Do it your way Gareth.

The first thing to do is wish England, Scotland and Wales all the very best at the Euros. Allow me the usual plug - all the games are live on beINSPORTS and we’ve got a stellar line-up of guests - including Gianfranco Zola, Arsene Wenger and Ruud Gullit. 

England’s ambition must be to win it. I don’t know what constitutes success for the other two - they’ll work that out for themselves. What’s for certain is that it’s great to see Scotland back on the big stage and Wales, of course, can point to the last tournament when the experts start writing them off again. Good luck guys - all of you. Now bear with me. I’ll get to the point I want to make shortly. 

What a great read David Moyes’ piece in The Times was at the weekend. Here. If you missed it - enjoy…..https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/why-throw-ins-and-back-threes-will-be-crucial-at-euro-2020-2hh97c9lr?shareToken=3589890ba65fdb3673d86fe3052a3975

I thought Moyes was great on ‘harmony’ - keeping training light and fun at this difficult time. His analysis of set-pieces was excellent - but I think we’ve always known how important they are. Sadly England’s specialist set-piece coach, Gary Neville, got them all wrong in 2016 - do you remember Harry Kane taking corners? My goodness. And it was no better at the other end where Iceland capitalised on some equally baffling marking decisions. 

I smiled when I read Moyes on throw-ins! I was never convinced by Liverpool’s use of a ‘specialist’ throw-in coach - but maybe I was wrong. The stand out argument appears to be that teams have to be careful when taking a throw because they’re down a man at that moment. Maybe - but it’s only for a mili-second if they are. Change is coming mind you. I know that because I’ve had the conversation with Arsene Wenger. It won’t be long before we’re kicking the ball in from the defensive half. Trust me. It’s coming. 

False nine’s was a good section. But I think we all know that system doesn’t work. Had City played a proper 9 in Porto they might have had more than one attempt on target in the game. And look at their results towards the end of the season when Guardiola played without a 9. Nope. It’s not for me. 

Moyes asks if coaches might be moving away from the modern trend of having keepers playing out from the back. What he’s really saying is that he knows it is - thank goodness. 

If you read the whole piece you know there’s only the section left. And this is the bit that leapt out at me. 

Moyes points out that Serie A and La Liga were both won this season by teams who predominantly play back threes. Chelsea won the CL like it. Belgium play it. And City do a lot. 

So here’s my point. Why has it taken so long for us all to realise that the system works? Why do we find it acceptable now? Is it because Guardiola has played it? Yes. It is. That’s the reason. It really is because foreign coaches have made it acceptable - yet we were first. England played like it under Glenn Hoddle in the late 90’s and he got pilloried for it. 

We discussed it on our podcast (Keys and Gray) with Glenn. Have a listen…..

Hoddle wanted to slow the English game down. He wanted his team to keep possession - play from the back. He played three with Rio Ferdinand as the pivot. And as he explained in the podcast - that allowed him to get two at the top end - whilst not getting out numbered in mid-field. 

Go further back and you’ll find that Kenny Dalglish would sometimes play it during his first spell at Liverpool. His three were Lawrenson, Gillespie and Hansen. He had Nicol and usually Steve Staunton as wing-backs. He too got slaughtered. It was seen as a defensive five when he used it. 

It’s taken us all these years to understand - and an effective use of the system by a ‘genius’ at City. Just think - where would we be today had we been accepting of Hoddle’s vision when he was England manager? Perhaps we’d be no better off - but……

So my message to Gareth Southgate is ‘be brave’. Southgate hasn’t started this tournament well in that respect. I mentioned it last week - naming four right full-backs was a nonsense. He bottled that decision. It’s strange how circumstances have helped him out. Perhaps there’s an omen there. Let’s hope so. 

History tells us that it’s usually only the brave that succeed. Alf Ramsey didn’t finish as he started in ‘66. I know. I know. Talk of success in ‘66 feels like a lifetime ago - but it’s still the only success England fans can refer to. 

Ramsey moved from wingers to a 

4-4-2 and took pelters for it - more so when he preferred Geoff Hurst to a fit magician called Jimmy Greaves. It worked out ok though didn’t it? Ramsey knew what he wanted and wasn’t deflected by press criticism. He also didn’t have that daft song (you know the one) to pile extra pressure on. Please guys - leave it alone this time. I know it’s all about irony - but the rest of the world doesn’t see it that way. It translates as arrogance outside English borders. Drop it now. 

Let’s get behind England but not with the drama of previous tournaments. Let’s not ‘expect’ that they win this tournament. A good start won’t guarantee that. A poor start doesn’t automatically mean that they won’t. Let’s stay calm and offer meaningful support. Oh - and don’t listen to people like me Gareth! Do it your way.