![]() Whatever you throw at him, he’s either going to ignore it, or take it. Best of all, you will never be forced to test your clever theorems in practice. He isn’t going to ban you from press conferences. He isn’t going to call up your phone-in and demand right of reply. Southgate isn’t going to cancel you or report you to your employer. There is no cost or jeopardy involved here. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/The FA/Getty Imagesīut the main reason is that Southgate-rage is free. Gareth Southgate welcomes Phil Foden to England training but once again failed to pick your club’s player. This is not, and has never been, the foundation of a nourishing relationship. ![]() And then every couple of months he simply dangles himself in our eyeline: too aloof to engage with, too present to ignore, like HMRC or back pain or those little clickbait ads with headlines like “You’ll Never Believe What This Celebrity Looks Like Now”. Most of the time, beyond the occasional ghostly sighting at Goodison Park on Match of the Day, you barely even think about him. Second, he’s not really around enough for us to forge a connection with him. The way I see it, there are three main reasons why Southgate attracts a level of derision grossly disproportionate to anything he has or hasn’t done in a waistcoat.įirst, he didn’t pick your club’s player. But beyond the calcified core of racists who pepper his inbox, most people don’t care about that. Fair enough, it seems to work for Keir Starmer. Much of what is optimistically described as Southgate’s “politics” actually consists of a few mouthed platitudes about not being too quick to judge others or comment on moral issues. Where this rage comes from is a more complex question. Is there anybody left on this island yet to make their mind up about this guy? Gareth Southgate, at best 50% of England is with you. The sense of closeness and national communion that Southgate has always craved around this team: yep, that’s not going to happen. The public he has strived so fervently to unite over the past six years isn’t coming back. Are you – are we – really going to do this all again?Īnd of course something important has changed here. The games against Italy and Ukraine this week mark the start of what will almost certainly be Southgate’s last tournament cycle as England manager. ![]() Albeit with a lot less chest-bumping and basketball machismo and a lot more bickering about Ben White. ![]()
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