We were surprised when Gareth Southgate was given the England job because he’s done nothing in club management to suggest he’s good enough to manage England successfully.
We hope we are wrong, but he has very little experience in management and had a failed spell as the Middlesbrough manager from 2006 through 2009.
The Smoggies were relegated with Newcastle back in 2009, and he’s never been back in club management.
Gareth went into the England coaching setup in 2013 managing the U21 side, and they qualified for the finals of the European U21 Championship in 2015.
But we finished last in the group stages and didn’t advance to the knockout stages.
Gareth Southgate – failed club manager now manager of England
The inclination these days is to have an Englishman manage the England side, and Rafa has commented on that.
He says it’s easier to get the England job than to manage one of the top six sides in the Premier League.
He’s right there.
Here’s what the Newcastle boss has said in the Mail today:
“The England manager’s job is a difficult job, but you have more chances to get the job because you are English.”
“The top six jobs, it is different because you have foreign owners spending a lot of money, and what they want is the best.”
“That doesn’t have to be English, just the best.”
“In England, I know you talk about having an English manager.”
“You have four or five options and it is easier than getting a job in the top six.”
Let’s hope Rafa Benitez is soon the manager of a top six side.
One problem we have with foreign managers is that it’s sometimes difficult to understand what Antonio Conte, Pepe Guardiola, and Mauricio Pochettino (as just 3 examples) are saying because their English is not too good.
There – I’ve said it!
What do you think?
Comments welcome.
3 comments so far
Jib
Oct 29, 2017 at 7:31 AM
Comment #1The Germans appointed a German – Joachim Löw
Apart from a reasonable start at Stuttgart where he
inherited a good team from Rolf Fringer – JL bounced around
between German and Turkish clubs and ended up managing
in Austria (a bit like Scotland)
Since then he’s taken Germany to one Euro final 2 semi finals
and in the World cup 3rd place once and won it once !
giimps
Oct 29, 2017 at 8:58 AM
Comment #2The problem with England is not the manager, but the quality and desire to play for your country, combine that with the FA and it’s a non starter.
Too many old gentlemen still on the FA making decisions ( usually the wrong ones) and not enough grass roots, most ( not all) young footballers enjoy playing FIFA as much as the real game so won’t be playing footy with there mates till 9:30 on a school night like we used to……..just my opinion but it’s as much if not more the fault of the players and the FA as it is the manager……neither are good enough
The next Mike Williamson
Oct 29, 2017 at 9:51 AM
Comment #3Howe & Rodgers are the only two who play ok football. On the plus side, England’s youth teams have won almost everything infront of them this year. Although Nigeria and Ghana have been dominating youth level for donkeys and its never done them any good at full level where they can no longer overpower teams. Foden and Sancho play like Brazilians, they’re lucky they aren’t in Newcastle’s academy – they might actually have a chance of developing!
The main issue with England, is we put too much emphasis on the strength needed to play in EPL, ignoring the fact all good teams have one Silva/ Zidane type running the show. Most other countries regard the number 10 and/or the deep lying playmaker as the most important player in the team. Until we start encouraging young playmakers we’ll just remain a bunch of athletes chasing after the ball. Let’s hope there are one or two coming through because if we get just one good one, England has everything else in abundance and will be amongst the best.