Gareth Southgate has let the forward know how serious his transgression was, with Sterling apologising to the squadThis time it is not so easy to defend the guy. It is not a witch-hunt, it is nothing to do with his choice of body art, where he shops or what he eats for breakfast and, if you happen to think Raheem Sterling is treated differently in parts of the media because of the colour of his skin, that does not change the fact he has genuinely messed up. Related: Raheem Sterling sorry after arriving 12 hours late for England training Related: Raheem Sterling is a victim of vicious tabloid snobbery Related: Clarke Carlisle criticises ‘unfair’ treatment of Raheem Sterling Continue reading...
The manager spoke with sound good sense, offering perfectly pitched reasoning for every decision, every close call – to the extent you almost missed the old hysterical jingoismKnow ye by this press conference that we, the FA, consent to the contracting of World Cup squad-ship between our dearly beloved Gareth and his brave 23-man selection. Although obviously not Jack, Joe, Adam or Jonjo who are on this occasion gutted to miss out, but for whom the door is never closed, and all the lads are still very much in the frame going forwards.There was an unavoidable air of ceremony about Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad camera call on Thursday morning. On a bright, brittle late-spring day Wembley was already hung...
Southgate is picking his World Cup squad and there are players he should choose even if they lack international experienceIt is that time of year again. The hawthorns are in bloom. The cow parsley is high. Men in shorts have already begun to gather cautiously in public places, puffing their chests, milk-white ankles proudly bared. And by Wednesday lunchtime mid-summer will make an early appearance with the announcement of an England squad for the World Cup in Russia.It is generally assumed Gareth Southgate is getting his selection for Russia 2018 out there a little early for the simple reason the squad basically picks itself. In the best possible sense this has become the most managed, carefully pondered England era, with...
Jack Wilshere will always have a devoted fan club but injuries have sabotaged his career and only Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s knee ligaments are keeping him in the World Cup pictureCan anyone remember those days when the common assumption about Gareth Southgate was that he was too gentlemanly, too afraid of upsetting people and, ultimately, too damn nice to succeed in an industry where all the people at the top occasionally have to use their elbows?That nonsense stopped being trotted out once Southgate made it a priority to phase out Wayne Rooney, the player around whom England’s national team had been shaped for the previous decade. Theo Walcott found out he had been jettisoned with a telephone call on the morning of...
The England manager this week names his squad for Russia and has hinted there will be no major surprisesGareth Southgate has made the sensible decision to name his World Cup squad early, this coming week in fact, perhaps because of his close proximity to the furniture rearranging that took place when Glenn Hoddle trimmed Paul Gascoigne from his list at the last moment in 1998.As Southgate has explained, injuries permitting there is no need to prolong anyone’s agony when you have a couple of weeks to spare and a reasonable idea of the group you would like to select. Better to let everyone know the good or bad news early and give the individuals in the finalised squad as much...