Gareth’s ‘do it for nan’ plea a smart move ahead of total mismatches
YOU have to admire Gareth Southgate’s optimism. Faced by the prospect of playing the mighty San Marino at a deserted Wembley last night, the England manager reminded his players of their responsibilities to the nation, of just how much the team means to people.
‘It’s nan, grandad, aunt, uncle, shared moments, sitting together, that’s how all of our first memories of England are,’ said the Three
Lions boss. ‘Of course we understand that [responsibility to entertain]. Particularly when we’ve got exciting players. We do try to play good football!’
It was stirring stuff with talk of ‘romance’, ‘love of the game’ and ‘little moments’ young fans will look back on for years to come.
In part, Southgate’s impassioned speech was a defence of international football against the all-powerful Premier League, a reminder not all fans are supporters of a big club, that many find their pleasure or pain in the fortunes of the England team.
But you have to wonder if the target audience for the England manager’s words weren’t, to a large degree, the England players themselves.
With 206 places separating the teams in the latest Fifa rankings there are people who would question the point of last night’s game and some of the doubters may even be in Southgate’s squad.
In a season condensed by a pandemic footballers, like the rest of us, have had to make sacrifices simply to keep the show on the road.
Just this week ESPN had an eloquent report about the emotional toll overseas players at British clubs have felt after a year living in lockdown and unable to travel home to visit family. On Tuesday, the experienced Italian coach Cesare Prandelli stood down as Fiorentina boss saying ‘a dark cloud has developed inside of me’. Mental health problems affect people in good times as well as bad but Prandelli’s candid words were a reminder of the affect the unusual times we live in can have on anyone. So, it would be understandable to view an England game against the worst team in the world in front of an empty stadium as a pretty pointless exercise. The problem is a quick
glance at England’s itinerary for World Cup qualifying would suggest it will not be the last one.
A rematch with San Marino plus home and away ties with Andorra (the 151st best team in the world) will provide further opportunities for pondering the futility of human existence, while matches with Poland, Hungary and Albania fall into the damned-if-you-win-and-damned-ifyou-don’t category.
Faced by the prospect of travelling in biosecure bubbles to play ten games they should not lose, initially in front of deserted stadiums, if ever a player was to question the point of international football it would be now.
So Southgate’s plea to think of the folks back home and remember your responsibility to entertain them is a
clever one. After a whole year chained to our front rooms we’ve all got pretty adept at entertaining ourselves without resorting to watching the footballing equivalent of cheering on the Eggheads against the underdogs.
But England have no choice but to be there, so Southgate is right to appeal to his squad’s sense of pride, family and history.
Think of the nans, grandads, aunts and uncles. Just don’t necessarily expect them to remember this one for years to come.
‘Footballers, like the rest of us, have made sacrifices to keep the show on the road’