SOUTHGATE ON A TIGHTROPE
Critics like Lineker think he’s far too cautious but England’s boss says it will be curtains if there is NO BALANCE
YOU suspect he was already aware but, just in case, Gareth Southgate was reminded that Gary Lineker had been critical of England’s performance in Munich.
“Too much talent to play overly cautious and it doesn’t play to their strengths,” was one Lineker observation during the 1-1 draw, following on from bewilderment at Trent Alexander-Arnold’s position in the England team hierarchy.
Lineker, amongst pundits and the public, is not alone in suggesting Southgate is too conservative. It is a familiar gripe. But it is one that, despite his protests to the contrary, is clearly getting to the England coach. He responded: “Look, I’ve got to find a balance because I don’t want to sit and be defensive but some people have managed teams and others haven’t. Until you’ve managed teams, you have a different view of the game.
“I think the balance of the teams to get to a semi-final and final has been pretty good and maybe we’ve talked for years about why we haven’t got there.”
It is not just Lineker (above) and other highprofile observers who would love to see more of the likes of Jack Grealish and Kop star Alexander-Arnold but Southgate now seems even more determined NOT to be swayed by popular opinion. “The man that comes and pays his money, I totally understand he wants to see a Grealish with a Sterling and a Saka,” Southgate said. “But you’ve got to have a balance – this is top-level football.” Again, Southgate insisted he is calm about still getting flak even though he has led England to a World Cup semi-final and a Euro final.
But it clearly, and understandably, rankles. Southgate went on: “I’m always going to have situations when people are going to disagree with the selection. That noise over the last two, three years does seem to have been extremely loud and I’ve had to ride that and get on with it through the Euros, the whole of last summer. I can see that again. That is what I’ve got to deal with.”
And while Southgate, who once worked for TV himself, defends the right of pundits to have a go at him, the England manager is quick to point out he is the one who is best-placed to decide what is right for the national team.
He said: “There is only a
handful of people who focus on England all year and watch all the players play every match for their clubs and who go home at night thinking about exactly what is needed to win and live it every minute of the day.
“We live and breathe every second of that...because we want to make England as successful as we possibly can and our drive to that over eight, nine years from youth development right the way through is what drives you forward.
“I can’t be swayed because popular opinion would pick 15 players for each game and have 28 players in each squad.”
As it happens, Southgate
probably will experiment against Roberto Mancini’s Italy in the Nations League showdown at Molineux tonight, with Roma star Tammy
Abra h a m possibly getting a run-out.
But one thing is for sure: When it comes to games that really matter, Southgate will not be tak- ing the sort of chances Lineker is referring to
If nothing else, the England manager is very much his own man.