, Gareth s Gamble
Should brace JOHN LYONS says Gareth Southgate Lions flop... himself for plenty of flak if the Three
NO MATTER how much the other players try to console me, I’m still left with the feeling that I let everybody down,” said Gareth Southgate after missing that crucial penalty for England against Germany at Euro 96.
That pain has diminished with time, the Pizza Hut adverts helping the healing process, but, in hindsight, what better preparation could there have been to become the England manager, albeit on an intitial caretaker basis for four games?
Because invariably the England job brings with it more pain and hurt than most. Only Sir Alf Ramsey has managed to bag a trophy for the Three Lions, meaning, in essence, the others have failed.
Okay, it can be glorious failure as with Bobby Robson at Italia ‘90 or Terry Venables in that ‘96 tournament. But it’s failure nonetheless.
And the suffering is worse for those that fail to do the business. Steve McClaren, the poor sod, will be forever known as the ‘Wally with the Brolly’ after England’s failure to reach the Euro 2008 finals.
Graham Taylor must have heard the phrase ‘do I not like that?’ a million times over the last 20 years.
Roy Hodgson was slated for England’s failure at the Euros this summer, Glenn Hoddle wishes he had never said ‘them things’, SvenGoran Eriksson’s personal life was put under all sorts of scrutiny, Fabio Capello failed to impress and Big Sam? Well, enough’s been said about Big Sam.
This can be a nightmare job. Okay, the £3ma-year salary and bumper holiday allowance make it a bit sweeter, but you can quickly become a laughing stock and have your hard- won reputation ruined. If being the manager of the Under-21s is akin to being in the shadows, then being the boss of the senior team means you are under the biggest spotlight possible. Every decision you make is scrutinised, every word you say is analysed, every mistake is pounced upon. As the saying goes, you can’t keep all of the people happy all of the time. Southgate had qualms about taking the job on a temporay basis in the summer, but now finds himself in exactly that position. He is Mr Clean, seen as a steady pair of hands and reliable. In fact, he’s just what the FA need right now, but can he inspire the players, can he take on the big-name bosses on the international stage and get the better of them tactically? Although he looks fresh-faced, Southgate is now 46 and should be ready for this challenge. A successful playing career at Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough, plus 57 England caps, was followed by a mixed spell as Boro boss before he took on the England U21 role. Now is the time for him to show what he has learned from all that experience and guide England forward again. Maybe it will just be four games, but if he plays his cards right, it could be a lot more. Yes, a custard pie in the face could well be the eventual result, but if you never try, you never know. He’s been prepared to take the gamble this time around and that’s encouraging. Maybe he is the right man at the right time. But then again, we thought that about a lot of his predecessors. Pizza anyone?