‘If I were him I wouldn’t be able to hand over this team… he’s just got to find a way of affecting games in the big moments’: Rio Ferdinand thinks Gareth Southgate will STAY, but urges England manager to do better with his subs
Rio Ferdinand believes he ‘wouldn’t be able to hand over this England team’ as speculation builds over Gareth Southgate‘s future as the Three Lions manager.
England crashed out of the 2022 World Cup on Saturday night, following a 2-1 quarter-final defeat to France, and after which, Ferdinand criticised Southgate’s tactics, claiming he was not ‘proactive’ enough in his substitutions.
He has since doubled down on those claims, but also admitted that while Southgate is yet to show us a moment of tactical brilliance, Ferdinand himself would struggle to walk away from such a talented and promising group of players.
Rio Ferdinand has claimed that Gareth Southgate (pictured) should stay on as England boss
But Ferdinand (pictured) also claimed that Southgate was ‘reactive, not proactive’ vs France
‘If I were him I wouldn’t be able to hand over this team,’ he said to the BBC. ‘You have to remember when he came into the job England used to hope. He’s now got the country expecting.
‘Him and his staff have created a great environment for young players, this group of players is ready to win things, ready to do something significant.’
Speculation around Southgate’s future as the England manager has been building following England’s World Cup exit.
While he believed Southgate (L) shouldn’t resign, he needs to show more tactical intelligence
The Three Lions were left reeling after they crashed out of the World Cup in the quarter-finals
With a very promising group of players, it would be very hard for the Three Lions current boss to walk away, despite lots of questions arising over whether he will stay or leave.
Ferdinand also claimed that Southgate needed to show a little more tactical nuance, that he can change things in big games, after he criticised the manager’s substitutions during the quarter-final
Speaking on his YouTube channel earlier this week, Ferdinand claimed that while he thinks the England manager should stay on in his role, his tactics during their quarter-final defeat to France needed to be better.
Southgate made four subs during their 2-1 loss against France, but failed to change the game
The England manager waited until England went 2-1 down to make his first subs of the game
He has since reaffirmed those claims speaking to the BBC during France’s 2-0 win against Morocco, saying: ‘I just think he’s got to find a way of affecting games in the big moments.
‘In the knockout phases against the best teams, he’s yet to show us he can affect the game with a moment of tactical brilliance or a substitution.
‘He was reactive in that quarter final rather than proactive.
Despite levelling the scores at 1-1, England subsequently went a goal down again thanks to a deflected header from Olivier Giroud.
Southgate made his next move after Harry Kane (pictured) missed his second penalty
The England boss waited until the 98th minute to bring on Jack Grealish for John Stones
Southgate then chose to make his first move of the game, bringing on Mason Mount for Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling for Bukayo Saka.
Mount went on to help England secure a second penalty after he was fouled inside the box by France’s Theo Hernandez.
But Harry Kane subsequently missed the resulting spot-kick, with the England boss then opting to make another substitution straight away, with Phil Foden exiting the field in place of Marcus Rashford on the 84th minute.
Interestingly, the coaches chose to leave it until the 98th minute to bring on dangerous winger Jack Grealish, who perhaps is one of England’s most lethal players when coming off the bench against tired defenders.
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