Howeveryou look at it – tournament
success,thrillingnights to remember,
baldstatistics,personaldignity– Gareth
Southgate alreadystandshighasone of
themostadmirableandaccomplished
managersinthe historyofthe England
nationalfootballteam.Theonlything
missingisa trophy.
Yet,asweentertheyearofthe 2022
WorldCup,there arestill many critics
whoprefertodoubt thecredentialsof
Southgate.They sayheistoocautious,
andthathis achievementofreaching
thesemi-finalandfinalofthelasttwo
majortournaments wasmoreabout
luckypathwaysthanhigh-classfootball.
Itseemstomeabsurd. Do people
notrememberthesterilityofthe Fabio
Capelloteam,the wasteofthegolden
generationunderSven-GoranEriksson,
thedebacleoflosingtoIceland,the
failure even to qualifyfor tournaments
under severalofhispredecessors?
Southgate,whothoroughlydeserves
hiscontractextensionuntilDecember
2024 , hashelpedtransformEngland
intogenuinetrophycontenders;a team
thatrivalsfear, a teamwith confidence,
talent,flairandtacticalbalance.
Itisthatfinal elementthatismost
crucial.Thecriticismofexcessivecaution
ismadebecausehispreferred system
hasdevelopedinto 3 -4-3,onethat
maximisesdefensivestrength aheadof
selectingextra playersfromthemyriad
ofhigh-classforwardsEnglandpossess.
Therehavebeentwo issues:thelack
ofqualityatcentre-backandan absence
oftop-classholdingmidfielders.For
someyearsitwasthelatterproblem
thatmosttroubledSouthgate.He
wouldacknowledgeitopenlyinpress
briefings,andponderitendlesslyin
private with hiscoachesand advisors.
Timeandgoodfortuneappear to
haveresolvedthisconundrum,withthe
maturingexcellenceofDeclanRiceand
JudeBellingham.Theyareemerging
superstars,and Bellingham’s styleon
theballandabilitytoplaybox-to-box
addsanextradimension.WithKalvin
PhillipsandJordanHendersonexcellent
optionstoo,Englandare nowblessed
inthiscrucialareaofthemoderngame.
Centraldefenceisanothermatter.
Thisistheonefundamentalweakness,
whichissurelywhySouthgatehasbeen
optingfor 3-4-3 with a coupleofflying
wing-backsontheflanks.Itisa wayto
play,itcanbea waytowintournaments,
butisalsomeansthelossofa forward,
whichismorethana pitywhenEngland
havesomanytochoosefrom.Mason
MountorPhilFoden,but notboth?
Thefrustrationisobvious.
Anunhappy truth,however, is that
HarryMaguireandJohnStones, the
two-mancentraldefensive partnershiptriedmostby Southgate,was notreliable
enoughfor majorinternationalmatches.
Hecouldnotaffordsucha gambleso
hischoiceof3-4-3 is commonsense.
Coulditbeotherwise?Perhapsso.All
internationalmanagersare at themercy
ofswingsoffortuneinclubfootball,and
whattheyhopefor is high-classplayers
emergingtosolve theirheadaches.It
happenedwithRiceandBellingham–
andthe tenmonthsbetweennowandATTHEHEARTOF THEGAMEJim
HOLDEN
the WorldCupistimeenoughfora
coupleofcentraldefenders of the
requisiteabilitytomaterialiseandgive
Southgate theoptionofa backfour.
Anoptimist canseeseveral young
menwhomight:FikayoTomori(24),
TrevohChalobah ( 22 ),Joe Gomez(24),
andMarcGuehi(21),eachofwhomwon
tournamentsas playerswithEngland
juniorteams,andwhoallpossess
highpotentialandgoodtechnique.
Tomoriisthe most likely, enjoyinga
standoutseason at theheart of Milan’s
defenceastheychallengefortheSerieA
title.Italianobserversareastonished
heisn’tanEnglandregularalready.
Chalobahhaswon theconfidenceof
ChelseamanagerThomasTuchel,which
isnoeasytask. TheproblemforGomez
isovercomingalong-term kneeinjury,
buthistalent is plainifhecanrecover
a startingpositionfor Liverpool.
Guehiistheoutsiderofthesefour,
butmaybethe best of themall,thriving
inthe spotlightatCrystalPalaceunder
thecommandofPatrickVieira.
Whatall theseyoungplayers
shouldknow is thatGarethSouthgate
willhaveno hesitationthrowingthem
intotheEnglandsideiftheycan
convincehimtheyaregoodenough.
Infact,he would do so with the
greatestenthusiasm.Itcouldmake
thedifference betweenEngland
winningthe WorldCupor not.Twomoreyears...
Southgateextended
hisEnglandcontract
inNovemberSouthgatehashelpedtransformEnglandintogenuinetrophycontenders;a teamthatrivalsfearSouthgatetherightmanfortheEnglandjob