England's Culture Shift

A psychological breakdown of the England Men's National Team culture change under Gareth Southgate

Prior to Gareth Southgates appointment in November 2016, England’s last knockout game victory came in 2004. After four games in interim management of the team Gareth was elected the right man for the position at the helm of the England first-team set-up, the first to do so from a caretaker position. This blog looks at the culture shift from this period up to the present with the forthcoming World Cup, from a “toxic” environment to a facilitative one.

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The lowest point in modern history for the English National side was 2-1 “world-shocking” defeat to Iceland in Euro 2016, a nation with a population amassing less almost 10 times fewer than Wales had knocked out a footballing superpower. Manager Roy Hodgson resigned following the defeat described as “a national sporting embarrassment” leaving a vacancy in a position most open to scrutiny and weight of a wishing nation upon it. A lack of leadership was hammered within the side by sporting analysts along with an environment that was denounced to be toxic and unhealthy, clearly showing that fundamental changes were required to complete a rebuild of the team and create a more success-inviting environment, a new identity.

At this time, England were facing multiple hurdles to jump over in order to progress, not only appointing the right manager to lead the team but also dealing with the playing personnel and an ageing first team, especially in the figure of then-captain Wayne Rooney who was approaching the latter stages of his career. This in turn presented numerous challenges for whoever took the managerial position with difficulties in when to transition, what steps to take and how best to remain successful on the pitch. However, this did present the opportunity for a full identity shift away from a closed-off team that seemed somewhat inaccessible from the outside, with reports of historic club cliques between the team and a lack of cohesion, to a more club-like environment that could be built alongside young players at this time such as Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford. Said new identity would be pivotal to change for the better.

Why the environment and what can change?

The importance of the environment in a sporting setting is pivotal to growth and development of the individual and the team. An environment in which there is a collective goal, an accepted direction, ensures that all people involved in this environment are pulling for one another creating togetherness in turn. This then provides a platform for the team to feel safe and protected in an environment providing them motivation to better themselves which sequentially should improve team performance. Southgate provided England the opportunity to flip their negative environment, with his appointment in November 2016, after five years of managing the England academy set-up / Under 21’s, his selection created the perfect example of the progression within the England system, from playing internationally at the youth level as a player, to playing with the first team, to managing the youth teams, to managing the England men’s national team. This gives Southgate knowledge of systematic and historical issues that may exist in the international set-up, such as “cliques” or even a general understanding of the lack of social contact that is available within the national camp, due to the inconsistency with periods of times together, with most “camps” being a fortnight at most. Likewise, Southgate suffered his own heartbreak in an England shirt as a player, at Euro ‘96, Southgate missed a crucial penalty in the semi-final against Germany which Gareth states will “always live with me”. This relatability may provide Southgate with the perfect connection to his side, the ultimate heartache possible, the striving to avenge this, could be the all-important catalyst to environmental change.

England presents the perfect environment for change, the centralised hub at St. George’s Park provides a homebase for the team with state-of-the-art facilities housing all levels of international England football. The funnel-through system for the England national set-up begins at Under-16’s with this scaling up until the full senior men’s side. Encompassing this in the same centralised training facilities creates both a physical and metaphorical pathway for elite footballers to represent their nation and the motivation to be up there with the first team. To present, I believe that the changes to the physical environment in which the England squad exist is one of the biggest factors in the changing identity of the squad as we’ll come on to.

“Wins”

This section of the blog will look at the victories on and off the pitch that surrounded the “new-look” England and then after this we’ll delve deeper into why this change may have happened.

Win 1: 2018 Russia World Cup

After being knocked out in the group stages in the previous 2014 world cup, any form of success would have shown progression for this England side. With only 2 players (Raheem Sterling & Phil Jones) surviving from the previous World Cup squad, England came second in their group behind only Belgium, from there they gained their first penalty shootout victory in English World Cup history in a win over Colombia in the Round of 16, next up they would enjoy quarter-final victory over Sweden before losing in the semi-final to Croatia 2-1. This tournament presented the first in which there was clear unity in the England camp and undoubtedly captured the imagination of the hopeful nation and provided a glimmer of hope of what could come next.

Win 2: Euro 2020

The delayed 2020 Euros hosted across Europe in 2021 presented further development for Gareth Southgate’s England side at a major tournament, with nine players remaining in the squad from the previous major tournament. England topped their group and went on to better Germany, Ukraine and Denmark before ultimately falling at the final hurdle losing on penalties in the final to Roberto Mancini’s Italy. This tournament was the consequential step in development for this side, with a greater test for a comparatively immature side in the context of the tournament. Alongside extraordinary amounts of the pressure, the side also had wins away from the tournament with community outreach and support exemplified by Marcus Rashford’s food poverty campaigns and the side’s stance in racism matters.

Win 3: Identity, Availability and Access to the Team

Less of a physical win in this regard, but the current England side has provided unmatched access into training, the players’ relationships and behind-the-scenes access available on their social media profiles. Peaking particularly during tournaments, said online content has allowed for the cloak and mystique of the international camps to be reduced meaning there is greater connection between player and fan. This has allowed supporters the opportunity to better understand the player away from football and as a person rather than an athlete, increasing relatedness which in turn has developed a much more inclusive environment in which fans feel some form of relationship with the players inducing more support for them. Bukayo Saka typifies this with the famous photo of him (above) amongst his teammates enjoying an inflatable ride during the Euro 2020 campaign, this exemplifies the cohesion and unity within the England camp which may be incredibly different to that of previous generations.

Win 4: Physical Environment Change - St George’s Park

As previously mentioned St George’s Park is the centralised hub of England international football across all ages and divisions, now encompassing the most successful England senior men's team in the last 50 years. The England DNA campaign launched in 2014 out of St George’s Park really kickstarted the core development of the English National Team system and the linear progression that followed from this, Southgate really embraced this and pushed the ideology from his time managing the Under 21’s to managing the Senior side whilst also being involved in the development of the campaign. This campaign outlined who England want to be, how an England side should play, the “future England player”, how an England side should be coached and how an England side should be supported. The adaptation to following this system allows for progressive development within the ranks and creates a facilitative “next steps” consequential environment in which talented elite players will exist counteracting any negative culture that may be looming over the side. Coined the “Oxbridge of Football” St George’s Park allowed for a continuous development for players and coaches alike at St George’s which was England’s first National football centre. The centre placed an importance on all aspects of training and development, physical, psychological and technical development and the idea of leaving “no stone unturned” would be apt for the environment.

Housing state-of-the-art sports science equipment alongside an indoor perfect-recreation of the Wembley pitch, St George’s Park normalises the elite mindset required to be successful at an international level, this physical environment alongside a team cohesive and united for success supplies the foundation for continued development for effective performance. Words such as “Prepare to win” and “Connect with the badge” tattoo the walls within St George’s Park’s Strength & Conditioning Gym instilling the aspirations into the players both consciously and subconsciously.

For more on this Sky News’ Podcast on St George’s Park’s transformation and its effect on the English game is incredibly insightful.

Signposts of Change

The overall signposts for change within the England camp are the change and transformation to the team’s identity. Any historical issues and mystiques seem to have been erased and a sense of transparency is found around the national side. The infancy of the current national side seems to have perfectly moulded into this with the team’s use of social media providing insight into the players and almost humanising elite performance athletes which may have created a greater relationship with the team’s supporters. Likewise as previously touched on, the players themselves have played a major part in developing the side’s new identity by similarly creating relations on a community level with their supporters, examples such as Raheem Sterling’s campaign as part of the Black Lives Matter movement, Marcus Rashford’s food poverty campaigns along with other support in the wider community, the likeability and public opinion of this side has notably improved within the last few years. In turn, this has also provided a change in the media’s perception of the team into somewhat of a “media darling”. Despite the English media’s typically tempestuous nature, it seems that the typical critical stance held by the media has been somewhat lessened potentially due to said transparency and availability of the players within the camp.

Another key change I feel is the empowerment in which Gareth Southgate has given to his players, in his open letter to England supporters via The Players’ Tribune prior to the commencement of Euro 2020 titled “Dear England”, Southgate speaks upon the importance to the nation that playing in an England shirt holds and what it represents repeating that they “have the opportunity to produce moments that people will remember forever” and pronouncing “this is a special group. Humble, proud and liberated in being their true selves”. This clearly shows that Southgate believes in the players, believes in the talents that they possess and believes that they will perform at their best when comfortable in the playing environment to take risks and fulfil their potential. This similarly reduces the pressure felt upon the players, if they are aware of unconditional support from a person-centred manager such as Southgate, they can take risks, knowing that if they do not succeed at least the intention was correct and will be supported by their manager.

To conclude, psychologically for the players, Southgate has created a safe, facilitative environment for the players to perform in. This then empowers them to make their own decisions, take risks knowing that they have the full support from not only their manager but their teammates and their collective goals and aspirations which is congruent for success. Furthermore, it seems that Southgate has led the England team to become more self-reflective, celebrating and recognising their achievements. A perfect example of this is the presenting of legacy international caps in front of the group that Southgate has introduced for debutants within the senior side, most recently with James Justin and Jarrod Bowen, psychologically this introduces the normalisation of celebration and success within the camp and celebrating and noting significant moments provides motivation for development. I believe that this new identity will continue to improve not only the performance on the pitch in major tournaments but also the support garnered from a nation poised for major celebration. Whilst the charm of Southgate’s famous waistcoat may fade, the memories and cultural impact he has had on the England National Team setup will be perennial.

It would be wrong to end it without, It’s coming home!