...is now in the hands of Gareth Southgate. He's an intelligent man but he doesn't have the right credentials to take this calibre of job. Yet another missed opportunity by the FA. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23804230
It's all politics, they have only chosen him because he will go along with whatever the FA suggests, instead of arguing, like Stuart Pearce did I believe, that this countries younger players should be kept together as a unit for longer before they make the step up to the senior squad, e.g. like Spain and Germany have done!
i'm not sure whether the fa wanted a 'yes' man, but that's certainly what they've got. he was the easy option - someone they already knew. they needed to be more left field but they've failed, as usual.
Glenn Hoddle was the stand out candidate for me, I honestly cannot believe they've given it to Southgate, what an wasted opportunity.
Completely agree, there is nothing, that I can see, that Southgate offers to be honest other than they know him. He isn't a good manager at club level let alone to be charged with building the England players and teams of the future
yep, i think he or dario gradi if we made an english appointment. i'd have liked to have seen rene meulensteen involved in some capacity too
its disappointing really. when the fa FINALLY sacked stuart pearce i was excited by who they'd pick but when you find out that they interviewed the likes of michael appleton and paul ince for the gig, well, how can any of us be surprised that the national team struggles?!
yup, would have liked to see glenn hoddle back in the game. good thing though that gareth is reporting to ashworth rather than owl-face Woy. although, i don't think we are going to see any big change in the game for a few years with all the changes coming at grass-roots levels.
Supers, you should have titled your thread "England's short-term future"; the current under-17s, under-19s and under-21s are all the product of the out-dated coaching system which the FA has now replaced. We cannot expect to see the benefits of that change for several years yet. If Hoddle was appointed, he would be working with players unsuited to the type of football he would be wanting them to play. Southgate is a good appointment in that respect. His job is to get the best he can out of the players he has, not to try and make silk purses out of sows' ears.
i'm afraid i can't agree with that. the current crop of youngsters shouldn't be abandoned, which is effectively what the fa are doing by appointing southgate. we've actually got some talented, skilful players between the ages of 15 and 21 who have potential but yet again, the fa make a fudge of it by dodging the hard option. we needed a long term appointment in keeping with the 'supposed' long term project. that hasn't happened and i feel our youngsters have been let down yet again.
Hoddle would at least bring a lot more skill into the set up, he was a quality passer of the ball and could definitely improve the youngsters technical skills. Never brought into all the heart of a lion bollock ethos Pearce apparently brought into the team, it lacked finesse and technique.
Southgate is the under-21s coach. How many of our under-21s have had instant control of the ball and accurate one-touch passing inculcated into them? It would make more sense to have Hoddle take on the under-17s. But Hoddle burned his boats with the FA long since, so that's pie in the sky anyway.
he's been given a three year deal, covering ages 16 upwards, not just managing the under 21s! i don't much fancy him in charge of that age bracket. i can understand why the fa might not want hoddle for example but the bottom line is its a piss poor appointment and i can't see how you or anyone for that matter can justify it. you certainly haven't been able to!
All I'm saying is it is an appointment which IMO recognises the realities of our current situation. The damage has already been done, and the timescale for seeing any real improvement is longer than any period this new appointment encompasses. You obviously have a more positive opinion of what could be made of our current young players. But I see nothing that suggests anything but "more of the same".
i think to effectively dismiss the current crop of youngsters and indeed the one coming through beyond that is a little daft. i agree the 'real' progress, if there will be any at all, is some way off but we should still be trying to instil the right ethos throughout the whole setup and that's something which has been ignored completely with this appointment. it's the fact 'it's more of the same' that annoys me as it was a chance to go down a different route
it probably hasn't in the current setup and won't with this appointment but it should have big implications!
Stuart "psycho" Pearces transformation from formidable insane defender into Churchill "nodding dog" meek kitten was shocking. Gareth doesn't fill me with hope at all, what's he going to tell them if it goes to a penalty shoot out? The FA are pretty unoriginal in their appointments aren't they?
It was an excellent opportunity to break the (well established) mould and instill a new regime / philosophy, even if looking a few years ahead. That idea has gone "****" like a genie after you've had your 3 wishes and we're no further forward. At all. Thank god it wasn't Ince - because we might have started going backwards
. But the players picked are the products of their clubs coaching systems, not the f.a. . It is then up to the national coach to utilise their abilities to the best effect for the national age groups.
