A FAMILIAR STORY
As the England squad touched down in Birmingham airport at around the same time as the football Harry Kane struck for that second penalty landed somewhere in the middle of the Qatari desert, the post-mortems into England’s latest Big Stage exit continued in earnest. Narrowly beaten by an underperforming French team they had on the ropes after 70 minutes of Saturday’s tense quarter-final, the general consensus among an often difficult-to-please press pack is that England acquitted themselves well. They were, it was decided, unlucky to lose against the world champions and are in a much better place than they were after Euro Not 2020, a tournament in which they also failed to close out a knockout game against an elite side over which they were at one point dominant.
And while these glorious England failures of the Southgate era may seem eminently preferable to the some of the more abject comedy prat-falls of yore – hello World Cup 2014 and Euro 2016! – the fact remains that, looked upon collectively, they can still be looked upon as failures and for England under Southgate, losing winnable matches against elite opposition at the business end of major tournaments is becoming a habit. The counter-argument, that at least England are consistently getting to the business end of major tournaments and therefore Southgate must be doing plenty right, is also fairly compelling.
Opinion on the 51-year-old appears to be divided among entrenched extremists, with one side thinking he can’t put a foot right and the other of a mind he can’t put a foot wrong. As is often the case, the truth is probably somewhere in between. An obviously good and decent man who is preposterously popular with his players, in his six years in the gig he has fostered a sense of togetherness that was previously absent from squads renowned for often toxic divisions. He has also overseen no shortage of good results on the pitch while behaving in a far more statesmanlike fashion than any of the four prime ministers in office during his tenure.
If Southgate has one obvious shortcoming it seems to be a reluctance or inability to make decisive game-changing decisions from the touchline, a flaw which may have cost England dearly in a game full of our old friends, the fine margins, on Saturday night. Should he remain in his post for the next Euros, there is little evidence he will be any more reactive then. Having travelled to Qatar hoping to bring home the trophy, Southgate and his players returned instead with little more to show for their efforts than a stray Qatari cat. Adopted by John Stones and Kyle Walker, the feline they named Dave is presumably set for a life of pampered luxury prowling the Manchester City training complex, but must first spend several months in quarantine.
Like Dave, England’s manager also finds himself betwixt and between, although his limbo is of the self-imposed kind. Amid little or no press clamour for his departure and the endorsements from his players ringing in his ears, Southgate has said he is “conflicted” about his future having “found large parts of the past 18 months difficult”. He will therefore consider his position in the coming weeks, although with no obvious candidate to succeed him, one suspects it will probably be best for everyone invested in the ongoing success of England’s football team if he decides to stay.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“France v England should have been a semi-final or final. Unfortunately one of them had to go home. [England] have a lot of talent coming through, they’re getting better and more experienced. There’s more to come from them” – despondent England fans get an unlikely boost from their one-time tormentor, Jürgen Klinsmann, in the latest *checks notes* Fifa technical study group media briefing.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
“It’s probably safe to say that most people assume that the HRWC will produce either a Messi Christmas or a Mbappé New Year. But let’s think of the ailing Pelé for a moment. If Morocco were to fulfil his prediction of an African nation winning the tournament, that could really help lift his spirits. Come on you Atlas Lions!” – Peter Oh.
“World Cup 2022 winners Morocco just keep throwing out clues. Have you noticed they have one star on their flag already?” – Krishna Moorthy.
“My day is all planned. [Saturday] morning at the foot of a ladder helping my son put up his outside Christmas lights. Afternoon, my local church Christmas Fayre. Evening, a quiet night in front of the TV watching England beat France. Simples” – Mike in Chippenham.
Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’ the day is … Rollover.
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