As football fever grips the nation ahead of the World Cup kicking off on Thursday, former England manager Gareth Southgate has been on our TV screens in two very different programmes that together tell us something important about the state of modern Britain.
The first, Dear England – James Graham’s acclaimed stage drama chronicling Southgate’s transformation of the England men’s football team – reminded viewers how he changed not just results, but culture.
The second, the BBC documentary Gareth Southgate: Changing the Game for Young Men, explored a much bigger challenge facing the country: the growing crisis among young men and boys.
Southgate understood this after experiencing his own trauma following the disappointment and abuse he received for missing the penalty that sent England out of Euro 96.
Breaking down mental barriers
He recognised that managing England meant breaking down the mental barriers that had left one of the most talented groups of male players in world football consistently underperforming on the biggest stages.
For some critics, his approach appeared too soft. Too reflective. Too concerned with feelings. He spoke openly about mental health, encouraged players to discuss pressure and failure, challenged racism and placed emotional well-being alongside tactics and physical preparation.
It was an approach for which he was often ridiculed. But the point is – it worked.
As brilliantly portrayed by Joseph Fiennes in Dear England, Southgate’s leadership transformed culture and then results.
He created an environment in which players felt trusted, valued and united by something larger than themselves, with clear goals and a long-term plan.
The outcome was England’s most successful period since 1966: a World Cup semi-final, two European Championship finals, four consecutive major tournaments reaching at least the quarterfinals, and the breaking of a decades-long penalty shootout curse.
The culture he built around the England team reflected qualities increasingly absent from public life: resilience, emotional intelligence, responsibility and respect for others.
He understood that getting the best out of people meant understanding them as human beings, helping them overcome mental barriers and cope with the scrutiny that too often prevented them from performing at their best.
In an age when public life often celebrates performative aggression and rewards the loudest voices, Southgate demonstrated a different model of leadership. He showed that empathy is not weakness. Listening is not indecision.
Thoughtfulness is not softness. Far from undermining performance, these qualities helped unlock it.
That lesson extends far beyond football. Southgate’s success suggests that many of the qualities often dismissed as sentimental are precisely those we need more of, whether in schools, workplaces, communities or public life itself.
Southgate’s documentary pointed to a potential lost generation of young men. He highlighted some of those challenges: poor mental health, educational underachievement, unemployment, loneliness and a lack of positive male role models.
Work is about far more than earning a wage. It provides structure, identity, purpose and belonging. When young people are excluded from the labour market, the consequences can last a lifetime.
Men’s Health Strategy
The Government has recognised the scale of the challenge. In November, they published the first-ever Men’s Health Strategy, recognising that men’s mental and physical health outcomes require greater attention.
There has also been a welcome effort to elevate vocational and technical qualifications, ensuring they are valued alongside traditional academic routes.
Alan Milburn’s recent review into youth unemployment has also shone a spotlight on the issue, while the Youth Guarantee is backed by £2.5 billion of investment and aims to create hundreds of thousands of jobs, training opportunities and apprenticeships.
But we need to go further.
Vocational learning, skills, trades and practical learning should be woven more deeply into the education system, giving every young person a clearer sense of purpose and a stronger connection between school and future employment.
Role models
Throughout his documentary, Southgate returns repeatedly to the importance of positive male role models.
Not online influencers chasing clicks and controversy, rage baiting and belittling others, but men who demonstrate responsibility, resilience, kindness and service to others.
I hope Gareth knows that he himself is one of those role models.
His gentleness, thoughtfulness and quiet strength have sometimes been dismissed as softness. Yet his record proves otherwise.
By promoting unity, empathy and mutual respect, he built the most successful England team in a generation and got the very best from his players.
England manager Thomas Tuchel described Southgate and the FA’s work as “outstanding” for creating stability and consistency.
That is a legacy worth building on. As England embarks on another World Cup adventure, perhaps we can dare to dream that this time, football really might come home.
This is a monthly guest column provided by
Mohammad Yasin, Labour MP for Bedford & Kempston.
It is published unedited and does not
reflect the views of the Bedford Independent.
