First and foremost, let it be known that this is not the outcome this particular fan wants. Like so many of us, Gareth Southgate has given me the greatest England memories of my lifetime.
However, it’s fair to say it’s not going to plan, is it?
The Three Lions are now without a win in the last six games and have been relegated from their Nations League group following a disappointing final two games before the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
On top of the lacklustre defeat against Italy, who were arguably the only team to look as off the pace as England since the Euros, Monday night’s 3-3 draw against a similarly underperforming Germany was a typically frustrating rollercoaster, to say the least.
Southgate‘s team looked dead and buried after the opener and even despite the spirited fight-back, they gave away a late equaliser. Even more worryingly, prior to Luke Shaw’s goal, they hadn’t scored from open play in over nine hours of football. Yikes.
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Many have been calling for the England boss to be dismissed ever since the disappointment of last summer — some of his detractors even date as far back as 2018. That being said, these latest defeats have only seen more people declaring #SouthgateOut, World Cup just around the corner or not.
Despite being the first coach to take the England men’s team to a final since the last time we lifted a trophy in 1966 – the first to take us as far as a semi since ’96, as well – it’s becoming more and more difficult to argue his case by the minute.
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Moreover, not only is hard to feel confident for November based on recent performances, but knowing that this could be the last major tournament for many of the core group who have delivered over the past five or six years, it does feel very much like a ‘now or never’ moment for Southgate and several players.
Speaking of which, the squad selection has been another point of contention for some England fans, the suggestion being that he has his favourites and often overlooks those in form and more deserving of a spot compared to his mainstays.
The inclusion of Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw has been highlighted by many of his critics given the two are barely paying for United at the minute. The pair both started against Germany despite calls for the likes of Fikayo Tomori to be given a shot having been part of a title-winning Milan side in Italy last season.
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Some fans were also calling for Ben White to be brought into the fold, but he wasn’t even named in this squad for this international break, despite Arsenal sitting top of the Premier League and with three clean sheets, no less.
Meanwhile, sidelined Maguire was responsible for the penalty that gave Germany the lead and the second goal, as it happens.
The rationale seems to be that Maguire has been a fairly consistent performer under Southgate, scoring some big goals in both of the last two tournaments and a key player in his preferred back three/five.
Shaw was one of the stand-outs of Euro 2020 — we relive that goal almost nightly. But even besides moments like that and Monday nights’s contribution, surely ‘sticking with what you know’ only goes so far and it makes little sense to be picking players who aren’t playing regularly.
More accurately, she did so by playing a largely positive, attacking style, enjoying plenty of possession in most games and hitting fast on the counter. In contrast, Southgate’s approach is considered somewhat reserved, even when his team are at their best.
While Southgate’s sides often dominate possession in games against weaker opponents, they are rarely perceived as risk-takers and the 52-year-old regularly favours a more defensive set-up even in games when most would argue it isn’t necessary. It’s one of the several reasons fans have grown impatient.
The man himself admitted in the build-up to the Germany game that even with his 2024 contract, he knows that he’ll be “judged on what happens at [the] World Cup” and emphasised that beyond his own job security, “it’s not healthy for the team to be having this noise around them”
🗣 "It's a situation we aren't enjoying."
Gareth Southgate is determined to turn around England's poor run of performances pic.twitter.com/ajzneLYkjA
Conversely, Raheem Sterling said before the game that the players need to “take some responsibility” for the misfiring of late, but insisted that the neither team nor the fans need to panic at this stage and that the boys will find their feet when World Cup starts on 20 November.
Moreover, even before they fought their way back into the game, Germany’s coach Hansi Flick offered his support, dubbed him “the most successful in [our] history” and citing that he has the best points average of any England manager.
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Regardless of the pressure on him right now, it cannot be overlooked that Southgate has lost just 13 and drawn 17 in 76 matches, not to mention taking the nation as far in a tournament as they’ve been in 25 years. That’s what makes this debate such a painful and divisive one.
With that in mind, it’s worth reiterating that we would love nothing more than to see Southgate succeed and take this team that final step further. Nevertheless, it’s hard to ignore the very real possibility that this could be his last crack at it.
Even if they did complete the comeback against Germany, England still finished bottom of the group with a game to spare, ending on just three points and a minus-six goal difference. It’s chalk and cheese to the numbers put up by the Women’s team who filled the nation with such hope and pride just months ago.
As Sterling says, it is of course on the players as well, but you’d be hoping for a little more momentum with the World Cup starting in just 55 days.
Games like these are when you want to see a manager’s first-choice team taking shape and although we know there will be personnel changes in the final squad, it’s only going to take more time for members of the group to build that chemistry so key in tournament football.
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It really does feel like we’ve reached a point where Southgate has to win a trophy or go the way of every other manager since Sir Alf Ramsey.
Being generous, it’s reach another final at the very least, but even that might not be enough for the FA to bet on him for another four years only to risk potentially falling short again while running the clock down on a talented generation of footballers.
If it does turn out to be his final tournament as England manager, we’ll always have the memories and we look forward to creating a few more this winter. I mean, anything can happen in a knockout competition – who knows, maybe he’ll help bring it home after all?
Featured Image: England (via Twitter)
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The full list of Greater Manchester Olympians representing Team GB at Paris 2024
Danny Jones
The Paris Olympics are nearly here and this year Greater Manchester happens to have eight athletes competing at the 2024 Summer Games.
It just so happens that eight is also the exact same number of local Olympians who brought home medals from Tokyo 2020, and we’re hoping these lot will help Team GB bring back a record number, with the previous competition seeing them match their all-time record (65) set at London 2012.
Honestly, there are few times in the year that we love as much as when the summer of sport fully kicks in and with the heartbreak of the Euros finally starting to drift, we can fully throw ourselves into the Olympics and get behind our Mancs flying the flag for 0161.
But who exactly is representing Greater Manchester at Paris 2024 and what events are they competing in? Look no further.
Greater Manchester’s 2024 Team GB athletes and their sports
Without further ado, let’s meet our local Olympic heroes:
Keely Hodgkinson – Wigan – Athletics
Starting out over in the home of the Latics, pie barms and The Verve, we have Wigan‘s very own Keely Hodgkinson: a two-time European champion who also recently broke the all-time British record in the 800m at the Diamond League in London on 20 July.
Born in Atherton, the 22-year-old middle-distance runner’s career is already off to a flyer and having already picked up the silver in her event at the last Olympics at just 19, we have every faith she’ll be bringing home the gold this time.
Aimee Pratt – Stockport – Athletics
Over to Stockport (don’t start with that Cheshire nonsense today, just be proud she’s from around here) and our 3000m steeplechase specialist, who already broke the national record twice in 2022 and produced the UK’s best-ever finish (7th) in the women’s event at the World Athletics Championships.
A long-standing member of Sale Harriers running club and a University of Manchester graduate, Aimee Pratt, 26, has got so much local backing behind her and has quickly gone from rising star to very much looking like she’s going to live up to the expectations of becoming ‘world-class’ as coaches predicted.
The third and final Manc representing us in athletics events is Bury-born and bred Hannah Kelly, 23, who is also a member of nearby Bolton United Harriers.
She was part of the crack team at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow that helped Great Britain reach a women’s 4x400m national record, picking up the bronze medal and will no doubt be looking to go on further in her Olympic debut.
Now into the world of combat sport and the incredible story of Trafford boxer Pat Brown’s journey to Paris 2024 who beat Poland’s Mateusz Bereznicki in a qualifier back in March and now finds himself heading to his first-ever appearance at the Olympics.
Coming through the ranks at his local clubs Moss Side Fire Station and Sale West ABC, the 24-year-old has gone through his fair share of challenges of late, losing his best friend and cousin shortly after sealing his place at the Games but now has more spirit and motivation behind him than ever.
Moving over to the world of cycling and there’s just one local name taking part in two-wheeled events this year: 28-year-old sensation, Charlotte Worthington, from just down the road in Chorlton.
One of the select few Team GB athletes who managed to pick up an Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020, the BMX star is not only ready to defend her title – becoming the first women’s champion freestyle park champion in history – but is looking to come back stronger than ever after some time out.
Insane stuff.
Anthony Harding – Ashton-under-Lyne – Diving
On to those wading through Paris waters in the name of Manchester, the first of two aquatic athletes competing at this year’s tournament is Antony Harding from Ashton-under-Lyne in Tameside.
Joining forces will Britain’s first-ever Olympic diving champion, Jack Laugher (who won the gold at Rio 2016), the duo have already brought home Commonwealth and European gold in the 3m synchro, as well as a pair of World Championship silver medals in the last two years. Is 2024 set for more gold?
And completing the water-bound Team GB athletes hailing from 0161 is multiple-gold medal-winner James Guy who, to use a phrase the kids are using, really is ‘that guy‘.
Another Bury native, the 27-year-old swimmer already has a big collection of gold medals in both the 200m and 4x200m freestyle at the Worlds, as well as silvers across multiple events over the past few years. With five Olympic medals in total to date, we’re desperate for him to add a gold to that list.
Georgia Taylor-Brown – Droyslden – Triathlon
Last but certainly not least is Droyslden’s Georgia Taylor-Brown, who was born to be an Olympian after her mum and Dad swam and ran, respectively, but continues to chase her own story of greatness, having picked up silver on her Olympics debut at Tokyo 2020 – even whilst nursing an injury.
With two golds at the 2019 World Triathlon Mixed Relay Series and AJ Bell World Triathlon in Leeds as well, we already know the colour looks good on her. You can listen to her full interview about going for gold yet again on BBC Sounds HERE but, for now, we’ll admit that her talking about coping with missing her dog come race time has made us love her even more:
Passport ✅ Hotel ✅ Alfie the cavapoo 🥰@TeamGB triathlete Georgia Taylor-Brown from Droylsden on what she can't live without at the Olympics.
Fingers crossed out Greater Manchester Olympians will absolutely smash it at Paris 2024 and regardless of how many medals they come home with, we already know they’ll give it their all.
No matter what, they’ll be welcomed back with a lovely homecoming party over at the AO Arena and we already have a great place to watch the events too.
Best of luck to our Mancs and all of Team GB – now go and do us proud!
City Football Group strike landmark deal with Sony for series of TV shows
Danny Jones
Manchester City’s owners have struck yet another big commercial deal ahead of the 2024/25 season, announcing a new collaboration with Sony to produce a number of original TV series.
Confirmed on Wednesday, 23 July, the deal between the City Football Group (CFG) and Sony Pictures Television will see the entertainment corporation create various TV productions for Man City and the other clubs owned by the limited company as part of a new global partnership.
While it marks the third multimedia crossover of its kind they’ve had with an entertainment-led brand, having first worked with Amazon on their All Or Nothing series and then Netflix for the Treble Winners documentary, this deal will see Sony become an official partner of Man City.
City Football Group (CFG) and Sony Pictures Television have inked a new deal encompassing original scripted, nonfiction, and kids’ television projects. The collaboration will see CFG’s media creative production unit and expertise in sport pair with SPT’s production capabilities… pic.twitter.com/LmagHBMG2b
Although exactly how lucrative the deal itself is yet to be disclosed, as per an official statement from the club, the partnership will see Sony “co-develop and produce new original scripted, nonfiction, and kids’ television projects for worldwide audiences.”
The announcement goes on to state that “as well as scripted and unscripted series, projects can also include one-off documentaries, animated projects, or children’s programming.”
Given that CFG has stakes in 13 clubs across Europe, South America, Asia, the United States and Australia – most notably Girona, New York and Melbourne City, French club ES Troyes AC and Italian side Palermo – TV shows created could ultimately go on to feature teams other than just City.
With the holding group also currently developing the Etihad Campus even further by expanding the stadium capacity and adding new leisure additions such as a hotel, museum, rooftop bar and stadium ‘sky-walk’, this is just the latest step in a series of big commerical steps for Man City.
Moveover, as the CFG are also heavily invested in the recently opened Co-op Live arena – which is inextricably linked to the football club located just a stone’s throw away – the City franchise looks to be moving closer and closer to becoming not just a football club but fully-fledged lifestyle brand.
Commenting on the launch of the collaboration, CFG’s CEO Ferran Soriano said: “We are incredibly excited to be collaborating with Sony Pictures Television [SPT] in this joint initiative.
“City Football Group is already a global entertainment company, and this initiative builds on our long-standing track record of innovation in the content space and the growth of City Studios in the last years. We will now take an even more dynamic approach to content production, and we are already developing several scripted and nonfiction series that will delight audiences globally.
“Bringing together the expertise of both CFG and SPT will enable us to create brilliant shows and remain at the forefront of football-led content production.”
SPT’s President of International Production, Wayne Garvie, went on to add: “Football is the great global game, no other sport produces so many heroes, tears and laughter, joy and heartbreak as football […] but the game always evolves and over the last decade City Football Group have become an unprecedented innovator and global leader.
“Our aim is to be part of the next evolution of the game, creating a new generation of innovative football-based entertainment to thrill the world.” It’s still unclear as to when the first of these new football-related TV shows will start rolling out but given the success of previous ventures they’re sure to prove popular.