LogFAQs > #975976185

shane15 posted...

Southgate is just doing what every manager since Ramsey has done. Beat what they're expected to and then lose to the better teams. The only exception of course was to the current German team in the Euros.

Untrue for Capello (with a better squad), Hodgson, Taylor, McLaren, Ericsson (who 100% should have beaten Portugal on one of those two occasions). Argentina 98 weren't exactly some ridiculous side either.

England had a poor and unfancied squad in 2018 and got to the SFs due to a favourable draw, then lost to the best team (Italy) and the best squad (France). It's overly simplistic to put those two losses in the same bracket as Portugal 04/06, or the vaunted Robson failing to qualify for a tournament/not getting out of the groups.

There's also the way England have played at tournaments being so much better in general. England under Robson beat Cameroon on penalties, under Capello they drew with Algeria and finished 2nd in an easy group that Southgate would have had little to no trouble finishing top of, and under Ericssen struggled to beat Trinidad and Tobago. Southgate's England have beaten Panama 6-1, Senegal 3-0 and Ukraine 4-0 (the latter two in knockout matches; contrast struggling with Ecuador in 2006 for instance). He is so obviously the best manager England have had since Ramsey and there's no guarantee that a manager with a better record at club level would do better in that job.

This comparison between Southgate and other managers is incredibly surface imo. He's a clear cut above any of them.