Middlesbrough 2006–07 season Middlesbrough manager
Steve McClaren left the club in June 2006 to replace
Sven-Göran Eriksson as the manager of the
England national team. Although
Martin O'Neill was initially the favourite for the new vacancy, Southgate was chosen by chairman
Steve Gibson to succeed McClaren, committing to a five-year contract. As Southgate did not have the required coaching qualifications (the
UEFA Pro Licence) to manage a top-flight club, he could only be appointed initially for twelve weeks, but he was allowed to stay on as manager after receiving a special dispensation from the
Premier League board in November 2006. Middlesbrough successfully argued that, because Southgate had recently been an international player, he had had no opportunity to undertake the coaching courses. Southgate subsequently went on to complete his coaching qualifications. Upon his appointment, Southgate was tasked with rebuilding a side that had sold several players at the end of the
previous league campaign, including key players such as
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and
Doriva. His first signing as a manager came on 12 July, when
Herold Goulon signed from
Lyon for an undisclosed fee. He brought in four defensive additions to the squad, with
Julio Arca arriving from local rivals
Sunderland,
Robert Huth from
Chelsea and
Jason Euell from
Charlton Athletic on permanent deals, whereas
Jonathan Woodgate joined on a season-long loan from
Real Madrid. Despite a disappointing start, they redeemed themselves when hosting reigning champions
Chelsea at the
Riverside Stadium, the game ending in a 2–1 victory. During Southgate's first season in charge, the side secured some promising victories, but lost away from home to all three newly promoted sides. Furthermore, it took until January for the team to register their first away win of the season, a 3–1 victory at an out-of-form
Charlton Athletic, their first away success since April of the previous year. Their highest-scoring victory of the season was a 5–1 win over
Bolton Wanderers. Southgate's side finished the Premier League season sat in twelfth position. That season also saw the club eliminated from the
League Cup at the earliest possibility, suffering a 1–0 defeat to
Notts County in the first round. In the
FA Cup, the club had a replay in every round they participated in. They were eventually eliminated by
Manchester United in the sixth round of the competition, suffering a 3–2 aggregate loss. Due to every possible match going to a replay, Middlesbrough actually played more competition matches than the previous season's champions
Liverpool.
2007–08 season Middlesbrough were very active during both transfer windows, with Jonathan Woodgate being the first signing during the summer, arriving from Real Madrid for a £7 million transfer fee; Woodgate had previously played for the club during the previous league campaign on loan. The club went on to break their personal transfer record, for the first time since 2002, when
Afonso Alves arrived from
Heerenveen for €20 million. In December 2007,
Arsenal manager
Arsène Wenger suggested Southgate as one of several English managers who were "all good enough" to manage the national team. Southgate had faced some criticism earlier on that season, after his side suffered a spell in the relegation zone, but Middlesbrough managed to pull clear of the bottom three. Southgate would go on to guide his side to a thirteenth-place finish in the Premier League; their final game of the league campaign saw them secure an 8–1 victory against
Manchester City at home, the club's biggest victory in the Premier League era, and Southgate's largest margin of victory in management.
2008–09 season: Relegation and dismissal The pre-season build-up ahead of the
2008–09 season was disappointing for the club. Due to heavy spending during the previous season, the club's net spending was almost nil. Furthermore, club legend
Mark Schwarzer left the club after eleven years, joining Premier League rivals
Fulham on the expiration of his contract. Furthermore, key players such as
George Boateng and
Lee Cattermole also left the club, once again leaving Southgate with a rebuilding challenge to change Middlesbrough's fortunes. Despite the negative events during pre-season, Middlesbrough secured two victories out of a possible three, resulting in Southgate being named the
Premier League Manager of the Month for August. This made Southgate the second person, after
Stuart Pearce, to achieve both the
Player and Manager of the Month awards, and he became the first Middlesbrough manager to win the award since
Terry Venables in January 2001. In November 2008, Southgate took Middlesbrough up to eighth place in the league, following an away win against an in-form
Aston Villa, another former playing club of Southgate's; however, Middlesbrough then went fourteen games without a win, until they beat Liverpool at home 2–0 on 28 February 2009. After an away defeat against
Stoke City, some of the travelling supporters were calling for his dismissal, having only achieved a single win in eighteen games and survival from relegation looking highly unlikely. On 24 March, chairman Steve Gibson spoke out on the manager's future, stating that sacking Southgate "would not help the situation". Due to results elsewhere, Middlesbrough's status as a Premier League club went down to the final day: they needed relegation rivals
Newcastle United and
Hull City to lose, with them needing a five-goal swing to the latter in goal difference. Middlesbrough faced
West Ham United away from home; the game ended in a 2–1 defeat, confirming Middlesbrough's relegation to the
Championship after eleven consecutive seasons in the top flight, as a 19th-place finish was confirmed. Following their relegation, Southgate expressed his determination to achieve instant promotion back up to the Premier League, praising the supporters and showing his sorrow for them in the process. Middlesbrough's Championship campaign started strongly, putting them in contention for an immediate return to the Premier League. However, on 20 October 2009, shortly after a 2–0 victory over
Derby County and with the club in fourth place, Southgate was dismissed as manager. His dismissal was controversial as he had taken Middlesbrough to within one point of the top position, though chairman Gibson stated that he had made the decision weeks previously in the best interests of the club. He was replaced by
Gordon Strachan, who was unable to take the club back to the Premier League. Middlesbrough would have to wait until 2016 to achieve promotion to the
Premier League, under the management of
Aitor Karanka.
England 2013–2016: Tenure with the under-21s After four years out of football, Southgate returned to management after he signed a three-year contract to succeed
Stuart Pearce as the manager of the
England under-21 team on 22 August 2013.
Senior team manager
Roy Hodgson had taken charge for the team's 6–0 victory over
Scotland in the interim period prior to Southgate's appointment. His first game in charge saw the Young Lions defeat
Moldova 1–0 in a
UEFA European Championship qualification match, thanks to a goal from striker
Saido Berahino. Southgate went on to lead his team to qualify for the finals of the
2015 European Championship; their good fortune could not continue, however, as they finished bottom of their narrow-pointed group, therefore being knocked out of the competition. Their only victory during the competition came when
Jesse Lingard scored the singular goal in their 1–0 success over
Sweden, who went on to qualify for the competition's knockout phase. In June 2016, Southgate said that he did not want to fill the
England senior team position left vacant by Hodgson.
2016–2017: Promotion to senior team role Southgate was put in temporary charge of the senior England team on 27 September 2016, when
Sam Allardyce resigned. England were in the early stages of
qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. After winning his first game in charge 2–0 against
Malta, under Southgate's leadership, England went on to draw 0–0 with
Slovenia, beat
Scotland 3–0, and in his last game in temporary charge, drew 2–2 with
Spain, despite leading 2–0 and conceding goals in the 89th and 96th minutes. Southgate's spell as caretaker manager ended on 15 November, with him appointed on a permanent basis when he penned a four-year contract two weeks later.
2018 World Cup at the
2018 FIFA World Cup The England team qualified for the
2018 FIFA World Cup on 5 October 2017 after a 1–0 home win over Slovenia.
The Football Association confirmed in December that Southgate would remain as England manager even if the team did not progress beyond the
group stage of the tournament, describing their expectations as "realistic" and the tournament as "a really important staging post for our development". After wins against
Tunisia and
Panama saw England qualify behind
Belgium in their group, Southgate's England beat
Colombia 4–3 on
penalties in the
round of 16 after a 1–1 draw on 3 July 2018 to claim his nation's first ever
World Cup penalty shoot-out victory and a place in the quarter-finals. England then defeated
Sweden 2–0 in the
quarter-finals on 7 July, with Southgate becoming the first England manager to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup since
Bobby Robson in
1990. This success bought Southgate significant admiration from England fans. For the
semi-final with
Croatia, fans dressed up in
waistcoats in tribute to Southgate's iconic waistcoat, which he wore during England's matches: retailer
Marks & Spencer reported a 35% increase in sales of waistcoats, and the hashtag 'WaistcoatWednesday'
trended on
Twitter. On 11 July 2018, Southgate's England side suffered a 2–1 defeat to Croatia during extra time in the semi-finals.
Kieran Trippier opened the scoring for England with a free kick, before a goal from
Ivan Perišić sent the tie into extra time.
Mario Mandžukić scored the winner for Croatia in the second half of extra time. With England trailing, the match also saw England play the final ten minutes of extra time with ten men as Trippier suffered an injury after Southgate had already made his permitted substitutions. Following a 2–0 defeat to Belgium in the
third place play-off, England ended the World Cup in fourth place.
Harry Kane, a striker and the
England team captain, won the
Golden Boot as the tournament's top goal-scorer. Southgate was also lauded for personal qualities shown in the World Cup, including consoling Colombia's
Mateus Uribe, whose missed penalty had seen England win.
2018–19 UEFA Nations League In 2019, Southgate managed England to third place in the
inaugural UEFA Nations League. They did so after finishing top of a group containing Spain and Croatia. Their 3–2 victory away against the Spanish was their first victory in Spain for 31 years. They lost 3–1 to the
Netherlands in the
semi-final but then beat
Switzerland 6–5 in a penalty shootout after the
third-place match finished goalless. It was England's first third-place finish in a major international tournament since
UEFA Euro 1968.
UEFA Euro 2020 At
UEFA Euro 2020, England finished top of
Group D which included Croatia, Scotland and the
Czech Republic, beating Croatia 1–0 to start the
European Championship with a win for England for the first time,
drawing Scotland 0–0, and winning against the Czech Republic 1–0, with forward
Raheem Sterling scoring both goals. In the
round of 16, England defeated
Germany 2–0 at
Wembley Stadium with two late goals from Sterling and Kane, their first knockout phase win at the European Championships (as their only previous victory was
defeating Spain on penalties in
UEFA Euro 1996). This was also their first
win over Germany in a knockout match since the
1966 FIFA World Cup final. In the
quarter-final tie, Southgate's England team beat
Ukraine 4–0 at the
Stadio Olimpico in
Rome to reach the semi-finals of a major competition for the fifth time. In the
semi-final, England beat
Denmark 2–1 at Wembley Stadium and reached the
final of the European Championships for the first time. It was only the second time that England had reached any major tournament's final. In the
final at Wembley Stadium, an early goal from defender
Luke Shaw saw England lead 1–0, before
Italy's
Leonardo Bonucci levelled the match in the 67th minute. With the scores unchanged after extra time, England ultimately lost the match 3–2 on penalties.
Build up to 2022 World Cup In September 2021, England tied their highest
FIFA ranking position at 3rd. In November 2021, Southgate led England to
World Cup qualification following a 10–0 win over
San Marino. A week later he signed a new contract which meant he would remain the England manager until December 2024. In June 2022, Southgate led England into the
UEFA Nations League. England drew three of their matches in the competition and lost the other three, which included a 4–0 defeat to
Hungary on 14 June 2022. This was the country's worst home defeat since 1928. On 23 September 2022, following a 1–0 defeat to Italy, England were relegated to
League B.
2022 World Cup England won
their group at the
2022 FIFA World Cup, with wins against both
Iran and
Wales, and a goalless draw with the
United States. In the
round of 16, England beat
Senegal 3–0, advancing to the
quarter-finals, where they lost 2–1 to
France. In the immediate aftermath of this defeat, Southgate expressed doubts about continuing as England manager. On 18 December 2022, the FA confirmed Southgate would remain in post until after the
UEFA Euro 2024.
UEFA Euro 2024 and departure On 17 October 2023, England secured qualification to
UEFA Euro 2024 with two games remaining. During the
qualification campaign, England recorded their first home and away victories over Italy since 1977 and 1961 respectively. England finished top of their
qualification group, as they remained unbeaten throughout the calendar year. During the tournament, England won
Group C with 5 points, qualifying for the
knock out rounds. Despite qualifying with a game to spare, Southgate and his team were criticised by fans and pundits, particularly after a 1–1 draw with
Denmark in the second game; Southgate said that he blanked out criticism. A goalless draw with
Slovenia in the last group game saw England top their group, but the team were booed, and Southgate was struck with objects from the crowd; he said that he understood fans' frustration but felt that the negativity was harming the players. In the round of 16, England beat Slovakia by equalising through a
Jude Bellingham overhead kick in added time, before
Harry Kane headed the winner in the first minute of extra time. After the game,
Declan Rice said that the team were committed to each other and the manager, and Southgate said that the team were "putting plasters over things". England's quarter-final against Switzerland ended in a 1–1 draw before England scored all five of their attempts in the penalty shootout. In the post-match press conference, Southgate said "Every now and then there has to be some enjoyment in this job and if you can't enjoy that moment, the whole thing is a waste of time. I can't deny when [the criticism] is as personal as it has been, on a human level it's difficult but we're fighting and we're not going to stop fighting." In the semi-final against the Netherlands,
Xavi Simons scored after seven minutes to put the Dutch team ahead, while
Harry Kane scored a penalty equaliser after being fouled by
Denzel Dumfries; substitute
Ollie Watkins scored a late winner for England. England lost
the final 2–1 to Spain after a late winner from
Mikel Oyarzabal. After the game, Southgate did not answer if he would renew his contract, set to expire in December. Former England captain
Alan Shearer said that Southgate could leave "with his head held high", having improved England's results since the nadir of elimination by
Iceland at
UEFA Euro 2016, but that he "wasn't quite able to get the best out of this team in Germany, and that was the difference between us reaching another final and winning one". Two days after the final, Southgate resigned as England manager. In a statement, Southgate said: "As a proud Englishman, it has been the honour of my life to play for England and to manage England. It has meant everything to me, and I have given it my all. But it's time for change, and for a new chapter". He managed 102 games in total for England. ==Other roles==