Apologise to Southgate

[NeilMorepies]

He’s just been playing the long game (and not in a Fat Sam sort of way before you start)

 

[Hinchcliffe's Corner]

Like some Everton fans, the mantra towards any manager now seems to be ‘win every game or gtfo’. The modern fan is no better than the ancient pleb watching a gladiator battle whining that they want to be entertained

I love how you always think you're so much better than everyone else.

 

[Saint Domingo]

I love how you always think you're so much better than everyone else.

Do you not understand what the word ‘some’ means?

 

[Tommy Chong]

Congratulations England fans who stood behind their Manager.

There were some, well many, that wanted him gone during this tournament. So to prevent digging up these posts I’d like to show goodwill by offering these fans - you know who you are - a chance to apologise to Gareth Southgate and then they can celebrate a result they tried to torpedo.

Apologise here guys.

So if England beat Spain then...

Even then, nah...

 

[Pilks]

To everyone saying Southgate has 'silenced the doubters' now, I'd like to put it into perspective.

If England were in a qualifying group, or a mini competition, of seven teams, along with Slovenia, Denmark, Serbia, Slovakia, Switzerland and Holland, where would you expect them to finish?

Most people would say they'd want them to be winning it, with only Holland being close as any sort of competition. And that's exactly what has happened. Nobody would say that winning that particular group would be any sort of triumph.

They haven't overperformed to reach the final. They've simply performed. And that doesn't even factor in last-minute goals worthy of the RS.

Normal service.

 

[Shevin Keedy]

Sorry Gareth, sorry that you think polo shirts with zips are acceptable.

 

[the golden visionary]

Sorry Gareth, sorry that you think polo shirts with zips are acceptable.

Shocking

 

[Kevsleftpeg]

If we had lost to the Netherlands we would have had people saying 'See, I told you, as soon as you meet a decent team you lose'.

Of course, now the narrative is 'The Netherlands are not a decent team'. Spin, spin and more spin.

No, the Netherlands aren't a decent team. England clearly have a far superior squad but again scraped through with a last minute goal. The strong teams in this tournament were Germany, Spain, Portugal and France and they were all in the other half of the group. We have played only low tier and mid tier teams so far who we should be beating comfortably.

 

[Kevsleftpeg]

Two finals isn’t mediocrity. The big elephant in the room is just the reality that the paths he’s been given to both of those finals has been absurdly easy compared to what a normal path is, and he’s seen some silly luck during those matches as well. Odds that happens again in 2026 is slim. Typically when he’s run into an actual top side he’s lost…But that can change with a win over Spain.

The performance levels have generally even mediocre and the football boring and lacking in sophistication.

 

[Nymzee]

He’s done well to harmonise the groups and remove any cliques but the football is awful to watch, squad and team selections are questionable, and despite 2 finals and 1 SF we still can’t seem to get past any side that’s remotely good.

 

[The binman chronicles]

Don't see why anyone should apologise, just because you scrape through the easiest path to a final doesn't clear all the sins. Had England drawn anyone of note early on they would have been jettisoned from the competition.

Southgate has near two years to experiment and find a balanced team and a back up for everyone of those players to keep it that way. By the very latest, all games this year he should be starting the same side that will play in the tournament, (subject to injuries) so they are settled in and used to playing together. That still hasn't even happened yet.

 

[Daveysgingerlovechild]

There is an incredible display of mental gymnastics on display over Gareth Southgate. Some of the stuff on Facebook is excellent.

Fundamentally if he brings football back to sweaty England no one will care about anything else.

I also rather suspect if (when?) England go through a cycle of a poorer or underperforming squad, not qualifying for tournaments or getting further than the last 16, his era will be looked upon with sepia tinted nostalgia.

Now get out there and bore your way to victory Gareth!

 

[PITA]

No, the Netherlands aren't a decent team. England clearly have a far superior squad but again scraped through with a last minute goal. The strong teams in this tournament were Germany, Spain, Portugal and France and they were all in the other half of the group. We have played only low tier and mid tier teams so far who we should be beating comfortably.

And there we go.

 

[Billy Dean]

There is an incredible display of mental gymnastics on display over Gareth Southgate. Some of the stuff on Facebook is excellent.

Fundamentally if he brings football back to sweaty England no one will care about anything else.

I also rather suspect if (when?) England go through a cycle of a poorer or underperforming squad, not qualifying for tournaments or getting further than the last 16, his era will be looked upon with sepia tinted nostalgia.

Now get out there and bore your way to victory Gareth!

I agree history will remember him much more kindly. A bit like it has done with Bobby Robson

 

[Daveysgingerlovechild]

I agree history will remember him much more kindly. A bit like it has done with Bobby Robson

Aye, Robson had a far bumpier record as well, arguably.