I made my debut for Aston Villa on 13 January 2001 and, to be frank, it could have been in better circumstances. We were 3-0 down to Liverpool at home when John Gregory decided to beckon me from the bench. I came on with six minutes to go, into a lost cause, and in front of an understandably disgruntled crowd.
Nevertheless, it remains a good memory given it was my first taste of English football, and Premier League football in particular. I also came into a Villa side full of strong personalties such as Paul Merson, David Ginola and Dion Dublin. It was a big occasion and something I was ready for because of the support I had been given before that moment, with few more supportive than someone else who featured for Villa on that Saturday afternoon – Gareth Southgate.
I didn’t get to play much with Gareth at Villa as the start of my time there came as his was ending – he left that summer to join Middlesbrough – and that was a great shame as he was somebody I came to greatly admire. He is a smart guy, a humble guy, a guy who treated the responsibility of being a professional footballer with upmost respect, setting a standard for those around him, including myself.
I looked up to Gareth and he was often the person I would go to for advice. I could talk to him about anything and he always listened and did his best to help. And he stood out – Gareth was not your average footballer and increasingly he is coming across as not your average England manager.
From the outside, at least, it has often felt that England’s undoing at major tournaments is their lack of togetherness and the fear many players have felt going into high-pressurised games. Having been an England player himself, Gareth will be aware of this and it appears he has gone out of his way to avoid the same mistakes now he is in charge. The current side seem to be enjoying their football having been given the backing of their manager to express themselves and, just as importantly, they seem fully united.
Hence why I can understand Gareth’s decision to make so many changes for the game against Belgium. As he said himself, England are a squad of players and he wants everyone to feel involved, and he made sure of that in Kaliningrad.
It made for a bizarre game, with neither side exactly busting a gut to win, but for both sides the job was done before kick-off so they could afford to experiment. From England’s point of view, it was perhaps a good thing given the incredibly hot conditions they had faced in Nizhny Novgorod against Panama. That would have taken a lot of the players involved so this was a chance for most of them to rest. They should now be fully refreshed before facing Colombia on Tuesday.
It won’t be easy against a team who showed in their win against Poland that they can be a dangerous attacking force. Equally, they were not so impressive in their other group games, against Japan and Senegal, and with James Rodríguez likely to be out with an injury, England should fancy their chance of progressing.
What’s for sure is that this is England’s time to deliver. They failed spectacularly to do that against Iceland at the last European Championship but there is a big difference now – the manager. He clearly trusts his players to perform and, in turn, that has led to one of the most exciting and expansive England sides I have seen for a very long time.
The system no doubt helps, with England having an overload in midfield that allows them to dominate possession and territory. What looks at times like a 3-3-2-2 formation is certainly innovative and again shows what a unique, thoughtful manager Gareth is.
His thoughtful side can also be seen in how good England have been from set pieces at this World Cup. They’ve clearly been working on that aspect of their game with Gareth saying publicly how he feels set-piece deliveries could ultimately make the difference in games of tight margins. And he is right – before the last World Cup Joachim Löw initially didn’t want to practise free-kicks and corners extensively but he was encouraged by his assistant, and doing so ultimately contributed to Germany becoming world champions in Brazil.
Can England become world champions this time around? It cannot be ruled out in what has been a really unpredictable tournament. I tipped Germany to win it, which obviously won’t happen now, and from the sides left I fancy Brazil to go all the way. But no single team has really stood out and, as such, this could be England’s moment. If it is, a huge part of that will be down to the manager. I for one wish him the very best.
