BENEFITS OF OPENING UP
SOUTHGATE’S METHODS ARE SO REFRESHING
IF YOU had to pick an England player to be stood by himself just inside the six-yard box of the Volgograd Stadium at about 8.50pm last Monday, it would almost certainly be Harry Kane. Craning his neck around the ball, the captain steered the Three Lions to victory over Tunisia and set up a week of positivity rather than anxiety. In the blink of an eye, Kane’s forehead was a welcome dose of Nurofen for the headaches that would have followed before this afternoon’s game with Panama. It means we will never know what the reaction would have been had the game finished all square. Same old England, typical start to a tournament. Instead, while Germany questioned everything about their opening defeat to Mexico, England bathed in the warm glow of victory. It’s always a quirk of football writing that a late goal can mean the whole piece is ripped up. Celebrated wildly on the terraces, they are met with groans in the press box. Drama is great in football. Just not when there’s a late kick-off. Generally, England played well in their World Cup opener against Tunisia and there were plenty of positives at the start of a tournament that has more realistic expectations. Along with a dislocated shoulder, manager Gareth Southgate probably has a sore back from all the pats he received before the kick-off with the general consensus that he’d got the build-up bang on the money. It started with a media day where, Super Bowl style, the writers and broadcasters had open access to speak to all 23 England squad members.
Here’s where the FA’s communications team take great credit, Southgate too. He asked them what they would do with a blank canvas and they came up with something that has flipped how we see the Three Lions.
Egg shells
Before, often through no fault of their own, players come across over-guarded and afraid to show their personalities. At Euro 2016, Joe Hart refused to discuss an intersquad darts tournament. It was in stark contrast to Wales, who smiled and joked their way through press conferences on their way to the semi-finals, while England were back sat at home. In Russia, the England players stepped up to the oche to take on the journos. It’s a small thing and, as has been seen by the reaction to the long-lens team-sheet snap, it doesn’t mean reporters should be anything but impartial. A piece in The Times last Monday explained how Southgate has revitalised the environment around the national team. FA staff feel less like they are treading on egg shells around the team and the fans are seeing the players for who they are, rather than through stage-managed interviews.
Scrutiny
The piece also made mention of how Southgate wanted more of a ‘Non-League’ feel, a more grounded approach. It’s great to see and something lots of top level clubs could learn from, especially when it comes to the media and engaging with fans. The players will still be criticised when they deserve to be, but I’ll bet it comes from a much more considered place. Non-League is great for the open access. It’s difficult not to feel for our Football League Paper colleagues as they jump through hoops to set up interviews with managers and players. Many League clubs are more than accommodating but I’ve had my own experiences of waiting by the phone. A press officer at a Championship club once said he’d call the following day to put a player on if he remembered. Perhaps it’s no surprise he didn’t. Non-League will always have its down-to-earth nature. More and more clubs will want to monitor what media their players and managers are doing, it’s not uncommon to have to get the all-clear from the press officer or the manager and you have to respect that. Very rarely does the answer come back no, anyway. Great for us because, after all, if it wasn’t for players, managers and chairmen picking up their phones, you wouldn’t be reading this paper now. For me, the intimacy of NonLeague football – despite its great depth – sets it apart. I love getting to know people from all over the country, following their stories and successes. Increasingly, we hear about characters going out of the game and it’s noticeable platitudes are creeping into post-match interviews. We all understand managers don’t want to say the wrong thing and need to protect their players. But football is to be enjoyed, by players and those of us who watch on. Even when it comes to England at the World Cup!