by WestYorksRoyal »
15 Jun 2022 13:54
Thinking about the dire past fortnight, I think people are overreacting a bit but equally we could be approaching the end of the Southgate era.
- Firstly, the fatigue excuse is legitimate. The PL is one of the most intense in Europe, but equally importantly a lot of our players play for clubs who get deep into continental competition. Add to that that our players had a shorter break last year due to the Euros final, and not all leagues created thr gruelling Covid restart schedule...you can't compare the impact of the season with a Hungary team loaded with players in second tier leagues and limited continental football. Against Italy, both teams were equally tired and uninspiring, and they are a much better comparison.
- Southgate has done a very good job for England overall, but his limitations cost us against Croatia and Italy in failing to respond to changes in momentum and just allowing us to sit deeper. In particular, Mancini outsmarted him last year
- Related to the above, we still seem to play with the breaks on. We have the talent to play exciting football and build up 2 or 3 goal leads in key games, but we don't seem to try. What is our identity? How do we create chances? You can easily answer that question for the best teams like Man City and Liverpool, but not England despite our talent. Admittedly internationally managers get less time on the training ground, but Southgate has had the luxury of working with fundamentally the same bunch of players for over 3 years now.
I have no time for those using the past fortnight as an excuse for rubbishing Southgate's record - have they forgotten the Capello and Hodgson years?
But I do wonder if he's reached his ceiling. Can he make the changes to turn momentum in the key games? Can he instil a playing style that gets the best out of generational talents like Foden and Alexander-Arnold? I'm not convinced, and it would be perfectly fair to make 2022 his last crack of the whip.