England were unconvincing in their 1-1 draw with Ukraine, causing Southgate to come under increasing pressure as the FA shortlist Guardiola to become the next manager
England and Gareth Southgate look set to part ways following the conclusion of Euro 2024 next summer, though plenty of fans would ideally like that divorce to happen before the tournament even starts following a disappointing 1-1 draw with Ukraine last Saturday.
The FA have reportedly sounded out Pep Guardiola to become the next England manager in the meantime, further increasing the criticism of Gareth Southgate's tactics and selection.
But what's the actual cause of his side's underwhelming performances, and are they even underwhelming at all?
Why England don't look very good under Gareth Southgate
England flattered to deceive during their 1-1 draw with Ukraine (Image credit: Getty Images)
The pressure is continuously mounting on Gareth Southgate at the moment, especially with the continued selection of both Jordan Henderson and Harry Maguire in the starting XI. Both aren't deemed good enough to start by a large amount of England fans, with some even suggesting they shouldn't make the squad at all.
After all, the stars of both players have certainly dwindled - not least after the decisions both took in the summer. Henderson decided to pack his bags and head to Saudi Arabia to join Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq, while Maguire conversely refused to up sticks and head down south to play for West Ham United, instead opting to fight an increasingly losing battle at Manchester United.
However, both have been stalwarts for Gareth Southgate in all three tournaments he has managed, helping the Three Lions reach a quarter-final, semi-final and a final in that time. Southgate clearly trusts the job both players carry out on the pitch for him, too, as evidenced by their continued selection in the starting XI.
And, as FourFourTwo's Adam Clery highlights in the video above, the way England play under Southgate is largely what a successful international team looks like. It's not always pretty, it's not the most inspiring, but the amount of time managers have to work with their players at international level and implement extremely precise and specific instructions simply isn't enough.
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On occasion, therefore, an underwhelming performance against a team like Ukraine, can happen. Dominance isn't as obvious as it is at club level, where managers can plug specific gaps in the transfer market and coach their players to the nth degree.
Sure, there's the odd exception to that dominance rule - think Brazil in 1970, or Spain a decade ago - but, for the most part, international sides rarely dominate like clubs because pragmatic football often reigns supreme.
In reality, England have never looked entirely convincing under Gareth Southgate, but his aforementioned record in international tournaments certainly isn't something to be sniffed at.
Why Pep Guardiola wouldn't work as England manager
Guardiola has just won the treble - but that doesn't mean he'd easily win the World Cup (Image credit: Manchester City FC via Getty Images)
Should Gareth Southgate leave, the FA have placed Manchester City manager at the top of their shortlist to succeed him. Understandably, Guardiola is seen as the man to take England to the next level and win multiple international gongs.
That's not necessarily what would happen, though.
Among the greatest managers to have ever lived, Guardiola would surely get a tune out of this England side and propel them to even greater heights than what Southgate has managed so far. Right?
Well, not exactly. Guardiola works best when he is given the freedom to develop a squad with additions of his own, bringing in players for a specific system that perform certain roles on the pitch. Unfortunately with international football, you're not afforded that same luxury in the transfer market.
Granted, he's a master at improving players and helping them to understand technical innovations rarely seen in football before, but he won't have the same time to work with his players if he became England manager.
Aside from tournaments, international breaks last for around 10 days at a time. That's not enough time for the Spaniard to implement such complex tactics and systems, where his players would head back to their respective clubs and fall back into the habits their other managers want them to focus on.
The issue of time is further exacerbated by the notion that Guardiola's new signings can often take a full season to bed in and completely learn what he wants from them. At international level, with a tournament every two years, that's simply not enough time for the necessary adaptations to occur.
Regardless of the fact that dreaming about Guardiola is fanciful, there's a strong possibility it might not even work.
Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.
