Southgate must get the next three games right, or else
GARETH SOUTHGATE’S message after Friday’s uninspiring victory in Malta was to repeat that famous wartime slogan: “Keep calm and carry on.”
The England manager really doesn’t have much option.
The record books will show a 4- 0 scoreline away from home and no one will remember how difficult the world’s 190th-rated team made it for the best players English football has to offer.
But the fans who were there in the Ta’ Qali Stadium knew how much the result flattered Southgate’s team.
They booed and sang self-deprecating songs about how poor England were.
After watching the soporific first half back home in the pubs, the question: “What would you change at half-time” was met with the deadpan answer: “The channel!”
At least any worries Southgate might have had that his young players will be over-hyped ahead of the World Cup can be laid to rest.
There was an improvement when Marcus Rashford came on for Raheem Sterling, and Danny Welbeck also made a difference.
But that has to be set in the context that a team of part- timers, who had played well above themselves for nearly an hour, were always going to lose fitness and discipline late on.
The biggest criticism was that England had nobody who could unlock Malta’s defence, and had to be content with simply wearing down vastly- inferior opposition into making mistakes.
But these are the cards Southgate has been dealt. He has no Bobby Charlton, Glenn Hoddle, Paul Gascoigne, David Beckham or Steven Gerrard in midfield.
In Malta, he had Jordan Henderson and Jake Livermore. Tomorrow he’ll have Eric Dier back from suspension.
The long-held hope that talented players like Jack Wilshere and Ross Barkley would become the inventive hub of the international team has long since evaporated.
Southgate has been left largely with workhorses and he just has to get on with harnessing them in the most effective
way he can – not necessarily a bad thing.
Hard work can get a team a long way, as long as it’s coupled with discipline and tactical nous.
Southgate only has to look at what Wales did in the last Euros, and what Northern Ireland have carried on doing under Michael O’Neill, to see what can be achieved.
What you do with your assets is the measure of any manager.
Southgate may not have the talent of Brazil, Argentina, France, Spain or Germany, but he has more than most.
They must all be made aware that every performance – indeed every minute of the field – counts when it comes to selection.
Every player – realistically with the exception of Harry Kane — must know that his place is always on the line.
Southgate needs a settled team but he must also be ruthless about changing it. There’s no room for sentiment and good performances have to be rewarded. Qualification isn’t secured yet. England may be unbeaten in 36 Euros and World Cup qualifiers.
But if they don’t win against secondplaced Slovakia tomorrow, it will go down to the wire in October and they could end up in a play-off.
This is no time to think about what will happen when they get to the tournament.
If Southgate doesn’t get the next three games right, there might not be a tournament to go to.