Southgate you're the one?

[KB1862 𝕏 @KB1862 Instagram Bainbridge316]

I've been wanting to write this for a while but I thought I'd wait till the end of the Euros to write it. 

https://downthewritewing.wordpress.com/2021/07/21/southgate-youre-the-one/

[Chris Website URL Visit Site 𝕏 fmcj10 Instagram fmcj10]

I think people are realising the bond that Gareth Southgate has with the players, they didn't play for themselves solely - they played for him. He's made England quite good defensively, sometimes criticism falls due to that stupid international league, or friendlies, but I don't think we take these seriously.

Friendlies have always been an area for England to experiment.

For the first time in my life-time, England are making real progress under one manager.

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Southgate may not be perfect and there are still flaws with a few questionable decisions

This is always the case with football, yet going into the next World Cup - England have another chance to build on their impressive run.

Bringing Jack Grealish on late against the Italians did seem like a mistake, as I felt once they started to pressure us - then found the net. That England needed someone to be direct, hold up the ball and draw fouls.

The thing is, I believe Southgate understands that Grealish is an exceptional player but has this spark about him that tiring teams hate to play against.

I think if Phil Foden managed to bring his skill into the games he played, it might've paved way for Grealish to replace Mason Mount earlier. There's a strong building block, with very good English players coming through. By the next major competition, there will be the likes of Harvey Elliott, Ben White and Liam Delap all coming through.

One area I think we aren't as strong in, is up top - we've reverted to relying on Harry Kane much as we have done in the past with goalkeepers.

Kane started to do well with more support, yet no other striker looked capable of getting us the same results as playing Kane would do.

Don't get me wrong, we have talent in this area but it doesn't quite fit into Southgate's current system.

I actually felt, we could've done with Jamie Vardy at times in the Euro's.

[KB1862 𝕏 @KB1862 Instagram Bainbridge316]

@Chris I've said it all before, if I was Southgate then I'd do everything in my power to convince Vardy to join up with the England squad. Especially when like Southgate said we were looking to get in behind. Someone like Vardy has been prolific at doing this. 

As I put in the article like you've just said, there's a togetherness about this squad like we've never experienced before and it's all down to Southgate. 

The future does look bright under Gareth Southgate and people might not appreciate his teams before kick offs but when it comes to games he gets the job done and his game plans work. He just needs to work on his decision making during games at crucial times like not bringing someone like Grealish on sooner. 

I think Southgate will find the balance between defence and attack as he's had one tournament where we were weak at the back and good up front to exceptional at the back but not much going forward. 

We rely on Kane too much, yes. But, as the tournament progressed we started to see how effective he could be dropping deep and the likes of Sterling running in behind for Kane to find passes as he was vital in the goal that Shaw scored against Italy in the final. 

I do think there's more to come from Southgate and I think he can build a special team.