tWhether you like Gareth Southgate or not, there is no denying the impact he has had on the current England national team. Since he took over the senior managerial role of England in 2016, after previously being the U21 coach, England have competed in four major tournaments making the semi finals in three of them, along with the final of Euro 2020. Should England beat Holland on Wednesday they'll be competing in successive European Championship finals for the first time.
He is the first England manager to reach a final in a major competition since Sir Alf Ramsey in 1966 - where England won their only World Cup to date. That is enough there to argue Southgate has been a greater success than any other manager since the summer of 66', but why do so many dislike him and think someone else should be in charge?
He definitely isn't perfect, but no England manager ever has been, what Southgate has done is create a bond within the national team like never before. Every player loves to go away with England, whereas before it would be seen as an interruption to the season with players making themselves unavailable for the national team. That no longer happens. So what has Gareth Southgate changed and why is he arguably England's second greatest manager?
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The impossible job
When looking at international management you first need to understand why it is so different to club management. You have very little time with your squad first of all, therefore, being able to work on tactics and philosophy is a lot more difficult than it is at club level. It is more off the cuff and relying on individual brilliance as well as a lot of luck, not just for England but for everyone.
Unless you win a major tournament as England manager, many will say you failed. This is the same for the likes of France, Spain, Germany, Brazil and Argentina, but only one team can win a major tournament and with them occurring once every two years, it really isn't an easy thing to do. England's history in tournament football emphasises this, since 1966 England have made the semi finals of the World Cup just once, which was under Southgate.
You then look at the European Championships, since its inception in 1960, and England have made the semi finals just three times, twice under Southgate. People will argue he has had a great team so he should be doing this, but he's not the only England manager to be given a good group of players. So he must be doing something right for England to be going so far. Had they won the penalty shoot-out at Euro 2020 you could argue this is England's most successful period ever.
The way Southgate has navigated his way through tournaments is credit to him, he may not get the most out of certain players at times, but he gets the most out of the team. His results in previous competitions prove this, he's just missing that trophy but that could still come.
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The players view
Something Gareth Southgate has undoubtedly done is create an environment like no other within the Three Lions camp. Everyone has heard the story of past squads where players would go to international duty and not talk to anyone outside of their clubs.
You would have a group of Manchester United players, Chelsea, Arsenal and so on, the harmony within camp was nowhere near as strong as it is now. This wasn't necessarily down to the Manager at the time, but more down to the rivalry between clubs in the Premier League. There was a bitterness between the club managers, players and fans whereas nowadays that's not as prominent. Southgate has helped that.
Players now go to England camp and are excited, for some it is a break from their clubs which is sometimes welcome, especially if things aren't going well at the time. Players have been on record in the past saying they love going to St Georges Park with England, they get to see some of their mates who play for other teams and its a fresh environment from their club duty.
There was no better demonstration of this than in the Euros during 2021. Pictures and videos of the England team in the swimming pool on floating unicorns just having fun, allowed us to see they are able to enjoy camps while having the pressure of playing for England put to the side when they can do so.
The players are all behind Southgate and enjoy playing for him, he understands them and treats them like people rather than players. The environment he's created is one that needs to be continued with or without Southgate if he is to stay beyond this summers tournament.
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The Media
The Media and England national team have always had an unspoken conflict, whether that be leaking inside information, hammering the players and manager or trying to set a bad mood in the camp. The English press always have their say, that was until Southgate took charge.
The England manager realised that giving the press more opportunities to interact with players would lead to more favourable coverage of the team. This approach would help the players see that the media aren't enemies but rather individuals seeking stories and, like the players, wishing for England's success.
He arrived with a strategy that extended beyond tactical improvements for England. His plan also addressed how to manage external distractions and constraints to alleviate the pressure on those who don the Three Lions shirt. It is another improvement Southgate has made to the environment surrounding England, one that was needed and has reaped its rewards.
It is on record that players would shy away from doing interviews and other media work in the past, but it now seems the opposite. The amount of content which is put out by England's social media platforms and Youtube is incredible, something fans love to see and are able to interact with which is only a positive. Just showing the change in relationship between the media and national team.
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The philosophy and tactics
If there is an area in which Gareth Southgate would need improving and is weakest in it would be his tactical approach to games. Everyone knows the abundance of quality he has at his disposal, now more than ever with this England squad boasting the Player of the Season from Spanish, German and English top flights. His inability to get them to click is what's faltering him. He has been England's best manager since 1966, but maybe not the best coach in that time.
Something Southgate has done so well in the past is picking the best team, not necessarily the best players. Looking back to Euro 2020 when everyone was calling for Jack Grealish to start, but Southgate chose otherwise and used Grealish in a different way. He has rarely, if ever, listened to the outside noise and been pressured into decisions from the public which is credit to him, many time he could've done so and it not work out for him.
This tournament however, he seems to have gone against his principles slightly and has tried to fit in the best players, even when they aren't in their best positions. For example, Phil Foden on the left wing when he is more naturally suited as a No.10, even Trent Alexander Arnold in midfield. Some will say he does this for his club but it is slightly different when inverting as a right back rather than always being in a central position.
This comes back to difficulty of international management, you don't get six weeks of pre-season to work on what you need to like at club level. You have two maybe three weeks before a tournament then a month where you can play seven games in a condensed space of time. Expecting England to resemble a club team performance is near impossible.
The way Southgate's England have traditionally played is to be pragmatic. Solid defensively and rely on the quality in forward areas to score goals, during his time as manager they have never been a team to blow others away during major tournaments. It is a style which has worked, making the most out of set plays and being difficult to beat. It has been the same this time around, again it has worked and England are one game away from another final.
Southgate’s most fervent critics still keenly mention that England have had "easy" runs in competitions, and they would have a case to argue. It is true that under Southgate, England hasn't beaten a truly world-class team. This is an undeniable reality that even his biggest fans must acknowledge. However, what control does Southgate have over the way the tournament knockout stages are arranged? You can only beat who's in front of you and on the whole Southgate and his team's do just that.
Something which Southgate can take huge amounts of credit is the mentality of this England team. Historically, past England teams have been faltered by penalties, and yes England lost Euro 2020 due to spot kicks but that is the only shootout they have lost under Southgate. Beating Columbia in the 2018 World Cup, which ended a run of 22 years without a shoot-out victory. The next coming against Switzerland in the Nations League a year later, followed by another spot kicks triumph against the Swiss at this summers Euros. Both the players and manager deserve credit for this as many in the past could not deal with that pressure.
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Success or failure?
This will come down to opinion, do you class success as winning a trophy or not? Over the course of his close to eight year tenure there is a big argument that Gareth Southgate has brought success to the national team, albeit without a trophy. However, this team is in the best shape it has been for many a year to win the biggest accolades at international level, that is hugely down to Southgate and his staff.
Based on all he has worked on and changed within the set up, it would be beyond harsh to say Southgate has failed as England manager just because he hasn't delivered a trophy, as mentioned before they are difficult to win. Then if this is to be his last tournament with the national team he has set them up in the best way possible to be a success in the future, something you can't say about all previous England managers.
With a semi final against Ronald Koeman's Dutch side still to come and then the possible final with Spain or France a trophy might end up coming Southgate's way, which would be the fairytale ending for him to bow out on. Defeat in one of these games could then label him as a failure if he then decides to leave.
I guess that is why they call it the impossible job after all.
