Jack Grealish insists supporters are “too harsh” on Gareth Southgate and does not understand why the England manager is criticised so frequently.
Southgate has faced abuse from impatient fans at every turn during his eight years as national team manager, from starting as an unpopular choice for the job to leading England to a World Cup semi-final and European Championship final during the country’s most successful period for half a century.
Towards the end of a goalless first half against Germany in Munich on Tuesday night, when Southgate played close to his strongest starting line-up, #SouthgateOut had already started trending on Twitter despite the quality of the opposition and the fact both sides had had chances in the game.
England left it late, but Harry Kane’s 88th-minute penalty secured a draw against as tough opponents as you can face in international football.
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Even en route to the Euro 2020 final, when England came within a penalty shootout of winning, Southgate was routinely criticised for negative tactics and a perceived boring style of play.
It is Grealish who has caused possibly the biggest problem for Southgate in recent years. The 26-year-old has become a fan-favourite but Southgate prefers to utilise him from the bench later in games, which causes friction.
But while Grealish naturally wants to play as much as possible he is confused by the constant stream of criticism aimed the England manager, citing the “palaver” that proceeded the unexpected Nations League defeat to Hungary in Budapest last weekend.
“I love coming away here honestly, and I think sometimes, especially the manager, people are too harsh on him,” Grealish said. “I feel like, last game for example [against Hungary], we lose the first game in I don’t know how long it was, a bit of palaver, and it’s like, we’ve lost a game, it happens. You know.
“And one thing I can say he’s done, when we come away here, everyone loves it, from the staff to the players, we all get on like a family and I feel like that’s why we’ve been so successful over the last couple of years and even before I was in the squad, at tournaments.”
Grealish, who signed for Manchester City for £100million last summer and won his first Premier League title at the end of the season, revealed that the environment Southgate has created allows him to play with more freedom than under club manager Pep Guardiola.
“I feel at times I’ve played a bit safe at City but when I come here [with England] I feel like even in training I feel like I train really well, score goals, get assists and whatnot,” Grealish said. “When I come on the pitch I do feel like I play with a lot more freedom here and hopefully I can transfer that into my club football and keep on improving.
“[Southgate and Guardiola are] two different managers so it’s always going to be difficult [to compare them]. Pep’s a lot more structured. You can’t complain because of what he’s done in the game, how successful he is. Whereas [with] Gareth you have a formation and a structure but he says to me if you feel like you need to go to the other side of the pitch to get the ball then go and do that. That’s not really part of the freedom, the freedom is more in myself.”
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Southgate, meanwhile, is set to make changes in the remaining two Nations League games, home fixtures against Italy and Hungary. The England manager faces a similar challenge to other national teams trying to balance winning competitive fixtures and preparing for the Qatar World Cup with protecting players from injury following an extended season.
England captain Kane reached 50 England goals on Tuesday night and wants to start both games as he targets Wayne Rooney’s all-time goalscoring record of 53. But Southgate wants to look at Tammy Abraham, who scored 29 goals following a £34m move from Chelsea to Roma last year. He would also have liked to use Phil Foden, but the Manchester City forward is recovering slower from Covid than anticipated.
“You have seen right across Europe – France changed 10, Spain changed eight, Portugal changed seven [across two Nations League games],” Southgate said. “So this is quite a unique set of games where teams are thinking about player welfare to a degree, freshness, but also they are preparing for a World Cup because they know what’s coming and what they haven’t got in terms of friendlies ahead of the tournament. So strategically it’s a bit of a unique situation.”
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