DOHA — Plenty of managers love to scream and shout on the touchline. Antonio Conte is the prime example. The passion, the aggression, the outrage exploding uncontrollably from the Italian, almost as a reflex to events on the pitch.
Managers, who often know what it feels like to be on the pitch as a player, talk of kicking and heading every ball vicariously, as though they are a 12th man who just happens to be not allowed over the touchline.
That emotion spilling out has created some of football’s most iconic moments. Jose Mourinho sprinting down the Old Trafford touchline in 2004 to celebrate an equaliser with his Porto players. And it can also spill into the game’s uglier side. Mourinho – this time as Real Madrid coach – guilty of poking Barcelona boss Tito Vilanova in the eye after a feisty Clasico.
We have seen it at the World Cup in Qatar, too. South Korea coach Paulo Bento was sent off by Anthony Taylor for a tirade after his side were denied a corner in stoppage time when they trailed Ghana.
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Indeed, it’s rare, even in a slightly less threatening manner, not to see a manager hopping up and down, yelling orders at players or making their opinion known loud and clear when decisions don’t go their way.
Pep Guardiola pacing up and down, clutching his head in his hands at missed chances. Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp recently crossed the line and was handed a one-game ban for screaming into the face of an official during a game against Manchester City.
It’s not, however, a familiar sight when watching England games. While the television cameras may not always pick up on it, the technical area in front of the team’s dugout is usually an empty, lonesome place.
Gareth Southgate was on his feet more when fans were unable to attend games during the pandemic, but it’s not his preference. “I got into a bit of a habit during Covid of standing out there because you felt they needed more encouragement at the side of the pitch without the fans,” Southgate said.
“But I’m happier just biding my time and taking my moments really, I don’t really need to be playing every ball for the players, I trust them and it has been nice to sit and watch a little bit more. In the modern game you see quite a lot going on at the side of the pitch.”
We can chalk it up as yet another facet to Southgate’s character and management style. It is, perhaps, another reason why, despite the World Cup semi-final, the European Championship final, nine goals scored, two conceded in a group topped unbeaten at this World Cup, the criticism remains unrelenting.
Southgate prefers the calmer and more considered approach. He likes to view the field from further away, to take in the shape and movement of the teams, to see the whole picture in widescreen rather than up close. It helps that the dugout monitor is a few seconds behind the live action, allowing him a quick replay of a certain situation to inform his thinking.
It may not be for everyone, but Southgate will keep doing his own thing, and let everyone else scream and shout about it.
How Southgate’s approach rubs off on his players
By Mark Douglas, i‘s Northern Football Correspondent
These days, it increasingly feels like there are two Englands at major tournaments. There’s the one that plays out online, blinking fresh fury on to social media with every second that Southgate’s richly talented side resist the urge to slip through the gears and take it to their opponents.
Then there is the one that unfolds on the pitch: controlled, calm and just occasionally contrary to what you think you’ve just seen. Unadventurous England? Try nine goals in the group stage for size. Southgate out? Look at the facts: another major tournament group navigated with the minimum of fuss.
Sometimes, it’s difficult to work out which one is closer to reality and what the true potential of this England side really is. They played well for 50 per cent of Group B and if they can move to those levels or beyond, there’s every chance that Southgate can reach another World Cup semi-final or even better in Qatar.
But if the fluency drops as it did against the USA or for 45 soporific minutes against Wales then suddenly a second round exit against Senegal is a real possibility.
“They are a dangerous team,” Southgate said in Tuesday’s post-match press conference after diplomatically dodging an invitation to offer his thoughts on Aliou Cissé’s side. And you know he means it, such is Southgate’s earnest attempt to plot a steady path through the Qatar experience when all around there are hot takes, hastily-constructed opinions and tweets than can be deleted at a second’s notice.
“The World Cup of external noise” was what Southgate memorably called this tournament after England’s draw with the US and you suspect he enjoys that. He is at his best in the days when those around him are losing their heads. For all the banner headlines and bandwagon jumpers he usually gets the big selection calls right – see Marcus Rashford, Kyle Walker and Phil Foden on Tuesday – and has a bank of tournament results to back up his judgment.
It’s strange that his biggest qualities – man management, creating a positive culture in the squad and encouraging players to express themselves – aren’t rated more highly in the wider football world.
When the big club jobs come up, he’s never a candidate and that’s never really questioned. “Gareth would not get near a top Premier League job,” Jamie Carragher tweeted on Tuesday – and he’s one of the England manager’s biggest advocates.
Perhaps it’s because big international tournaments increasingly feel like Southgate’s natural habitat. He gets the rhythm and flow of World Cups and Euros better than any England coach before him and understands that these are unique environments. Southgate has embraced psychology and it’s clear this unified group absolutely love working for him.
Take, for example, the revelation that he’d had a long summer chat with Rashford when most were ready to write him off as a potential England World Cup player after a desperate season for Manchester United. The pair spoke in depth about what had happened to Rashford over the 12 months that had followed his penalty miss in the Euro 2020 final and what the forward needed to do to return to the heights of his early career. The result? “A totally different version of Marcus from the one we had with us last summer,” Southgate said.
It is these little things that probably explain why there has been sustained tournament success under this manager. While the rest of the country spends the week dissecting England’s chances, Southgate will just get on with it. It is probably the reason we find ourselves back at the business end of another major tournament.
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