It just drives me bananas when people attempt to refute points with things that actually underscore the point!
I think it is true that, with a better manager, England would be in a spot where they should be expected to at least come close to winning things. I think this England side, on paper, is likely superior to the Belgium Golden Gen which is viewed as a disappointment and viewed as having been held back from poor management.
It bears additional mention that England gave France a helluva match in last year's WC, even with Southgate.
He is indisputably holding back a squad that should be contending for tournaments. I think it's hard to deny that, even if they are definitely not France tier.
More than anything beyond national team chauvinism, though, I think English academies deserve some serious credit for their shift over the past ten years. Long gone are the days of "we have 40 Jack Wilsheres at La Masia."
When they beat a top team in the knockout stages, they'll earn respect. If that never happens, then has anything really changed? I heard all about how loaded the Gerard, Lampard, Scholes generation was, and they never beat a contender either
Granted I may just under-rate their potential defense since I don't watch the EPL, but it's hard to change the narrative when the narrative hasn't actually changed yet. Ya know? That failure may all be on Southgate, but it may also just be because they don't have great options.
EDIT:
Not saying they aren't producing talented young players that could solve their issues moving forward, but having talent on the way isn't the same as having current solutions. I'm hyped as shit for Martel, but he's not solving the 6 for us next summer. Morgalla looks like he'll be perfect for the RB/CB role, but he needs another cycle or two.
Granted Tomori isn't that raw, and Colwill is more Thiaw/Schlotterbeck than Bella Kotchap or Morgalla in terms of polish, but it's not like they've got France's embarrassment of riches at the 6 & CB...as there's a difference between good options and great ones.
They could easily win the euros, but France is the only team that should have the weight of expectations. The rest of us all have shortcomings in our player pool.
www.uefa.com
