Might as well post about England.
If you’re gonna be conservative and stodgy, you have to deliver results, which he’s done, so you can’t not give Southgate his dues tbh. His approach has been vindicated, even if it could’ve gone another way he’s delivered the kind of result that much more qualified coaches for 20+ years couldn’t.
Football’s a sport first, entertainment second, so being churlish about the playing style is moot - if you support England, who cares if you actually win games like that and go far in tournaments. I’d be loving it if I was raised an England fan, I’m sure.
Still, as a neutral(-ish), find it a shame I’m still struggling to root for them, even with one of my favourite-ever Leeds players in a key role. Don’t even dislike anyone aside from psychopath Mings, and Southgate is the perfect antidote to any reservations about England as a concept, but just sick of the dour, miserable approach being successful in international football.
Can’t help but think it’d be great for football if Spain, Italy, Denmark or Belgium won it - and then the template can be actual fun football, rather than the shut-down and eventually a talented player will probably do something style of Portugal/France/England. At least Greece were giant-killers. This tournament has been a joy and it’d be good if the eventual winners reflected that.
Obviously England are gonna thrash Ukraine 5-0 now and it will serve me right for moaning. Interestered to see whether Southgate is genuinely pragmatic in the actual sense of the word, rather than it being the weird football byword for cautious/defensive - if he is an actual pragmatist, he’ll take the handbrake off against Ukraine. He should anyway.
