https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/58506448 Can be read above, but the bulletpoints are: The former Arsenal boss has a number of ideas, including: A biennial World Cup in even years. Confederation tournaments (including the European Championship) in odd years. Either one (October) or two (October and March) mid-season international breaks, for a month in total, when qualifying for major tournaments will take place. Groups of four countries are envisaged, with a play-off, for a maximum of seven matches. Guaranteed rest periods for players once tournaments are over. According to Wenger, this would reduce by half the amount of travelling players have to undertake. What are the thoughts? I think changes to the game need to be made, the leagues are griping about it which personally, I think is a good thing.
World cup and euros to stay. Breaks are only good if they are breaks. But clubs will use them as commercial opportunities. Rather than **** about with the tournament’s they should start to level the playing field. Financial fair play is a farce. Fix that FFS! It’s akin to blood doping what’s happening atm.
I don't even enjoy International football anymore. I couldn't care less about England so I'm not fussed what they do. I watch the 2 big competitions, but the love I had like I did in 1990 and 96 just isn't there.. England play boring football and that doesn't help it for me
Think it devalues World Cup having it every 2 years. Agree that there are too many meaningless matches in both World Cuo and Euro qualifying - normally each European Group has two decent teams and then a bunch of also rans. Maybe have something like the Nations Cup with promotion and relegation and qualifying spots for tournaments decided from that. If they want to give a chance for more teams to participate at World Cup then run a minor competition every 4 years but offset by 2 from main one.
Not meaningless, for example, to the San Marino player who gets the chance to play against Ronaldo etc.
Aye, if he had the sort of squads we had in the past he wouldve getting the bullet by now. As much as I admit he has done well, I cant help feeling he is a hindrance. A top quality manager would get so much more out of the players at his disposal. He was not a successful club manager was he? He got the England job as a caretaker manager, he won a few games, got it permanently, then a golden generation of players appeared. Never have we had so much strength in depth and class young players not near their peak yet. Fair play Gareth, you've done well, but step aside after this World Cup and let a quality manager have a crack with these players, we might just win something. Attracting a world class manager has been difficult in the past, but looking out our squad, we might just attract one right now.
There is a lot more to this as I think off the field he has done a brilliant job of bringing together a team with a way of playing which makes us highly competitive. Obviously there are many people in this process and it has been ongoing for some years through all the levels but he has done a terrific job in this respect. The problem I have is he doesn't quite seem to have that decisive instinct in the big moments. We should have won that final and I think it was poor decision making from the dug out that cost us. Would could have been much smarter against Poland the other night also as another example.
Personally think Italy deserved it, but you raise an interesting point because Mancini won that FROM the dugout. What was really irritating was when Southgate said, post-final, "Italy moved to a false 9 and we didn't know what to do". Er, hello? As the manager, it's your ****ing job to work that out - maybe make a ****ing substitution or two, that's what they're for? And his approach to the penalties was embarrassingly poor, he just strikes me as terminally naïve when it comes to game management. Always has been, always will be. His ability to galvanise a squad, drive morale, do the media work, etc. is excellent. He's a very presentable face of English football. And that attitude he helps cultivates is what keeps getting us through matches. But as soon as it comes down to tactics - the thing people like Souness and Bruce don't think exists - he gets found out. We will not win a tournament with Southgate in charge. Back on topic, I presume Wenger is getting a ****ing big cheque from FIFA and has simply fallen in with the corruption he was so allegedly against? WC every two years? Haddaway and ****e man. We need LESS fixtures - how about doing away with home and away fixtures and just drawing lots. so you play half your qualifiers at home, half away. What we desperately do NOT need is more international fixtures. They're boring as **** 99% of the time as it is, you can't ram that down people's throats and expect it to then mean more; the opposite applies, the less matches the higher the prestige. The WC should be a smaller, not bigger, tournament. But it's like anything - money, money, money. All these countries desperately playing Capitalism Catch-Up, when will it stop? Seems like the world is now chasing pots of gold that don't even ****ing exist. Look at FIFA colluding with Brazil/Argentina recently - they're so worried a sponsor might say "where was Buendia? we're not paying full whack" that they'd happily **** on all the rules. I don't even know what football is anymore. It's a ****ing tragic waste of effort, in my mind. Top to bottom.
Hes also naive at the dark arts that every other nation applies. England are bit too nice and soft, other teams have a bit nastiness/naughtiness about them
Look you only need to see where the next World Cup is to see where the real issues lie. Who in the right mind agrees to a WC in Qatar. Who actually agreed this. What motivates it. As you say. Money money money. The sooner we all accept that all football is driven by greedy corporations and individuals the sooner we can move on and **** football off.
It’s this, cautious boring pragmatic football. It’s engrained in Southgates dna and yes he’s good to look at from the outside but. He’s just a bit to ****ing nice for me. He’s handing out debuts like sweeties. He’s trying to be a tactical clever dick against the big teams. Look at the end of that Poland game. Some players couldn’t run towards the end. Yet he made no subs. Your in the 89th minutes what do most decent clever managers do. Break the play up. Sub at 90m, one at 92, another if possible. Not SG. He left the football as it was when it was clear the momentum of the game. And at no point during the last 5 minutes even when the England players where getting harassed and hit they didn’t go down and do tactical I’m dying play acting. I don’t like it don’t get me wrong but teams like Italy do it from the minute they go ahead in a match. And don’t get me started on penalty substitutions for the sake of a penalty shoot out. Talk about throwing young players under a bus. And guess what. SG is a yes man.
