- Jun 7, 2004
- 18,106
- 45,030
Barclay better than I thought.
He's not a bank.
Gareth a very nice man and deserves what luck we got.
I think you undersell Southgate. He has some key characteristics in common with Pochettino. They share an ability to get players to want to perform for them - and with Southgate, he has the disadvantage of having limited and interrupted opportunities to work with them. They also share an ability to make a team out of a squad. This youthful England squad celebrate together in a way that the so-called "golden generation" squad of ill-matched star turns never did.
His tactical ability seems to be sound enough and he doesn't really have the chance to do much individual coaching, but he has homed in on the key skills for a manager of a national team: squad togetherness, the ability to organise a defence in a limited number of sessions and the capacity to inspire individuals to excel for him.
Our three goals were all top-class international moves: real teamwork executed at pace, with one-touch skill and communication. Brazil, Germany or France would have been proud of those moves.