Joey Barton is the latest to share his verdict on the ‘Southgate In vs Southgate Out’ debate and it won’t surprise you to hear that he has some strong opinions on the matter.
The ex-pro turned coach, currently managing Bristol Rovers in League One, is never one to shy away from sharing his thoughts and has been regularly tweeting throughout this year’s World Cup.
That being said, while Gareth Southgate is now widely reported to be considering his future after this latest tournament exit, the former Manchester City man is unhappy that a decision is yet to be made.
Writing in multiple posts on Twitter, Barton thinks it’s time to pull the trigger and move on from Southgate, adding that he is surprised a resignation hasn’t already been announced.
As you can see, Barton says that does he not understand how Southgate hasn’t quit already following “two World Cups and a home European Championship we could/should have won”, but that he believes England need to “stop rewarding failure” by offering him new contracts.
ADVERTISEMENT
He goes on to insist that the FA need “to hire somebody who can win”. Worth noting that Southgate has actually won the most games at major tournaments (11) and is fourth in terms of all-time win percentage (60.5%) — admittedly with three competitions under his belt.
Nevertheless, Barton also goes on to take aim at Southgate for appearing in a Pizza Hut advert more than 25 years ago after his infamous penalty miss at Euro 96.
ADVERTISEMENT
It is a strange watch, we’ll admit.
While it’s safe to say this seemed like an odd choice at the time, let alone how surreal it looks now, the gag itself is referring to a moment in Southgate had the courage to step up and take a penalty in a historic moment.
Just for context, Barton only ever made one appearance for the Three Lions.
ADVERTISEMENT
Either way, the 40-year-old went on to write: “Time for him to move on… He’s a nice guy but he isn’t a winner. When he put Pizza Box on his head after missing the pen, he was done with. No self-respecting man would ever do that.”
And it’s not like you’ve appeared in any questionable adverts, right Joey?
Now, this is not to rubbish Barton’s stance on whether Southgate should stay or go — his opinion is like that of many others over recent years — but it is always worth reminding that despite the painful endings we’re so used to, he has taken the squad further than anyone since Sir Alf Ramsey in 1966.
Moreover, he’s also managed to overcome the club rivalries that so often drew wedges between previous generations and has created a genuine sense of unity and national pride not only in his teams but across the country, after so many had become disillusioned with international football.
We wrote this before the start of Qatar 2022 and it seems more pertinent than ever that although his departure seems most likely, the gratitude this man is owed goes far beyond what he’s received from the likes of Barton and others who would have sacked him before he’d even made it to the Euro 2020 final.
ADVERTISEMENT
Regardless of whether he stays or goes, he’s created some of the best England memories most will have ever been alive to witness. He’s done a great job.
Featured Image — Bristol Rovers/England (via Twitter)
Sport
Bolton fans split opinion with pitch invasion but they were the difference in the play-off semi-final
Danny Jones
The Toughsheet was hit with a huge pitch invasion by Bolton fans after the Wanderers narrowly secured their place in the League One play-off final this week, but the behaviour from those in the stadium has split opinion, to say the least.
Last Friday’s 3-1 win in the away leg gave the Trotters just enough cushion to survive the 3-2 defeat to Barnsley on Tuesday night, scraping through 5-4 on aggregate.
A tense affair was putting it mildly, especially after the home side began to let their two-nil lead from the first half slip and seeing the Tykes get just a goal away from tying things up with over a quarter of an hour still to go.
Bolton boss Ian Evatt put it best by simply saying, “We got the job done”, but as he’s stressed all season long as automatic promotion began to look less and less likely, he didn’t want his players to be premature or complacent come these final weeks. Safe to say the fans didn’t get that memo.
Although many have been defending the supporters for celebrating a massive victory which could see them back in the Championship after five years, not to mention it being the last home game of the season, plenty of others have been labelling the pitch invasion “nothing short of embarrassing”.
There have been countless comments to that effect, with people writing, “Bolton fans are weird. Pitch invasion and they aren’t even promoted yet” and “Pitch invasions for anything nowadays”. One user went so far as to argue, “Even the players must feel embarrassed”.
On the other hand, the defence that many of those are giving is that the Wanderers were close to liquidation just a few short years ago and unable to even pay their players, resorting to roping in academy players and dropping all the way to League Two in the 2020/21 season.
Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that it was a big night for Boltonians and it’s hard to pretend that being part of it would be anything other than up there with your most memorable sporting moments.
As for Evatt, he told BBC Radio Manchester that the crowd was “the best it’s been since I’ve been here”, insisting that “the atmosphere was absolutely incredible” from start to finish.
When you talk of the ‘twelfth man’ in football, it’s these games that come to mind and it’s no exaggeration to say that it was the fans in the stands that helped their team ride out the storm for what must have felt like an eternity.
What do you think, is a pitch invasion before you’ve actually won anything a bit premature or do these lot deserve to soak it all in after how far they’ve come over the past year or so?
Pubs can extend their opening hours if England make it to the Euro 2024 semi-finals
Emily Sergeant
Pubs are to be permitted to extend their opening hours if England make it through to the semi-finals of EURO 2024 this summer.
With the Premier League, and the English and Scottish football leagues, all drawing to a close over the next couple of weeks, our nations are already looking ahead to what is gearing up to be a massive summer of sport – with both the UEFA EURO 2024, and the 2024 Olympics coming up before August is out.
And now, it’s been revealed by Home Secretary James Cleverly that if either England or Scotland’s mens national football teams make it to the semi-final of European football’s flagship tournament, then pubs will be allowed to stay open for longer.
But, there’s a bit of a catch… because isn’t there always?
The Government has said that venues will be allowed to stay open for an extra two hours on match days if either or both teams reach the last four or the final of the competition, but this only applies to pubs that already have a license to open until 11pm anyway.
The move to extend opening hours comes after a consultation at the end of last year, and is hoped to provide a boost to the hospitality industry – which has notably been hit hard during the ongoing cost of living crisis.
The Home Secretaries in England and Wales, under Section 172 of the Licensing Act 2003, can make an order relaxing licensing hours to mark occasions of “exceptional national significance”, but the Scottish and Northern Irish Governments have to set their own rules.
“We have listened to the public through our consultation,” explained Home Secretary James Cleverley, “and we will be extending pub licensing hours should England or Scotland reach the semi-finals or final of Euro 2024.”
The EURO 2024 semi-finals are to be held on Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 July / Credit: UEFA
Mr Cleverley said the move will “allow friends, families and communities to come together for longer to watch their nation hopefully bring it home”.
This legislation is set to be laid in Parliament today (Wednesday 8 May) to ensure there is enough time for it to be debated and passed before the tournament begins on Friday 14 June, the Government has confirmed.