Never had a lot of time for RF after he went AWOL for a drugs test and got himself a lengthy ban. As a consequence he's not a person of integrity who's last word I would hang on I'm afraid.
But he is pointing out how things like this are normally dealt with when some are saying they are not. You certainly don't have to agree with him but there is another position.
"Thrown under a bus" may apply to Richard Keogh who was sacked by Derby when he was just a passenger but being transparent is Gareth Southgate's way and aren't selected Journalists present at St George's park ?
Rio Ferdinand spent years under the bully that was Alex Ferguson. Of course in the pre social media days you Hushed up all the internal dust ups. The day after Ferguson lost his temper and a flying boot cut David Beckham's eye a friend's son was filming an advert with Beckham. All the boys and parents were strictly told not to ask him about it or they would be sent home. The story leeked out anyway.
If Sterling had a problem with Joe or TAA he could have knocked on their doors out of the ears and eyes of canteen staff and media.
100% correct decision by Southgate, and I haven't said that too often.
From the Athletic (I've paid so you don't have to...)
Raheem Sterling’s confrontation with Joe Gomez lasted only 10 to 15 seconds according to those present, yet the fallout from it will run significantly longer for England, Gareth Southgate and the FA.
The incident, which led to Sterling being dropped for the game against Montenegro on Thursday evening, took place at about 12.30pm on Monday at St George’s Park.
Gomez was in the canteen shaking everyone’s hand and then reached Sterling, who was sitting down. Sterling snapped and responded, “So you think you’re the big man?”, stood up and tried to get Gomez in a headlock, knocking food over from the table. “It was a pretty full-on thing and food went everywhere,” said one source. “Sterling behaved like a bit of a child.”
Another source said: “It was all out of the blue, ‘Woah, what the hell has happened here?’. Everyone was just a bit shocked.”
The roots of Monday’s incident lie in Sunday’s Premier League game between Manchester City and Liverpool. Sterling was goaded by the Anfield crowd and subjected to chants of “one greedy bastard” about his 2015 transfer from Liverpool to City.
Traditionally, Sterling has under-performed in that fixture and has been substituted early three out of four times before Sunday. But this time, Sterling was City’s best player in the 3-1 defeat, and was thought to have been devastated by the outcome. Sterling tussled with Gomez late on during the game and appeared to tread on Virgil van Dijk towards the end.
Although Sterling and Gomez made up after the final whistle on Sunday, images of Gomez pushing Sterling widely circulated online on Sunday evening, giving rise to a feeling that Gomez had “embarrassed” Sterling. So it was an emotional Sterling who arrived at St George’s Park on Monday morning. Gomez was the first of the Liverpool players to arrive, before Trent Alexander-Arnold or Jordan Henderson.
Gomez had initially thought Sterling was joking, and a handful of team-mates laughed at the City player’s initial comment. But when it became clear that Sterling was serious, Gomez moved backwards and the pair had to be separated by concerned team-mates.
Gomez is thought to have been very upset by the incident. The softly-spoken defender does not like confrontation and did not think there would be any issue with Sterling following their embrace after Sunday’s match. But he decided, in the words of one source, to “take the moral high ground” in the interests of “what is best for the team”.
Liverpool are also thought to be angry that Gomez has been put in this situation through no fault of his own. The 22-year-old was seen to have a scratch under his right eye when pictured at training on Tuesday morning.
While Sterling’s behaviour has surprised some sources, there is also a view from those who know him well that he is more competitive and driven than many realise. And that defeats as important as Sunday night matter more to him than they might do to other players.
It is also not the first time Sterling and Gomez have clashed on England duty. This is a story Southgate told after England played Kosovo in Southampton in September.
“Raheem will give himself every chance, because he’s got the drive, he’s got the professionalism, he’s got the ability, he’s strong, he’s physically and mentally strong for such a small-statured lad,” Southgate said. “It was hysterical the other day, he and [Joe] Gomez had a shoulder-to-shoulder moment. And of course, they were bantering about it for the rest of the week.”
Southgate was not amused by their latest confrontation and there is also frustration and disappointment among FA officials that the incident has overshadowed an incredible amount of hard work and planning that has gone into preparing for the celebrations of England’s 1,000th game.
Sterling was initially sent home by Southgate on Monday night and it took an intervention from England’s senior players to change the manager’s mind, with him allowing Sterling back into the squad as long as he apologised to Gomez.
Sterling was on the way out of St George’s Park when his car turned around and he went back, waiting for Southgate and the senior players to decide his fate. Sterling apologised to Gomez and Southgate convened an emergency team meeting at 9pm, when the manager confirmed Sterling’s suspension for Thursday night’s game with Montenegro.
That decision, along with the public announcement at 11pm confirming Sterling’s dropping from the Montenegro game, has sparked anger from those who work closely with the player. There is a sense from one source who knows Sterling well that the FA has overreacted to the incident, and that rather than doing the right thing, it has prioritised being seen to do the right thing.
“Back in the day, you were always having training ground bust-ups,” said one source close to the squad.
“That was part and parcel of the culture. Some managers would step in, some managers would let it go. I’ve never known something happen for 10 to 15 seconds and one lad gets kicked out. It makes me think this is all about the PR for Southgate.”
The former England defender Rio Ferdinand also said that the incident could have been “handled better” and that confrontations on international duty are more common than might be expected. Although one source pointed out that the Manchester United and Chelsea players managed to play for England days after the 2008 Champions League final without club rivalries spilling over into confrontation.
After Southgate decided to send Sterling home, it took lobbying from the team’s leadership group, including Henderson, to change the manager’s mind, and decide that an apology accepted by Gomez would be enough for Sterling to rejoin the squad.
“Raheem had to go calm down, then he realised what he had done was wrong, and he apologised profusely,” said one source. “Not straightway but pretty quickly. He grovelled all day. It’s done, finished. A line was drawn through it, to focus on the game on Thursday.”
There was no immediate statement from the FA, not until 11pm on Monday night. But they knew how serious an issue it would be. The FA technical director Les Reed was with associates at Twickenham for the Leaders Sport Business Summit but he had to withdraw from a planned dinner, saying that his phone would be ringing the whole evening, so he should not come to the meal.
But there is still a view that the FA’s suspension of Sterling, and the public announcement of it, has made this a bigger issue than it otherwise would have been. “It all seems overblown,” one Premier League sporting director told The Athletic.
“I would expect my manager to sit them down, keep it in-house. Instead, Southgate has given a lot of oxygen to what sounds like a 10-second event.”
He could switch it off - or unplug it from the wall if it's one of the old, round dial ones.
But he is pointing out how things like this are normally dealt with when some are saying they are not. You certainly don't have to agree with him but there is another position.
But 'normally' for old Rio is ruling the roost under Sven and Capello.
Southgate is changing the approach and in the correct way.
From the Athletic (I've paid so you don't have to...)
Raheem Sterling’s confrontation with Joe Gomez lasted only 10 to 15 seconds according to those present, yet the fallout from it will run significantly longer for England, Gareth Southgate and the FA.
The incident, which led to Sterling being dropped for the game against Montenegro on Thursday evening, took place at about 12.30pm on Monday at St George’s Park.
Gomez was in the canteen shaking everyone’s hand and then reached Sterling, who was sitting down. Sterling snapped and responded, “So you think you’re the big man?”, stood up and tried to get Gomez in a headlock, knocking food over from the table. “It was a pretty full-on thing and food went everywhere,” said one source. “Sterling behaved like a bit of a child.”
Another source said: “It was all out of the blue, ‘Woah, what the hell has happened here?’. Everyone was just a bit shocked.”
The roots of Monday’s incident lie in Sunday’s Premier League game between Manchester City and Liverpool. Sterling was goaded by the Anfield crowd and subjected to chants of “one greedy bastard” about his 2015 transfer from Liverpool to City.
Traditionally, Sterling has under-performed in that fixture and has been substituted early three out of four times before Sunday. But this time, Sterling was City’s best player in the 3-1 defeat, and was thought to have been devastated by the outcome. Sterling tussled with Gomez late on during the game and appeared to tread on Virgil van Dijk towards the end.
Although Sterling and Gomez made up after the final whistle on Sunday, images of Gomez pushing Sterling widely circulated online on Sunday evening, giving rise to a feeling that Gomez had “embarrassed” Sterling. So it was an emotional Sterling who arrived at St George’s Park on Monday morning. Gomez was the first of the Liverpool players to arrive, before Trent Alexander-Arnold or Jordan Henderson.
Gomez had initially thought Sterling was joking, and a handful of team-mates laughed at the City player’s initial comment. But when it became clear that Sterling was serious, Gomez moved backwards and the pair had to be separated by concerned team-mates.
Gomez is thought to have been very upset by the incident. The softly-spoken defender does not like confrontation and did not think there would be any issue with Sterling following their embrace after Sunday’s match. But he decided, in the words of one source, to “take the moral high ground” in the interests of “what is best for the team”.
Liverpool are also thought to be angry that Gomez has been put in this situation through no fault of his own. The 22-year-old was seen to have a scratch under his right eye when pictured at training on Tuesday morning.
While Sterling’s behaviour has surprised some sources, there is also a view from those who know him well that he is more competitive and driven than many realise. And that defeats as important as Sunday night matter more to him than they might do to other players.
It is also not the first time Sterling and Gomez have clashed on England duty. This is a story Southgate told after England played Kosovo in Southampton in September.
“Raheem will give himself every chance, because he’s got the drive, he’s got the professionalism, he’s got the ability, he’s strong, he’s physically and mentally strong for such a small-statured lad,” Southgate said. “It was hysterical the other day, he and [Joe] Gomez had a shoulder-to-shoulder moment. And of course, they were bantering about it for the rest of the week.”
Southgate was not amused by their latest confrontation and there is also frustration and disappointment among FA officials that the incident has overshadowed an incredible amount of hard work and planning that has gone into preparing for the celebrations of England’s 1,000th game.
Sterling was initially sent home by Southgate on Monday night and it took an intervention from England’s senior players to change the manager’s mind, with him allowing Sterling back into the squad as long as he apologised to Gomez.
Sterling was on the way out of St George’s Park when his car turned around and he went back, waiting for Southgate and the senior players to decide his fate. Sterling apologised to Gomez and Southgate convened an emergency team meeting at 9pm, when the manager confirmed Sterling’s suspension for Thursday night’s game with Montenegro.
That decision, along with the public announcement at 11pm confirming Sterling’s dropping from the Montenegro game, has sparked anger from those who work closely with the player. There is a sense from one source who knows Sterling well that the FA has overreacted to the incident, and that rather than doing the right thing, it has prioritised being seen to do the right thing.
“Back in the day, you were always having training ground bust-ups,” said one source close to the squad.
“That was part and parcel of the culture. Some managers would step in, some managers would let it go. I’ve never known something happen for 10 to 15 seconds and one lad gets kicked out. It makes me think this is all about the PR for Southgate.”
The former England defender Rio Ferdinand also said that the incident could have been “handled better” and that confrontations on international duty are more common than might be expected. Although one source pointed out that the Manchester United and Chelsea players managed to play for England days after the 2008 Champions League final without club rivalries spilling over into confrontation.
After Southgate decided to send Sterling home, it took lobbying from the team’s leadership group, including Henderson, to change the manager’s mind, and decide that an apology accepted by Gomez would be enough for Sterling to rejoin the squad.
“Raheem had to go calm down, then he realised what he had done was wrong, and he apologised profusely,” said one source. “Not straightway but pretty quickly. He grovelled all day. It’s done, finished. A line was drawn through it, to focus on the game on Thursday.”
There was no immediate statement from the FA, not until 11pm on Monday night. But they knew how serious an issue it would be. The FA technical director Les Reed was with associates at Twickenham for the Leaders Sport Business Summit but he had to withdraw from a planned dinner, saying that his phone would be ringing the whole evening, so he should not come to the meal.
But there is still a view that the FA’s suspension of Sterling, and the public announcement of it, has made this a bigger issue than it otherwise would have been. “It all seems overblown,” one Premier League sporting director told The Athletic.
“I would expect my manager to sit them down, keep it in-house. Instead, Southgate has given a lot of oxygen to what sounds like a 10-second event.”
Yeah I can believe that about Gomez... Seems the sort of laid back relaxed lad who likes to have a laugh but really doesnt seem the sort to have an actual nasty streak in him
Whether this was the right thing to do or not will be evidenced in the coming months, even years. I maintain, Sterling is probably one of our two World class players. Best case, nothing happens, worst case, he retires from international football at some point, then there are lots of possible outcomes between those two points.
Whether this was the right thing to do or not will be evidenced in the coming months, even years. I maintain, Sterling is probably one of our two World class players. Best case, nothing happens, worst case, he retires from international football at some point, then there are lots of possible outcomes between those two points.
Im 99.99% sure its the best case.
The blokes apologised, accepts his punishment and has moved on.
Some of our supporters are nothing better than pathetic. To sit there and hear that reaction to an individual who was on the receiving end of Sterling's schoolboy antics was shocking. Every time he touched the ball half a dozen of us made sure we cheered him. Well done to Sterling for his tweet following the game.
On a brighter note one of the ball boys was Charlton's very own James Beadle who made his debut for England in May for the U15s. A step up from having to clean the senior players' boots but then I don't suppose boots are worn enough times to warrant cleaning!
Wrong for fans to boo him and a knock on effect for how this has been dealt with. But hey ho, we move on. Sterling will be back on Sunday and hopefully everybody, including him and Southgate, can forget about it. Sterlings response to the booing suggests that will be the case.
Comments
Rio Ferdinand spent years under the bully that was Alex Ferguson. Of course in the pre social media days you Hushed up all the internal dust ups.
The day after Ferguson lost his temper and a flying boot cut David Beckham's eye a friend's son was filming an advert with Beckham. All the boys and parents were strictly told not to ask him about it or they would be sent home. The story leeked out anyway.
If Sterling had a problem with Joe or TAA he could have knocked on their doors out of the ears and eyes of canteen staff and media.
100% correct decision by Southgate, and I haven't said that too often.
He could switch it off - or unplug it from the wall if it's one of the old, round dial ones.
Southgate is changing the approach and in the correct way.
The blokes apologised, accepts his punishment and has moved on.
Chelsea : so that's the wages, bonus' and your accommodation sorted, do you have any other questions?
Player: yeah, where does the club stand on pissing in the shower?
Good idea for our own fans to boo him then. Struggling for words...
On a brighter note one of the ball boys was Charlton's very own James Beadle who made his debut for England in May for the U15s. A step up from having to clean the senior players' boots but then I don't suppose boots are worn enough times to warrant cleaning!