Gareth Southgate

Yet another semi-final. New contract offer being drafted.

Amen brother. I’m so happy right now drinking the salty tears of those weirdos with negative agendas who say he’s risk averse and negative.

You love to see it!
 
Don't rate him at all, but with a final and two semis so far, surely he'll go down as at least the second most successful England manager?
Let’s wait until we play a bigger team. He’s the master of the draw, if Netherlands go through then I think it’s fair to see them as a relatively equal team (the first we’ve faced this tournament).
 
Don't rate him at all, but with a final and two semis so far, surely he'll go down as at least the second most successful England manager?

Nah, Big Sam has that. Has a 100% win record. Don't think you can top that without winning a tournament I'm afraid.

1. Sir Alf Ramsey
2. Big Sam
3. Sir Gareth Southgate??
 
Maybe being extremely negative at international level is the way to play. After all, France are the other team who deploy this extremely successfully. Italy won the last Euros playing the same way as well.
 
Maybe being extremely negative at international level is the way to play. After all, France are the other team who deploy this extremely successfully. Italy won the last Euros playing the same way as well.
Intuitively, it makes sense. You don't get a lot of time to train national teams to play together, and it's easier / it takes less time to effectively coach defensive phases of play than attacking ones.
 
Maybe being extremely negative at international level is the way to play. After all, France are the other team who deploy this extremely successfully. Italy won the last Euros playing the same way as well.

Maybe England and France have two of the best squads in international football, and would still win if they played more offensively?

Italy didn't play like England whatsoever by the way.
 
Maybe being extremely negative at international level is the way to play. After all, France are the other team who deploy this extremely successfully. Italy won the last Euros playing the same way as well.
Well there is a difference. France may be boring but they don't let other teams dominate you. Whereas England in most games under southgate make you feel like the other side is better and they are the underdogs. Swiss today were better and could have won. France at least have control of the game.
 
Well there is a difference. France may be boring but they don't let other teams dominate you. Whereas England in most games under southgate make you feel like the other side is better and they are the underdogs. Swiss today were better and could have won. France at least have control of the game.

Switzerland just weren't the better side.

At worst it was a 50/50 game but England definitely had more of it.
 
Well there is a difference. France may be boring but they don't let other teams dominate you. Whereas England in most games under southgate make you feel like the other side is better and they are the underdogs. Swiss today were better and could have won. France at least have control of the game.

The Swiss weren't better.
 
The Swiss weren't better.
Very even (and quite dull) game but they probably created more openings, especially in the wide areas. I found it so weird that they scored and looked dangerous with that low cross but then started shooting from weird positions instead of crossing the ball like they did for the goal. Wonder what the XG was?

Draw was a fair result and that was a lot better from England in the first half but...it's still a bit average really. France have been the same and they're in the semi finals too.
 
Don't know if Switzerland were better but they definitely had the better chances.
 
The Southgate love in is hilarious.

We have played Slovenia, Serbia, Denmark, Switzerland and Slovakia. He has won one game in 90 mins.

we scraped through 2 KO games, in which his tactics failed against mediocre opponents. We went behind in both, was within 10 mins of getting KO’d in both, then he had to go completely against his instincts and gamble with subs to get a goal back.

His main assets are the rabbit’s foot round his neck, and the four leaf clover he keeps in his pocket.
 
The Southgate love in is hilarious.

We have played Slovenia, Serbia, Denmark, Switzerland and Slovakia. He has won one game in 90 mins.

we scraped through 2 KO games, in which his tactics failed against mediocre opponents. We went behind in both, was within 10 mins of getting KO’d in both, then he had to go completely against his instincts and gamble with subs to get a goal back.

His main assets are the rabbit’s foot round his neck, and the four leaf clover he keeps in his pocket.
And... The mating call...

Gareth-Southgate.jpg
 
The Southgate love in is hilarious.

We have played Slovenia, Serbia, Denmark, Switzerland and Slovakia. He has won one game in 90 mins.

we scraped through 2 KO games, in which his tactics failed against mediocre opponents. We went behind in both, was within 10 mins of getting KO’d in both, then he had to go completely against his instincts and gamble with subs to get a goal back.

His main assets are the rabbit’s foot round his neck, and the four leaf clover he keeps in his pocket.

If he wins the whole thing does this really matter, I'm far from a Southgate fan but England were losing to Iceland and struggling to beat Costa Rica in some of the tournaments before he took over now they are perennially in the later stages of the tournaments
 
If he wins the whole thing does this really matter, I'm far from a Southgate fan but England were losing to Iceland and struggling to beat Costa Rica in some of the tournaments before he took over now they are perennially in the later stages of the tournaments
I'm done doubting him. Clearly he's playing chess whilst everyone else playing hopskotch.
 
I generally say he's a terrible manager but it probably needs some qualification.

He's a terrible football manager in the technical, tactical and in game decision making categories.

But weirdly enough I can't say he's a terrible overall international manager. Especially when he's managing England, because I feel like his skillset is uniquely adapted to England and the players. He's very much an institutional man, he has come up with these players and he's a good man and manages the media. He seems to be able to trade on that relationship with the players and it makes for a team that's not a great watch but have something about them alongside individual quality to stay in tournaments. Plus some nice draws of course.

He's still a bloody inept manager overall, I think he'd be a shit show in club football where the above isn't as relevant.
 
If he wins the whole thing does this really matter, I'm far from a Southgate fan but England were losing to Iceland and struggling to beat Costa Rica in some of the tournaments before he took over now they are perennially in the later stages of the tournaments

That was the gap between the golden generation and this current crop… let’s not forget the team was far weaker.

But from 96 to the end of the golden generation we used get KO’d against France, Portugal, Germany, Brazil, Argentina etc.

The only KO game of note Southgate has ever won was against the worst Germany side in generations. And he has tended to lose in KO rounds as soon as we play top tier opposition. Same as Hoddle, same as Capello, same as Venebles, same as Sven etc…

He has just had the good fortune to run into them later in tournaments.
 
He had been bad enough throughout the euros to kill any chance of him getting the United job. So I’m not too fussed if he wins it.

Still him and Deschamps really are stinking the tournament out.
 
Arguably the worst manager in the Euros….but fortunately the luckiest
 
He had been bad enough throughout the euros to kill any chance of him getting the United job. So I’m not too fussed if he wins it.

Still him and Deschamps really are stinking the tournament out.

Just imagine France beat Spain and we get to the final. Most boring, defensive final imaginable in the offing.

I don't rate him at all but it's better to be lucky than good. Having come this far he just needs to fluke it two more times. I am starting to believe he just might.

However, even if he won the Euros and then won the 2026 World Cup, I would never want Southgate at United.
 
You are fluking it against very average teams. France/Spain will have too much to fluke it against.
 
Realllly hope he wins while stinking out the place. God the amount of salt will feed me for weeks.
 
still has 0 ball to drop Folden.
Pep's baby has done nothing in this tournament. Palmer should start every game.

Needless to say he's the luckiest manager in the world.
 
Has there ever been a luckier manager in world football. Somehow he has made two semi finals and a final. Really hope ETH doesn’t have a bad start next season and we end up with him. Tactically he would get massively exposed in the premier league.
 
Last edited:
Just imagine France beat Spain and we get to the final. Most boring, defensive final imaginable in the offing.
The final of nightmares. The quarter final at the World Cup between them wasn’t too bad I guess but also I do think both teams have regressed a lot since then.

I don't rate him at all but it's better to be lucky than good. Having come this far he just needs to fluke it two more times. I am starting to believe he just might.
I think he will get to the final at least. The worry for Southgate would be getting Spain in the final. The Spanish are the best team by some distance. It could get very ugly.
However, even if he won the Euros and then won the 2026 World Cup, I would never want Southgate at United.
Agree. Tbh I don’t think anyone from the premier league would want him as manager.

Which on the surface sounds mad as Southgate is England most successful manager since Alf Ramsey. But watching England in this year euro's it’s so clear they don’t have a plan or play style and Southgate has been in charge for nearly a decade!
 
Not really. Swiss had better chances and should have won. They were more in control especially in latter part of the game. The xgs also show the same.

England (0.68) 1-1 (1.51) Switzerland

For me this shows that limitations of xG though. If you brought it back one pass and analysed expected goals from there there’s no way you’d end up on 0.68 for England.
 
For me this shows that limitations of xG though. If you brought it back one pass and analysed expected goals from there there’s no way you’d end up on 0.68 for England.
Still the better chance fell for swiss. I am not saying swiss destroyed england but swiss looked more threatening than England. Saka's goal was an individual brilliance and funnily their first shot on target.
 
You are fluking it against very average teams. France/Spain will have too much to fluke it against.
His luck/fluke is at its peak in this tournament whether it’s the draws or last minute goals or penalties. Nothing is stopping him. You can put 98 France or 2012 Spain and I won’t be certain him not fluking it.
 
Maybe being extremely negative at international level is the way to play. After all, France are the other team who deploy this extremely successfully. Italy won the last Euros playing the same way as well.
Italy played very well in the last Euros.

Only game they didn't dominate was vs Spain in the semi who were just a better possession team.