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Tor Gareth Southgate, the comparison is, frankly, ridiculous. Managers tend to get upset when they compare their players to the greats of yesteryear or at least try to downplay them and Southgate spoke with typical honesty as to why Jack Grealish, who has man-of-the-moment status after some excellent performances, they should not be mentioned at the same time as Paul Gascoigne. The topic of conversation has floated a bit lately.
“I don’t want to curb the enthusiasm for Jack,” said the England manager. “When you talk about Gascoigne, there is not a player in the history of England who has been at that level. I feel that Gascoigne is unique. It’s a bit like talking about Bobby Moore. “It is impossible to argue with Southgate about Gascoigne and he also went to great lengths to highlight Grealish’s qualities, namely the” fabulous ability to receive under pressure, protect the ball, dribble slightly different speed than some of our other players, the way he moves and fouls. ”These were evident during the midfielder’s performance in Thursday night’s 3-0 friendly over Wales.
At the same time, it’s still possible to wonder if Grealish fits Southgate and the way he wants to attack, which is on pace and with an economy of touches. Call it realism but, in his overall tone, Southgate dampened the enthusiasm for Grealish and it would be a surprise if he started with him against Belgium at Wembley on Sunday, in a Nations League tie that should provide a barometer of England’s current level. Belgium is the number one ranked team in the world.
Warning notes are a must for Southgate, with the world turned upside down and with no real certainty about anything. England had prepared to attack the European Championship in June, there was a sense of excitement but, after the postponement due to coronavirus, there does not seem to be the same feeling.
“The pandemic has blown up everyone’s plans, so we have to be as adaptable as everyone else and be able to respond in the right way as quickly as possible to establish a way of playing and establish some consistency in the team, but that’s going to be tough, ”Southgate said.
Southgate had been asked if England could still dream of glory in next summer’s reorganized tournament, which Wembley will partially host, but clearly not a time to hit the bathtub, but rather to go day by day, game by game.
“Every time I pick up a newspaper, a team has lost two or three other big players, so it becomes very difficult to know what you are going to deal with,” Southgate said. “I don’t think any country is thinking, ‘We have everything where we want it now,’ just three international camps from the final. Everyone is thinking, ‘What will this be like? Will we even play next month? What will the team be like? ‘”For the record, the Football Association still expects England’s three November games to go ahead: the friendly against New Zealand and the Nations League games against Belgium and Iceland.
It’s tough for Southgate as he struggles to settle into quicksand and there is an impression that he is a coach looking for something new. They have gone 3-4-3 in the last two games, 0-0 in Denmark last month and then Wales, and it’s a response, in part, to a lack of options on the left back.
With Luke Shaw and Danny Rose in disgrace, Southgate can only really count on Ben Chilwell, and as is well documented, he cannot do so today. Having violated the government’s “rule of six” by attending a party last Saturday and, according to Southgate, he also “had some kind of illness,” Chilwell remains outside the camp. The hope is that he can return a negative test and be reinstated on Sunday or Monday in time for Wednesday’s game against Denmark. Southgate has more options in terms of left backs.
“Within any system, if you’re going to play consistently, which is useful internationally because of the time you have with the players, then you need deep strength at every position,” Southgate said. “We are trying to accentuate the strengths we have and hide the weaknesses.”
The victory over Wales with what amounted to a second rope was encouraging; now Southgate wants a boost from its headlights. Harry Maguire is coming back after knowing what and will face scrutiny, particularly after his poor start to the season at Manchester United, and he won’t be the only one.
Can Jadon Sancho, who was at Tammy Abraham’s party with Chilwell, make better decisions on the field? Southgate recounted the story of how the team had given Marcus Rashford a round of applause at Saturday’s team meeting after he was awarded the MBE for his work in fighting child food poverty. There are examples of positivity. England want one on the field against Belgium.
