The Scot with model plays designed just for England
AS ENGLAND made their ignominious exit from the last World Cup in a drab and meaningless 0-0 draw with Costa Rica, there were two reasons why Allan Russell could not care less.
Firstly, he is Scottish – a fact that makes his highly influential role in Gareth Southgate’s current coaching set-up all the more remarkable.
Secondly, he was still basking in the glory of scoring what was effectively the winner for Orange County Blues against Chivas USA Reserves in the MLS Reserves League in front of about 700 spectators in the Anteater Stadium, Irvine, California.
Apart from one glorious season in 2007-08 when 28 goals for Airdrie earned him the Scottish League Division Two player of the season award, on-field triumphs had been hard to come by.
Sure enough, 10 defeats in the final 13 games of a career that also took in Hamilton, St Mirren,
Macclesfield, Mansfield, Forest Green Rovers, Partick Thistle, Kilmarnock and the California RailHawks brought Russell’s playing days to a somewhat inglorious close later that summer.
Just four years later, though, he is on the biggest stage of all as England’s striker coach.
Rather bluntly, Harry Kane was asked: “What can a man who scored just four goals in 31 League Two appearances in his only season in English league football teach you about scoring goals?”
The England captain, diplomatic as ever, just smiled at the question.
“That is not really what his role is,” he explained. “He does finishing sessions with us, tells us about opposition defenders, goalkeepers and telling us maybe where we can exploit a weakness.
“We are all top players, so he is not running through technique telling us how to strike a ball. It is
DEBATE rages over whether it might be better actually to lose to Belgium and finish second in Group G, but Gareth Southgate’s take is as simple as it is patriotic.
We are English, so we play to win.
Bottom line, Southgate gets it. His own years of hurt in the Three Lions dressing room. An interest in history derived from his pride in his marine grandfather’s own military exploits. His firsthand nurturing of many in this group from young English boys to proud Englishmen.
The first thing he did after the 6-1 thrashing of Panama was to declare to the squad they could bloomin’ well have a richly deserved beer on the return to Repino. How English is that?
“I think when we get back it’s an important moment to get the music on and have a couple of beers,” said Southgate shortly after the match. “I’m back to enjoying the win, enjoying the fact that we’ve qualified and then tomorrow we can start the process of the next phase of what we’re trying to do.
“When I look back, we didn’t really enjoy qualifying as much as we should have done so we want to get that right today.”
As it was, by the time the players eventually traipsed back from the heat of Nizhny Novgorod to their relatively cool and rainy base, it was 11pm and much of the appetite for celebration had passed. But it was the thought that counted. Privately, some of the players had been showing the first signs of incarceration sickness, so at least knowing the shackles were loose ones will have boosted spirits. Southgate knew that.
In the same way he knows that for all the Machiavellian plans being hatched in pubs up and down the country to take advantage of being the last group to complete its programme, there is only one route an England team can take regardless of whether it looks the easier one or not. Barely had the games on Sunday finished than, accurate or not, sentiments were arriving from the Belgium camp that Roberto Martinez fancied staying near Moscow, the Red Devils wanted to avoid Brazil and Germany and even that Marouane Fellaini was bound to be picked for the final game as disciplinary points will come into play if the clash ends in a draw.
In other words, Belgium were preparing to throw the game.
“For our country that would be a very difficult mindset to have,” said Southgate. “We want to win every game we go into. I don’t know how we’d go into a game not wanting to win and not wanting to play well. So I think that’s dangerous territory because if we start trying to plot and predict who knows where we might end up.
“We had a really favourable draw, we all thought, in the last tournament and it didn’t work out that way. We just have to keep playing as well as we can, keep preparing the team the right way, keep the momentum and I have to keep the squad involved. That’s the one thing I think is really important.”
And he is right. We have not won a knockout game since 2006 so to pick and choose our way through a series of them is the sort of arrogance that would not sit comfortably with this English spirit Southgate has nurtured.
Yesterday he was shown some of the scenes of England fans back home celebrating the Panama success and he seemed genuinely moved.
“This is the honour of being the England manager,” he said. “The opportunity to really bring happiness to our country. It is powerful for us.
“I have talked before about the diversity of our team and how I think our team represents what our country is now.”
For all that England will be playing to win, we shall see some of that diversity. Southgate will be ringing the changes on Thursday in order to manage his resources.
It could be a chance for Marcus Rashford. Eric Dier will be itching to get on to the pitch. Dele Alli trained with the rest of the players who did not play against Panama and will be keen to prove his fitness ahead of the knockout stages.
One thing is for sure – they would all be playing to win.
Dangerous territory, who knows where we’ll end up