sport news Gareth Southgate is held to a HIGHER standard than Matt Hancock... that can't ... trends now
A strange thing, the affection of the general public. Matt Hancock was a digested kangaroo testicle, or two, away from being crowned king of the jungle, yet if Gareth Southgate does not start Marcus Rashford against Senegal on Sunday, and England are eliminated, he will never be able to live it down.
Crystal Palace, Watford, Nottingham Forest, the potless Newcastle, Derby, Queens Park Rangers, Wolves, Aston Villa, Southampton, Leicester, Notts County — these are the jobs in English football that await the men who are perceived to have reached the pinnacle with the national team, before falling short.
Glenn Hoddle later managed Tottenham, Sven Goran Eriksson did a year with Manchester City, but back then neither were the elite clubs they are now.
Gareth Southgate is held an incredibly high standard by the British public as England manager
The inquiry into the handling of the pandemic may yet find Hancock’s lack of competence as health secretary contributed to tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths.
This week it was revealed that a document submitted by senior track and trace official Dr Achim Wolf has been scathing about that track and trace system — which Hancock oversaw.
‘The finish line is in sight, and I know we can get there,’ announced Hancock from behind a government lectern on December 10, 2020.
Yet from the start of that December to the end of February, at least 63,000 people died with Covid. Wolf’s argument is that he informed the Government many times that lateral flow tests were far more accurate than initially thought and that isolation should not have only been mandatory after a PCR test.
Former health secretary Matt Hancock came third on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!
He said people were allowed to return to work, or mingle in groups, while highly infectious and spreading the virus, still awaiting the results of PCRs. Even when that policy changed, teachers, NHS and adult care workers remained exempt. All of this unfolded on Hancock’s watch.
And, yes, it was hard in his position. He was dealing with a crisis unprecedented in modern times, that has changed the way we see public health and will impact on our economy for decades to come. Yet it’s hard being manager of the England football team, too.
Nobody dies if you’re wrong — but you wouldn’t think that from the reaction. And, unlike Hancock, you can’t enter the jungle, chow down on marsupial penis and emerge 10 days later as Da Man, reputation restored and a kiss from Boy George to speed you on your way.
England cruised into the last 16 with a comprehensive 3-0 victory against Wales on Tuesday
You may find this comparison disproportionate. It isn’t. The reaction when the England manager makes a decision that goes against public opinion is disproportionate. Southgate is held to a far higher standard than anyone in public life.
Don’t believe it? Try this: until recently the country’s most senior police officer was Cressida Dick, who, as gold commander in charge of the response to the 2005 terror attacks in London, was in control of the operation that fatally shot Jean Charles de Menezes, an electrician on his way to work, in the false belief he was a terrorist.
She was cleared of personal blame, but a subsequent inquest into the death recorded an open verdict. In 2017, Dick was made Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.
Southgate must now decide whether to play match-winner Marcus Rashford against Senegal
What is the England manager’s equivalent of shooting an innocent man point blank seven times in the head? It certainly isn’t picking Mason Mount. Yet do that and Southgate will be vilified. He certainly won’t be in line for a promotion any day soon.
He will suffer a backlash as spectacular as any affecting a public official, and for what? A football decision made with recourse to considerably more experience and expertise than any health secretary has brought to the role in decades.
Still, it must be a great comfort for those in the less serious forms of public service, knowing that whatever you get wrong, whoever you kill, unlike Southgate, you’re only a kangaroo testicle away from glory.
Ronaldo is easy to mock but give him benefit of doubtIt is easy to mock Cristiano Ronaldo over the goal that wasn’t his against Uruguay. Yet do players always know when they’ve touched the ball?
Cricketers don’t. A batsman will say he sometimes has no idea about bat pad catches, or even a feather to the wicket-keeper. Fielders are often no judge of whether they got a hand completely under the ball and TV camera angles can be deceptive.
Ronaldo isn’t bald. If the ball glanced his hair on its way through, he may have felt that and believed he made a more serious connection. Does he want Eusebio’s World Cup Portugal scoring record? Of course he does — and many will presume he will go to any lengths to get it.
Cristiano Ronaldo was convinced Bruno Fernandes' goal against Uruguay should have been his
But while there has been much to criticise in Ronaldo’s behaviour of late; this time, perhaps, he may warrant the benefit of the doubt.
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich are the latest club to distance themselves from his recruitment having been sacked by United.
Chelsea, privately, are briefing the same. It may be that Jorge Mendes is doing his utmost to feed his client’s ego and make him seem relevant — in which case, what to make of the reported £172.9million-a-year deal to take him to Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia?
We know that part of the world has the money and the deal plays well for Mendes’ negotiating skills but, as we can see out here, Ronaldo’s desire is to matter on the biggest stages. Al Nassr cannot offer that. Money aside, Ronaldo in Saudi might as well be in retirement.
The Portuguese superstar prepares to take on South Korea in his final Group H match on Friday
Much chattering in Doha at the news that John Terry and Wayne Bridge were booked to stay in the same hotel, but that isn’t the half of it.
On the flight out, Terry arrived in the airport lounge to find a group of pundits and analysts already awaiting their flight to Qatar. Among them: Rio Ferdinand.
It is fair to say they are no longer on speaking terms. Atmosphere: nuclear winter. Once on board, however, the former team-mates checked their tickets and discovered someone at the airline had a sense of mischief.
It’s not the longest
