England fans have been growing increasingly impatient with Gareth Southgate and it's unsurprising to see why. The Three Lions boss is frustrating fans with his negative and defensive approach to games and is never going to lead his country to glory.
The Three Lions' 2-2 draw with Belgium last week was the 150th time Southgate has represented England, his 93rd time as manager. There is no doubt that he has got this very promising England set-up on the road back to glory but he just doesn't seem to be the man to clinch it.
5️⃣7⃣ as a player
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 28, 2024
9⃣3⃣ as a manager
Gareth Southgate has now represented England 1⃣5️⃣0️⃣ times! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/HcFog0V4Kx
In his first major tournament as England manager, Southgate unexpectedly led his team to the semifinals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, their trip to the final four since 1990. A matchup with Croatia looked very favourable for the Three Lions and after going 1-0 up through a Kieran Trippier free kick just 5 minutes in, confidence was at an all-time high.
However in what now appears to be classic Southgate fashion, the team decided to sit back and soak up pressure from Croatia. This ended up costing the Three Lions as they eventually fell to a 2-1 defeat after extra-time.
Southgate managed to get the nation's hopes up once again during the 2020 European Championship only for it all to come falling down once again. In the side's first-ever Euro final, Luke Shaw put the Three Lions a goal up just 2 minutes in and Gareth Southgate's response to this was to sit back and defend until the final whistle. This was unsurprisingly unsuccessful and England ended up losing to Italy in a penalty shootout after playing out a 1-1 draw.
England's latest fumbling in a tournament came at the 2022 World Cup where they were once again victim to Southgate's poor decision making. With his side 2-1 down to France in the quarterfinal, Southgate made the strange choice to take Bukayo Saka, who had been the best player on the pitch, off in favour of Raheem Sterling, who had been away from the camp for a few days prior. Sterling made little impact and the Three Lions went on to lose the game after Harry Kane spurned a chance to equalise from the penalty spot.
His poor in-game tactical decisions are not the only thing that will prevent Southgate from leading his country to glory. His poor squad selections will also cost him. During his time as England manager, he has consistently made bad and strange decisions regarding his squads.
Jordan Henderson has been a mainstay in the England squad despite his move to Saudi Arabia last summer and return to Europe with Ajax in January. This has led to increased dissatisfaction among England's fans and accusations that Southgate is too friendly and lenient with certain players. Harry Maguire has also been a constant inclusion in the squad despite periods of little game time at Manchester United.
The inclusion of certain undeserving players has and will continue to thwart the international chances of up-and-coming players. Maguire's constant inclusion in the squad and starting 11 has prevented Fikayo Tomori being given a genuine chance with England despite being arguably one of the team's best central defenders.
As a result of his poor tactical decisions in important games and bizarre squad selections, Gareth Southgate will never lead England to glory. Under his management, there is a serious danger of this immensely talented group of players becoming yet another failed 'golden generation'.