Why is England persistent with Southgate?

Coach Southgate is increasingly criticized - Photo: REUTERS

Controversial coach

After England's hard-fought win over Serbia, former player Jamie Carragher criticized Southgate - who was his teammate in the England team two decades ago.

"Southgate is wasting Harry Kane by using him like this...", Carragher's criticism was quite mild. But a series of English fans, and even neutral fans, shared in a more harsh way - "The entire golden generation of English football is being wasted in the hands of Southgate".

It is a statement that has been repeated over the years. In 2016, Southgate was appointed England manager, following the Sam Allardyce scandal.

In July, "Big Sam" took over as England manager. But just two months later, he was forced to resign after it was revealed that he had accepted kickbacks in player transfers.

Sam Allardyce is one of the most prestigious English coaches in the past 3 decades. He has led 8 Premier League clubs. If there is an English strategist who is trusted with the ability to lead the "Three Lions", "Big Sam" is the first name to be mentioned.

After the shock sacking of Sam Allardyce, England opted for Southgate - a safe choice. The former Aston Villa man has all the typical English traits, from the waistcoat to the conservative personality.

After 8 years, Southgate is still a controversial topic among English people. Many names in the foggy football world have stood up to defend this 53-year-old coach, including Carragher himself in the past few years.

England has the best stars in the last 10 years - Photo: REUTERS

To be fair, Southgate has done a good job. Before he took over, the Three Lions had gone nearly two decades without reaching the semi-finals of either the World Cup or the Euros. But under Southgate, England have reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and the final of Euro 2020.

But on the other hand, Southgate has also repeatedly angered fans with his confusing decisions.

In the Euro 2020 final, he put all three young players, Rashford, Sancho and Saka, to take penalty kicks. All three missed.

And during his trip to Germany, Southgate is also gradually making his home fans lose patience. He eliminated many stars such as Rashford, Grealish, Henderson, Maddison... and made quite strange choices.

First, he moved Alexander-Arnold up to play midfield, as well as stubbornly letting Foden play the entire 90 minutes in the opening match. Southgate even only used 3 substitutions, leaving a series of stars like Palmer, Watkins, Eze... on the bench.

In the draw with Denmark in the early morning of June 21, coach Southgate accepted more changes. But overall, the England team still played without vitality, lacked strategy, and completely failed to meet the expectations of the number 1 championship candidate.

Why be a local?

Those who defended Southgate two years ago may now be regretting it. After the 2022 World Cup, many England fans called for Southgate to be fired, but the Football Association (FA) still put their full faith in the former player.

In fact, that patience is well-founded. There is a fact that few fans pay attention to: all World Cup champions have been led by local coaches in the year they won.

Even with the Euro, there is only one exception to this rule, which is Greece at Euro 2004, when they were led by German coach Otto Rehhagel.

To reach the top of glory, England need a native strategist. In addition, they have experienced enough problems from foreign coaches.

In early 2006, the England team was rocked by the scandal surrounding coach Sven-Goran Eriksson. The Swedish strategist was exposed for having a secret affair with a wealthy businessman from Arabia.

It was actually just a trap set by the tabloid News of the World (owned by American media tycoon Rupert Murdoch) for coach Eriksson.

An actor was hired to pose as an Arab businessman, approaching Coach Eriksson and inviting him to lead Aston Villa in the future. The Swedish strategist enthusiastically accepted, when the meeting was held on a luxury yacht.

Mr. Eriksson (right) lost all credibility after the scandal in 2006 - Photo: REUTERS

Of course, when the incident was exposed, English fans were furious. They could hardly accept that a foreign coach was not fully committed to his team's World Cup campaign, and was willing to "go out at night" before the tournament.

After this scandal, England tried to appoint another foreign coach, Fabio Capello (2008-2012). The result was not much different, England was still disappointing, and Capello was caught in a spiral of endless controversy due to internal problems.

After the failures of Eriksson and Capello, the FA accepted the fact that they needed a local coach to unite the team, stabilize the dressing room and please the media. Southgate has all those factors, even though he is not very good.

But is there any better English tactician than Southgate?

The answer is no. The last time an English manager won the Premier League was in 1992, when Howard Wilkinson led Leeds to the domestic title. Since then, English strategists have had almost no chance to lead big teams in the foggy country.

After all, Southgate is trusted not because he is the best, but because he is the most viable option.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/vi-sao-tuyen-anh-kien-tri-voi-southgate-20240621034059056.htm