Southgate: Won nothing, got a knighthood...

[Rook]

I rather subscribe to George Best's view of Beckham: '...He cannot kick with his left foot, he cannot head a ball, he cannot tackle and he doesn't score many goals. Apart from that he's all right...'

Doesn't score many goals, heck, we don't score any goals, he'd be a god here w/ 10 goals a season, sign me up.

 

[Kurt.]

Isn’t this a very English thing to do though …. Rewarding mediocrity

 

[judge]

Knighthood's/honours are given by the rich to their mates (with a few dished out to the lower classes, to keep the grumbling to a minimum). It's a corrupt system, but just like every other counrty on Earth, where those in power reward their friends/peers in order to ensure that they stay in power. Human nature, unfortunately

 

[gonetomorrow]

Everybody should be knighted. Then you lose your title if you do something bad.

 

[Drico]

Completely revitalised the whole National League set up, across all ages.

Made people across the country sit up and be proud of the National Team, made players become aware of the importance so they'd stop dropping out.

Whether he should have performed better is one thing; but stark reality is he made Semi Final and 2 finals in 3 of 4 Tournaments, in a time where Germany struggled, Italy and Netherlands failed to qualify.

Very limited manager, but the wider picture says he's done a lot
For Sport.

You see, some of us would think this is why he needed to win something when he was in these finals and semis. Germany, Italy, and Holland (to a lesser extent) won't be struggling or failing to qualify for too long.

With the Germans and Italians at all-time lows, this was the moment to strike. If you cannot win something when those two are weak, you most certainly won't be winning something when they are strong.

Nevertheless, as an Irishman, I am pleased Gareth got his gong. Clearly, it was for services to ABEs. And for that, he was unbeatable.

 

[barneygumble]

You see, some of us would think this is why he needed to win something when he was in these finals and semis. Germany, Italy, and Holland (to a lesser extent) won't be struggling or failing to qualify for too long.

With the Germans and Italians at all-time lows, this was the moment to strike. If you cannot win something when those two are weak, you most certainly won't be winning something when they are strong.

Nevertheless, as an Irishman, I am pleased Gareth got his gong. Clearly, it was for services to ABEs. And for that, he was unbeatable.

From my perspective, we appointed Allardyce and had Hodgson beforehand. Prior to taking over, England fumbled through a group before losing to Iceland.

Behind the scenes he really rebuilt the culture; players wanting to play for England, getting fans involved, having involvement with all levels of the club sides.

He done that more or less singlehandedly. For a Nation which has been starved of success for so long, 2 finals and a semi aren't to be scoffed at.

Ultimately, his lack of attacking nous caused his departure, and a trophy (or two).

The wider picture sometimes means a lot more and he's done an unbelievable job at transforming English National Teams at all levels?

But I don't think the "ABE" brigade has much of a leg to stand on atm, it's like Birmingham flexing on Aston Villa.

 

[Drico]

From my perspective, we appointed Allardyce and had Hodgson beforehand. Prior to taking over, England fumbled through a group before losing to Iceland.

Behind the scenes he really rebuilt the culture; players wanting to play for England, getting fans involved, having involvement with all levels of the club sides.

He done that more or less singlehandedly. For a Nation which has been starved of success for so long, 2 finals and a semi aren't to be scoffed at.

Ultimately, his lack of attacking nous caused his departure, and a trophy (or two).

The wider picture sometimes means a lot more and he's done an unbelievable job at transforming English National Teams at all levels?

But I don't think the "ABE" brigade has much of a leg to stand on atm, it's like Birmingham flexing on Aston Villa.

I agree with you in general. Southgate’s success was subtle - he took penalty kicks seriously and developed techniques that allowed players to succeed - unlike vaunted predecessors like Venables who laughed them off as “lotteries.”

If nothing else, he has forced a football nation to confront certain weaknesses in its approach rather than blaming bad luck for elimination. His tragedy is those weaknesses were personified in him. Instead of “bad luck”, “the lottery of penalties”, or “ze Germans” being to blame, it’s now Gareth himself who gets the brickbats.

There is some truth in that - but it has allowed the players to escape without culpability. That’s the next thing that must be addressed: the responsibility of the players - and if it ever is, England might truly be in position to win something more tangible than a New Year’s gong.

 

[barneygumble]

I agree with you in general. Southgate’s success was subtle - he took penalty kicks seriously and developed techniques that allowed players to succeed - unlike vaunted predecessors like Venables who laughed them off as “lotteries.”

If nothing else, he has forced a football nation to confront certain weaknesses in its approach rather than blaming bad luck for elimination. His tragedy is those weaknesses were personified in him. Instead of “bad luck”, “the lottery of penalties”, or “ze Germans” being to blame, it’s now Gareth himself who gets the brickbats.

There is some truth in that - but it has allowed the players to escape without culpability. That’s the next thing that must be addressed: the responsibility of the players - and if it ever is, England might truly be in position to win something more tangible than a New Year’s gong.

The loss of the Final at Wembley was solely on him; reminded me of when we lost to Chelsea.

Scored early and changed the game plan to invite pressure.

Felt inevitable. Hell be remembered fondly by me, as I've had a good few years seeing some cracking results. It's one of those questions of "should he have done better?" And there's a solid argument for both.

But i do think the Knighthood comes from the overall achievements rather than that on the pitch. I don't think he'd have got it without the work off it.

 

[longers]

Getting to two European finals and a World Cup semi final and making most people not hate the national team is not what id label as mediocrity.

Better managers had better teams than him and failed miserably.

He may not have had what it takes to go all the way but he is the second most successful England manager of all time.

 

[The binman chronicles]

People are forgetting his other achievements. Great in pizza ads and preventing England getting to a final of a European Championship on home soil as a player.