I sat through the first 20-30 minutes and couldn't handle it anymore. Crimson Clive's every utterance makes my teeth grate, and as for Hoddle...well, if his task is to seriously antagonise me every time he breathes he's succeeded.
We all know why Sterling wasn't at his best, and it has sweet fuck-all to do with ability. Square pegs, round holes, etc. But not by any stretch of the imagination was he the worst culprit. From what I saw of the game -admittedly, not a lot- I thought we were bloody awful. Downright abysmal. And it hurts my feelings to think that, as a very very proud Englishman, I was forced to switch channels rather than even try and get behind the team. The Livermore/Henderson pairing...I don't get it. Does Southgate genuinely think these two are international standard, or is he being told who to pick for the team by the suits at the FA? Because if it's the former then the man is incompetent and he's not up to the job of leading us out at the World Cup next year. And if it's the latter (and Southgate has a reputation for being a bit of a 'yes man') then personally, I'm done with international football.
I'm wondering if it isn't a mixture of both? Is he being told to choose players from a carefully selected pool of individuals whom the FA know will sell tickets?