Does Wenger really rate Southgate?
By Shaun • Apr 24th, 2009 • Category: Featured ArticlesSo Malcolm Crosby believes Arsene Wenger is a fan of Gareth Southgate and the job he is doing:
Arsene Wenger is very complimentary towards Gareth and what he's trying to do and if he thinks that then maybe we're doing something right.
I am personally of the belief that Southgate is a good young coach but that maybe the current Boro job is too much for such an inexperienced manager. I can see the direction he is tring to take the club and I applaud the fact that he is trying to make us a young, vibrant and energetic team but there have been a few notable mistakes that have led to us occupying the relegation spots going into the final few games.
The midfield situation. I think we are all well aware that Southgate was charged with the task of reducing the wage bill and, where possible, bringing in some cash. So out went prominent first team players Fabio Rochemback, George Boateng and Lee Cattermole. Boateng was (is) nearing the end of his career and with him wanting regular football it was inevitable that he would move. Fabio Rochemback was at the end of his contract and, though Boro had an option to extend his deal, he had never really lived up to his reputation or undoubted potential, again it was no surprise to see him move on. Lee Cattermole is one that surprised and disappointed me, I felt Lee had a lot to offer and with Boateng moving there was a real opportunity for him to step into the gap. There were rumours that his off-field antics were not looked upon favourably by Southgate and that was the reason for his departure, there was also talk that Southgate would not guarantee him regular football and that led to Lee wanting to leave, either way our loss is Wigan's gain.
With all that in mind I can still fully support Southgate's decisions to sell/release players in the summer. What I have to pick fault with is that those three were replaced by just one man, Didier Digard. I am not entirely sure as to the thought process behind this one, 3 players out from the midfield and 1 coming in does not add up, especially when you remember that Digard was initially looked upon as a signing for the future. Were Southgate and his staff hoping that Mohamed Shawky could step up and replace Boateng? That maybe Arca could become the creative driving force of the team ot that young Josh Walker could make the step up and break into the team? It is easy to criticise with the aid of hindsight but it is painfully obvious that Shawky was not good enough, Arca has never been the same player since his injury and Gary O'Neil was too lightweight to effectively run a Premiership midfield.
For me the number one reason we are where we are right now is because our midfield is not good enough, we lack any sort of leadership and Southgate has to carry the can for this.
The signing of Afonso Alves. It is no secret that Boro do not have the financial clout that they once flaunted, so spending £12M on one player was a huge gamble. If you think back to before the Alves signing we were crying out for a goalscorer, we were capable of playing some very good football but Aliadiere was never going to get enough goals and Tuncay, for all his work and endeavour, wasted far too many chances. So, when the transfer window arrived, Teesside waited with baited breath.
Southgate decided that Heerenveen striker Afonso Alves was the man for the job and duly shattered our transfer record to land him. Fast forward to present day and it is clear that the gamble he took has backfired badly, Alves is struggling for goals and does not look suited to Boro's style of play. It is difficult for me to blame Southgate too much for this one to be honest, I know he has the final say on transfers but who was not happy when Alves was announced as a Boro player? I know I felt at the time that we had paid a little over the odds but we had landed a striker who would get us goals.
What I can aim Southgate's way though is the way he has used Alves. Far too often, especially earlier in the season, we used Alves as a lone front man and expected him to lead the line and win flick ons. Anybody who watched those games could see that that was not Alves' game, the confidence seemed to visibly drain from him with every game. To spend £12M on a striker and then try to shoehorn him into the team's style of play was the wrong way to go about it in my opinion. If you are going to shell out that much on one player you should be looking to build your team around that player, tailor your style to suit the strengths of that player and that is not what Boro have done with Afonso Alves.
The signing of Marvin Emnes. Let me first say that I am all in favour of Boro extending their scouting network and looking to sign players for the future, my problem with the Emnes signing is that the money we spent on him was seemingly the last remnants of our budget. For teams like Manchester United and Arsenal it is all well and good spending millions on young foreign players in the hope they will turn into stars. For Boro though we had much more pressing matters, the money would have been much better spent on the massively weakened midfield than on an attacker who would play very little part in the season.
Gareth Southgate has many doubters, I myself have serious concerns about his tactical nous and motivational skills, however what has been apparent is that he has been operating with one hand tied behind his back and that the current financial situation and the club's desire to reduce costs has taken it's toll on his squad.
With a few games remaining Boro still have an outside chance of survival, even if we do go down I would fully expect Gareth Southgate to be in charge the following season. Would that upset me? Probably not, I think he deserves the opportunity to take us back up besides what are the alternatives?
Shaun is A Boro fan and owner of BoroMania.com. Born and brought up in the North East. Favourite players are Juninho, Slaven and David Wheater.
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I’m afraid i’m a lot more critical of Southgate, I lay the blame for our current position firmly at his door. He spent the money on Alves, whether he was badly advised or what it doesn’t matter. He should go
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