Wish Gareth Southgate well but he has got what he has got which is a group of players who are, by and large not good enough to compete consistently internationally. Hope is he can get players to work as a team for the shirt and each other. How long will it before the media who built him up get the hatchets out?
England second rate team,with a manager who has a poisoned chalice. We will never be a major force in the football world under the current premiership ways.
Only a few months ago the FA appointed Sam, I don't think Southgate was among the other candidates. Now Southgate is the only man interviewed. He's got no chance, our players aren't good enough and he's worse. Like other England under 21 managers, Peter Taylor, Stuart Pearce etc he's unemployable as a League manager. Still, a nice 4 year contract will ease his fiscal position.
I expected it to happen, I can't believe our football horizons are at ground zero, thanks to the FA, I, for the first time in my life have lost interest in the England football team, a really nice guy but what a dreadful choice to inspire England, stuff them.
Odds are hardly in his favour. Did a reasonable job with the under 21's but now has a poor squad of players compared to Venables & Bobby Robson who were considered successes. TV pundit in a couple of years alongside Hoddle it is then.
No problem with Southgate. Wont disgrace England unlike the recent fat ****er. Might do well although well for England's well now is winning one knock out game at a tournament.
I like the way he has arrived with a positive declaration, and an optimistic attitude. http://www.skysports.com/football/n...edges-to-build-a-team-england-can-be-proud-of Of course talk is cheap, but he seems to have an air of confidence which can rub off on the players. That is an element particular to the best managers, who all exude that outwards confidence. England do have the players. Lalana, Rooney, Stones, Walker, Kane, all would be fluent in European football if the fees and wages were on a level playing field with other countries. For me, the manager, fear of failure (or success), unrealistic expectations, the demand for instant results (even in friendlies), the friendlies, the demands of English football which require our best players to play 70 games per season, the lack of a mid-season break, all have been a contributory factor in the piss-poor performances of our national team. Its not enough to say they are inferior players. They are not. Its not enough to blame the greed that runs through the Premiership, because its OUR Premiership and has been given the boost of a number of top international foreigners to encourage a culture of ball-skill, ball-retention and higher quality where none previously existed. No its not perfect (show me something that is), but its a vehicle which more than ticks the boxes for producing a national team to compete with the best. It comes down to the manager, the attitude (Hoddle, who got something so spectacularly wrong in a role in which he got most things right, brought in a professional psychologist to try and change the dynamic of the squad, and this was brilliant and innovative at that time) and the fear factor, which trips us up every bloody time. Teach them how to play without fear and we will deserve (and win) a place at the Captain's table
Do you think this is because Bristol is so close to another rival country ? I am not sure this attitude would prevail in London or Manchester for instance
It's all about the raw materials he has to work with. There is a decent crop of young players - Harry Kane, Dele Ali, Raheem Sterling, Eric Dier, John Stones, Jack Butland, Marcus Rashford etc. BUT, it depends if they "train-on" For example - Ross Barkley - he looked like a potential world class player in the making, but his progress has stalled
When I was a member of the England travel club it was generally accepted that fans of clubs like Bristol City disproportionately supported the national team v fans of clubs like Manchester Utd. Citys support of the national side at internationals abroad dwarfed that of the London clubs for over a decade.
Everton generally are not the force they have been in recent seasons. Maybe this is a factor in the Ross Barkley rise and fall
Years ago, it seemed to me that England and playing for them, was the pinnacle.- I remember about 20 years ago, that a Premier League player, who remained nameless, stated that appearance money wasn't good and he therefore lacked desire to play- It shook and surprised me a bit at the time. There are a few today, and I would put Rooney in that category, that would probably play for free and for Pride-but probably not many If it is about money, then Internationals will fall a sad 2nd behind the likes of the Champions League-Not sure it is ever recoverable from here-I have heard an argument for scrapping Internationals which personally I dont think you can ever do but I do take the point on board. Quite sad really
Personally no. Kids (like my Grandson) are still interested in England which is good, but he's unlikely to see the team win anything, or even come close to it I'm afraid. I found myself feeling less and less inclined to care about England when the serious over-hype, the Wags, and all the other circus activity started in the late 90's early 2000's with SGE. It was a step too far where the presence of Hello magazine to capture what the Wags were wearing mattered more than us playing in a major tournament.
Yes, that's where my daughters started getting an interest in football. Especially if you could watch World Cup games in a pub too.Mind you, girls around here are more inclined to go to Exeter Chiefs on a Saturday now. Haven't a clue about the Rugby!
