I disagree, I see a manager who at this tournament was unwilling to change, do something different, for me some of his decisions were very strange.
Kane - Not Fit - Why rely on him? You’ve had a pop at me about using him as an impact player already but even GS admits that the Captain wasn’t fit. - So why play an unfit Kane from the outset. We could have got through the group stage utilising other players in Kane’s role giving him more time to get fit.
Saka - WTF, this guy maybe monumentally talented but I didn’t see much of it in the role he was given. When he played more central he had the ball in the net sadly ruled offside but he looked more effective. In final he was just a passenger from what I saw, I would have taken him off at half time or switched the system to bring him more into the game, but GS did neither.
Bellingham and Foden - It would seem that the real Jude and Phil had slipped away for an early holiday and their doppelgänger twins were at the tournament, where were the plays who made such an impact at Real Madrid and Manchester City this season? Are the roles they were given right for them or are we getting back to the Lampard Gerrard conundrum with Bellingham and Foden.
I could go on but no doubt I’ll be wrong about these as well.
Don’t get me wrong GS has dragged England up from the depths of despair with Big Sam and has very much improved the situation, he has achieved a lot in his time at the helm and this deserves due recognition.
But in sport you are judged not from where you started but on your results today, I question selections made by GS in the run up to the tournament and through the tournament, that we struggled to beat our round of 16 and QF opponents speaks volumes, we were better against the dutch (in parts) but fell away again against Spain.
Gareth should be applauded for what he has done for the England football team, reaching a final is good but we had the easier route to get there, Spain had Germany and France in QF and SF, we had Switzerland and Netherlands.
There is a huge belief in this squad that Gareth is the right man for the job, the players respect the boss, that goes the other way as well, but if England are going to end 60 years of hurt something has to change. We will not win any tournament playing the way we are at the moment.
If Gareth stays will we get more of the same in qualifying for the next World Cup or will he change the way that his teams play, we have brilliant players but they are not playing brilliantly.