Spell it out to England flops
IN PARIS GARETH SOUTHGATE says he has no magic wand but perhaps he needs one to undo whatever sorcery it is that turns his players into novices as soon as they pull on an England shirt.
The panic that swept through the team when they found themselves level with France and with an extra man for 44 minutes was all too recognisable.
For some reason England never seem able to take advantage of such gift horses the way top teams do. Southgate puts it down to inexperience.
“We’ve got some young players coming through that have good potential and can be exciting but there is no shortcut,” he said.
“I’m afraid there’s no magic wand to that but we’re recognising where we’re short.”
He also talked about France’s extra “big-game” experience.
Hang on a minute, though, Gareth. Gary Cahill has two European winner’s medals.
Ryan Bertrand picked up a Champions League winner’s medal after his very first game in Europe.
Phil Jones, judged by Sir Alex Ferguson to be good enough to play Champions League football as a teenager, was part of United’s Europa League-winning squad.
Admittedly he was on the bench while France midfielder Paul Pogba started against Ajax.
But Pogba aside, the only other European medals in the French team both belonged to Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane – and he was the one given his marching orders just after the break.
At that point, the average age of the French outfield players left on the pitch was just 23. Man for man, the English outfield players were nearly 18 months older.
Furthermore, each of those players had an average of 24 caps, four more than their French counterparts. Oh, and they had played five more European club games per head, too.
So we need to forget the excuses and get on with closing a gap which has no reason to exist other than past inadequacy. If England were good enough, they are certainly old enough.
Yet for all the days out with marines and lectures on leadership, England players are still too prone to forget their better instincts when it comes to the crunch.
If England play the standard three warm-ups immediately ahead of next summer’s World Cup, their opening game in
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Russia will be their 12th game from now. Importantly, with all 12-step processes, recognition of the problem comes right at the start and that is where Southgate and England are now.
“Our game without the ball has to improve,” said Southgate. “The most disappointing period of the game was at 2-2 because that was the opportunity for us to dominate the ball and really make them work, and we didn’t.
“We’ve got to recognise that – yes, we want to press and be aggressive, but we’ve got to work out the moments when that’s possible and when, actually, to come out and do that leaves space behind that was exploited by France.
“But I know we are improving and the players are receptive to what we are taking on board. And I know that’s not going to happen in two or three months. I’ve got to keep that at the forefront of my mind.” Southgate will spend some of those “two or three months” out with the Under-21s in Poland for the European Championship, which starts tomorrow, and then head to the final stages of the Confederations Cup, which starts on Saturday, to scout next summer’s potential opponents in Russia. Then he will take a short family holiday.
When he returns, it will be a new season and a new challenge – a trip to Malta and then Slovakia at Wembley.
After a summer spent examining past errors, making amends and developing a new way forward, Southgate will hope to be several more steps forward.
But the players have to recognise that, in their final year before the World Cup, this is big school now, not Hogwarts.
Nothing will be learned magic. by I want the players to feel disappointed because they’ve got to recognise moments when you have an opportunity to get a really good result.
“We’ve got to learn quickly how to manage games in situations like that.”
England have a home draw with Spain and two away defeats by Germany and France in friendlies over the past eight months. The devil is in the detail: having been leading Spain and holding the latter two until late on, England have been unable to get across the line.
But Southgate, whose decision to make Harry Kane captain at least looks a success, insisted England were better off in his school of hard knocks.
“If we’d played lesser teams and won, maybe we’d all be getting excited,” he said. “The reality is to find out exactly where you are against the best.
“For long period we’ve acquitted ourselves well. But we’ve got a bit to do and it’s important we recognise that.
“I now know where we are as a team and the hard work that lies ahead to try to bridge the gap.”