Sing his name to the heavens. Offer him a senior role with a holistic, but hands-off view, of the England setup. If Keir Starmer and the rest are keen there have been far less worthy recipients of knighthoods than him. The one thing Gareth Southgate shouldn’t be afforded, however, is another crack at the whip as England manager.
It is a role that Southgate has performed with aplomb. Two finals decided in the dying moments promise to be the defining achievements of his tenure if he does depart — against the Football Association’s wishes — once his contract expires at the end of the year. What he has achieved is altogether more profound than that though.
When the England men’s team took to the field in the before times, a nation dreamed of simpler things. Please, don’t let us be humiliated again. Managers were incapable of negotiating basic concepts — umbrellas, extra-marital affairs by their subordinates, pints of wine — without making the impossible job even more hellacious. For players, the England shirt was about as cosy a fit as an iron maiden. It was only getting worse. Fans were growing to resent detached millionaires too frightened or indifferent to live their dreams. There was no reason, when Southgate took the helm in 2016, why a humiliating loss to Iceland to eliminate the side from that year’s Euros had to be the nadir. There were further depths for England to plumb.
Southgate’s tenure has been a roaring success
Instead, England has been raised up. You only needed to see the nerveless penalties that downed the Swiss to know that fear of failure does not inhibit this setup as it once did. His players rave about his qualities. “Our relationship has gone beyond football,” says Jude Bellingham. “I feel like I can open up to him a lot.” Declan Rice added, “I know for a fact, the lads would love him to stay on until 2026, there is no doubt about that… Whatever he wants to do, whatever…
