Frank McAvennie brands Gareth Southgate ‘Stupid’ over Declan Rice and West Ham comments
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Frank McAvennie has urged Gareth Southgate to keep out of West Ham affairs after the England manager’s comments on Declan Rice.
Ahead of this summer’s European Championships the Three Lions boss gave an interview with BT Sport’s Jake Humphrey on the ‘High Performance Podcast’ [02/06/21], where he discussed the 22-year-old Irons midfielder.
Southgate suggested that Rice had taken on too much responsibility at West Ham, particularly in the 2019/20 campaign, and said he told him that he had “taken a bit too much” on his shoulders.
Ex-Irons forward McAvennie aired his frustration at these comments and implored Southgate to stay out of club business.
He told West Ham Zone: “Southgate talks a lot of sense but surely he thinks about everything, so surely he thought ‘this isn’t going to go down too well’.
“Did he really think West Ham fans weren’t going to take much notice of that?
“He’s a top, top player Declan.
“To come out with stupid statements saying he’s taken on too much responsibility and telling people how to run the club…
“Don’t get involved in that, it’s a silly statement.”
Stick to England
It was a series of bizarre comments from Southgate who, as McAvennie referenced, is usually so media savvy.
The fact that it came after such a great season for West Ham made it doubly odd – why not just leave it in the past?
Besides, is it really that much of an issue? Rice’s career has arguably flourished because of our difficulties in years gone by – if we had been riding high in the Premier League, would he have been given so many starts and made a talisman of the team?
Rice has become such an imposing and dependable figure in our midfield for many reasons.
His talent is obvious, with his terrific range of passing and ability to intercept balls with ease.
But part of what makes him so great is his personality and character – his leadership skills have been evident for a long time, and they’re only growing.
Southgate is an intelligent person, but he was way off with his comments here.
In other West Ham news, a reliable journalist has detailed a ‘Significant’ clause behind an expected Irons transfer reported by Sky Sports.
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