WOW, WE’VE FINALLY GOT A GROWN-UP IN CHARGE OF ENGLAND
Southgate won’t ban phones, social media or the odd drink — but he’s no soft touch
This being an England squad announcement, Gareth southgate dealt with all the usual topics that flummox the national manager when a tournament comes around.
Long- haul flights, late- night drinking, mobile phones, meal times, curfews, social media, personal freedom.
Football? We’ve got weeks to consider the football. This was about discovering what type of England manager southgate was going to be.
As one would expect, the answer is: sensible. it is no coincidence that southgate’s best times as an England player — one famously missed penalty aside — were in 1996, under Terry Venables. There is a lot of Venables in him, still. Not just in the ambitious way he hopes to play, but in a pragmatic attitude to matters of discipline and squad policy.
Venables did not pick fights he could not win. if the players wanted chips, he figured there was no point going to war over chips. Ban them, and they would get a mate to smuggle in McDonald’s — as happened under Fabio Capello. so chips were on the menu; but very big chips, with a large surface area, so they absorbed less fat.
Now hear southgate’s take on mobile telephones at meal times.
‘We don’t have a policy as such. The players put a thing in place where they felt around meal times they left their phones outside the room. But for me, if they’ve got their phones they’ll spend time looking at videos together, say, or playing Fortnite and interacting nteract and if they haven’t en’t they’ll rush back to their eir rooms to do that stuff.
‘so i don’t think we’ll have hard and fast rules. We have certain moments where you’re just approaching training and they sit down together and d there’s a cut- off. But i don’t like loads of rules. s.
‘The players are responsible onsible enough, they know what’s expected. There are times when we have to make a point, pull them into line on things, make sure the standards are right — but they’ve been respectful of that.’
Wow. A grown-up. it is almost as if southgate understands he is handling a group of young men and how they live their lives might be different from how, at 47, he lives his. it is almost as if southgate can remember being a twenty-something player, too, and how a lengthy set of regulations were not necessarily conducive to fostering spirit within the group.
southgate’s players are off this week — would he be keeping a watchful eye, warning against long flights, nightclubs, the imbibing of strong beverages, falling about, perhaps?
‘i’m not interested in what they do over the next few days,’ said southgate. ‘it’s four weeks before we have a game. Before Euro 96 i had three days in Magaluf with Aston Villa so it would be a bit hypocritical to discuss what the correct preparation would be. i did go for a run on a couple of mornings. i think it might have been ar run back to the hotel. ‘Look, ‘Lo everything in a player’spla life now is: fill thisth bloody form in, howh do you feel? There’sT a danger we overfill them with professionalismp and doing the right thing. ‘A lot of them don’t drink,dr but some do and somesom need to wind down in a differentd way. i have a drink aat times when i need one — maybe there will be more of that in the future. But they need to switch off and i don’t see an issue with it.
‘Most have gone away with their partners and have young kids, but those that don’t, they are physically in good shape, i want them to relax. Then when we’re in, we work.’
southgate is the first England manager to have played in the Premier League era. he e knows there is no point outlawing travel, for instance, in an age when players get a day off and turn up at a grand prix or an event on the other side of Europe.
sergio Aguero was given 24 hours off by Manchester City this season, and was involved in a car crash on his way back to a private plane after a concert in Amsterdam. This is the reality of the players southgate will marshal in Russia. Why challenge, if all it will do is alienate them from him?
Better to counsel, which southgate can do, too. his observations on social media use combined a mentor’s advice with the practical acknowledgementt that a player such as Jesse Lingard is not about to abandon his 3.5million instagram followers mid-tournament.
‘Look, everything you put out in writing can be misconstrued,’ said southgate, ‘ and when you’re emotional it’s not a good time to do it. Personally, i’m not sure there’s value to reading comments that come in, either.
‘it comes back to what creates pressure, or what creates misery in your life. Generally, i think there’s a lot of social media that can be negative, so why would you invite that? But i can’t ban the players from looking at it — because who knows what they’re doing when they go to their room?
‘i just make the suggestion: is it a good idea to read all of th that? if you can rationalise is it, and accept it, and put it into its own place, then h fine.
‘But i don’t know too m many people who can do th that. You can’t but think ab about the one bugger who giv gives you advice you don’t wa want to hear, even if there are 50 good bits.
‘s ‘so on a personal level i wo wouldn’t advise it — but i acc accept it’s part of life and go with it.’
if all this makes southgate gat sound a soft touch, he’ he’s not. he has as good as ended end the England careers of household-name h players —W — Wayne Rooney, Joe hart —a — and resisted the calls for flavoursflav of the month, such as JJonjo shelvey. having been an age group coach is good preparation for whittling down a World Cup squad.
Breaking bad news to a teenager trying his hardest is considerably more difficult than telling a veteran with more than 50 caps and a fulfilling club career that this is a World Cup too far.
There is also, strangely, something of the last freedom fighter about him. he probably knows that former — and that usually means failed — England managers are not top of many employment lists.
he is reasonably wealthy from a career near the top in football and a man of principle. he admits that England in their World Cup qualifiers were not entirely true to his beliefs.
‘sometimes the bad experience
Gareth doesn’t like loads of rules. He realises he’s handling a group of young men FOR ALL BREAKING SPORTS NEWS VISIT dailymail.co.uk/ sport There’s a lot of Venables in him, in the way he hopes to play and his attitude to discipline
can be one where you suddenly realise, ‘‘Actually, what is there to lose?’’,’ southgate reflected. ‘that’s probably where i am in my life, so that can be a positive because you’re free of the shackles.
‘We had the feeling once we’d got towards the end of the qualification of not being true to our principles, or not being satisfied with how we were playing, not believing it was how we wanted to play.
‘since then, we’re feeling more comfortable with it, picking a team and a squad where we really believe in the players and the way we play. if you’re going into a major event like this you want to go with what you truly believe in.’ What southgate believes in — some football at last — is defenders who are comfortable on the ball and play out from the back (which is what ruled out Chris smalling) and high energy and athleticism to cover an absence of playmaking creativity in midfield ( which ruled out shelvey and Jack Wilshere).
he also believes in form (which ruled out hart) and that leaning on youth is not a gamble (which ruled in trent Alexander-Arnold) but that it would be foolish to rush through the selection of every bright young thing who catches the eye (which ruled out Jadon sancho, ryan sessegnon, Phil Foden and several others).
‘i can’t make a decision just to keep people happy or avoid me having an uncomfortable conversation,’ said southgate. ‘We are at the top level of sport and under the scrutiny of the world. Our country expects performances, our country expects us to make the right calls, whether that disappoints people or not.
‘i was involved at Crystal Palace when they played Manchester united in the 1990 FA Cup final. it was sir Alex Ferguson’s first trophy and he took Jim leighton out of the team and played les sealey in goal in the replay. it was a massive call and i am sure he didn’t enjoy making it, but if you think it is the right thing, you don’t do it for effect. You just have to make those calls.’
And southgate has. And southgate will continue down that path. he may not have a noticeboard full of rules, but he’s that sort of guy.
JACK WilshErE hit out last night over his omission from England’s World Cup squad with a dig at manager Gareth southgate.
the England coach telephoned the Arsenal midfielder on tuesday to tell him he would not be going to russia. And Wilshere slammed the decision on twitter.
he said: ‘think it’s about time i had my say. it goes without saying that i’m incredibly disappointed to have been left out of the squad for the World Cup. i’ve felt fit, sharp and strong all season and believe i should be in the squad!
‘Given the chance i could have made a real impact. however, i have to respect the manager’s decision and would like to wish the whole squad all the very best for the tournament.
‘i’ll always be an England fan and will be supporting the boys with
ENGLAND LOSE ON PENALTIES... AGAIN