Sterling to miss Montenegro match

Hmmmmm.........

It was Gomez he scrapped with.  No mucking about from Southgate in response.  

It would have come out, no chance of keeping it under wraps. 

I did smile when Sterling and Gomez went face to face what with them both representing England this week

I naturally hoped they'd meet up, laugh and forget it - After all it was Sterling who instigated the whole incident between the two of them on Sunday... If Raheem has wanted to continue the argument then its the right call from Southgate

Certainly continues to show that Southgate dont really care about names

Although Sterling's statement on the BBC is fair enough

Go Joe, Go Joe.

I think this is an extremely poor response from Southgate. There are altications like this in training on a regular basis and they soon calm down and are forgotten. It is part of the passion of the game and Southgate has set a president now.  

MuttleyCAFC said:

I think this is an extremely poor response from Southgate. There are altications like this in training on a regular basis and they soon calm down and are forgotten. It is part of the passion of the game and Southgate has set a president now.  

Poor Trump gets blamed for everything, it's certainly the correct precedent to set though, imo, can't be bringing club issues into the England camp.

Completely agree with Southgate. Nobody is bigger than England and it sets the tone, that when you’re on international duty, you should remember that club shite goes out the window. The rival club mentality killed the best generation of players we had in decades and it shouldn’t be allowed to happen again. Sterling acted like a knob, he’s held his hands up and he’s been rightly punished with a 1 cap suspension.

MuttleyCAFC said:

I think this is an extremely poor response from Southgate. There are altications like this in training on a regular basis and they soon calm down and are forgotten. It is part of the passion of the game and Southgate has set a president now.  

Completely different. Things happen in training in the heat of the moment. This has been boiling over in Sterling’s head for 2 days. He brought it into the camp with poor attitude. Correct call from Southgate and I’m glad a precedent  has been set.

Yeah... Do it away from England duty though

As said already; club rivalries between players have hindered the National Team for years - If Southgate let that incident go then what happens when the next happens, and the next - You suddenly see the players going back to the setup we hear of old; Liverpool players sitting today, Man City players sitting together etc. and all that work done by Southgate to break down those walls has been for nothing

All you hope is the

(1) It sets a fair precedent where it doesnt matter what game it is or who the player it is = same punishment

(2) The media dont start trying to find reasons why others arent receiving the same treatment, fair enough it comes out in the media AFTER the incident has happened like today but not where they try to create stories that havent happened

So he has a private word and leaves it there. Dealt with.

MuttleyCAFC said:

So he has a private word and leaves it there. Dealt with.

Define private. All the players and coaches as a minimum would know, then add in wives friends etc.

The problem with a private word is that all the other players would assume he had done nothing. Unacceptable behaviour needs to be challenged, not swept under the carpet. Southgate has bought it out into the open, explained to all the players what his rules and consequences are and moved on.

Think about what would have happened if he had done nothing, or had a private word and appeared to have done nothing. There is a very big chance that the media hanging out with players would pick it up or someone would put it out on social media and then the questions begin and it drags on and he looks weak and ineffective. Players would have been sought out for their views, sides would have been taken.

Southgate has gone up in my estimation. Perfectly handled.

golfaddick said:

Sorry, behind with the times.......

TAA...??  What the fuck is that...?

Trent Alexander Arnold

Southgate had no choice here. Sterling has lost his temper and made a bit of a tit of himself. That story is getting out regardless. If Southgate does nothing or has a private chat then the narrative the papers go with is that star players - particularly Sterling who they love digging out - get special treatment, can get into fights with other teammates without repercussions and runs the show. The old 'undisciplined England' story starts up again and is used against the team every time they don't win. Instead Southgate has got ahead of the narrative, publicly explained what happened and why, and Sterling has also publicly held his hands up and admitted he was stupid. Perfect. There's discipline, there's public assurance that there's no festering fights within the camp and it's over. It's lucky that it was Sterling though. As much as he's been stupid here he's quite a mature young man and he seems to have dealt with the punishment well. Can you imagine a manager standing down Ronaldo or Ibrahimovic over something like this? The manager would be out within the year.