Gareth Southgate announces departure from the England National Team [REACTION] | ESPN FC

Gareth Southgate announces departure from the England National Team [REACTION] | ESPN FC

G Southgate has resigned as England manager and here is his part of a statement that he made on actually stepping down from the role he said as a proud Englishman it has been the honor of my life to play for England and to manage England it has meant everything to me and I have given it my all but it’s time for change and for a new chapter thean dark’s still with us we now have James Ole joining us as well who’s been covering this story for us has this come of a surprise in any way James it’s Gareth Southgate stepping down or is this a mutual decision and that’s what’s being said No it’s it’s not a mutual decision the fa wanted him to carry on to 2026 they they’d made that clear uh privately before the final against Spain on Sunday um you know there’s obviously been growing sort of fan discontent towards G Southgate during the tournament um a lot of criticism of him on social media and from certain pundits as well podcasts um for from former England captains and I think the whole kind of package has just created a situation where South coat just feels he can’t really continue in the role anymore and maybe I think as well he probably feels he’s had a bit of enough of it now four tournaments had a very consistent um period running deep in in those tournaments but um yeah the fa wanted him to continue they’d made it clear he had a contract through to December I think for a specific reason that’s quite unusual normally you know the contracts run to sort of the end of July um you know straight after a tournament cycle but I think they gave him to December because they wanted to try and give him a chance to to get any negativity out of his system he nearly left of course after the last World Cup in Guitar but I think this time the sort of whole situation was was too much for him in the end and he just felt as he said in his statement it was time to move on and time for something different right decision from South Gate Craig right decision for himself if that’s what he feels uh to be quite honest I’m a bit in between I think there’s a lot of people you know some of the stuff in social media is beyond the pale but that’s not a surprise is it you can’t argue with where he’s taking England you can’t that’s factual it’s not up for debate in terms of previous managers previous teams but the debate rages on about did England have the handbreak on a little bit or a lot was there more to come which I think there was uh and I think also you’re not putting it all down to luck because it’s not all luck but there was definitely an element of it in terms of sides of brackets where England finished up on and this competition wasn’t the only one where the pathway was slightly easier now you know there was seven games in the competition and I can remember 45 minutes where I thought England looked like themselves against Holland and that wasn’t a great Holland side so there’s lots of different angles to to it uh but I wouldn’t certainly take away from what he’s achieved and because you know that’s laid bare in front of you just me watching as a non- Englishman was always kind of thinking there’s more to come here there’s a little bit more from this England side uh and maybe that’s the argument that that some would want now when they hire a new manager whoever that is maybe we’ll get a even better gauge of this squad players and was there more to come or not but but yeah if he feels it’s the right thing to do then he can go out with his head held high and they’ve been pipped at the post a couple of times but you know sometimes you give people B you give people a bit more a lot more and they still want more and so it’s very very difficult situation to be in he’s read the room it’s what he’s done you know can you imagine we’d sat here couple of years ago and said England and South Gate are going to get to the final of the Euros but along the way they’re going to be getting boed and he’s going to get beer thrown at him I mean how how do you come back from that there the only way to come back from that is to actually win something I mean that’s I mean what’s the chances whether you whether you think he’s a great coach or not he’s done a he’s done a great job for England two finals a semi and a quarterfinals that’s a fantastic job go back 30 years in fact go back to 66 I mean so when you start looking at it on paper this guy’s done a fantastic job but he’s read the room he knows there’s nowhere else for him to go and it’s probably the right thing he’s gotten the team to a position where he can’t do anymore he’s not going to make them any better clearly he had he had this tournament we saw it clearly six seven games that he had that this team has reached its peak with him they need some fresh ideas maybe a fresh way of going about it and as I said apart from that he’s read the room he’s got nowhere to go and so I think he’s done the right thing Ian are you going to be all right and the and the host are you getting upset or are you just joking I’m not choking up e in dark okay you have a drink of water I know that happens to be out half the time when I’m commentating so uh you have a good sip of water no what I think about it is broadly what the guys have said you’ve got to take it back to 2016 when he took over England were in a complete and utter mess they’ just been knocked out by Iceland there had been the newspaper stinging that meant Sam allise only lasted for one game what Gareth Southgate did is he changed the whole culture around the England Camp it used to be clicks all the time even though there were some great players they were sitting at Separate Tables the Chelsea lot the Manchester United lot no wonder they couldn’t produce on the pitch there was war going on with the media he mended all those fences he made a culture and created an environment an ego free environment um and he was such a decent man in doing it that meant England could succeed okay they weren’t great at this championships even if they did make the final but he gave England a lot of Great Moments and I think when they come to write the history of the England football team history will look very very kindly on what GTH Southgate did James where do you think uh where does this leave the fa where where what direction do you think the Football Association are going to go well I mean that’s the million dollar question is it they they would like to appoint an Englishman for a number of reasons they have invested a lot of stock in St George’s Park the national base and they see that as being um you know the pathway not just for players but also for coach is to come through to the elite level and you know you got to remember G Southgate joined the fa as head of Elite development in 2011 and he kind of came through the ranks if you like at the fa he was England under 21 manager in 2016 and then he um Ian said he succeeded Sam allise later that year so ideally they’d like to see someone of that ilk come through who understands English football understands the Heritage understands the problems and where things have been done well and can probably pick up the the best of what Gareth is has done in the last eight years and try and take it forward now that would lend itself most logically to Lee carsley in theory he’s the current England under 21 manager but he’s not really got any Senior Management experience whatsoever outside of Academy level he had a few interim positions I think at centry Bradford maybe Birmingham as well but he’s not managed at a top level so that’s a that’s a huge ask for him to suddenly step up and be dealing with these big names and then you look at so Eddie how and gram Potter the bigger English names at the head of the market moment um and they’re not I wouldn’t say either of those are particularly convincing either I mean gr and Potter my understanding was that had Gareth gone earlier maybe a couple of years ago I think gr and Potter had his admirers at the fa and he would have been the name that they would have turned to but of course he had that very disappointing spell at Chelsea where the scrutiny kind of got to him a little bit he wasn’t really able to impose his style of play I mean look Chelsea obviously is a kind of a basket case of a club at certain times particularly at that time when the Takeover had just taken place so it’s perhaps harsh to judge Potter solely on what he did and and not look at the bigger picture there but still there’s a question to ask about how much that’s has damaged his reputation and that leaves Eddie Hal but you know Eddie how has done a really good job at Newcastle he’s obviously got them into the champions league for the first time in 20 years built a team that plays good football that’s solid and aggressive um but he’s got a contract multi-year contract my understanding is that I think is through to 2027 so Newcastle aren’t going to want to lose him that’s going to mean the fa would have to pay significant compensation if it is that long a contract and we don’t really know whether EDH how even want it so if those are the English options it then leaves the fa with the opportunity of saying well okay do we go overseas do we look for for a forign manager didn’t work particularly well in the past they’ve appointed two foreign managers in their history Sven Goran Erikson and Fabio Capello neither of them were able to deliver uh the success that that the fa craved but you do look at poino and Thomas Tu who were the two probably logical out ofwork managers and they’ve got good pedigrees you know pochettino obviously has got a strong relationship with managing in England he’s managed at Tottenham for five and a half years he had that season at Chelsea he loves English football he stayed in London quite a lot he had that brief spell at Paris San gerain as well which obviously you know winning the French league with Paris San gerain not necessarily the toughest task in management but he has done it he has experience managing those top players and my understanding that if is that if the fa wanted to speak to poino he would be open to it also worth mentioning with poino that John mcder is the technical director at the fa he worked with pochettino at Tottenham and I think their relationship still to this day is very good and then you look at tukul who of course as the Champions League winning pedigree also managed in England speaks fantastic English wants to be in the Premier League loves English football as I remember ESPN doing an interview with uh Tuka when he was at Bayern Munich saying you know I’m more respected in England than I am in Germany so I think that have would have its appeal but the fa have got this fundamental conundrum which is we promotes in George’s Park we think fundamentally it should be an Englishman who takes it over but really the best candidates are actually overseas you know the foreign born managers and what does it say about all the work we do at St George’s if we go for a foreign manager as the England coach what do you think of those names that we’ve seen there on that list guys some good names you know but you know best manager on the list is Jurgen klopp but that’s unlikely very unlikely for various reasons and I absolutely take James’s point there that you you’re sort of it’s a it’s a juer position isn’t it really for for the fa because they’re spending all this money and but sometimes you got to think right you know we are doing that but this might not be the right time to bring somebody through from from this program and it might be time to go outside again and and and wait I I don’t know it’s a very difficult scenario he was a super safe per of hands wasn’t he G Southgate there’s no getting away from that both from a on the field which it didn’t seem at the time let’s not forget when he first took over he was not going to be this safe Barry hands it wasn’t going to be great at all in most people’s eyes but it turned out it was super safe in fact it was better than that uh and it was also pretty much squeaky clean off the field which the fa love as as well so it was a sort of almost a perfect scenario so I I have no idea which way they’re going to go I wouldn’t mind somebody like from an outsider obviously but I wouldn’t mind somebody like poao or tole I think they’re highly experienced and I think the players would respect him as well uh obviously there’d be a bit of a fan backlash a little bit as there usually is but that would probably be uh you know that would probably come and go so who who knows what direction they’re going to go if if it’s an Englishman edow to me is the perfect candidate I think so you know we’ve been sitting talking about South Gates England and it’s about how they play you know Eddie went to Newcastle to a place that’s culture was about getting Men Behind the ball and surviving he very quickly change that mentality into attacking football if there’s one thing England needs right now with the team they have and the players they have available it’s a change of mentality to step forward and go and go and win games and not do what South Gate’s been criticized for so if it’s to be an Englishman EDD how is a perfect which is the more attractive proposition Freddy how right now to continue at Newcastle as to go and take the England job I think to go and take the England job because then you know I think they hold him in high esteem at Newcastle but they I think it can change in a whim I mean it really can you know they didn’t have a they had a lot of injuries last year a lot of problems with the Tali suspension and then the injuries kicked in uh and it kind of fell apart from them for them a a little bit or a lot and and I think he had you know enough money in the bank but it’s Club football it’s the Premier League it’s big business it’s millions and millions and millions of dollars and pounds spent and that changes contracts are not that changes quickly and was a bit like Glenn Hodo when I was at Chelsea with him uh now Glenn was just and it was by the way it wasn’t the Chelsea they see today but it was starting to turn you know the stadium was getting renovated uh around 94 95 96 we’d already been to the FA Cup Final uh we started to ass bigger players like rud hullet and Mark Hughes and others there was a way bit more money coming in he was a young manager Glenn hodle at the time with maybe three or four years experience if he take his player manager at Swindon and then his player manager at Chelsea and the England job came up now in an Ideal World I think Glenn would have probably managed for another five or six years but his thought process was I made never get this chance again and so he took it and it didn’t go swimmingly for him but that was the decision that he had to make and I think if it comes along for one of these managers like anedi how or somebody else they may have that decision because it’s the England manager job if you’re offered it do you turn it down and stay at your Club it might and probably will never come around again while Stevie continues to think about his answer to this one what do you make of it Aran I think Ed how my hunch is that Eddie how would be the number one target of the Football Association because I think he’s a Southgate like fit there’s never any big off field dramas around him he’s managed I think in all four divisions I mean remember the job he did at Bournemouth they were 91st in the football league when he took over he fell in love with coaching and he’s got a habit of making his players really buy into the project at the club that he’s at he’s done it at Newcastle United as well I read a piece this morning about him that said the first thing he did with the players at Newcastle said I like what you’re doing but do it faster I want more Tempo in in the football so I think he might produce a more probably more ambitious adventurous type of England side and I think he would get it he’s he’s a man of intelligence I think he knows what the role would be I think you know the boys have asked the question there does he want to do it does he want to be on the grass coaching every day with Newcastle United still or will he think look I’m probably only ever going to get asked once to be the manager of England and I’ll take it I mean and they’ll have to sort out the money the compensation whether the fa can stretch that I don’t know but I’ve Got a Feeling they’ll try so give me a quick yes or no because I want to get to some of the drama in the camp he’s got the same he’s got the same question about Newcastle in England he’s been waiting for a proper job a big job who is going to have money available in order to be at a different end of the Premier League so he the question is do I do I give up what I’ve been waiting for to take something else that I’ve been waiting for but they both come at pretty much the same time so what do you do it’s I’m him I’m staying at Newcastle all right uh J uh James with regards to what whoever’s taking over England there seems to be a lot of things to be dealt with in the camp right now we’ve seen your latest article in ESPN we’re hearing that it’s not all Rosy behind the scenes in the England Camp no I’d say this was the first I certainly the toughest camp that Gareth had to deal with of his four tournaments and yeah there there were some issu there were a lot of issues behind the scenes really you know it dates back right before the start of the tournament really in terms of the fitness problems that players had you know players were turning up with with various injuries or they just come back from injuries and there was differing opinions about how fit certain people were I I think that came through most obviously with Harry Kane who although they’ve never admitted it publicly was clearly carrying a problem through the whole tournament and was never 100% um and really Southgate was scrambling for ideas you know this this is he was improvising during the tournament this is a guy who’s normally so methodical you think about when England have been at their best under Southgate they’re well coached you kind of know the team before it’s picked there aren’t really any surprises and actually we did an interview with him um I think it was in April before the tournament where he talked a lot about to me about patterns of play and we play 4231 433 and when these new players come in when we draft new players into the squad we want to assimilate them into what we’ve been doing for the last two or three years and really that just got ripped up on the eve of the tournament by playing Trent Alexander Arnold in Midfield he tried that it didn’t work he throw in threw in Conor Gallagher that didn’t work he kind of stumbled into kobby Manu went with that and then decided actually you know what let’s go to a back three changes the system switching players around trying to get Luke Shaw involved suddenly starts Luke Shaw in the final goes to a back four again in that final against Spain it it was it was everything that we don’t associate with Southgate normally and I think he was having to juggle there various Fitness problems the issues within the camp there were there were one or two problems I’ve been told with Jude Bellingham I don’t think uh I think when you see what what he did on the touch line in in the final when he’s quite aggressively shouting at Southgate pretty obviously to change it or to intervene or to to to do something he felt he wasn’t getting enough from the manager I think that I think that desire that he shown that’s been such an important part of the player that he’s become was maybe misinterpreted by some of his teammates and maybe um became difficult to handle for Gareth at times um there’s differing opinions on that some people play that up others play it down and say Berling was a very uh very good and conscious member of the squad of course he was made a part of the leadership group at 20 which was something of a surprise right in the edge of the tournament when you think about other players like here in tripier like Jon Stones like Jordan pford who’d been around the camp for a very long time and suddenly they weren’t part of that leadership group so just all of these little Dynamics it’s been such a smooth ride behind the scenes for G for three tournaments I think again that may have been part of part of his thinking in deciding to walk away that it just felt as though he didn’t quite have the control over it and the authority over it and just the clarity of thought around the tournament that he shown and had in the past that had led to those performances that had taken them so close and I think we’ve just got to be careful not to throw the baby out of the bathwater in terms of when they change managers here because I think one of southgate’s most sort of the biggest elements of his legacy is the intangibles it is the culture it is the fact that players wanted to play for England they wanted to be there he had broken down the barriers with the media and reconnected the team with the fans and if they were to go for you know we’re talking about foreign managers but sort of tuul and pochettino are almost half English if you like in terms of their experience and knowing the game and speaking the language and all those kind of things but you’ve just got to be careful if you’re going for that Elite more Progressive manager what this team needs is just to be coached properly take the handbreak off and they’ll go and win the World Cup you can’t sacrifice the cultural aspect behind the scenes the the desire to be there the togetherness and the cohesion that they had up until uh this tournament and even at this tournament they still found a way they were still digging results out so whatever issues there were they were still able to come together to get over the line in in those matches up until the final and I think it’s just important that they don’t lose sight of that to go for just a glamorous name and think oh well this is just the last piece of the puzzle because once you lose that culture and once you lose that desire for players to go and play it’s very very difficult to get it back what stood out to you from what James was saying there about what’s going on in the camp with some of the players and like the dude Bellingham situation I don’t really know about the Bellingham situation what I can say is as we as you know we cover La Liga every week here on ESPN is that we saw glimpses of that for those that watch Real Madrid games towards the end of the season and it was maybe it wasn’t an arrogance but it was a a frustration at officials in Spain and other outside things and so we saw a in the first six months of the Season we saw Jude Bingham who was just absolutely flying and he could do no wrong and he was the happiest chap on a football field but that changed and as it changed towards the end of the season so did his performances and I think that continued in uh to the European championships and I saw the frustration in his face very early uh in the goup stages it might have been the second game when when he was chasing players and I can’t remember who the I know the first game was Serbia I think the second I can’t remember the second game was Denmark Denmark Denmark but he was chasing players back into the left back area making tackles and he turned around and he was like just gesticulating to his teammates to sort of be better and get a hold of the game and you could see the frustration coming through and and Jude Bellingham because he’s came from this Real Madrid dominant you know Superstar side and he I think he’s looked around his England teammates and thought we’re better than this and we saw the we we gradually saw that as the competition went on I didn’t see the incident with Southgate in the final but I certainly saw frustrations in Jud Burlingham and it wasn’t just with England we did see it for those that watch the Lega at the end of the Spanish season it was creeping in and his performances coming into this uh tournament were not the same as his performances in the first six months of the Liga season see there’s two ways you can look at that what Craig said there there’s one way you can look at it and say he’s he’s losing what he’s so good at he’s losing because he’s frustrated and it’s almost like we’re saying you know well you can’t get frustrated you need to tow the line you need to be calmer you listen number one the guy’s what early 20s 20 the guy the guy’s a kid he’s a kid and I will take 11 Jude Jude bams every single day of the week if they get frustrated when things are not going well and they’re looking for some guidance and absolutely absolutely if somebody on the field doesn’t know what you change it how to go about it I’m the one guy sitting on the sideline the coach because guess what that’s my job I’m the one guy I want him to be shouting at I don’t want him to be losing his rag with all the other players and upsetting everybody else I want to have a dialogue with him and sometimes you have arguments with players it doesn’t mean that you don’t like them or it doesn’t mean that that you’ve lost control of them you you you’re men and you try to fix something at that point now we’re talking about the final and he’s frustrated because things are not going well I’ll have him every single day at a week and 10 others and you’ve been nodding along to what Stevie’s saying there yeah I mean Jude had a feisty side to him I think going back I don’t know about Birmingham city but certainly in his Dortmund days there were one or two stories reaching us from the Bundesliga that some of the senior players felt he maybe had a little bit too much to to say for himself and I think we’re getting the kind of vibes from those who’ve been around the England camp in Germany that there may be one or two players who thought it might be just becoming a little bit too much like the Jude Bellingham show but the bottom line is I think with him he is a special talent he turned 21 during the tournament and I think he’s like that because he really cares and he wants the performances to be at the top level but unfortunately for him he wasn’t anywhere like his true level at these championships same with Phil foden same with Harry Kane you know yeah obviously he was carrying an injury um but theyve just got to watch it with him he needs to be managed but you know he’s not a straightforward character clearly [Music]

The ESPN FC panel of Ian Darke, Craig Burley, Steve Nicol and James Olley react to Gareth Southgate departing from the English National Team after a loss to Spain at UEFA EURO 2024.

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