Gareth Southgate

[Notts78]

He has a calming influence in everything he does. He has somehow managed to completely remove the kind of debilitating pressure that has affected so many previous sides. He has filled the squad with young and fearless men, found a system that works. People should not underestimate what he has learned from other sports, basketball being the obvious one with how good we have been from set pieces. He went to the US spoke with a coach about how a man always seems to be free despite the sport being 5 v 5. This is where blocks and screens are used and you can see clearly this has been taken on board.

[kill_the_drum]

Southgate has done everything right since being appointed, and possibly long before.
Every manager we’ve had since Glen Hoddle has picked the biggest stars and tried to make them fit. The result has been failure and disappointment every time.
Southgate has picked a system and then picked the players that suit. Opting for form over reputation and youth over experience.
He’s created a ‘One England’ rather than the previous cliques.
He’s honest with the media and very open which gives them less chance of speculation or fabricating headlines.
He shows his passion as an Englishman and bridges the huge gulf between ****age millionaire players and the fans.
And last but not least he’s meticulous in his approach. Before the WC started he had every single team that England could possibly meet during the tournament scouted and a game plan of how to play them.
He’s an absolute breath of fresh air and I hope he’s our manager for years to come.

[drillerpie]

I know I underestimated Southgate. He's far more intelligent than I gave him credit for. The main thing though is his thoroughness. He is meticulously preparing for matches whereas Fat Sam would be drinking pints of wine and/or gravy.

His record years ago at Middlesbrough is no longer relevant. He is learning even now, on a match by match basis.

I underestimated him too, I thought he was just an FA insider, a yes man, put in place because they had run out of ideas. I never expected him to have such a clearly thought out, almost revolutionary, strategy.

Rather than learning every game it might just be that his skill set and preferred tactics are more suited to international and tournament football. Anyway long may it continue.

[them0uf]

Southgate's performance has been outstanding. Okay the criticism could be levelled that we haven't beaten anything much, but we have beaten them and we are in the semi-finals of the World Cup. I'm also sure that he took a look at the draw and found the perfect way for someone else to play Brazil - play the second XI who were unlikely to win (the alternative was to have Joey Barton in the squad in the hope of getting the card count up). If I'm right, he dismissed all the rubbish about momentum and made sure it didn't matter - noone talks about momentum when a weakened team is played in the League Cup, so why in the World Cup? Matthew Syed wrote an excellent article on the subject in The Times a few weeks ago.

Point being, I believe this was the product of clear, focussed, and quite courageous thinking, rather than claptrap from ex-pros who lapse into group think on matters they may have experienced but don't really understand. The clear and focussed thinking is a constant for GS. I can even rationalise his lack of midfield variety as conviction in the playing style, although I'd quite like the Plan B option.

Very pleased for him. He comes across as a thoughtful and decent man, as a player and now a manager, in an industry where neither is common enough. With the benefit of hindsight the immediate and kneejerk demands of club management may not have suited him. He has used his time incredibly well to set his objective, his strategy, and his tactics. Compare and contrast his genuine intelligence and appreciation of the longer term with the utter bull we had to listen to from Hodgson whose big words expressed in a cod professorial manner did not make for intelligence of managing at national level.

I can't remember who wrote it (probably Henry Winter), but there was another article recently shedding light on the hard work GS has put in over the last few years within the FA ensuring that the disciplines he has introduced go all the way through the system, and that irrespective of what he achieves now (written before we lost to Belgium I think), the future will also be one of his achievements.

Well done Gareth Southgate (but I still think you should have taken Jack!)

[upthemaggies]

Since 1966 England have rarely had the luck of the draw. In recent years they have been very poor, so Soutgate deserves credit for turning things around but when you look at the list of teams who've knocked us out over the years, it does make you wonder how much better they could have done had England's name come out in more favourable groups and how much better many England managers would be thought of. So many exits to Germany and so many to the ultimate winners.

Only one team could qualify until 1982
1970 QF West Germany (sf)
1972 QF West Germany (winners)
1974 Q Poland (3rd best team of the World Cup)
1976 Q Czechoslovakia (winners)
1978 Q Italy (QF)
1980 G (lost to Italy hosts and drew with runners up Belgium)
Two teams can now qualify for World Cup, still one for Euros
1982 QF West Germany (runners up) / Spain (hosts)
1984 Q Denmalrk (SF)
1986 QF Argentina (winners)
1988 G (lost out to Holland the winners & Soviet Union runners up)
1990 SF West Germany (winners)
1992 G (lost to hosts Sweden and drew with Denmark winners)
1994 Q (knocked out by Holland)
1996 SF Germany (winners)
1998 16 Argentina (qfs)
Two teams can now qualify for Euros as well as World Cup
2000 G (no excuses, poor)
2002 QF Brazil (winners)
2004 QF Portugal (hosts and runners up)
2006 QF Portugal (sf)
2008 Q (disaster)
2010 16 Germany (3rd place)
2012 QF Italy (runners up)
2014 G (disaster)
2016 16 Iceland (disaster)

[BanjoPie]

Well don't reply yer tw@t if you don't understand.

Why are you are so aggresive? and; why can't you talk about Southgate without making references to 'Fat Sam' etc - iI take it you don't like him

[crazyfists]

Alot of good posts on this thread. I believe English players were always going to reach a competitive level thanks to top foreign players and managers coming to this country, it was just going to take time for our kids to grow up playing and thinking like them to come through. We are now seeing this at senior level and at unders level as well where we're world champions already. We now have the technical knowhow added to the pace, power and bloody mindedness we've always had.

In regards to Southgate, he's an excellent international manager which is far different to club management. He did well with the unders and I was glad he got the job as it gave continuation to the players coming through and the style we play.

Maybe now along with France and Belgium it's our turn or cycle as opposed to the Germans or Spanish who seem to be on the way down now from their dominance.

[BanjoPie]

England have improved beyond recognition however, don't let us get carried away- whilst we can believe - we are not yet at the same level as France or Belgium.

[crazyfists]

England have improved beyond recognition however, don't let us get carried away- whilst we can believe - we are not yet at the same level as France or Belgium.

Yeah our first team is finally at the minimum level required to play these teams and have a chance but our under 17's and 20's are world champions. The future is looking very good.