We was not robbed

This Green and Surprisingly Pleasant Land is not hindered by football ignorance in paying tribute to Gareth Southgate

Having attended a football obsessed school I acquired an immunity to interest in the Beautiful Game. This immunity has been undermined by just two people. The first is the superlative journalist and writer Hunter Davies, who could probably get me interested in taxidermy if he chose to write about it, fortunately I have been spared that challenge as Mr Davies has much to say about footie.

The other person undermining my immunity is Gareth Southgate, the departing England manager who not only injected new life into his team but has had a pivotal role in speaking up for the values of Britain’s multicultural society.

What I actually know about football is shamefully confined to the parameters of a small postage stamp so expect no post-match analysis from me. But I do understand how Mr Southgate improved the fortunes of the England team, not least by recognising the role of psychology in motivating players and by engaging in wider social issues which have considerable resonance in England’s markedly multi-racial line up.

His fierce defence of the team provoked a predictable backlash when he wrote an open letter to those who booed kneeling players expressing solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. ‘You’re on the losing side’, he told them bluntly. ‘The awareness around inequality and the discussions on race have gone to a different level in the last 12 months alone …I am confident that young kids of today will grow up baffled by old attitudes and ways of thinking.’

While his remarks inspired many people it incensed others. Football managers, says his critics, should be focusing on getting silverware in the trophy cabinet and telling the lads how to get the effing ball in the back of the net.

Anything that deviates from these two objectives or suggests new ways of achieving them is decried as wokery. Footballers who dare to engage in wider issues are told to keep their mouths shut on anything aside from the progress of the ball.

The critics are exasperated by Mr Southgate who is hard to write off as a successful manager and a person of some intelligence and, crucially, integrity. The manner of his prompt resignation to take responsibility for England’s failure to win the Euros provides a lesson in leadership. There were no weasel words of excuse, no blaming of others and nothing but grace in bowing out.

What put me off football in school, aside from the rather painful realisation that I was a crap player, was the aggressive macho nature of the game and the toxic atmosphere that surrounded it at a professional level.

Back then the very idea of millions of people watching female football was dismissed out of hand. The notion that a female football team would bring sporting glory to England did not even cause of tremor on the footie Richter scale. As for the inclusion in the women’s team of a large number of gay players… well!

Not only have the players changed but so have the attitudes. Footballers are now more ready to engage in political and social issues. Most prominent among them is Marcus Rashford, one of Britain’s best known players, who has been using his fame for serious campaigning against child poverty.

Greater controversy surrounds Gary Lineker, the former England striker and prominent TV football presenter. He is not shy in speaking about issues such as immigration. His critics, large in number and high in vitriol insist that  he should confine himself to football commentary because his opinions on anything but footie are above his pay grade.

If that is so why are politicians allowed to comment on sporting matters without attracting adverse comment? Maybe the answer is that footballers are supposed to be thick, unlike our esteemed politicians who consistently demonstrate impressive intelligence. That sounds right, does it not? Ms Truss will be along shortly to explain.

On the off chance that she is too busy cultivating cabbages to answer the question, surely it’s time to recognise that the world of football has greatly changed for the better thanks to people like Gareth Southgate. It is no longer synonymous with epic drinking, football players with ridiculously fast cars and stacks of money. Well, maybe the stacks of money have grown higher but so have standards and the power of the ‘beautiful game’ to complement the best of British values.