Chris Sutton has urged England fans to show Gareth Southgate more respect after a successful tenure as national team head coach Mail Sports It’s all underway podcast.
The manager and former England international was appointed in 2016 and has since guided the side to two World Cup semi-finals and one European Championship final, but ahead of this summer’s Euro 2024, Southgate still attracts a number of critics.
Speculation over the quality of the manager’s training has only intensified this week after news broke that the 53-year-old was Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s overwhelming first choice to take over at Manchester United if the new co-owner replaces current boss Erik ten Hag. at the end of the season.
But Sutton and his podcast co-host, Mail Sports football editor Ian Ladyman, were keen to stress that Southgate deserved more credit than he receives, with Ladyman arguing that he was a better manager than the last England manager who had overseeing a ‘Golden Generation’ – Sven-Göran Eriksson.
Discussing England’s prospects for this summer’s tournament – and the upcoming friendlies this international break against Brazil and Belgium – Ladyman cited the ‘luck formula’ Southgate had brought to the team’s set-up.
Gareth Southgate deserves more respect as England manager, Chris Sutton has claimed
Since his appointment in 2016, the manager has made the England camp a harmonious one
It’s All Kicking Off host Chris Sutton praised how Southgate strengthened the team’s relationship with the English media
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“I think one of the things we have in our favor now is I think we have a better manager,” Ladyman said of comparing the current crop of England stars to the mid- The ‘Golden Generation’ of the 200s. ‘I would like to say a better manager.
‘Sven-Göran Eriksson’s pedigree was beyond doubt when he got the England job. He had a brilliant CV but I think Gareth Southgate has managed to find a formula in the England camp, a formula for happiness and contentment and a unity of purpose which I think was beyond Sven and it was beyond other England -coaches in the past.
‘And I know we talk about it a lot but you (Sutton) have been in the dressing rooms and you will know how important it is.
“The days when Liverpool and Manchester United players sat on separate tables in the canteen at meetings in England, for example, are over. And I think when you talk about small differences, small percentages, I think that’s one of the things that really works in our favor now.’
Sutton agreed with his co-host and also highlighted the importance of Southgate’s role in creating a positive relationship between the team and the media.
“There was that kind of tension so long between the media and the England team,” Sutton said. And now it seems to be more harmonious.
Co-host Ian Ladyman suggested Southgate was a more suitable England manager than Sven-Göran Eriksson (pictured with Wayne Rooney in 2006)
– I think the England team under Gareth has been really open and I think that has helped, but it’s about taking that last step.
‘Gareth has come close. And I think we both agree about Gareth and the work he’s done has been more than good, but there’s a lot of negativity, isn’t there, towards Gareth Southgate?
“And he needs to win a big tournament, I think, to satisfy a crowd out there that just doesn’t have him and thinks he’s too negative in the way he plays and sets up.”
With the news of Manchester United’s interest in Southgate in mind, both Sutton and Ladyman considered the manager’s future and whether he would continue to work with the national team to manage at Old Trafford.
The FA are believed to be keen on the manager signing a new deal and extending his tenure after agreeing a new three-and-a-half-year deal following the delayed Euro 2021.
‘If he goes and wins the EC, why would you want to change?’ Sutton argued. ‘If Gareth got his head turned by Manchester United, he may well find it very difficult to turn Manchester United down.’
But despite creating impressive unity, Southgate’s players are yet to win a trophy
However, the manager is looking for a return to club football – potentially replacing Erik ten Hag at Manchester United
Noting that some Man United fans had ‘reacted quite negatively’ to the news that the manager was in line to replace Ten Hague, Ladyman added:They clearly think a guy who finished 12th and 13th in two seasons with Middlesbrough then and then got relegated the next season is not fit for purpose in terms of their club, which is interesting.’
But, Sutton said, this was ‘ridiculous’ thinking.
“He deserves far more respect,” Sutton continued. ‘Just remember the Tottenham fans who were “Hashtag (Ange) Postecoglou Out” before he had joined Tottenham. Ridiculous. Who are these fools?
‘Remember that? Remember last week when we talked about snobbery in English football? Well, there’s a dose of that right there.’