Gareth Southgate hits again at Gary Lineker ‘I advised you so’ dig after England row
Gareth Southgate has finally opened up about the flak he received from Gary Lineker following England’s Euro 2024 upset.
The former England striker was a big critic of the Three Lions during the Euros – angering Harry Kane among others and then trying to blame it on the Daily Star – and he again had a go at Southgate on his ‘Rest is Football’ podcast, uttering “we told you so!” while hailing stand-in manager Lee Carsley for setting straight what he saw as Southgate’s selection blunders.
On a live TV interview with Sky News, reporter Jayne Secker quizzed the former boss. She said: “Can I ask you about Gary Lineker specifically? He made quite a lot of comments over the Euros and he’s still getting digs in this week. He said ‘I told you so’ about your player choices, what do you feel about that? “.
Remaining cool as ever, the departed England manager swatted away the question, stating it’s time to step back and avoid the drama. “I’ve really shut myself off from everything since I left. There’s no point in me talking about the team now,” he declared.
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(Image: YouTube)
“It’s for me to let other people take over and to give them the space to take the team on to the next challenges. And there’s no point in me getting involved in anything like that [Lineker’s comments].”
Gareth Southgate insisted on leaving on a positive note: “I think it’s important in these moments that I left on good terms with everybody. I loved the experience but also it’s time to go and do other things now,” reports the Express.
His comments come hot on the heels of Lineker’s critique post-tournament, where the BBC star pinpointed blunders he believes Southgate made. With England supporters split over decision-making during the Euros – particularly the exclusion of crowd-favourites Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford – Lineker weighed in.
“It’s interesting as well, isn’t it, that perhaps some of the things fans were most disappointed about in the Euros, well, probably three things maybe more,” he said on The Rest Is Football.
Do you agree with Gary Lineker? Let us know in the comments section below.
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About choices for the left flank, he said: “But everyone wanted Anthony Gordon to play on the left because we all saw a weakness and an unbalance on that side. And also that he can run behind players because Kane likes to come short and you’ve got to have a threat behind, so he did that.”
Discussing snubs in the squad, Liniker added: “The other thing was he [Southgate] left Jack Grealish out of the squad which a lot of people were bemused by and he’s come in and performed really well.”
And critiquing squad trust issues, particularly regarding Trent Alexander-Arnold, Lineker explained: “And obviously, he never really trusted Trent Alexander-Arnold. In the first game Carsley has come up with all these things and a lot of us are going ‘you see? We told you’.”
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Southgate has stepped down as head coach after nearly eight years, having led England to two European Championship finals and a World Cup semi-final.
His successor is Carsley, who, like Southgate, managed the Under-21s before taking over the senior team. The 50-year-old interim boss has started his tenure with two wins, securing 2-0 victories against the Republic of Ireland and Finland in England’s UEFA Nations League campaign.
However, Carsley has sparked speculation about his future in the role, following criticism for his decision not to sing the national anthem.
