We’ll miss Gareth Southgate

This piece was originally published in a different form on 12 July.

Gareth Southgate, who has just resigned as England manager, deserves better than what he got. He is not perfect, as some football journalists imply (you end up suspecting they’re particularly chummy with the right people). But it’s not too much to say that Southgate achieved something special in his eight years.  

In 2018, he took England to the semi-finals of the World Cup, the first time since 1990. He took England to the final of Euro 2021, and then repeated the achievement despite playing far worse. True, we went out in the quarters in 2022, but against a France side that would end up making the final. He won more knockout games than every other England manager combined since 1966.

Southgate’s critics should also remember how bad the team he inherited was. When England lost 2-1 to Iceland at Euro 2016, an increasingly wheezy Wayne Rooney chuffed around in centre midfield; the goalkeeper Joe Hart had forgotten how to hold onto things.