Gareth Southgate is a clever manager. Stay with me. Just when you thought England’s chances of winning the World Cup were about as low as Matt Hancock’s credibility rating, the Three Lions boss makes a supreme PR move and all is rosy in the team’s garden again.
Just over a week ago, heads were down among England supporters. Win the World Cup? What, after losing 4-0 to Hungary and being relegated, winless, from our Nations League group? No way.
And that was perfectly understandable. One magic ingredient has transformed all that and his name is James Maddison. Of course, the Leicester playmaker may not even feature in Qatar, after all he has had three years to think about his one and only cap for his country.
He will probably play some part but just in bringing the Premier League’s in-form twinkle-toes to the tournament with him, Southgate has given the nation a much-needed boost. The very thought of Maddison in the England ranks has calmed much of the disquiet, at least until we draw 0-0 with Iran on Monday, that is.
The fact is Southgate, despite his protestations on announcing Maddison in his squad of 26 last week, has either not rated or fancied the midfielder since 2019. He already has one forward-thinking genius at his disposal in Jack Grealish and he very rarely starts. Why two? Well, having 26 rather than the 23 players of past World Cups means Southgate could afford a wild card.
Arguably, Conor Gallagher or Trent Alexander-Arnold may not have made the squad, too, but it is Maddison who stands out. By picking him, Southgate has calmed all around him ahead of the start of the tournament. Well, until the Foxes man suffered an injury last weekend anyway.
But what does this mean for our hopes of ‘bringing football home’? Positivity around the camp is just what was needed and Maddison’s selection will help immensely with that. He has been in superb form this season.
If Jude Bellingham, who surely will play, can replicate some of his form for Borussia Dortmund, and Phil Foden can recapture some of his Manchester City quality in an England shirt, there may be enough optimism, enough feelgood stories to restore some of that sense of ‘one nation’ a la Russia 2018 and that run to the semi-finals.
There has been a sense, for some time, this could be Southgate’s swansong, a victory lap without the victory, the manager fans loved to hate even when England were at their best since 1966, finally sliding out of the door for some, as yet unnamed, heroic superman to come in and win a major title in the coming years.
Whether Southgate leaves or not, his body of work stands up to all but Sir Alf Ramsey’s. A quiet man, clever with the media but, to so many, not the shouter or chest-beater they crave in a national-team boss. And that’s sad because these have been great years. A World Cup semi-final and a European final. I’d like to see you do better.
But Southgate’s reign does appear to be coming to an end. It would be something of a turn-up to see him embark on England’s Euro 2024 qualifiers next spring, whatever happens in the Qatari desert.
A miserable exit and he would surely resign having had enough of the pitfalls of being England manager. Win it and he’d surely quit at the top, no?
Beat likely quarter-final opponents France – if we get that far – and he should be lauded again. But there is plenty to come before that. Bellingham, Foden and Maddison, for three, have the potential to do something special in the Middle East. Harry Kane is one of the world’s best strikers. There is plenty to be excited about. And that Maddison curveball may just get a few more believing than before.
So hail Gareth, he has appeased his detractors – for now. Too defensive? No. A very un-Gareth-like decision? Huh? Not really, he claimed. But we know that it is. Very clever from Gareth, very clever indeed.
MORE : Joe Cole urges England boss Gareth Southgate to drop Chelsea and Man Utd players for Arsenal stars
MORE : England World Cup guide: Now or never for Gareth Southgate as Three Lions look to turn progress into silverware
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