SOUTHGATE SEES STERLING FALL
Why England’s manager had to take drastic action as his forward struggled
THERE are some moments which probably only an England manager can fully appreciate. For example, when one of your star players has just had a shocking half and merits being substituted at the break.
Every professional player balks at the humiliation of such a move.
So, the temptation for the manager must be to give it 10 minutes — take him off after 55 — which at least looks a little more palatable and saves you from the post-match fall out.
The truth is, however, that Raheem Sterling — after fluffing that second-minute chance on Friday night in Ta’ Qali when a firsttime strike would have changed the entire narrative arc — looked a shadow of the player he can be. With England labouring, passengers couldn’t really be permitted.
‘We thought about that,’ said Southgate, when it was put to him that it must be tempting to duck the half-time substitution. ‘But we felt it was the best thing to do. It is always easier with players to give them the extra 10 to 15 minutes but I am paid to make right decisions, not decisions that keep everyone happy.’
Southgate was right, even if he seemed wrong in his backing of Joe Hart and his decision to play Jake Livermore and Jordan Henderson in an area which needed to be a creative hub for England.
But among his strengths are an ability to say it how it is and take action. His treatment of Wayne Rooney has been a case in point. You don’t have the sense that Southgate sees being liked by celebrities as perk of the job, which can’t be said of all his predecessors.
The more pertinent question is whether Southgate will actually be any good at getting this underperforming bunch of individuals to perform on a world stage. At the end of the month, it will be a year since the undignified end of Sam Allardyce’s 67-day reign and the start of Southgate inheriting a pretty awful legacy.
On the field, the Icelandic meltdown will never be fully erased; off it, the calamitous nature of Allardyce’s dismissal prompted ridicule around the world.
Only the English could get themselves into such a mess. One year on it is hard, especially in the light of the opening 53 minutes against Malta, to see much progress.
England are flat-lining under Southgate. They have played nine matches and you could probably only point to the odd half where they have impressed.
The 3-0 win against Scotland at Wembley probably got Southgate the job, they did well for 89 minutes against Spain and for nine minutes against France.
Otherwise, there has been little to suggest this group of young players are building a future any different to the past 10 years.
The best result of this campaign was the 1-0 away win in Slovakia. The architect of that victory was, of course, Allardyce.
Sterling is a good case in point when it comes to analysing England. He was unfairly scapegoated after Euro 2016 but is nevertheless a £50million player and the 19th most-expensive in history.
That would suggest a ready-made world-class performer. Of course, in England, with prices for domestic talent so exorbitant, such a fee does not guarantee anything of the kind. The danger is that English players confuse their transfer value with their place in the world order.
The last time an England team genuinely excited the nation was arguably the 5-1 win against Croatia back in 2009, which gave false hope to an abject World Cup campaign. Dele Alli was 13 then, so an entire generation has grown up expecting nothing from England
Southgate, understandably, will support the likes of Sterling and said: ‘He’s a lad we love. It’s difficult but he took the decision really professionally. He is a player we have a lot of time for.
‘As a creative player, some days everything you do works and some days it doesn’t. It is much harder to be a creative player than a lump like I was. I was just stopping people and that is much easier. To go and beat people and beat people in tight spaces, some days it happens and some days it doesn’t. You could see in the first half, it was the latter for Raheem but he will bounce back from that.
‘I think he is a strong kid. Mentally he is tough and he has bounced back from things throughout his career. I have no doubt in my mind that he will cope with that and he started the season with Manchester City well. He’s at a club where they have an incredible amount of attacking talent but he is right in the mix with them.’
Certainly England’s problems are not primarily in attacking areas. A cursory look around the international games sees France starting with Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante in midfield. Germany had Toni Kroos and usually would rely on Sami Khedira or Ilkay Gundogan alongside him.
Spain started last night with Sergio Busquets, Koke and Andres Iniesta and had Thiago Alcantara on the bench.
Italy had Marco Veratti and Daniele de Rossi. Southgate is sticking with Livermore, who is an honest professional but surely cannot compete with those names.
True, Eric Dier will come back in tomorrow against Slovakia but even with a good midfielder such as Jordan Henderson alongside him, England are a long way behind the leading nations in Europe.
Jack Wilshere, touted as the future in June 2015, is now 25 and could not always get into Bournemouth’s team last season.
Ross Barkley is 23 so may yet come good, but it has been a long time coming.
All Southgate can really do is plead for more time and patience, saying: ‘Where there is improvement is in players with a clear understanding of how we want to play, in terms of how they feel and their commitment to working and the strength and bond between them.
‘Performances are going to take time and the team is going to evolve. There are younger players we want to get involved in this as well but we have to get the wins in the short term. We are trying to cover so many different things.’
Southgate can point out that a win against Slovakia will leave England only a point away from World Cup qualification.
However, given England’s recent past, he will know that is when the problems usually start.