Gareth Southgate is already like Chuck Norris. Forums are invented for him too, but unlike the famous action hero, exclusively in a negative spirit. England secured their place at the football Euros with a draw with Denmark, but the proud nation is horrified by the game being played and the thought processes of the head coach.
If Southgate had a Ferrari it would go 10mph.
Southgate puts his phone on sleep mode when his battery is at 99 percent.
Southgate’s favorite activity? Watch the painting dry.
If Southgate was spice, he would be flour.
The popular Troll Football Twitter account started it, fans are happily following it up. At least the English use humor to ease the pain they feel watching the national team.
Albion did not convince again after the troubled win over Serbia. He played even worse against Denmark. Although he took the lead after Harry Kane’s successful finish, Morten Hjulmand equalized soon after with a beautiful shot, and then the Danes were already the better team at Deutsche Bank Park in Stuttgart.
England were booed by their own fans after a 1-1 draw and Southgate is again, for the umpteenth time in his almost eight-year spell on the bench, coming under fire for a dull performance and an inability to extract even a fraction of the potential from a bursting squad packed with superstars.
“Very bland,” scowled former stopper Rio Ferdinand on the BBC broadcast. “In my eyes, it lacks any direction, tactically far below par. Denmark clearly overshadowed us tactically,” he pointed out.
“We have the best, most dangerous, most creative players and we decide to go into defense. We have too good material for such a tactic. I wonder if they are going to play like this on purpose or if the opponent will force them to do it,” thought Ferdinand.
And then he just shook his head at one of the coach’s post-match excuses, which immediately began circulating on social media with horrified reactions from supporters.
“What on earth does that say?” many asked. Southgate made it clear that defense is his clear priority.
“We know we don’t have a natural replacement for Kalvin Philips yet. We’re trying different things,” the coach said.
This immediately triggered a barrage of reactions from people wondering why he considers the biggest problem to be the absence of a defensive midfielder, who in the spring part of the season did not even win a place in West Ham United’s starting line-up through Tomáš Souček.
What about the fact that Cole Palmer, the star of last season, the author of 25 goals and 17 assists, hasn’t played a single minute at the Euros yet.
What about the fact that he did not take another left-footed defender to Germany in addition to the injured Luke Shaw, and he uses the completely lost Kieran Trippier on the left.
“Why the hell didn’t Palmer get a chance? Gareth, for the love of God, drop this defensive garbage and let our attack dogs on them. Now!” famous presenter Piers Morgan tweeted angrily during the match.
And one of the prominent English pundits, Jamie Carragher, agreed: “The time has come to be ruthless. Gareth, pick your best team, not your best players.”
The coach also caught criticism for relying too much on only twenty-year-old Jude Bellingham.
Other, no less capable players are often drowned around him and Real Madrid’s gem sometimes shows signs of a kind of starring role syndrome.
After the duel with Serbia, a video of the part of the game where Phil Foden was offered to him several times in vain was circulated on the networks. Instead of an effective pass to the edge of the penalty area, Bellingham continued to zigzag in the corner of the pitch.
“Something is not right, there is no balance in the team. Bellingham keep waving their arms. This is a big test for Gareth, he seems to be overthinking things,” said Roy Keane.
Difficult days await Southgate, a merciless mill of criticism has already started on the islands and it is inevitable that changes must come. The best scorer in Premier League history, Alan Shearer, also called for them.
“It was a poor performance. Enough with the experiments, this team needs a spark. But it needs it very quickly,” he declared.
Watch the interview with Tomáš Ujfaluš:
Spotlight Aktuálně.cz – Tomáš Ujfaluši | Video: The Spotlight Team
