Former England international Mick Channon was emphatic when talking about England manager Gareth Southgate.
Channon, who made 46 appearances for his country and scored 21 goals, was speaking to us here at BoyleSports ahead of Euro 2024.
He previews England’s chances in Euro 2024, highlighting two players that stand out above the rest.
The former Man City star also talks about the club’s current issues, his passion for racing and how it got him and Kevin Keegan in trouble on one occasion.
England’s Standout Players For Euro 2024
They have got some great players. But England have had some great players down the years but rarely the best team. There’s a difference, they are all top-class players now.
But it’s about getting the mix right. I remember when Sir Alf Ramsey dropped Jimmy Greaves in the World Cup in 1966. It is not always the best players that make the best team.
Phil Foden is one player who really excites me. And Bukayo Saka. Now he’s a talent. Anyone who can take players on and beat them is pretty special especially in this day and age when they line up right across the pitch. If you can go by someone and put someone out of the game, that's a real skill.
*England are the 3/1 favourites to win the Euros per the latest Euro 2024 odds at BoyleSports.
Jurgen Klopp To Be Next England Manager?
I don’t think they have to be English. It is about being the best man-manager in my opinion.
Jurgen Klopp could do the job. He is enthusiastic and fits the bill. He would be great.
Gareth Southgate’s Teams Can Be Very Boring
He looks like a very nice man, too nice perhaps - he wouldn’t be for me. Watching his teams is like watching paint dry, they can be very boring! But he is a nice man who has never brought the game into disrepute.
In my day managers were real characters and all-powerful. Malcolm Allison at City, Brian Clough, people who had plenty to say.
The Man City Situation
They’ve changed a lot haven’t they?! The whole world. This whole issue with legal challenges. They are kicking the law down the road and taking the p**s. Never mind what happened to Everton or Nottingham Forest.
What City have been up to. In ten years’ time I wonder if they will take all those championships away from them if they have broken every rule in the game. How can City get away with yet Everton and Nottingham Forest are penalised with a points deduction? Suing the Premier League? What’s all that about?
Did Your Passion for Racing Ever Come into Conflict With Your Football Career?
Me and Kevin Keegan got in real trouble with Don Revie and got a terrible bollocking once because we sneaked out of the England camp near Newbury to go to the races at Devon and Exeter to watch the races.
We went to see a horse I had been interested in, trained by John Baker down in Devon. Thankfully the horse won. I dragged Keegan down and Revie wasn't happy that we had gone AWOL.
Biggest Buzz: Football or Racing?
The ultimate goal was playing for England, captaining England and winning the FA Cup in 1976. I was captain when the English League used to play the Scottish League. They don’t have it now. It was at Hampden Park in the Jubilee year back in 1977.
I went down the line introducing the team to the Queen and got to the last player who was Dave Watson, my teammate at both Manchester City and Southampton. I just couldn’t remember his name. She was brilliant about it. It must happen to her all the time.
I turned and said to her, ‘I hope your filly (Dunfermline) wins the Oaks Ma’am.’ They were my last words to her, and she did!
The England v Scotland games were brilliant. They were so full-on. The dogs’ bollocks. They were supposed to be friendlies, but it was like war. It was life or death to the Jocks.
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