In a quiet, understated way it was some performance from Gareth Southgate as he defended his players from the accusations that have attached themselves to England’s national team and tried to make sense of the disconnect that has opened up between the players and supporters.
It was also a change in direction when in the immediate aftermath of the game in Malta on Friday, the latest occasion when England’s players have been targeted and abused by their own fans, Southgate had tried to argue it was wrong to think there was a breakdown in the relationship.
This time he was willing to admit there was a divide and confront head-on the reasons why there was so much disillusionment surrounding the England team. It was “outrageous”, he said, to think the players did not care enough about playing for their country.
This group are different, was the general message, in a long, intelligent soliloquy where we actually had an England manager candidly admitting that in his own playing days there were players who had “ducked” international duty.
Yet this was not just a manager trying to defend a team that had to endure chants of “we’re fucking shit” from the away end at Malta’s Ta’ Qali stadium and a mass walkout when the score was 1-0. Southgate made sure not to criticise the supporters for being fed up. Indeed, he even empathised with them, questioning whether the players’ wealth had contributed to the divide – “having started on £28 a week, it’s slightly strange for me as well” – and nodding in agreement when it was put to him the fans could say they had spent years, decades even, backing the team with very little in return.
“I guess what I’d say to the supporters is every team has new players. Whatever your feelings have been about the team, can you give the next generation of players the support that any English sports team craves?”
It did not feel that way in Malta but Southgate did also point out it was not only footballers who were paid millions of pounds every year. “I guess for actors and musicians it’s different. Not too many musicians go on stage and are stopped by an opponent.
“They can just go and play and, if they mess it up, at least no one’s tried to stop them. And not many of their crowds turn on them and say: ‘We pay your bloody wages.’ It’s a different dynamic. But would we rather the fans are with us? Bloody hell, of course.”
There is at least the knowledge that England’s crowds tend to be less critical at Wembley and the mood could be entirely different if Southgate’s team can beat Slovakia to make almost certain of their place in next summer’s World Cup.
Yet there is a wider issue here and, as Southgate acknowledged, he is not in possession of a magic wand. On Saturday night he watched on television as Spain beat Italy 3-0. “How could we possibly compare ourselves to a team who have Champions League winners throughout?” he asked.
“We’re a work in progress. And I don’t know how quickly we can develop that. The players are willing to learn and take on board ideas. But I go back to what I said a few months ago: If we’re looking for some kind of messiah to change things, I don’t think that’s realistic.”
Maybe one day Southgate will reveal whom he was referring to when he talked about players from his own generation pulling out of England games with what he suspected was a lack of interest rather than genuine injuries. “We’re not demanding they’re here,” he said of his own players. “They want to be here. The easiest thing in the world would be to pull out but we picked 28 players and 28 turned up. That’s a really good sign and it hasn’t always been the case. It’s a shame the guys who come get the stick and the guys who duck out escape all that.”
On a brighter note Southgate remains convinced the team are improving and, to illustrate his point, he recalled a conversation he had recently with Julen Lopetegui, the Spain manager, about Harry Kane.
“He was commenting about how lucky I was to have Harry playing for me,” Southgate said. “Harry is in top form and he has the mentality where he wants to be the best. When I spoke to him this morning he knew how many goals he had [five in his last three England games].
“He also knew how many Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi had at this point. You’ve got to have that drive and belief and Harry has always had that. Even when we weren’t picking him in the Under-21s, he’d come and say: ‘Hold on a minute, why? What’s the rationale?’ I never minded that self-belief.”
What he does object to is the notion that maybe the simple explanation is that England’s fans care more than the players. “This is the same narrative I heard when I was playing, so I’m able to contextualise and rationalise it. Every England team I played in, the lads could never quite get their heads round why that was [said].
“Maybe we had bad days when I was playing. Maybe it looks as if you can’t get to things, you’re not as sharp, so people perceive you’re not trying and the easiest, basest reaction is to say: ‘They don’t care.’
“But, more often than not, the players have cared too much; been wrapped up in the experience too much and not been able to give their best for that reason. Having worn the shirt, that’s where I can bring some context to it. It’s not about ‘not caring’.”
