The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Gareth Southgate - an apology
Damn you Gareth Southgate. Noone wants to be proved so miserably wrong which I was re your managerial credentials and the ability of your England team. I won’t be changing my mind even if last night (Wednesday) we suffered defeat at the hands of Croatia.
A World Cup semi-final was beyond my wildest dreams. I don’t particularly care that we lost to the only decent side we met. It’s not our fault finishing second in one of the softest groups in the history of football was over-rewarded with matches against dirty and then useless teams.
It’s a fact that former boss Sam Allardyce (right) would be crucified if England were relying on penalties and setpieces for goals, even against crummy teams, but Southgate has transformed the mood of the nation by projecting an image of calm good sense so completely the result has become all-important.
We are right to ignore the inevitable wailing from the likes of Brazil and even Belgium who must have watched the standard of football in England’s half of the draw and wondered what might have been. Belgium were great, but beating England’s reserves in a group game was a huge tactical blunder.
It’s also not Southgate’s fault that expectations of England football fans had become so low this run to the last four (and hopefully beyond) has been greeted by emotional adulation, even from a media that love to stick the boot in.
One downside to England’s success has been witnessing grown men take leave of their senses. There have been increasing signs of a collective madness the further England have travelled.
I love the celebration photos from Peterborough’s Solstice Pub. The video of that fans’ march through Leek after the quarter-final win over Sweden was a masterpiece.
But no matter the result last night I vowed not to visit social media. Some of the comments on there have left me feeling queasy. It is only a football tournament after all.
Grown men have declared they would ‘cry themselves to sleep’ if England beat Croatia. Really? There is little more pitiful than crying at a football match, although wilful emoting on Twitter about crying after a game runs it pretty close.
By all means cry tears of joy for the young football team and their coach rescued from the Thailand caves, but please don’t go overboard over a football competition being contested by many cheats and time-wasters (not our glorious players though, obviously).
We should also celebrate Harry Kane’s inevitable Golden Boot victory and not concern ourselves that, before last night, he had converted three penalties, two tap-ins and a fluke. It’s not much of a highlights reel, but no-one will remember that.
Southgate I salute you. I’m also starting to believe clipboard king Dan Ashworth knows what he’s doing as FA technical director, although I’m still worried Aidy Boothroyd will become the next England boss.