will live or fall by their decisions. We've got a great set of English players, if the 'ringmaster' is German or Spanish or whatever doesn't matter, surely?
The golden generation stuff I'm not so sure is valid. We actually have a fair amount of depth which is a very recent luxury if you compare this squad to the 2018 one.
The generational players are Kane, Stones, Walker, Saka and possibly Rice & Bellingham. The rest I think can be interchanged without enormous disruption. Being able to leave players like Rashford, Sterling, Grealish, Ward-Prowse out gives an idea of the depth we have and more players, more technically gifted players on the horizon. In terms of players, Kane is going to be bloody hard to replace even though I think he will be capable of playing deep into his 30s and his re-shaping of what a modern 9 does, his passing ability and general game intelligence means he doesn't rely on pace or Aguero-like pressing assuming we play with speed around him.
Comments
He's still probably the best candidate if it has to be English but saying he should have had it before Southgate is pure hindsight bias.
You’re basically deemed a failure and holding the team back if you don’t win the World Cup in 2026 - the expectations of the public are wildly out of touch with reality.
Can you imagine the likes of Foden and Palmer coming through at City with Big Sam as their manager for example, and without the incredible UAE financed training facilities there.
Did wonders with Southampton
I cannot, cannot express this enough. We cannot have an Argentinian as head coach
I'm sure it will be Graham Potter, can't hold the Chelsea job against him and if he was still at Brighton he would be a heavier favourite than he already is. Lee Carsley would be the sensible choice for continuity as a handful of his U21s have already made it to the senior squad and shall continue to, I believe this really helped Gareth Southgate get the buy in he did when he was bringing those players into the senior side.
Things don't need ripping up, I think whilst the draw favoured us this tournament a few things didn't go our way. No Maguire, a clearly unfit Kane, no left back for most of it, not using Adam Wharton from the first game, Bellingham not having the impact he usually does and also not looking fully fit, also taking Bowen and Gordon then not using them when a couple of the games were screaming for runners. Same for Toney and Watkins.
However, most of the squad can come again certainly in 2 years time and at least a third will be there for 2028 at home.
I wasn't referring to players, I was referring to English footballs mentality, which is second best at the most and has been for decades.
England were for the most part awful throughout the tournament and Southgate wasn't willing to shake it up, being too loyal to players like Kane, when he clearly wasn't at the races.
We need a manager and an FA that allows the England team to approach their style in the mould of Spain, not in sideways, backwards passing, we've been playing like that for years.
We equally need a manager who won't always play it safe. This isn't a knock on Southgate, he's done well and seems a decent bloke but nice blokes rarely win anything.
ex players cane Capello yet never committed 100% to him and used to rebel against him to the extent of having McDonald’s parties in the rooms (that’s just an example of players not taking responsibility because they didn’t want to do what the manager wanted, so if they get consulted it has to be on them, to an extent)
After not reaching a final for 55 years, certainly can't knock him for reaching 2. It's not easy to reach a final which i think many people forget. A lot of people still fondly remember Italia 90 and Euro 96 where we only reached the semi's!
However there will always be the regret of the Italy final. Spain were simply better than us, but Italy we absolutely should've won and it's hard to think we'll be getting a better chance anytime soon.
You put in place steps that has put England back on the road to success.
The way you conducted yourself even during criticism was professional and with dignity.
You will be remembered for me as the person that got England back on track and restored pride despite the two final losses.
Thank you for stepping down so quickly and putting your country first and giving someone else a chance to progress with this generation of players.
Did you notice the composition of the Spanish team, where those players are from? Of the starting eleven, only one each from Real Madrid and Barcelona, and two from the Best League in the World. Three though from the two leading Basque clubs. The Basque influence even more pronounced on the subs bench, including our nemesis Zubimendi.
You'll forgive me therefore if I decline to join you in giving most of the credit to 'the clubs'. All that has happened is that England has hauled itself up to the level of most of the big European countries. And as for the UAE money, I look forward to hearing how Al Citeh answer the 116 charges of financial misconduct pending.
Germany were very unlucky, as group winners, to play Spain in the QF. If the knockout fixtures had been the other way round, there's a good chance Germany would have beaten Switzerland and Netherlands to reach the final, and with the wave of home national euphoria given Spain a real game, whereas it's likely we would have been knocked out by Spain in the QF, giving two consecutive QF exits in major tournaments, which is our usual exit stage.
Klopp, just to boil the piss of the 'we're Scouse not English'.
Followed by Poch.
Wouldn't touch Potter or Howe with a bargepole.
My worry is, can we trust the FA not to screw this up and undo all the good work Southgate has done? And I think as fans we have to be careful of heaping undue pressure on the team and manager - being a bit more attacking might open up some possibilities for us, but far from certain that it wins us a tournament. Winning tournaments is bloody hard and there are never any guarantee. For that reason Southgate should not be viewed as a failure just because he didn't manage to win something.
What his style does is always qualifies you and gets you into the latter rounds, and whilst there are no gurantees, attacking football can better get you through those later rounds but Germany IMO played a better game than Spain when they met them and Spain beat them and knocked them out so like I said, no guarantees. Germany had more chance of beating Spain than we did though but when you are playing top teams there are no certainties.
Just not having the "If you can't win, make sure you don't lose" stuff against Scotland, Slovakia etc and trying to make sure you do win would be nice.
And not immediately withdrawing 20 yards when you score.
Southgate had us playing like a non league side in the 3rd round of the FA Cup at times against teams we really should be beating.
What's interesting is the 48 team World Cups/32 team Euros leave a bit of room for error in the group and more chance of an easier game in the Last 16, so there's more to lose n early game and not worry, grow into the tournament etc which you can do with positive football.
Southgate did not fail and to some extent is a victim of his own success in reaching finals and semi finals.
losing to spain or france as we did was no shame even if there were moments we may have had a chance
losing to croatia and italy not so good
if we get lucky runs again then we can go all the way but we have to break this lifetime hooodoo of never punching up and beating a team when we're under dogs
of course losing to teams we shouldn't has to happen as well
I believe that we really do have a golden generation of players now and hopefully the FA will appoint someone who will play to their strengths if they do then we will have a great chance in the WC, if they go safe and stay the same style yes we will do ok but again fall short when meeting a decent team playing brave tactics
How bizarre !
Eddie Howe achieved in every division getting promoted from League 2 until he reached the Premier.
Managed to get the great underachievers Newcastle into the Champions league and this season overcome having eleven 1st teamers injured yet they still played attractive football.
After 17 years he has the experience but the FA probably won't want to pay out the contract to get him.
Chelsea made Graham Potter rich assuming he has received the millions in compensation as he was in no rush to take the Leicester Job and other jobs he has been offered.
Potter is as bright as a button and will continue to be a possession based manager, great against the top teams but hopefully a tad more direct against the lesser teams as you score one goal if there are 3 passes to score or 23 touches on the way to the net.
I predict it will be an Ex Chelsea Manager, so at least 3 contenders ?
I'm no Royalist, but their background is German, don't see anyone complaining about that.
Football is about the team on the pitch, who picks the team and tactics will live or fall by their decisions.
We've got a great set of English players, if the 'ringmaster' is German or Spanish or whatever doesn't matter, surely?
The generational players are Kane, Stones, Walker, Saka and possibly Rice & Bellingham. The rest I think can be interchanged without enormous disruption. Being able to leave players like Rashford, Sterling, Grealish, Ward-Prowse out gives an idea of the depth we have and more players, more technically gifted players on the horizon. In terms of players, Kane is going to be bloody hard to replace even though I think he will be capable of playing deep into his 30s and his re-shaping of what a modern 9 does, his passing ability and general game intelligence means he doesn't rely on pace or Aguero-like pressing assuming we play with speed around him.