The Gareth SouthGOAT Appreciation Club ft. no fun at all

Can't get on this train yet. We've been here before. I'll wait.
 
Kane got him out of jail tonight.

Was no fan of Southgate when he was appointed but I've liked the look of what he's done so far, and for 40 minutes today that's amongst the best I've seen England play in a tournament. However, game management nearly let him down big time. Absolutely no idea why he left it so late to make changes, with Alli in particular being a total passenger from the minute he was hobbling around. Had Rashford and RLC/Delph come on around 55/60min mark we'd have been much more confortable.
 
Imagine Allardyce had stayed.
 
DomesticTadpole said:
For the first time we have a manager who has a plan for the future of the England team, not just the senior team but the younger teams as well. This is a long-term project, while the last few managers have been quick fixes who pandered to big name players.
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To be frank, the England manger has little say in the youth players coming through into the England squad.

Need a much larger overhaul to fix that.
 
As an outsider looking in he seems like a decent man and is doing a good job with a long term plan. It will be a shame when the media eventually try to destroy him.

Although I don't get the point of needing defenders that can pick the ball up and move forward while the midfielders sit, surely it would be easier to find midfielders to do that job and leave the defenders back. Maybe I'm just being thick.
 
Cal? said:
Really? Can’t agree with that...
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If we're comparing players on paper then Belgium look superior. But when you look at actual team performances Belgium aren't anything special. England are capable of beating them.
 
Looks like a fresh breath of air, compared to the dull managers England had in the past.

England was unlucky not to be several goals in front before HT. They deserved the win today.
 
God damn it can’t even have a muppet thread without people having a serous football chat these days. What a world.
 
@duffer It's a good tactic. Pessimistically support a variety of nations you are linked to and if one comes off you're grand.

My very mixed heritage partner is doing this one, in light of Italy not qualifying, and supporting France, Switzerland and Mexico.
 
I love how very English he is, you can tell he has a massive passion for his job and it's carrying through to the players.

Fair play Gazza lad and best of luck, that's the most fun i have had watching England in a tournament for over 20 years.
 
DiseaseOfTheAge said:
@duffer It's a good tactic. Pessimistically support a variety of nations you are linked to and if one comes off you're grand.

My very mixed heritage partner is doing this one, in light of Italy not qualifying, and supporting France, Switzerland and Mexico.
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I'd do it as well but I've got Irish and Italian grandparents. :(
 
Gareth Southgate is the most English name ever, it's fitting he's the manager.
 
Carl said:
Kane got him out of jail tonight.

Was no fan of Southgate when he was appointed but I've liked the look of what he's done so far, and for 40 minutes today that's amongst the best I've seen England play in a tournament. However, game management nearly let him down big time. Absolutely no idea why he left it so late to make changes, with Alli in particular being a total passenger from the minute he was hobbling around. Had Rashford and RLC/Delph come on around 55/60min mark we'd have been much more confortable.
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That's a common moan to all top managers - waiting too long to make changes. There could be many reasons why he didn't do it earlier - my guess being he wanted to test stepping up the center backs first before bringing Loftus-Cheek on.

I think the only criticism I have about Gareth is he seems to favour Sterling a bit much. He's been drop worthy for a while - but that's such a soft criticism overall. He hasn't put a foot wrong as far as I'm concerned - said the right things to the media, played the right system, tactically approached qualifiers/friendly/tonight's game well, plays out from the back and promotes relaxed mentality off the pitch to ease chemistry between players.
 
duffer said:
I'd do it as well but I've got Irish and Italian grandparents. :(
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That is unfortunate.

I'm just gonna run with the fact a lot of people think I look a bit Spanish.
 
Seems to be doing the right things so far, I just expect him to run out of experience and talent as soon as we face a big team. So, another last 16 exit then.
 
AndyJ1985 said:
If we're comparing players on paper then Belgium look superior. But when you look at actual team performances Belgium aren't anything special. England are capable of beating them.
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Liverpool are capable of beating Man City, does not make their prices to win the PL or CL similar.
 
Taking a man whose only top level managing experience was as Middlesborough manager before getting them relegated was a severely uninspiring appointment for me. I rolled my eyes and then thought “well he can’t do any worse than what’s before him”. Since then i have been more and more impressed, especially his professionalism and detail in match preparation. It really is second to none. He isn’t building the team for himself but for England’s future, no matter what criticism he would receive for it if we went out early. I love hearing him talk, i love that he’s English, and i love that he has gelled the team so well together. I don’t expect we will get past the quarterfinals, but he deserves the luck we got tonight in that injury time winner. Seeing him punch the air and celebrating like mad when we scored aswell was just :drool:.
 
Gareth Southgate, the whole of England is with you.

And this time you wont have to take a penalty!!
It's coming home, it's coming home, it's coming, footballs coming home.

Enough muppet for you?
 
In all seriousness, I like him. He picks players based on merit (probably with the occasional favourites that every manager has). He knows that in international fotball in particular, a team could become bigger than the sum of its parts, rather than the great individuals of the 'golden generation' who could never sum up a good team.
 
To his credit, I thought he only got the job as the FA were tired of paying an arm and a leg for proven coaches and considered him something of a stopgap, but he has been making all the right noises. We could have scored 5 or 6 in the first half were it not for shoddy end product, and he can have no blame for that. His ruddy lip annoys me, mind.

The Rash over Sterling next game, please.

Also, I'm patiently waiting for Keano to deflate all of the English positivity during the ITV highlight show... I expect nothing less than a dose of realism from God. :D

EDIT: He's not on the panel. Prob for the best...
 
Cal? said:
Will be found out against Belgium...
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Carl said:
How would getting beat by a comfortably better side mean Southgate has been found out?
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AndyJ1985 said:
Because there's not a lot of difference in quality between the two teams.
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Outside of Kane and Young/Rose/Walker (because the Belgium fullbacks are a wasteland) who from England would even start in a combined XI?

Courtois
Walker - Alderweireld - Vertonghen - Young/Rose
Witsel - Dembele
Hazard - De Bruyne - Mertens
Kane

And in most of those positions (Hazard / De Bruyne / Mertins / Dembele / Vertonghen / Alderweireld / Courtois) the Belgian player is far stronger than any comparable English one.
 
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