Gareth Southgate has emerged as a possible candidate to replace Oliver Glasner at Crystal Palace on a caretaker basis. The former England manager is available and has been since leaving his role with the national team after Euro 2024.
Glasner’s future is in doubt amid a concerning run of form, which reached a new low midweek. His side drew 1-1 away to Bosnian minnows Zrinjski Mostar, meaning it’s just one win in 15 games.
Palace reportedly held discussions over Glasner and the possibility of cutting ties before June. He has already confirmed that he will be leaving at the end of the season, when his contract expires.
Crystal Palace trying for Southgate
Should Steve Parish and the board decide to sack Glasner, they seem to be eyeing Southgate as a replacement. The English coach started his playing career at Selhurst Park, making 129 appearances for the Eagles.
According to Football Insider, Palace are “trying to persuade” Southgate to return to management. They want him to take over as interim manager until the end of the season.
Southgate would have a job on his hands restoring a positive environment amid the chaos ensuing behind the scenes. Fans chanted for Glasner to be sacked in the draw against Zrinjski.
Glasner hit back with a brutal dig at supporters, telling them to “stay humble.” His comments didn’t go down well with the fanbase who watched the Austrian deliver their first major trophy, the FA Cup, last season.
Supporting Southgate
Should Southgate replace Glasner, it seems he’d be a divisive appointment. When the report dropped on social media, several fans replied, making it clear they weren’t fond of the idea.
Southgate was in charge of the England national team for nearly eight years. He took the job with the Three Lions, a broken team after they were knocked out of Euro 2016 by Iceland in the last 16.
The 55-year-old focused on galvanising the players and building a strong bond with the squad. It proved effective as he oversaw an impressive run to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.
Many argue that the level of opposition wasn’t strong, so it wasn’t much of an achievement. But this was the first time England had made it to a semi-final of a major tournament since Euro 1996.
Southgate then took the Three Lions to two consecutive finals at the European Championships. He undoubtedly should have beaten Roberto Mancini’s Italy at Wembley.
The 55-year-old will regret the pragmatic approach his side took when Luke Shaw put them 1-0 up in the Euro 2020 final. What can’t be argued is that he made fans dream and helped build an English team that are now ready to get their hands on their first trophy since 1966.
That might have been the case at the 2022 World Cup if not for Harry Kane blazing a spot-kick over the bar against France in the quarter-finals. Southgate’s team were impressive during that tournament but this goes without mention because they didn’t prevail in Qatar.
Southgate oversaw 64 wins in 102 games and is the most successful England manager since World Cup winner Sir Alf Ramsey. His work in transforming the Three Lions deserves more respect, and although there were clear issues with his brand of football in the latter stages, he got results.
The unfair Boro argument
The main concern for fans will be his record at Middlesbrough, which is his only experience of club football. The former English defender secured two mid-table finishes with Boro in the Premier League.
The wheels fell off in the 2008-09 campaign when his side were relegated to the Championship. He had the Riverside outfit on course to push for promotion but was sacked with his side sat one point off top spot in October 2009.
It’s been nearly two decades since Southgate’s struggles at Boro. Using this as an explanation for why he’d fail at Palace isn’t reasonable, because every coach grows, as shown during the majority of his reign with England.
