Gareth Southgate Should Be Fired ASAP!

Gareth Southgate Should Be Fired ASAP!

Let’s get one thing very clear. England was in the UEFA 2024 Euro Final in spite of Gareth Southgate, not because of him. They were carried forward by individual moments from some of the best players in the world to overcome the tactical blunders by Gareth Southgate on their path to the final. In the end, their luck ran out and Southgate’s incompetence was on full display as England fell 2-1 to Spain. Southgate should be fired tomorrow but knowing how much leeway he has been given in the past, it’s very much a 50/50 if he’ll be back for the World Cup in 2026.

It’s not just about losing this final. It’s about the way England has looked all tournament under Gareth Southgate. Timid, unthreatening, and often disjointed. These two stats related to “Expected Goals” are very telling about this supposedly successful tournament.

The attack was simply awful. To have played 3 more games than an aging Croatia team and still manage to put less pressure on the goal than them throughout the tournament is ridiculous. All of it stems down to Gareth Southgate’s inability to use his talent, not the talent of his players.

First of all, you cannot play Harry Kane at striker and then surround him with 5 guys who need the ball at their feet. It’s redundant. Kane didn’t just become washed in the span of a month after having a terrific season at Bayern Munich. He wasn’t surrounded with a proper runner who he could play the ball into (see Harry Kane and Son Heung-min at Tottenham).

This is where Marcus Rashford would have been useful but Anthony Gordon, coming off an amazing season with Newcastle United, was the next best option and he played a whopping zero minutes. Fine, don’t play a runner. Then you absolutely cannot start Harry Kane. We saw the immediate difference using Ollie Watkins had in the semi-final and that’s who should have been the started if Kane wasn’t going to be put in the right situation.

Next, the choice to continuously start Phil Foden after seeing him contribute absolutely nothing to the attack was a horror show from Southgate. Every time he was off the field it seemed like England looked much more fluid. There was no shortage of attacking options either with guys like Cole Palmer and Eberechi Eze who managed to produce a genuine impact in way fewer minutes than Foden. Doing everything he could to accommodate Phil Foden’s spot in this team is a big reason why Gareth Southgate should be fired.

The midfield was decent at best after the introduction of Kobbie Mainoo. However, the usage of Conor Gallagher and Trent Alexander-Arnold in the early stages of the tournament is genuinely a fireable offense considering their profiles and talent level of the squad. On a side note, Adam Wharton who is the only midfielder in the squad that possesses a true passing skillset not having played a single minute is another significant mistake that must not be overlooked.

Now the defense. The infatuation with Kyle Walker at this age I will never understand. I called it before the tournament and it bit England badly throughout the tournament but especially in the final with Walker out of position defensively for both Spanish goals. Not starting Trent Alexander-Arnold, a genuinely generational player, is a clear sign that Gareth Southgate is an inept manager. The main “argument” for Walker is defensive ability and Walker’s horrific showing in the final seemed to be TAA having the last laugh.

I can go on and on about Gareth Southgate’s incompetencies, especially in this UEFA 2024 Euro’s. Ben White and Marcus Rashford not playing for England in this tournament. Joe Gomez played zero minutes while Kieran Trippier who can’t use his left foot enjoyed a starting role for the majority of the tournament. There was essentially never a single lineup with tactical balance in it. But, at the end of the day all that can be said now is he isn’t nearly good enough. England have probably the most talented team in the world. Not an exaggeration. In the last 3 major tournaments though they have two finals appearances and a semi-final appearance. If you want football to come home, you should want a new manager.

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The post Gareth Southgate Should Be Fired ASAP! appeared first on Vendetta Sports Media .