IT IS easy to forget, after eight serene years of Gareth Southgate, that the default mode for the England football team, and the FA, is one of utter chaos.
After last week’s bewildering, headless-chicken home defeat by Greece and the endless, dizzying ramblings from Lee Carsley about whether or not he wants to be Southgate’s full-time successor, it seems like deja vu all over again.
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Gareth Southgate’s eight-year stint as England boss came to an end this summerCredit: Reuters
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Lee Carsley has offered confusing answers as to whether he wants the jobCredit: Getty
Because this was what following England used to feel like.
Before Southgate took over — and the Three Lions became supremely competent and professional on and off the field — it really always was stark, raving bonkers.
Under Southgate it could be a little boring, a little too cautious, at times.
But England rarely lost football matches, always featured at the sharp end of tournaments and were always a serious, rational set-up.
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It was never the long-running, hopes-up, trousers-down, clown show we endured for decades until one decent, intelligent man in a waistcoat arrived and decided enough was enough.
Southgate banked tens of millions as England boss and we can safely assume that he hasn’t custard-gunned it all on drink, drugs and loose women.
He confirmed he wants a sabbatical of at least a year before he returns to coaching.
And, therefore, he wouldn’t touch the Manchester United job with a bargepole, despite having significant allies on the Old Trafford board.
ENGLAND secured a commanding 3-1 win over Finland following their horror show at home to Greece
Here’s how SunSport’s Tom Barclay assessed the Three Lions’ stars performances.
Dean Henderson – 6
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Only his second cap after long-time No1 Jordan Pickford was dropped. Not a lot to do, but pretty assured when he was called into action, including a smart, first-half stop to repel a Benjamin Kallman strike – even if the Finn was later flagged offside. Could do little to prevent Finland’s goal.
Kyle Walker – 6
After the calamity against Greece, it was no surprise to see Lee Carsley turn to his most experienced defender. Now just nine caps shy of a century, Walker was solid. Could have had an assist late on but his cushioned down header was poor.
John Stones – 6
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England’s more conventional system meant the defence was far less exposed – though Carsley’s attacking approach did still see the Finns create chances. Stones made a good early block to deny Kallman after Angel Gomes gave the ball away.
Marc Guehi – 6
Our best defender in the Euros group stages, Guehi was back in here with Levi Colwill dropping out. Pretty assured for a player who by his own admission has not started the season particularly well for his club.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7
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We saw him in midfield at the Euros, and here the Liverpool right-back was shunted to left-back. Looked vulnerable defensively at times but who cares when he produces such quality on the ball – epitomised by his terrific free-kick to kill off this game.
Angel Gomes – 8
The big success story of the Carsley era, however long it lasts, has been bringing Gomes into the fold. He created Jack Grealish’s opener with a beautiful, flicked-pass round the corner and was excellent in possession – barring one sloppy early pass.
Declan Rice – 7
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Looked far more comfortable with Gomes playing in behind him, as opposed to the one-man defensive operation he was forced to put up against the Greeks. Looked proud as punch after stroking home England’s third from Watkins’ cross.
Cole Palmer – 5
Played in a more familiar wide right position compared to his central-midfield experiment against Greece. Yet it reduced him to a peripheral figure, adding more questions than answers as to where best to deploy him, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden.
Jude Bellingham – 6
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The Real Madrid superstar played off Harry Kane and had the occasional, exciting link-up with Grealish, but this was not one of his more memorable games overall.
Jack Grealish – 8
No doubt will be hoping Carsley does get the job full-time as his fellow Brummie seems to appreciate his talents. His composed finish was his second goal in three games under Carsley – doubling his overall haul from 39 caps.
Harry Kane – 6
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Cap 101 for the captain but not one he will remember particularly fondly. He offered the presence the team lacked against Greece when they played with no striker, but did not get much of a sniff in front of goal.
Subs
Noni Madueke (for Palmer, 69) – 7 This game was made for him to make an impact off the bench and he almost teed up Watkins after one fine run but the Finns cleared.
Ollie Watkins (for Kane, 69) – 7
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Low cross for Rice’s third was right on the money.
Rico Lewis (for Gomes, 80) – 6
Slotted in at centre midfield when coming on and looked busy.
Phil Foden (for Bellingham, 80) – 5
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Embraced the post ruefully after Madueke opted to shoot instead of crossing to him for a tap-in seconds after Finland’s goal. Was marking Arttu Hoskonen when the Finn headed home a consolatio.
Conor Gallagher (for Rice, 89) – 6
His first appearance under Carsley but too late to make an impact.
Lee Carsley – 7
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His tactical gamble backfired against Greece but he held his hands up and went more conventional here. It paid off as England were relatively comfortable – although his teams have looked defensively vulnerable at times in all four of his games and this was no different.
But the three best players, Gomes, Grealish and Alexander-Arnold, were all given starring roles by Carsley when used sparingly or not at all by predecessor Gareth Southgate – and for that, the interim boss should take credit.
Southgate is enjoying life away from the madhouse.
He’s been seeing the family, walking the dogs, watching the cricket and plans to give a talk at Harvard University.
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How to cure England’s Bellingham, Foden and Palmer headache
Those sort of Gareth things. And good for him.
Some of us knew England would miss Southgate dearly but perhaps we didn’t realise quite how soon, and quite how deeply, we would regret his exit.
The FA relied on him to a greater extent than they ever realised.
As a statesman, a figurehead, a beacon of good sense and decency, as well as a very useful football manager, who was extremely popular with his players.
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And whatever happens next — whether more interim Carsley, or Graham Potter, or perhaps the colourful loose-cannon Thomas Tuchel arrives from Germany — history tells us that we will probably go back to bedlam.
Pep Guardiola? Now that might be a different, if unlikely, prospect.
Because the England manager’s role wasn’t called ‘the impossible job’ without good reason.
Remember Sam Allardyce resigning after one match, having been caught out acting exactly like Sam Allardyce, boasting over a pint of wine during a covert sting?
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Remember the Iceland debacle and, before that, the disastrous Brazil World Cup campaign under Roy Hodgson — which had been pretty much predicted by FA chief executive Greg Dyke performing a throat-slitting gesture when the draw was made?
Remember the John Terry fiascos under Fabio Capello — when the Chelsea man was stripped of the captaincy for having allegedly diddled the former girlfriend of the reserve left-back, only to be reinstated as captain.
And then to be accused of racially abusing the brother of his central defensive partner and for Capello to resign rather than sack Terry as captain again?
That was Capello, who claimed he only needed to know 100 words of English and who agreed to take extra money for rating his own players out of 100 in something on the internet called ‘the Capello Index’ at the 2010 World Cup.
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Yes, kids, all this actually happened.
And before that, Steve McClaren, under an umbrella, failing to qualify for the 2008 Euros.
And before him, the late Sven-Goran Eriksson and the peak era of low farce — the fake Sheikh, the Beckham circus, the WAGs table-dancing in Baden-Baden, the Faria Alam scandal which ended with FA chief executive Mark Palios resigning after he and Eriksson had both diddled the same secretary.
And that was after Kevin Keegan quit in the Wembley toilets, after Glenn Hoddle had resigned for making bizarre comments about disabled people and reincarnation, having employed faith healer Eileen Drewery to lay hands on his players.
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And dentist chairs and turnips and gambling cultures and missed drug tests and threatened players’ strikes and so on and so, so farcical.
Thirty years of hurt have turned into 60 years because Southgate — despite reaching successive Euros finals and overseeing two very decent World Cup campaigns — couldn’t quite get his hands on a trophy.
And now the impossible job feels impossible again.
Because this is a nation obsessed with the game.
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Because this is a nation which — I think we’re still allowed to say — was the birthplace of organised, competitive football.
Because this is a nation which is home to the richest and most popular league on the face of the Earth.
And because this is a nation which still craves the ultimate glory of a first major international title since 1966.
As Southgate has frequently reminded us, the England manager’s job brings a uniquely sharp focus.
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There are 60 million armchair bosses and, when it’s an international break or a summer tournament, England is the only show in town.
Expectations, which had dipped after all those years of nut-casery, are now limitless because Southgate came so close, so often.
All of this is surely too big for Carsley. It feels too big for Potter, too.
And for Tuchel, or most unsuspecting overseas candidates, all of this lunatic history feels too big to comprehend.
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So if Guardiola really wants a serious new challenge.
And if he is really prepared to take a major pay cut, then he is one of the few men truly capable of being up to the job.
If not, it will just be back to bedlam again.
If not, we might be missing Southgate for a long time to come.
Allen threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score and Tyler Bass made up for an earlier miss by kicking a go-ahead 22-yard field goal with 3:43 left to help the Bills (4-2) snap a two-game skid. They have never lost three straight with Allen starting at quarterback.
Normally reliable kicker Greg Zuerlein missed two potential go-ahead field goals for the Jets, hitting the left upright on both.
The game was filled with yellow penalty flags all night — both teams had 11 penalties.
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Allen finished 19-of-25 for 215 yards. Rookie Ray Davis, filling in for the injured James Cook, ran for 97 yards on 20 carries and caught three passes for 55 yards.
Allen and the Bills were able to then run out the clock and seal the win. They are the only team in the division with a winning record.
Rodgers was 23-of-35 for 294 yards with two touchdowns and the INT, and Breece Hall had 113 yards rushing and 56 receiving.
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Rodgers’ deep throw on the final play of the opening half had the Jets, their fans — and social media — buzzing.
With the Jets at their own 48 and perhaps hoping to get into field goal range before halftime, Rodgers took a few steps back and danced around a bit before launching the ball toward the end zone. Allen Lazard reached up in front of two Bills defenders and fell on his back.
After a quick huddle, officials ruled it a touchdown.
The Jets got in an early rhythm on offense with Downing calling the plays as Rodgers got New York into the red zone. A drop by Hall on third down made the Jets settle for a 34-yard field goal by Zuerlein — New York’s first points on an opening drive this season.
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Buffalo bounced back by running all over New York’s defense, gashing Ulbrich’s unit for 61 yards rushing — including 48 on six carries by Davis — and capping the Bills’ opening drive with a 1-yard keeper by Allen to make it 7-3.
Allen’s 56th career TD run put him one behind O.J. Simpson for second in franchise history.
Garrett Wilson gave the Jets back the lead on their next drive, capping things by catching a 5-yard pass from Rodgers in the back of the end zone and getting both feet down on a play that was initially ruled incomplete but reversed on video replay before Ulbrich needed to challenge.
Allen led the Bills on a 90-yard drive to give Buffalo back the lead, capped by an 8-yard TD pass to Mack Hollins. Quinnen Williams got his hand on Bass’ extra point try that sailed wide left.
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Allen sparked the drive when he danced out of the end zone, scrambled to his right and threw across his body down the middle of the field where Davis got his hands on the ball, bobbled it and came down with it for a 42-yard catch.
Allen’s second touchdown pass was a 12-yard throw to Dawson Knox with 21 seconds remaining before halftime to put Buffalo up 20-10.
Bass missed another kick on Buffalo’s opening drive of the second half, pushing a 47-yarder wide right.
Zuerlein tied it at 20 with a 22-yarder midway through the third quarter.
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The Jets appeared to take the lead late on their next possession when Braelon Allen ran up the middle from 4 yards out, but left tackle Tyron Smith was called for holding. Rodgers connected with Wilson in the back of the end zone on the next play, but the wide receiver couldn’t hold onto the ball after being walloped by Damar Hamlin and Taylor Rapp.
Zuerlein then hit the left upright on a 32-yard attempt to keep the game tied. He also missed a potential go-ahead 43-yarder with 9:44 left in the fourth quarter, hitting the upright again.
Injuries
Jets S Chuck Clark was ruled out in the second quarter with an ankle injury. … CB D.J. Reed left in the third quarter with an injured groin.
CCTV footage of the alleged attack on an Erebus engineer at the Bathurst 1000 has emerged which indicates the incident involved only a single person.
The team, which won the race through Brodie Kostecki and co-driver Todd Hazelwood, had its headlines taken over by reports of the incident, with details revealed on Monday’s Seven Network breakfast programme Sunrise by the reigning series champion.
“One of our crew members was unfortunately attacked last night. It’s really disappointing and really put a spoil on the evening,” Kostecki said.
“We wish Sam all the best and hopefully he recovers fast, along with his partner, Tameika.”
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The engineer that suffered the alleged attack was hospitalised, with three men reported to be the aggressors.
But CCTV footage shown on a Seven News Central West bulletin portrayed a very different story, with a young man seen hitting himself rather than sustaining an attack.
The report explained that a man was walking along hitting himself in the face before falling to the floor, with a woman following in his footsteps.
Brodie Kostecki, Todd Hazelwood, Erebus Motorsport Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Photo by: Edge Photographics
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Police have confirmed the man is out of hospital and that, while the investigation remains ongoing, the force is confident no attack took place.
The incident is the latest in a turbulent year for the Erebus outfit which saw Kostecki miss the commencement of the campaign due to behind-the-scenes drama.
But he had won the Great Race with Hazelwood to give the team a first triumph in the event since 2017, when David Reynolds and Luke Youlden came out on top.
ARSENAL WOMEN have announced the departure of head coach Jonas Eidevall.
The 41-year-old leaves following a poor start to the season, with Arsenal sixth in the Women’s Super League table.
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Jonas Eidevall has left ArsenalCredit: Reuters
Fans were left furious last week after the Gunners suffered a 5-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
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And matters were made worse on Saturday when they lost 2-1 to London rivals Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium.
Eidevall was booed at the full-time whistle, with thousands of fans expressing their discontent.
One person even created a giant P45 to wave in the stands, while another wrote ‘Jonas Out’ in bold letters on the wall of a nearby underpass.
Assistant coach Renée Slegers will take charge of the Gunners as interim boss while a full-time replacement is appointed.
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Arsenal sporting director Edu Gaspar said: “We thank Jonas for his commitment to the club and achievements here since joining us in 2021.
“We have great respect for the dedication and commitment he showed to our women’s first team and recognise the role he has played in the growth and development of Arsenal Women. We all wish him the very best for the future.
“Our focus will now turn to the process of appointing a new Head Coach, and in the meantime, supporting Renée, as she takes interim charge of the team starting with two important fixtures this week.”
Clare Wheatley, the club’s director of women’s football, went on to add: “We’d like to say a huge thank you to Jonas for his hard work and dedication to Arsenal Football Club over the past three years.
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“Jonas has brought us back-to-back trophies in the last two seasons, together with many memorable moments on the pitch.
“We wish Jonas and his family the best of health, happiness and success for the future.
“We have full confidence in Renée to take responsibility for the team in the interim period.”
Five-time Le Mans podium finisher Richard Westbrook has called time on a career in which he was a factory driver with Porsche, General Motors, BMW, Aston Martin and Ford.
The 49-year-old Briton has announced that last weekend’s Petit Le Mans IMSA SportsCar Championship finale at Road Atlanta was his last race as a professional driver.
Westbrook’s decision to retire brings the curtain down on a career that included back-to-back Porsche Supercup titles in 2006-07 and class victories in the Sebring 12 Hours and Daytona 24 Hours enduros in 2013 and 2018 respectively.
As well as third-place finishes overall with Glickenhaus and Cadillac at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2022 and ’23, he notched up a trio of class podiums at the Circuit de la Sarthe with Porsche, Ford and Aston Martin.
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Westbrook explained the time was right to call time on his career, despite having a year left to run on his contract with the JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche GTP team with which he has raced in IMSA this season.
“You can’t do it forever and at some point you have to be honest with yourself, say you’ve had a good run and pass on the baton,” Westbrook told Motorsport.com.
“This was the first season that I have felt like that: my performances were still there, but the enjoyment factor had gone a bit. I wasn’t so excited about getting in the car as I had been in the past, and if that’s the case, you have to question whether you should be doing it.
Petit Le Mans was Westbrook’s final race as a pro as he bowed out in the JDC/Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images
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“I’m happy with my career and the way it has ended: I probably wasn’t going to achieve a lot more and it has been my decision to stop.”
Westbrook said that his biggest achievement was racing for 23 seasons after he started competing again following six years of inactivity after his single-seater career stalled in Formula 3 in 1996.
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“I have to pinch myself sometimes what has happened over the past 20-odd years,” he explained. “Everything happened so quickly: I went from doing nothing to driving for all these manufacturers.”
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Westbrook picked out his four seasons racing for Chip Ganassi Racing in IMSA in 2016-19 with the Ford GT in the GT Le Mans class as one of the best periods of his career.
“That was a special time for me,” said Westbrook, whose regular driving partner over the four years was Ryan Briscoe.
“We had a good group of people and scored a lot of wins, but unfortunately not the championship. We were second twice and it always went down to the wire – that’s one regret I will always have.
“When I look back I think I should have won more, more championships. There were big wins in IMSA, like Daytona and Sebring, but never a championship – that will always rankle.”
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Westbrook formed a successful partnership at Ford with Briscoe, but the title eluded them
Photo by: Richard Dole / Motorsport Images
He singled out his second-place overall finish in the 2015 IMSA points alongside Michael Valiante with the Spirit of Daytona team when he was on the books of Chevrolet as another regret.
“We were a small operation racing against big teams like Action Express Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing and we came within three points of the championship,” he said.
Westbrook also picked the first of his two Le Mans overall podiums, notched up with Glickenhaus Racing, as another highlight.
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“Jim [Glickenhaus, the marque founder] put his money where his mouth was and we achieved everything we could,” said Westbrook. “To stand on the Le Mans podium with him was really special.”
The three Le Mans podiums in class came in 2010 in GT2 with the Scuderia Italia Porsche team and in 2016 and 2020 respectively with Ford and Aston Martin in GTE Pro.
He was also a race winner in the FIA GT1 World Championship with the JRM Nissan team in 2010 and in class in FIA GTs with the Prospeed Porsche squad in 2008 and ’09.
Westbrook was a frontrunner in the Formula Opel Lotus Euroseries one-make single-seater championship in 1994-95, but a proposed F3 drive with the KMS-run Benetton Junior Team in Germany fell through for 1996.
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He then stopped racing after a handful F3 races in Germany and Austria that year and didn’t resume until coming back for a short self-funded partial programme in the Supercup in 2002.
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