Gareth Southgate has the luxury for an England manager of deciding his own fate, but following Euro 2024 heartbreak he already knows what that decision is - and will put us all out of our misery pretty soon, writes Sky Sports News senior reporter Rob Dorsett
Tuesday 16 July 2024 11:15, UK
Gareth Southgate's team left Berlin devastated and drained. The same could be said of the England manager himself.
He waved half-heartedly at the scores of wearied England fans who'd turned up to the team's luxury hotel in the centre of Berlin to see the team leave, but there was no joy in his face, only exhaustion. Those days of Southgate being the nation's 'darling in the waistcoat' are long gone. And he knows it.
I cannot see any scenario where he will want to stay on in his role. I think we have seen the end of the Southgate England era, and I suspect his bosses at the FA know that too. It is Southgate's decision.
Even though they have said nothing publicly, the FA have made it very clear to Southgate that they want him to stay on and lead England to the next World Cup in 2026.
But those finals seem a long, long way off right now. Will the man who has overseen four major tournaments be ready to go again in six weeks' time in Group B of the Nations League away to the Republic of Ireland in Dublin? I very much doubt it.
Germany 2024 has hurt Southgate. In many ways, it has broken him. He spoke defiantly in the media of how he is able to block out the external noise that goes with, what is comedically referred to, as "The Impossible Job".
But much of that is bravado, and a generous attempt as the leader of the gang, to protect his players from collateral damage. It is admirable that Southgate tries to take all the criticism on his own shoulders, to protect the squad, but it is also a falsehood to believe none of it gets beyond his defences.
I'm told Southgate looked at the direct and pointed criticisms from former England players like Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer as betrayal.
They have been there and worn the shirt and, as Harry Kane determinedly said, they were part of the numerous generations of England players who have also failed to bring home a major trophy, so they should pull their punches a bit.
But more than that, I think Southgate is absolutely sick and tired of the repeated criticism and regular abuse he receives from large sections of the England support. It is often very unpleasant.
We need to be clear - it is not a vocal minority of England fans who want him gone, thinking he doesn't have the tactical acumen to get the best out of an elite group of players - it is a sizeable proportion.
I sat inside the stadiums in Frankfurt for the 1-1 draw with Denmark and the 0-0 draw with Slovenia in Cologne when the stadium announcer read out the team line-ups, followed by the name of the coach.
There were very loud boos on both occasions from the England end as Southgate's name was read out. It was not a handful of dissident hard-liners. It was coming from the loyal rank-and-file, who pay thousands to travel to watch England home and away.
Only once, over seven matches and 33 days in Germany, did I hear England fans singing the song which became the anthem of Euro 2020: "Southgate you're the one, football's coming home again!"
That chant was in the air as we arrived at the Berlin Olympic Stadium, an hour before the 2024 final kicked off. And, in all honesty, it came from maybe half a dozen England fans, who were all pretty well-lubricated.
The worst of the abuse came in Cologne, after the dreadful 0-0 draw with Slovenia. Southgate was targeted with empty plastic beer cups from a small minority of fans as he left the pitch.
That, I think, was Southgate's nadir, the moment when he thought "enough is enough". That was the moment that will be ranked alongside similar humiliations for some of his predecessors: Graham Taylor having his image superimposed on a turnip in the tabloids, along with the headline "That's yer allotment". Or Steve McClaren's infamous "Wally with a Brolly" moment at Wembley in 2008.
Southgate brought the plastic beer cups incident up many times as England progressed into the knockout stages in Germany whenever he was asked about how tough he was finding it all.
He talked euphemistically about the "unusual environment" he has been working in, about the "rollercoaster of emotions" that this tournament had been and how it is "not normal" to have beer cups thrown at you.
England had performed very poorly for the majority of the group games but they were unbeaten in the tournament and had topped Group C. Southgate simply could not comprehend how that record had enraged so many. He felt it was personal. And in truth, it was.
"Our world is different at the moment and I feel that is probably because of me," said Southgate. "I understand the feeling towards me, but back the players, it's crucial the fans back the players."
When considering Southgate's current decision whether to stay on or not, look to the recent history. He almost walked away after the abuse he received in Wolverhampton two summers ago, after the 4-0 home humiliation against Hungary.
He revealed after the last World Cup in Qatar that he had come close to quitting on several occasions. He said, admirably, that he would only stay on in the job if he felt he could help the team and not hinder them.
The problem now is that it is hard to see how Southgate is anything but a hindrance to England's future. That is a stark statement, but it is true. There is now an agenda against him - a hardcore of fans, media and pundits who have turned against him and want him out. It is a very difficult position to come back from.
And yet there is no doubt that history will look very favourably on Southgate's England reign. Apart from the obvious exception achieved by Sir Alf Ramsey in 1966, no England manager can boast the level of tournament success that Southgate has achieved.
World Cup quarter-final and semi-final; back-to-back European Championship finals. To those supporters who want to see the back of him, there is very much a sense of, as David Seaman told me on the eve of the Berlin final, "Be careful what you wish for."
Many people say that Southgate has a world-class pool of English talent to choose from, and he should be getting more out of them. That is a fair comment. But it was also a fair comment levelled at many of Southgate's predecessors. Remember the "Golden Generation" of the 2000s?
That was a phrase coined by the then FA chief executive Adam Crozier, created to describe the likes of David Beckham, Michael Owen, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville et al.
In that era, England managed to make the quarter-finals in three major tournaments and then failed to qualify for Euro 2008. A far cry from what the current crop has mustered.
Seeing Southgate step onto the England team bus for the last time in Germany to head to Berlin's Brandenburg Airport with his squad, there was a sense of finality about it.
He has said he will take some time to make his decision about whether he wants to stay on or not. It is not something he will prolong. "We've got time to make decisions and I won't need weeks, but also I think I've earned the right to give myself a few days just to think things through."
Southgate has the rare luxury for an England manager to decide his own fate, make his mind up about whether he stays or whether he goes. But I think he already knows what that decision is. And he will put us all out of our misery pretty soon.
