Michael 'Venom' Page loses faith in England's manager, criticizes Harry Kane's Euro performance: "Not good enough"
Michael 'Venom' Page isn't too optimistic about the English national team at Euro 2024 as he was critical of the manager's tactics as well as the play of star striker Harry Kane. Like many others, the UFC welterweight doesn't appear to be a believer in the English manager, whose tactics haven't led to the best results.
England were considered one of the favorites to win ahead of Euro 2024, but they have struggled with lackluster performances and have had to rely on late-game heroics to advance to the semifinals. They needed a late-game equalizer before defeating Slovakia 2-1 in the round of 16 and then needed a penalty shootout to defeat Switzerland in the quarterfinals.
During his UFC 303 pre-fight media availability, 'MVP' expressed his frustration with England manager Gareth Southgate for not getting the best out of his top players. Page mentioned that he believes the manager has failed with his tactics and that Kane has not had an impact on the team despite his opportunities. He said:
"The group of youngsters that we have on England are exceptional. The manager unfortunately, Gareth [Southgate] is not good enough to take that team to where we need them to win. They have the ability to do so but then you got a guy that's playing people out of position...You got Harry Kane that's not really doing much but guaranteed to get...time on the pitch. He spends more time defending than actually attacking."
Check out Michael 'Venom' Page's comments below:
Michael 'Venom' Page believes 'it's coming home' phrase has been a detriment to England's success
Michael 'Venom' Page is not a fan of the famous phrase, 'It's coming home', and noted that he believes it has even been a detriment to England achieving success.
The phrase has been synonymous with the English national team for decades and is close to being a reality at Euro 2020, but the team lost a penalty shootout to Italy in the finals. During the aforementioned media availability, Page mentioned that the phrase has been counterproductive as it has jinxed them before the tournament begins. He said:
"You know what? I'm never gonna say that statement [It's coming home] positively because honestly speaking, I think that's our jinx, man. Let's get rid of that saying right now. Let's get rid of that saying and hopefully we get better results." [18:05 - 18:20]
Check out the Michael 'Venom' Page's media availability below: