12 Jul 2024
On Engand vs Netherlands
On England’s journey to the final
England’s journey to the final has been a slow burner. Everyone went into the tournament expecting so much and a lot of people thought we'd blow teams like Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia away.
People thought we should be beating those types of teams easily, especially when we can call on some of the best players in the world who play for massive clubs.
I think that expectation and that pressure did get to the players. Southgate admitted that, saying that there was a fear of failure holding the players back and that they couldn't play with freedom.
What happens at tournament football is, gradually, as it progresses, you loosen up and you gain confidence. Suddenly, you’re able to produce something like your best form, and I think we saw that in our performance against the Netherlands. That was our best performance by far. The football has not always been an easy watch, but many people have said many times that it's all about getting through the matches and into the final.
You mentioned there it was our best performance at the tournament so far and it would be very, very difficult to disagree with that. What were the takeaways for you from that performance in terms of the improvement? What did you see that you hadn't necessarily seen in other games?
In the game against the Netherlands, we saw the combination of our best players going forward, clicking together, rather than having little individual moments.
Foden, Saka, Mainoo, they were all excellent and they gave us something to build on. In previous matches, there was no fluency to our game. You can see that things are starting to come together, and these players look like they understand each other a little better. I think that improvement in understanding and increased fluidity is a result of Gareth not making that many changes over the course of the tournament. That decision appears to have paid dividends because our best players are clicking into gear now.
Gareth Southgate is never going to be Mr Popular, and he has been getting pelters throughout the tournament, should the English public have shown more faith in him?
You say that Gareth Southgate is never going to be Mr Popular, but he's got to be now, hasn't he? When you look at his record, he's got to be, and he should be.
When you look at previous England managers, they all get slated, no matter who it is. Alf Ramsey did after the 1970 World Cup and he lifted the trophy four years earlier. I was in England squads when Bobby Robson was getting absolute pelters, now we look back on those times with rose-tinted glasses, especially Italia 90.
Gareth Southgate’s record speaks for itself. He’s taken us to more semi-finals and finals than any other England manager. I think more was probably made of two or three idiots throwing pints of beer at him after one of the games. Who knows what kind of state those people were in when they did it. When you see the pictures on the TV, they don’t look good and that is the type of thing that goes mad on social media. Those types of incidents help to portray an unpopular image of the manager and accentuate, which is unfair and not a true representation of all England fans.
People have been moaning about our style of play, and, if Gareth leaves at the end of this tournament, and I think he probably will, we should look back on this as a golden period under him. If we win it and he fancies having a crack at the World Cup, it would be pretty difficult to deny him that opportunity.
Have England mastered tournament football, start slowly, play some stodgy stuff and when we move into the knock-out rounds, improve game by game.
The below par performances weren’t planned were they (laughs)? Sometimes that’s what happens at tournaments, and you grow into them. Spain have been brilliant on the whole, but they’ve had their moments of adversity and they have had to dig in at times.
Tournament football is about progressing and gaining confidence. These England lads needed to rebuild that confidence because there was so much expectation on their shoulders, they just needed to get through games and to gradually improve step-by-step. That’s what's happened.
Phil Foden came to the party. He was excellent – is he finding his for just at the right time?
It looks like Phil Foden is finding his form at just the right time. Listen, you look at his season for Manchester City, he certainly got my vote for the Football Writers' Player of the Year. He was outstanding for perhaps the best club team in the world. He stood out amongst those players, which takes some doing.
You just want Foden to bring that talent out in an England shirt. That happened last night. He's a superb footballer. It was a big call to bring him off against the Netherlands by Gareth Southgate, because it wasn't as if he was playing poorly.
It was lovely to see him doing well in an England shirt.
Most people had the final as the minimum objective. We’ve done that. Do we need to step back and applaud this manager and this group and recognise what they’ve done at back-to-back Euros?
It's easy to say that England should get to the final as a minimum requirement with our group of players, and I think that if you look at our individual quality, it’s a fair assumption, but fans and pundits need to remember that this is knock-out football.
Shocks can happen. It’s not easy to reach the latter stages of any competition – everyone wants to win. Its precarious. You can easily be on the wrong side of the break of a ball, a referee's decision, and suddenly, you're going home. We got a little bit of the rub of the green against the Netherlands with the penalty decision, which was a dodgy one to say the least. If that’s not given, who knows if we qualify.
We've got a group of players that deserve to be in the final. There is no God-given right to be in the final because there have been a lot of great teams competing in this tournament and, as I say, an unfortunate bounce to the ball and you're out.
Do you think it’s a coincidence that England have improved since reverting to a back five?
We will never know if England’s improved performances are a result of a change in the formation or whether it's just been a case of the players gradually clicking into gear and gaining a bit of confidence.
Against the Netherlands, we were quite fluid tactically. We switched formation during the game from a back five to a back four last night. Kyle Walker as the third centre back gives you that versatility because he knows when to support Saka on the right, and it turns into more of a conventional back four when we have the ball.
With the exception of Keiran Trippier, all the players are playing in familiar positions and they feel comfortable. It’s a wonderful trait to have tactical versatility. All the top teams have got it.
On Spain vs England
I know it’s unlikely, but did Ollie Watkins goal and the difference in his qualities compared to Harry Kane give Gareth Southgate a selection headache for the final?
No, no, I don't think Gareth Southgate would consider not playing Kane in the final. If Kane's fit, he’ll play. He did seem to have some discomfort in his ankle after that challenge from Denzel Dumfries but hopefully he'll be fit.
I say hopefully Kane is fit because he’s proven his worth to England immeasurably over the years; his contribution has been huge. He stepped up and dispatched that penalty with absolute precision and calmness under the circumstances. There’s nobody that you would rather have stepping up to take that penalty than Harry Kane.
Kane leads by example. He’s got brilliant experience. His fellow players look up to him. Kane hasn’t come close to showing his best form at the tournament in general play, but he's still got three goals. He'll be hoping on the grandest of all stages that he has saved the best for last and can produce his best form in the final.
Ollie Watkins, after his lovely goal, some may say that he’s unfortunate not to be starting, but what a great option he is to call from the bench when the opposition is tiring. He’s a bundle of energy. He makes those brilliant runs down the sides and asks defenders different questions (to Harry Kane). The last thing any defender would want to see with 20 or 15 minutes to go is Ollie Watkins getting ready to come off the bench.
I thought Gareth used his deck well by bringing Watkins on against the Netherlands. It was the right move, but with Ivan Toney also there, he has some fantastic options on that bench.
You've been in an England squad at a tournament where you haven't been the main guy, but you've been called upon. From a player's point of view, how challenging is that when you’re in the squad and you must be ready when you're called upon?
From a player’s point of view, being that second striker is frustrating. It sounds like he’s been giving everything in training by the sound of it; running around trying to catch the manager's eye. He must have done that to have been called upon from the bench. The role of a squad player at these tournaments is to bide your time.
Watkins would have been chomping at the bit. He would have seen that Kane has not been producing his best, and he would have been looking at Gareth Southgate and thinking to himself ‘OK, I know he's our captain, the top scorer, but is there any chance of me starting a match?’
He's a good character, Ollie Watkins. I think he's a good tourist within that England camp over the course of the tournament. That's really important. He's come a long way. It was so good to see him get that goal and to see the look on his face afterwards. He's done everything right. That goal is probably the highlight of his career, he may not reach any higher than that, unless he scores in the final
Do you expect Luke Shaw to come into the starting eleven for the tournament?
Whether or not Luke Shaw starts the final on Sunday will depend on his fitness and whether he's got 90 minutes in him. Obviously, Gareth doesn’t feel like that has been the case at the tournament so far, but he's played in the last couple, so his fitness will be building.
Left back is the one area where there are question marks. The rest of the team picks itself at this stage. Every other position is spoken for.
Will it be Luke Shaw or Kieran Trippier? We all know that Luke Shaw would give the defence and the team more balance and, he's been there before, scored in the final in 2021, so he's a big consideration for Southgate. It all comes down to fitness I think.
A welcome change playing a team that will attack
I think playing Spain is a welcome change because this is one opponent who aren’t going to sit back in numbers and ask England to break them down. The Netherlands played with a little bit more freedom than some of the other nations that we’ve faced, and it freed up more space for our creative players, which we saw in the first half.
The Netherlands did shut up shop in the second half, and they made things difficult for England, but Spain will come at us. The Spanish wide players have had spectacular tournaments. If Luke Shaw does come into the team, he will need to be at peak fitness to compete with Lamine Yamal, who has been a revelation at this tournament.
It should be an open game. There should be a bit more space at times for England to try and make things happen on the transition. It's a fascinating matchup. Spain is a very good team, and we will go into it as second favourites, which won't harm us one bit.
Spain will be worried about what we can do, no question about it. They'll look at our attacking players and wonder if they can cope with all the different options.
Who are Spain’s most dangerous players?
Lamine Yamal, at 16, he's a superstar in the making. To have that kind of confidence and temperament in a major tournament is exceptional. I think he’s clearly a threat and someone that England will have to try and deal with.
Nico Williams on the other side is just as threatening. He might be a player that not that many people had heard of before the tournament stats because he plays for Athletic Bilbao, but he’s been incredible and has been a real star at this tournament.
The Spanish midfield is full of quality. Dani Olmo, Rodri, Fabian Ruiz, dealing with and winning that midfield battle will be essential. Possession of the ball will be key, and although this isn’t a Spanish side that are disciples of tiki-taka, those players are technically superb.
We will be do very well to beat this Spain team, but we’re capable of it.
Given what we’ve seen from England, last minute overhead kicks, penalty shoot-outs and a last-minute winner in the semi-final – are we destined to win this thing? Is it written in the stars?
I don't know whether England winning the tournament is written in the stars! We’ve experienced some brilliant moments to get us to where we are, but we've still got one more big, big job to do.
It's great to be here, but nothing's spoken for at the moment. It's a big challenge.
The thing that we do have in our favour when you think about Bellingham’s overhead kick, the penalty victories and Ollie’s last-minute winner, is that England has four or five match winners in the team that can pop up and produce something special. That is a fantastic asset to have.
Perhaps Spain haven't got as many players as we have that can produce something special to win you a game. I know they’ve scored more goals than England, but if you look at individuals that can win a match on their own with a moment of magic, then we have more of those. Whether that's going to make the difference, we'll have to wait and see.
What would be your message to the players and manager ahead of the game? One match from history.
It’s really important that the players and the manager get the balance right (in terms of the message going into the final). This is a chance to make history, but you don't want to get consumed by that because it can weigh you down.
The players are all aware of the opportunity that is in front of them. They all know that no England team has been to a final on foreign soil before and that the last time we won anything major was in 1966.
The players must concentrate on their individual jobs and getting the better of your man. They need to think about the overall team structure and remain disciplined.
If I'm Harry Kane, I'm looking at the centre halves and seeing how I can get the better of them and that will be the mentality for every other player on the pitch. Win your individual duels and battles.
These massive games are about concentration as much as anything. Try and enjoy it and appreciate where you are and the sacrifices that you’ve made to get here.
Don't play the occasion. You've just got to concentrate on your job and hope that in the end, you have made history, and you will be remembered forever in the record books.
Transfer Rumours
Eberechi Eze is reportedly on the wanted lists of Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham. He’s a man in demand, what do you think will be the key factor in his decision to join one of these clubs and who do you think he would suit the best?
The future of Eberechi Eze will depend on Crystal Palace. There are reports that he has a release clause, so that does kind of take things out of their hands if a club is willing to meet it.
They would have gone into this summer begrudgingly prepared to let one of their crown jewels depart. Michael Olise has already moved onto Bayern Munich, so that will have addressed any financial concerns the club may have had and the funds raised from his sale will help them bring in their own players.
Eze and Guehi are players in demand according to reports. Will the experience of playing at the European Championships influenced their desire to try something different?
Both players have performed well for England. Guehi, he’s had more opportunities and hasn’t really put a foot wrong and Eze looks a handful every time he comes on, so that speaks well of his ability and character as well.
In terms of a preference of club, Eze is a London boy, so perhaps that gives an advantage to the likes of Arsenal or Spurs if they are indeed interested in him. I think he’s definitely good enough to play for one of the bigger clubs in the league, no disrespect to Palace.
On Arsenal
Arsenal have already started their pre-season training. Is that a sign that they mean business for the coming season?
Listen, as the manager you want to get your hands on your top players as soon as possible in pre-season, which is always difficult in a tournament cycle because you know that most of them are going to be involved in international football.
Arteta can call upon some of his big guns. Having the likes of Ben White, Martin Odegaard, Jurrien Timber available to him now gives those individuals a bit of a head start and you hope that will give them a bit of an edge in terms of their own individual fitness before the Premier League kicks-off in August.
It's always a bit of a balancing act when the international lads come back into the fold (during pre-season). Obviously, the ones that have gone all the way, Saka, Rice, Ramsdale will need a minimum of two weeks off I imagine. That will affect where they are compared to some of the other players in terms of being ready to go for the new season, but Arsenal will have a team of excellent sports scientists and other fitness experts to get them back up to speed as quickly as possible. The most important thing is avoiding injury, but it’s a good sign that some of the lads are already starting to get a feel for the challenge that lies ahead.
Raya’s signing must signal the end of Aaron Ramsdale’s Arsenal career because he won’t want to sit on the bench for another season. Do you think that some of the Premier League’s biggest clubs will be interested in taking him or do you think he may have to rebuild his career and accept a move to a less glamourous side where he will play every week.
Aaron Ramsdale’s agent and his people will be talking to potential clubs and sounding out interested parties. They won't want to burden him with thoughts about his future whilst he's in Germany.
I think it’s going to be difficult for him. I was looking at the Premier League table and most teams in the top half have that first-choice goalkeeper position well covered. It's difficult to see anywhere that Ramsdale will go in as the number one.
Would he want to go in as the number two somewhere? I wouldn’t have thought so because that will not get him anywhere. Perhaps he needs to look further down the table, maybe to even one of the promoted sides like Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton. You look at their keepers and Ramsdale's a step up from the ones that they've gained promotion with.
Is Ramsdale worth more than that? Is he too good to be playing for one of those promoted clubs? Maybe he is, but the most important thing for him is to establish himself as a number one for a season and playing regular football. He deserves to be playing week-in, week-out with his ability.
Maybe he'll have to accept an offer that doesn't equate with his ability and his experience, but one that could be seen as a good move for him to start building up his career again.
He's unfortunate that all of the top side are sorted with world-class keepers.
On Leicester
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall joined Chelsea earlier in the window. He’s obviously highly regarded by Enzo Maresca, but what kind of role do you think he will play for his new club in the Premier League?
When your former manager buys you like that, it indicates that he will be a key player for Chelsea. Kiernan would have obviously spoken to Maresca before the move about his role within the squad, and I think all of Chelsea’s other midfielders will be thinking to themselves that if the manager has brought this guy with him, he’ll be starting on day one.
Chelsea have got so many players haven’t they? They will need to move a few of them on you would think. Connor Gallagher is a name that is constantly spoken about in terms of the club wanting to sell, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is a similar type of player.
Enzo Fernandes was signed for a lot of money. Caicedo also. Chelsea have got a wealth of midfielders to choose from.
You would think that because Maresca has signed Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, he will know exactly what he wants to do with him and have a plan for him. He will be foremost in the manager's thoughts.
It’s a great move for him, and he's a very good player. We’ll have to wait and see what type of role he has, but logic suggests that he will start. Maresca's got to cope with the challenges that Pochettino had to face and will be trying to keep all of his players happy while forging a cohesive unit. it will be fascinating to see if he can do that.
Leicester start with Tottenham at home, Fulham away and then Aston Villa at home. How would you rate that in terms of difficulty as an introduction back into the Premier League and how many points do you think Steve Copper will be targeting?
I think Steve Cooper will be thinking more long-term than the first three games of the season.
Some managers look at a run of fixtures and set a points total. I think Sam Allardyce used to do that. It’s not an easy start for Leicester, and they've also got the shadow of a points deduction looming over them, so they will want to try and get that sorted sooner rather than later.
I just think, especially if they get deducted points, it's going to be a really hard season for them. It was always going to be difficult anyway.
I think they need quite a few players coming in to help them compete but the club’s hands are tied to a large extent.
It will be difficult for Steve Cooper, but I do like him as the manager. He's obviously been there before with Forrest in recent years, so we'll see. I hope he can do well.
