So what's next for Sir Gareth Southgate?

Abraxas

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It's too late for replacing him to be effective now. The new manager would have no time on the training pitch. You'd basically be hoping for new manager bounce to win a tournament. But at international level that's not likely, the games are won tactically and in moments of quality and he'd have little chance to do anything in that regard. You're not going to hustle your way to a World Cup in Qatar just because the manager gets a buzz out of the players, - the team that wins it is going to play sensible football with cutting edge and we're miles away. We play tedious football with confusion over who is doing what.
 

Sir Erik ten Hag

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Southgate has got away with a lot on the basis that he's got England to a World Cup semi final and a Euros final.

The football has been uninspired for quite a long time and I don't have any faith he can turn that around. He got results when the draws were favourable but (Germany in the Euros aside) any time Southgate has faced a decent team, he has been shown up.

I imagine it'll be a pretty insipid World Cup. England will just about muster their way out of a very ordinary group and then the first good team they face in the knockouts will beat them fairly comfortably.

Hopefully then England can look to a more adventurous or at least more accomplished manager.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær for England would be an interesting choice.
 

Stactix

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The game management in that final was as bad as I've ever seen, very very similar issues in the Semi final against Croatia aswell.

  • 120'
    Substitution
    Substitution, England. Jadon Sancho replaces Kyle Walker.
  • 120'
    Substitution
    Substitution, England. Marcus Rashford replaces Jordan Henderson.

And Grealish came on at 99..

Could of been a very different game if the above subs came on with 20minutes to play before extra fecking time.
Utterly cowardly decision making.
 

Tarrou

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I think it just goes to show how International football has waned that he even got considered for the job

back in the day it was one of the highest paying gigs in football, and England could attract top talent

but Southgate took Boro down on a decent budget and was largely shite for the u21s too

its all Fat Sam's fault
 

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He's one of the most gutless and fearful managers we could possibly have for this group of players. There's no bravery or cutting edge. It's a shame how badly its all falling apart quite clearly now, when there's no chance of a change happening before the WC. Another wasted tournament approaches.
 

norm87cro

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After a good WC in 2018, a sucessful League of nations campaign and a brilliant Euro 2020 this is all the love he gets after one bad campaign in a tournament that is second par to the Euro and WC? The english really like to be miserable. I think its all down to the Hungary games TBH. And the players are not all that. England still lacks midfield presence otherwise Kane wouldnt go back 35 yards for the ball. Southgate took care of that problem with overlaping backs especially in 2018
 
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Offside

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Some of the crap being spouted in here is mental. Talking about him like it’s the equivalent of the Man United job, when really England are the Spurs of International football so he’s done an incredible job.

Bobby Robson was knighted and loved for getting England to the WC semi and going out in the Euro group stages. Southgate got England to a World Cup semi and nearly WON the Euros. He’s been way better than Robson. Completely transformed England’s performances at major tournaments.
 

red woppit

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After a good WC in 2018, a sucessful League of nations campaign after that and a brilliant Euro 2020 this is all the love he gets after one bad campaign in a tournament that is second par to the Euro and WC? The english really like to be miserable. I think its all down to the Hungary games TBH. And the players are not all that. England still lacks midfield presence otherwise Kane wouldnt go back 35 yards for the ball. Southgate took care of that problem with overlaping backs especially in 2018
I don't blame Southgate for sticking with a proven, fairly successful, system, but I believe that a top manager would have changed things around in the WC semi, and especially in the Euro final.
Another problem with Southgate is his reliance, especially recently, on his old established players. There a good, not necessarily world class, English players in the prem, some of whom are performing pretty well at the meeting moment, Toney being one of them, why he wasn't on the bench is a mystery to me.
Kane always looks to come deep for the ball, which allows an opponent's defence to push up and constrict the space in midfield. If we had another striker, then we would get more space on midfield as the defence wouldn't be able to push up.
 

the_cliff

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It's really not that clear cut. Of the teams you put in the tier above us, I'd only have the Netherlands and Spain as better. Belgium is debatable and despite recent history I don't have either Portugal or Croatia as better, assuming we get a competent coach in charge.
I mean currently, as in Southgate is still in charge as he will be for the world cup.

If we get a competent coach of course things can change

Portugal's team however are better than ours on paper but they also have a coaching problem.
 

giorno

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Unless Southgate is like the girl from Deadpool, I wouldn't continue employing him because he's lucky. Luck has a habif of running out, you know.
And changing manager 1 month before the world cup starts would be a better alternative? Shall we ask Spain about it?
the team that wins it is going to play sensible football with cutting edge and we're miles away. We play tedious football with confusion over who is doing what.
Just like the reigning world champions, yeah?
 

Posh Red

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England have a great group of players. But as of now Brazil and France are the best and favorites to win, and England are in the next tier with Spain, Germany, Argentina, Belgium, Holland, Portugal

Thats 9 teams and England are not distinguee from the pack. It's a crowded field and only one can win it.

My point is a 'golden generation' is a bit of an overdone term. How many current England footballers would get in the Brazil side that won in 2002, or Spain team that won in 2010?
I think you’ve just completely ignored my question to be fair.
 

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And changing manager 1 month before the world cup starts would be a better alternative? Shall we ask Spain about it?
Sunk cost effect. Better to correct your error lately than not at all
 

do.ob

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I'm not impressed by Southgate. Just pointing out that he's actually gotten the best results out of any england manager since Ramsey, and it's international football, you can't just sack him and hire Guardiola. Southgate so far has been successfull. His successor whoever they may be is highly unlikely to be a world class manager - because those guys vey rarely take national team jobs - so why are you people so ready to replace him with an unknown? Fact of the matter is england went closer to winning their first trophy in 50 years with Southgate. They've been competitive when it mattered. Bit more luck going their way and they'd be european champions by now. No reason why they shouldn't have that bit of luck in Qatar either
I reckon the England squad's strength is quite overrated (for a change) and Southgate suffers from being held to that imaginary standard.
 

giorno

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Sunk cost effect. Better to correct your error lately than not at all
Wtf. Why the feck should they do that??? Because of some shite results in the nations league under ridiculous circumstances? You do realize they finished 4th and 2nd in the two tournaments with Southgate, right? No matter how much peopld dislike him, they were actual contenders. It's gonna be different in Qatar because of the Nations League?
I reckon the England squad's strength is quite overrated (for a change) and Southgate suffers from being held to that imaginary standard.
Yep. England always seems to have this problem. As soon as they see good players for some reason they start thinking as if it were 1970 Brazil. Even as they acknowledge that's not the case at all

It's strange
 

Teja

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I reckon the England squad's strength is quite overrated (for a change) and Southgate suffers from being held to that imaginary standard.
Who specifically? Foden, Sterling were key parts of a title winning City side. Spurs are basically Harry Kane FC and he only needs to move to Bayern for the continent to start singing praises about him. Likewise with James, Walker - extremely important players for their clubs and they do well deep in the CL.

Dier has been fantastic since Conte took over Spurs.

Only ones you can really question are Saka, Maguire and Pope. Which national team doesn't have 3 average players really?

It is definitely a failure in coaching.
 

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Wtf. Why the feck should they do that??? Because of some shite results in the nations league under ridiculous circumstances? You do realize they finished 4th and 2nd in the two tournaments with Southgate, right? No matter how much peopld dislike him, they were actual contenders. It's gonna be different in Qatar because of the Nations League?
Yes, if you see it without context. With context, Southgate profited from very favourable draws and had a team with incredible individual quality play terrible football and the chances that they could achieve anything under him are close to zero. It's like saying "I went all in with a 7 and a 2 on my hand and hit the flush, I did everything right"


Yep. England always seems to have this problem. As soon as they see good players for some reason they start thinking as if it were 1970 Brazil. Even as they acknowledge that's not the case at all

It's strange
They used to be overrated, now they have an incredibly strong team. Seriously, they are packed in every position with brillant quality. So much that the team area in which Jude Bellingham plays is probably their weakest.

Their issue clearly sits on the coaching bench.
 

AlPistacho

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Edit: Next England manager will probably be Eddie Howie. Newcastle will soon want a bigger name.

The fact that Gareth Southgate was given a knighthood and viewed as a success is the reason why England are not a “winning” national team.

IMO, and I remember getting slaughtered when I said it to family, friends and online, far from being celebrated he should have been scrutinised for losing the SF to Croatia and the final to Italy. The SF he should have won, and then a defeat to a better France team would have been expected, with victory being an instance where a manager shows his genius. The match Vs Italy they were there for the taking. I really don’t know how the media didn’t view it as a tactical failure on one manager’s part to not win that.

In a country such as Germany, Italy, Spain, etc with those players the manager doesn’t come out of the Euros a hero.

Edit: @Varun my mistake he received an OBE, there was talk of a knighthood after the euros but don’t think it went through.
 
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Varun

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Edit: Next England manager will probably be Eddie Howie. Newcastle will soon want a bigger name.

The fact that Gareth Southgate was given a knighthood and viewed as a success is the reason why England are not a “winning” national team.

IMO, and I remember getting slaughtered when I said it to family, friends and online, far from being celebrated he should have been scrutinised for losing the SF to Croatia and the final to Italy. The SF he should have won, and then a defeat to a better France team would have been expected, with victory being an instance where a manager shows his genius. The match Vs Italy they were there for the taking. I really don’t know how the media didn’t view it as a tactical failure on one manager’s part to not win that.

In a country such as Germany, Italy, Spain, etc with those players the manager doesn’t come out of the Euros a hero.
I didn't realize he was actually knighted. Thought the thread title was a piss take :lol:
 

goalscholes

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His record against world top 10 teams is abysmal.

He only has two things going for him. He has created a positive squad atmosphere. And he is the luckiest manager we’ve ever had in terms of major tournament fixtures, so he rarely gets found out.

We never learn. We’re trusting hundreds of millions of pounds worth of talent, including major international youth tournament winners, with a manager who isn’t even Premiership level.
 

Teja

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Edit: Next England manager will probably be Eddie Howie. Newcastle will soon want a bigger name.

The fact that Gareth Southgate was given a knighthood and viewed as a success is the reason why England are not a “winning” national team.

IMO, and I remember getting slaughtered when I said it to family, friends and online, far from being celebrated he should have been scrutinised for losing the SF to Croatia and the final to Italy. The SF he should have won, and then a defeat to a better France team would have been expected, with victory being an instance where a manager shows his genius. The match Vs Italy they were there for the taking. I really don’t know how the media didn’t view it as a tactical failure on one manager’s part to not win that.

In a country such as Germany, Italy, Spain, etc with those players the manager doesn’t come out of the Euros a hero.
Agree 100%. People lauding him for his bravery were a joke. They got completely outplayed in the Euro finals and just the fact that it came down to penalties was sheer luck.

Likewise the world cup "semi final" was a joke. Won against Tunisia, Panama, Sweden and lost to the first decent sides (Belgium, Croatia) they had to face. Twice to Belgium in fact.

I'll draw some flak for this but this is what happens when people over-value results instead of performances. It's happening right now with EtH. Yes we're winning, but any objective measure shows we should be a midtable side. This level of overperformance will inevitably regress to the mean.

The sooner people stop looking at the results when evaluating a coach or a side, the better.
 

mu4c_20le

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His record against world top 10 teams is abysmal.

He only has two things going for him. He has created a positive squad atmosphere. And he is the luckiest manager we’ve ever had in terms of major tournament fixtures, so he rarely gets found out.

We never learn. We’re trusting hundreds of millions of pounds worth of talent, including major international youth tournament winners, with a manager who isn’t even Premiership level.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/England_national_football_team_results_(2020–present)

Undefeated last year to be fair. Notable wins over Croatia, Germany, and Hungary.
 

AlPistacho

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Agree 100%. People lauding him for his bravery were a joke. They got completely outplayed in the Euro finals and just the fact that it came down to penalties was sheer luck.

Likewise the world cup "semi final" was a joke. Won against Tunisia, Panama, Sweden and lost to the first decent sides (Belgium, Croatia) they had to face. Twice to Belgium in fact.

I'll draw some flak for this but this is what happens when people over-value results instead of performances. It's happening right now with EtH. Yes we're winning, but any objective measure shows we should be a midtable side. This level of overperformance will inevitably regress to the mean.

The sooner people stop looking at the results when evaluating a coach or a side, the better.
While I agree sometimes you have to look beyond just results, that applied specially to United under Solskjaer. I have to disagree with United under ETH over the past 4 matches.

With ETH so many things have improved, most notably the defending and , while not perfect, deep CM area protection of the defence. I also think ETH has been pragmatic to some extent and sacrificed some of his philosophy to account for DDG not being great at playing out, and our lack of a creative CDM player.

Not the finished article by any means. Will either progress further or regress to what we were last season. One area of concern, I think despite beating Arsenal, the way they broke past McTominay in last 60 minutes of the match was concerning and highlights why despite his great form in the prior matches he needs to make way for Casemiro.
 

do.ob

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Who specifically? Foden, Sterling were key parts of a title winning City side. Spurs are basically Harry Kane FC and he only needs to move to Bayern for the continent to start singing praises about him. Likewise with James, Walker - extremely important players for their clubs and they do well deep in the CL.

Dier has been fantastic since Conte took over Spurs.

Only ones you can really question are Saka, Maguire and Pope. Which national team doesn't have 3 average players really?

It is definitely a failure in coaching.
You're just proving my point.
 

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Haven't watched much of England - they bore me to tears - but it should be concerning getting dicked by a very poor Italy who just missed qualifying for the World Cup.

Southgate or no Southgate, England has no chance at the world cup, so might as well stick with Gareth and his gilets for another couple of months
 

little.triangles

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Which club in the premier league, if they were looking for a manager, would hire Southgate?

Is he better than Scott Parker who was sacked?
 

Dancfc

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Spain win the World Cup with a midfield of Xavi, Iniesta, Buquets. Brazil win it with a front three of Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo

But appaently Southgate 'should' be winning the World Cup with this 'golden generation'.

This England team is so far away from being a team that is expected to win the World Cup. No Non-Englishman expects this England team to win the World Cup. Infact, if England were to win it, it would be a massive surprise
If winning anything is going to be a tall to impossible order then all the more reason to make the games more fun.
 

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Haven't watched much of England - they bore me to tears - but it should be concerning getting dicked by a very poor Italy who just missed qualifying for the World Cup.

Southgate or no Southgate, England has no chance at the world cup, so might as well stick with Gareth and his gilets for another couple of months
We're shite, but to say we were "dicked" is utter nonsense. "dicked" is a thrashing, we lost 1-0. Both teams last night were so lacking in quality.
 

Abraxas

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And changing manager 1 month before the world cup starts would be a better alternative? Shall we ask Spain about it?

Just like the reigning world champions, yeah?
Not really sure what you're trying to get at. Like the reigning world champions, yeah. Awe inspiring, certainly not, effective in defence with quality up front..yes. That's what wins tournaments these days.

The problem for England is we are neither of those things at the moment. We are conceding goals, and we don't look like scoring them and that's Southgate's responsibility to ensure a basic level of performance.
 

giorno

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Yes, if you see it without context. With context, Southgate profited from very favourable draws and had a team with incredible individual quality play terrible football and the chances that they could achieve anything under him are close to zero. It's like saying "I went all in with a 7 and a 2 on my hand and hit the flush, I did everything right"
Oh you're a fortune teller then

Their issue clearly sits on the coaching bench.
"Their issue" being losing to a stacked Croatia side with Modric, Rakitic, Brozovic, Perisic and Mandzukic in extra time and Italy with Jorginho, Verratti, Insigne, Chiesa, Donnarumma on penalties

Some issues are those :lol:
 

giorno

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The problem for England is we are neither of those things at the moment. We are conceding goals, and we don't look like scoring them and that's Southgate's responsibility to ensure a basic level of performance.
Good thing the world cup is not happening at the moment, but a month from now
 

Castia

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Should have gone after the Euro final in my opinion.

He's done a decent job at England, nobody can take away his semi final and final appearances but it's clear that a step up in manager is needed to get us over the line and finally win a tournament.

His recent squad choices have been completely bizarre as well, over picking players in random positions and also claiming player x,y and z didn't make the squad because they aren't playing at club level but then proceeds to pick the likes of Shaw and Maguire who have barely played a game.
 

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Oh you're a fortune teller then


"Their issue" being losing to a stacked Croatia side with Modric, Rakitic, Brozovic, Perisic and Mandzukic in extra time and Italy with Jorginho, Verratti, Insigne, Chiesa, Donnarumma on penalties

Some issues are those :lol:
Looking at results is pointless if you don't consider how they came to be
 

m1tch

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Given I couldn't care less about the national team, I'll always be happy to see Southgate managing any other team than United. How he's avoided media scrutiny is bizarre given how they're usually relentless in getting rid of managers, good or bad.

He's best finding that paper bag again for after the upcoming world cup outcome and inevitable sacking.