For a man who often errs on the side of the anodyne (no player can truly retire until it has been declared to 1.3m Twitter followers that said player was always a ‘class act’), The Times’ Henry Winter is bizarrely vitriolic about Gareth Southgate.
In June, he wrote that the spittle-flecked fans at Molineux were right to criticise Southgate and then before the World Cup began he chastised him for taking the ‘out-of-form Harry Maguire’ and urged him to pick an England XI featuring Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ben White.
And perhaps there’s the clue to this vitriol as Winter has long written mournfully about Alexander-Arnold (a real ‘class act’) and his fringe role with England. Which is the equivalent of scoring a David Nugent-style England tap-in on Twitter.
One of the many reasons I admire Trent Alexander-Arnold as a professional and a person is that he keeps reporting for England duty even though he knows that the manager, Gareth Southgate, does not really believe in him. It’s sad, it’s a waste, and it’s England’s loss. #ENG #LFC
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) September 26, 2022
A reminder – were it required – that in September both Liverpool and Alexander-Arnold were absolute dogsh*t.
But now the vitriol is turned up to 11 in a Times article headlined ‘New manager needed if England are to end decades of failure’. It’s a strong start to blame Southgate – the 12th and most successful permanent England manager since they won a major tournament – for ‘decades of failure’ but perhaps Winter has been stitched up by his subs?
Nope. If anything, they did not go in hard enough. For Winter is angry. Really, really angry.
It starts in the most bizarre of fashions, with English people being castigated for, well, being English.
‘Where is the fury? Why did England go so quietly into the desert night? The odd bleat about a poor referee apart, England’s departure was all head-shakes, handshakes, a few tears but apparent acceptance. “It was not to be,” was the verdict of the FA. The meek will not inherit the earth, let alone the World Cup.’
What the actual f*** did he expect? England lost a game of football and exited a tournament at pretty much exactly the stage you would expect after better-than-expected performances. Did you expect histrionics? Threats on the referee? A ritual beheading?
As a starting point for a piece calling for the sacking of a manager who is responsible for six of England’s 12 knock-out…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Football365…