BISTO KIDS In the 1990s, Southgate & Now they look after the next Osborn were inseparable as generation... one for England Palace’s midfield generals... & the other in south London
CRYSTAL PALACE manager Steve Coppell promoted three graduates from their academy into the firstteam squad in 1990.
And as Gareth Southgate, Simon Osborn and Simon Rodger took their place, coach Wally Downes looked at the newcomers and declared: “We’ve got the Bisto Kids with us!”
Fast forward 26 years and their careers have taken very different directions.
Southgate is England’s manager-in-waiting, former central midfield pal Osborn has a successful career in construction renovation and Rodger became a chauffeur after leaving Brighton.
Osborn wears a hard hat in his chosen profession, while Southgate may have need of a tin helmet should it go wrong in his new role.
The 42-year-old Osborn answers to his boss at Ri Design and Build, while Southgate must answer to a nation.
“He will handle that, not a problem,” said Osborn, who played 72 times for Palace in his six years as trainee and senior pro there.
Southgate, the player, went from Palace to Aston Vi l l a and Middlesbrough and appeared 57 times for England. Osborn played for eight clubs, including QPR, Wolves and Gillingham, and ended up as playercoach with Erith.
His mate went into management at Boro and then the England Under-21s.
Osborn managed Margate before leaving and his involvement in football now extends to working one night a week at an academy set up by his former Palace team-mate Bobby Bowry in Croydon.
When Southgate had his formal interview for the England job last Monday, the other Bi sto Kid was preparing to take a group of seven to 16-year-olds at the Volenti Academy.
“I still love football, but I watch more non-league stuff around Kent, teams like Bromley,” said Osborn. “I go to Palace a few times, but the academy work is important to me.”
Osborn looked back on his days in the Palace youth team when he played alongside Southgate. “He was always very organised, very precise, very determined,” said Osborn. “He was a good player but it was touch and go whether he was signed on a senior contract. “But his qualities got him that. We played together for the reserves in the old Football Combination. That is missing these days. It was part of the education and helped you grow up. “Sometimes we played twice in a day. And you were up against top players. They were often coming back from injury or getting game time because they had been dropped.
“They didn’t show young players like me and Gareth any special treatment – the opposite! I was once up against Kenny Sansom and that was an experience.
“But it toughened you up and it did the young players a lot of good.”
Southgate’s tone has left some questioning his role as a manager of a squad comprised mainly of players with strong working-class roots and accents to match.
“Don’t be fooled by that,” said Osborn. “He’ll do a good job and can be as hard as anyone if he needs to be.
“As youngsters, we walked into a dressing room that had Ian Wright, Mark Bright and Andy Gray. You learn to handle yourself with characters like that around. And Gareth gave as good as he got.
“He is perfect for the role with England.
“Perfect.” CHELSEA coach Antonio Conte has re-joined the race for Niklas Sule.
Everton gaffer Ronald Koeman’s scouts have been checking on the Hoffenheim defender. Koeman is interested in both Sule and team-mate Sebastian Rudy.
But he will face competition from Conte, who enquired about Sule (above) last summer, and German big guns Bayern Munich.
Sule, 21, came through the ranks at Hoffenheim and has already been linked with Liverpool and Tottenham. WOLVES are set to unload highlyrated defender Dominic Iorfa to West Ham during the January window. The club want £5million for the England Under-21 regular (below), with Slaven Bilic keen to do a deal amid other interest from Southampton and Crystal Palace.