A Study in Passive-Aggressive Self-Justification
This football book is strangely uninspiring, yet oddly compelling. Even title is confusing. Dear England currently names a hit theatrical production, an future television program, and a public letter penned by the manager in 2021.
This iteration of Dear England is not formally related to those. It stands as an oddity in the Dear England Multiverse, a book about guidance: a traditionally uninspiring elite football manager subject that Southgate follows relentlessly, relying on the words “leader”, “leading” or “management” a minimum of 500 times across its 336-page length.
Inquiries Raised
“What defines a leader? What is the role of a leader? What insights do leaders have?” the author questions in the opening, setting out his stall, but stopping short to ask “Why are leaders?”, themes probably set aside for a second book.
Otherwise, this book has a book-shaped hole in the middle. It’s a venture in subtly confrontational self-defense, in nearly but not entirely expressing the real point, jumping skillfully from unsettled score to raw emotion across a series of graphs, business clichés and digressions about 16th-century statesmen.
Engagement
Going through the book is like overhearing your parents having a polite but profoundly personal argument in the adjacent space while you’re attempting to pay attention on a professional workshop named “Countless Explanations for My Eventual Success”. But it is also challenging to put down, as Southgate keeps approaching to a topic you genuinely want to learn about, before abruptly changing tack.
Revelations
Readers will find always attention-grabbing disclosures in publications in this genre, explained by the rapt obsession with leading the national team. The most notable examples include: Southgate resolved he was absolutely going to quit as England manager after fans tossed cups at him at the European Championship; he nearly decided to withdrawing from the game at mid-match against the Bulgarian team in 2019 after his players were racially abused; he pioneered the concept of set-piece coaches and all teams in the top division is now following his lead; he has now misplaced his passion for soccer, a surprising revelation casually mentioned in a brief section at the final part.
Managing England through a era of fury, aspiration, upheaval and confinement was a brutal journey. The wounds are evidently still fresh.
Predictable Elements
In other sections, the narrative is saturated with an computer-generated verbal clutter of standard management talk. Review editions of this publication were shared with journalists under non-disclosure agreements before publication, probably out of concern someone might reveal that “challenging discussions can, by their inherent quality, be tough”, that you should always consider the consequences, that guidance takes place where change meets compassion.
Sincere Expression
The book contains however authentic feeling present. Leading England through a era of rage, optimism, turmoil and pandemic restrictions was a brutal experience. The bruises are obviously still fresh, albeit conveyed in a jargon-laden reimagining of the standard coach narrative: how my decisions were correct about all matters all along.
Notable Cases
The publication’s introductory section, presented as exciting accounts of the final of Euro 2024, is entirely focused on how good the manager actually was at substitutes (the big Southgate gripe revolving around he wasn’t good at substitutes). Further on, he explores extensive analysis about how he oversaw the championship match of 2021 impeccably – notably the unsuccessful spot-kick decider – because he followed a set protocol, which suggests that introducing youthful talents at the last moment to take the most important attempt of their careers was logical and correct.
This was confirmed by a victorious tiebreaker against the Swiss team at a later tournament after a fixture where England spent 120 minutes looking as if they were attempting to don a sweater the inside out. “Our dominance in that penalty decider was simply exciting,” the author states, amid likening the display to elite military units killing a notorious figure. Dear me.
Missed Opportunities
When we approach to a insight, he retreats from identifying individuals or providing the details. We hear there were problematic England squad members who insisted on more focus, possibly because they were spoilt early in their careers. But as you expect expectantly, he is quickly diverting into an area called The Culture Code, which states that instead of a assemblage of qualities or principles, organizational ethos is in fact an element that is formed by, gah, enough, that’s sufficient.
Strengths
Within the stronger parts are when Southgate writes about the incremental nature of developing mental toughness in young people, or how he attempted to describe Englishness more coherently and more helpfully than any public personality in the spotlight. Best of all, there is a truly gripping account of that traumatic night in Sofia where England’s black players were viciously abused (and later defended robustly by their leader).
Genuine Ending
Maybe the most heartfelt segment {comes|arrives|appears
