Gareth Southgate’s stint as the England manager is much more illustrious than advertised. He is the only English manager to have led the country to a European championship final. Since being named the coach, Southgate has helped the Three Lions get to three semi-finals and one finals appearance. Considering that no other manager has been able to do this before with England, he should be considered an all-time great coach of the country. However, this is nowhere close to being a reality as fans and the media often criticise him for his supposedly defensive approach.
England’s performance in the Euros 2024 has been below par. They have one of the best teams in the competition but have managed to win just one game inside 90 minutes so far. This has led to a massive outrage among English fans who have demanded the sacking of Gareth Southgate. Despite all the criticism, the former England international is still oozing calmness and conducting himself extremely well in press conferences.
One of the reasons that fans are not happy with Southgate is his reluctance to play brave football. But he proved to the fans that he was willing to make courageous moves when he switched to a back three in the Quarter-Final against Switzerland. Although England went down a goal, he stayed calm and made three substitutions, which led to a goal within a few minutes. The team have shown a fighting spirit every time they go down a goal and certainly, some credit for that needs to go to Southgate.
Gareth Southgate needs to be given some appreciation
England are one of the best footballing nations in the world. However, their accolades on the international level do not tell the same story. For decades the team struggled to make it to the latter stages of tournaments, but all of that changed when Gareth Southgate took over. The infamous Golden Generation of English football was expected to deliver trophies for the country, but they failed and a lot of that was down to the poor atmosphere in the camp.
It is visible that players are a lot more happy playing for England these days. The same was not the case for the Golden Generation. Players have come out and said how they were treated by the managers and how negative the vibes were going into the big tournaments. Southgate having been in the England setup was aware of this and decided to come in with a renewed approach, which would eventually help English football get back to the very top.
The players have expressed how much belief they have in the manager. His methods and approach may seem a little too boring, but it has certainly worked for England. Although it has not led to a trophy yet, that could change in a matter of a week. Reports have suggested that Gareth Southgate is set to leave the managerial position after the Euros, if he does, the next in line will certainly have big shoes to fill. Since taking over the 53-year-old has brought back the joy to English football, whoever succeeds him will have to not only keep that up but will have to go above and beyond to bring the glory back to England.
