England Senior National Team General Discussion Thread

Anyone catch the BBC's Euro Leagues podcast this week? Guillem Balague predicted Guardiola will do two more years at City and then manage England.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0gg1pq6

Around 26:50

Assuming he would indeed take the job (which I'm not convinced of, personally), I wonder what the FA would do as a stopgap post-Southgate. Because it sounds Pep wouldn't be available in 2024 but would potentially be in 2025. Carsley or someone from within the system for a year, or appoint a manager to go up to and including the 2026 WC?

 

To me that sounds more like Balague is mocking the reports linking Pep to England than making a prediction.

 

I don't think so. Whispering it like that is a call back to about 60 secs earlier when he said, in the same way, that De Zerbi was the likely candidate to succeed Pep at City.

 

Ah fairs I didn't listen to that bit. Still, Balague is very hit and miss with these things so I wouldn't put too much stock in it. But if the FA were notified after the Euros that Pep was willing to take the job in 2025 then they'd almost certainly get an interim for 12 months and offer him the longest contract he'd be willing to accept.

 

I can see Pep taking the England Job. England have the players there to play a Pep system. The only problem will he have enough time coaching them to make it work.

 

Maybe they would try and get Southgate to stay until Summer 2025.

 

Jacob Ramsey: “The full England team is the aim but right now I’ve just played my first game of the season. I’m trying to get back into the Villa squad. Once I do that & then start adding goals & assists, who knows..?” @johntownley11 #avfc

— villareport (@villareport) September 23, 2023

 

Harry Kane been the best striker in the Premier league for the last 5 or 6 years. Hes scored over 20 goals in all comps for Spurs for the last 9 seasons. He got 21st in the Ballon d'Or. Hes played 5 games and 7 goals for Bayern Munich, bet you now he at least gets top 10.

 

I'm not really sure he's suited to international management. Not only for that reason, but he's so intense and serious that I'm not sure how well that'll suit international camp when players prefer "good vibes", for lack of a better term.

Generally most international managers that have the most success do so by creating those sorts of atmospheres. Not saying Pep can't do it but it doesn't seem in his nature.

 

True. Through Man City do seem a happy squad which is more than some successful club squads who do well despite their players looking unhappy and stressed.

I can’t see it happening unless Man City are cleared of wrongdoing - I doubt the FA will hire a manager whose club is still under investigation or was found guilty of some level of wrongdoing.

 

Can only see pep managing England or spain

 

Doubt he'll manage Spain with all the politics around Catalonia.

 

Pep wasn't personally responsible for any of it so I don't see why the FA would hold him to account for it

 

It's hard to know where his allegiances lie. Everything he's done and said in the past suggests he considers himself Catalan over Spanish but I'm not sure he's one of the anti-Spanish Catalans either. Like roverman said it's probably a straight tossup between England and Spain.

 

He is not at all popular with the Madrid based Spanish football establishment. They wouldn’t hire him.

 

It would just be something they would be very weary off - they wouldn’t want to hire him and them something damaging gets leaked or revealed.

 

The impediment to him managing Spain over England would probably be the money, not the Catalan stuff.

 

It’s always been rumoured that Pep would like to manage Brazil at international level. I think England are a real possibility for him though. On the coaching we’d already have a core that has worked under him extensively - Stones, Walker, Sterling, Foden and Phillips. I’m sure that he’d be able to implement his ideas. Lot of water to under a lot of bridges though.

Ballague can be annoying but he does know Pep well. He’s written a book on him and been a guest of Pep’s at his restaurant in Manchester.

 

I don't see any connection between Brazil and pep. Its not like they have a Ronaldo Ronaldinho or rivaldo anymore

 

It’s hard to grasp just how unpopular Catalan separatists tend to be in the rest of Spain, He has been quoted as saying he thinks it’s unlikely he will become the Spain manager despite wanting the job. https://www.skysports.com/football/...la-wants-international-job-but-not-with-spain

One of the reasons Luis Enrique got sacked after the World Cup was he was never that popular with the Madrid sporting establishment- Pep is even more unpopular

 

People seem to have missed what happened a few years back when Catalonia held a non-binding referendum on independence. Madrid sent in the police who used force on voters and rejected any validity of the vote. It’s something that would unthinkable over here in the Scotland context. The resentments must run really deep.

 

Rashford not injured in car crash.

Fireburn47 ' does that mean Rashford is out for 6 months?' Just kidding fireburn

 

The only thing that might keep Rashford out is he is not playing that well. Bottom of the BBC players ratings yesterday.

 

I’m sure Gareth and Erik are always looking out for the BBC ratings!

 

They wouldn’t need ratings to tell that he is not at the level he was last season. He is a player through that seems to need the rest of his team to be playing well for him to be play well.