Southgate is not being voted manager of the year. He is being honoured by the nation for restoring pride in a national institution.
There are bigger issues in the world to get angry or anguished about than the country honouring a principled, selfless, patriotic football man, who briefly made the country dream and smile. Gareth Southgate is not being voted coach of the year. He is being given a knighthood for services to sport and it is unarguable that he left England in a far better place after two finals, a semi-final and a quarter than when he took over a rabble post-Nice at Euro 2016 (and then the bizarre choice of Sam Allardyce). I don’t consider Southgate an elite-level manager, but I do see how he transformed England from laughing stock to contenders.
It is remarkable the amount of angst and anger that news of Southgate’s impending New Year honour has stirred. I’ve been summoned on radio and TV to justify why I feel he is worthy of the honour, having also called out his failure to respond tactically in crunch moments of major games. Too many people see things in black or white: Southgate good, Southgate bad. It is possible – and fair-minded - to highlight his failure to respond to the moves of Croatia’s Zlatko Dalic in the 2018 World Cup semi-final and Italy’s Roberto Mancini in the Euro 2020 final while also totally accepting that he had such an impact on England’s mood and culture that a knighthood is completely deserved.
If the citation for Southgate’s knighthood read: “he restored pride in a national institution” than nobody could disagree. He’s far more deserving of the honour than some others who are routinely handed such gongs, certain bankers and politicians, and one or two individuals questionably parachuted into the House of Lords, who have done little to enhance public life. Honorary knighthoods were infamously bestowed on Benito Mussolini, Robert Mugabe and Nicolae Ceausescu. Knighthoods have been awarded with great pomp and ceremony and subsequently annulled when it was realised that better due diligence should have been applied. Sir Anthony Blunt? Who ate all the spies? Southgate is a hard-working family man, who represents the country well, and is exactly the type of “wholesome” character we should be celebrating.
There are strong sporting grounds for his honour following more than a decade serving the FA. His oft-overlooked work as head of elite development in 2011 and 2012 began bringing through the talent blossoming today. As manager of the Under-21s from 2013 to 2016, Southgate nurtured talents like Harry Kane and John Stones (while admittedly struggling to progress the team). As manager of the seniors from 2016, Southgate blooded young players now forming the nucleus of a group that will go far at the 2026 World Cup and, perhaps, be guided to glory by Thomas Tuchel, a better in-game manager. Southgate started something special that Tuchel could finish. He lifted England’s Fifa ranking from 12 when he took over to fourth. He even taught England how to take penalties (oh, the irony but well done). He made a difference.