More Euro Frustrations and the Search for a New Boss!
Well, it ended in glorious defeat yet again as England just failed to get over the line in a European Championships final.
England 1 Spain 2 was the result and let’s be honest, the Spanish deserved their victory
As against Italy in 2021 (the delayed 2020 Euro’s), England largely disappointed in a major tournament final and in truth, other than a 10 minute spell after they had equalised, never really looked like winning.
Having changed the teams system to ‘three at the back’ in the semi-final against The Netherlands and actually looking like the side we all felt they could be at times, head coach Gareth Southgate reverted to type and his predictable back-four for the final, and England looked exactly as they had done throughout most of the tournament – uninspiring, lacking energy, ideas and cohesion.
For a few glorious minutes just before and after equalising though, England fans were dreaming again of it finally ‘coming home’ – the Spanish retreated and we all urged the team forwards – unfortunately and once again, Southgate’s ‘safe-ball’ kicked in and we dropped back into defensive mode seemingly happy to play for extra time and penalties.
The Spanish, of course, sensed our negativity and pushed forward again – prepared to take risks in finding a goal – and find a goal they did, breaking English hearts yet again, leaving the nation to debate another missed opportunity to bring home a major trophy.
Southgate’s record, on the surface, looks impressive and his cheerleaders frequently point to World Cup semi and quarter finals, consecutive European Championship Finals and the very healthy relationship the country has with the national team during his tenure. However, a very basic look in more detail probably reveals closer to the truth.
This is a manager who has failed to deliver a trophy for the nation, despite having the most talented squad of players in modern history – he has failed completely to find a system which suits the talent at his disposal and failed to get the side over the line every time he has come up against a decent side (ranked higher than his own). In Germany, he failed to rotate his side at all, stubbornly refusing to rest his star names, despite the entire country witnessing their complete lack of cohesion, form and/or fitness – in all honesty, he had to go and duly resigned his position shortly after returning home – goodbye Gareth, thanks for a few fabulous nights over the last 8 years, but ultimately, failing to win something means we are now searching for England’s new messiah!
Early betting has Newcastle’s Eddie Howe as favourite, followed by Graham Potter and current under 21 boss Lee Carsley – whoever it is will have an entire, desperate nation behind them…. At least for a while and providing they finally bring it home!!
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