It's very true and a great positive BUT on the flip side, England may have the on-field talent to be contenders but talent on the touchline is as non-existent now as it was 10, 20 years ago. England is bereft of legit good managers and it is shocking that's still the case but it's been like that for over two decades now and building. The barriers to coaching in England for English managers and especially those of color requires separate dissection. Right now the only good managers or possibly good managers are Eddie Howe, Steven Gerrard and perhaps Frank Lampard(who needs to show what he did with Derby and his first season w/Chelsea) and they all still need to prove it. That's not true. When have you heard this being said about an England team in the past two decades after a tournament, prior to 2018? Plus it's being said because of how far they were able to get. Every other England team has consistently flattered to deceive and the talent on previous England teams has never been as young as this. The talent on previous England teams has never been of the quality that one could arguably say they had more talent on their team than several other major teams...including Italy. If you switched both managers on Sunday, England wins that game by more than 1-0. Funny looking back that Pickford was the best English player on Sunday. He had to be-the way Southgate set them up and he was. I wrote it earlier, he's a good GK. He's just not great..albeit he was on Sunday, but not consistently in the manner Gigi D has been for the most part for club and country. Also great you mentioned styles and counter. England set up to play like a traditional Italian team whereas Mancini set up to play a new age, youthful Italian style but mixed in with the traditional defensive steel as organized by Bonucci and Chiellini.
I think there are more good English ones who are not prominent household names. They are mostly teams that are bottom feeders but more often than not steal points from the contenders. So their playing style must be ok. https://www.squawka.com/en/best-english-managers-right-now-ranking-potter-southgate/ Graham Potter, Sean Dyche, Dean Smith to name a few. They could always hire a Scots dude, Irish or Welsh. I do think their problem is a mentality issue, when they are down, they are really down, but when they have won a couple games, they feel like kings. That is not the mentality of a winner.
Sigh. Man. You were so right. I thought the same as well. Southgate let them down in many ways. If he set them out to play the way they did vs Ukraine. If he let Grealish or Saka (on the right if Saka so to have inverted wingers and moved Sterling to the left) start on the left of Kane (with Foden injured) and dropped Mount to play ahead of Rice and Phillips, Those players on either side of Kane would have given Bonnuci, Chiellini, Di Lorenzo and Emerson fits. But no. It took me a while to even feel like posting because I swore not to let England get my hopes up again after 2010 and I was doing a good job until 2018 and then now. Southgate made the same mistake in 2018 vs Croatia in terms of how to play once that early goal goes in. Instead of seizing the opportunity to further step on the necks of the Azzuri, he decided to continue emulating his mentors- Deschamps and the Portuguese manager. Figured he would play defensively, try to keep that one goal lead and win on that. The difference being, especially with France, apart from having a world class #6, (England had two lovely players like that) England didnt have a deep lying midfielder who could come back and defend but also be a constant outlet for passes from the back to link to the midfield and just hold on to the ball, retain possession, set the tempo and from time to time create opportunities. They needed that. I had hoped Mason Mount was that player but he never was. Jude Bellingham might be that player but perhaps this tournament was too early for him. The game was lost in the 30th minute. That's the moment the Italians realized England were content to sit back and not actually go at them and from then on Italy took over. EVERYONE- English, Italian, Americans, Spanish etc KNEW Southgate needed to make a substitution at worst by the 70th minute but no. Southgate is equal parts stubborn(good quality at times) and in love with certain players(Sterling didnt need 90 minutes. Mount should have been off earlier). Then we get to the disastrous move of bringing on Rashford and Sancho with a minute or two left in Extra Time. Everyone as well could see that was absurd. Bring them in earlier, let them get touches on the ball. It's understandable the desire to get them in especially for penalties because both have historically been good penalty takers but timing timing timing. Now the game is over, the opportunity is gone, it's a weird feeling. Legit criticism for Southgate on one hand but on the other hand, he has taken England further than anyone else since 1966. He's going to stay on for Qatar. The hope is he will learn from this and be more flexible with his desire to be pragmatic in how he sets out his team...but i doubt it. As far as Italy go. Chiesa was and is a baller. Veratti is a baller. Gigi, Chiellini, Bonucci we all know. Jorginho has been lovely all tournament. But England had the more talented team overall-on the bench especially. Italy were a better team overall the entire tournament and should have been bookies favorites. It reminds me of the Dennis Green quote from when he was coaching the Arizona Cardinals. "They were who we thought they were, and we let them off the hook. "
We will never know. They scored a brilliant goal and then just built a brick wall and didn't play much Offense. As I said to another friend, Jesse Lingard, Michail Antonio, Jamie Vardy, Patrick Bamford.......seasoned and fighters.
I meant to mention Potter. Sean Dyche is a NO. Dean Smith..ehh. The Scots and Irish wouldn't let the English ever forget it. I don't think it's a mentality issue with THIS England team in terms of being down or up. This young team have zero fear. They know they have the talent. They just needed a manager that isn't scared to take the training wheels off and let them play how they can play. Southgate believes the way to win tournaments especially in finals is to nab a goal and play tight and compact . That Portugal win in 2016 really messed things up in a way.
So, I get your post but I hate stuff like this. There's always a faction of England fans that act like boorish bastards. They are arrogant, they want to fight, they spout rubbish and just disgusting things overall. That's not the majority of English fans. As for the media, most English fans HATE the media anyway. So dont use those as your measuring stick. And the racist abuse we all know as well. It's terrible. But that's not the majority of English fans in 2021. Perhaps that was the case in 86, 90, to an extent in 96 and 98 but it gets better each cycle albeit slowly. The fans who make England look bad are still there and hopefully their numbers dwindle but I dunno. Just dont put all England fans together in the same bucket. There's a ton of us around the world and even at the stadium yesterday that respect, enjoy, even like Italy and the Italian players. Even follow Serie A and know Donnarumma, etc. and also show support to Rashford, Sancho and Saka while shaming the racist trolls. It's a battle to wipe out the ones who make us look bad but all one can do is try to shame them.
This coming home or Rome shenanigan is not helping though. I mean they didn't invent football, just played a huge part in spreading it and tuning it up in a modern way. They feel somehow entitled and that had to rub off on the players as well. How come Italy, Germany, Spain have a more successful football culture than you? Really hope this Euro concept with 8 host cities is going to end here. It wasn't even supposed to be a home advantage for a couple teams. (England with a high Covid rate)
I mean, they did codify the game at least you can give the English credit for that. But seriously, no, I don't think most English fans felt entitled and I DEFINITELY do not think that rubs off on the players. What has historically rubbed off on the players are a mix of high expectations(realistic and unrealistic at times) as well as the fear of failure and the backlash from the English media and some fans. This group had none of that. I think they were confident in their talents and abilities individually and as a group(as they should be) and weren't afraid of the failure that previous generations carried on their shoulders. Lastly, as it pertains to "Football's coming home". It's mainly a joke. Have you ever actually listened to the song? It's literally about England constantly failing and trying to believe that perhaps this time(96) would be the time things would change. As we know..things didn't change until 2018. The first couple of verses in "Football's coming home" are especially meaningful as it relates to the game on Sunday. Everyone seems to know the score They've seen it all before They just know They're so sure That England's gonna throw it away Gonna blow it away But I know they can play 'Cause I remember Tell me that isn't exactly what happened on Sunday. By the middle of the second half, WE could tell what was going to happen. It was happening in slow motioin right in front of us. And the frustrating thing(much like the song points out and it really applies to this team) we KNOW they can play and play better footy than what Southgate had them playing from the 30th minute on. Don't believe that most fans feel entitled. Just the idiots that go causing havoc around cities and stadiums and giving the other England fans a bad name. The rest of us know the history, the fear, the media, and how to behave ourselves, respect other countries/opponents and be realistic.
Hehe, on a personal note I had an anecdote. A former English classmate of mine, He was one of the know it all guys I knew back then. Grades were pretty good but disliked by teachers. Wearing the 3 Lions at every chance.. Same enthusiasm every darn time. Mocked every outcome. Yeah, entitlement is likely too strong a word, but surely feeling aloof above the rest. Knowledgeable. So he wasn't one of them. (more of a Buckingham Palace vibe) There is tons of low lives in England believe me. Oh, if by any chance, you're English, cheers mate!
PS: Who would want Ben White to be knighted? The horror even if people are gutted. Nobody outside of England would know who he is including England.
Thanks for reminding me that Southgate didn't take one of the best defenders in Serie from last season. An actual Englishman in Italy. Tomori. Ben White is a good young defender as well so I cant insult him but it just seems off to have an English player playing well abroad, in a league that values great defenders, and pass on selecting him. Ah well. Pre-Season time!
