Gareth Southgate may not have a wealth of managerial experience, but he has had his moments.
England interim manager Gareth Southgate during the press conference
Gareth Southgate has been appointed as the interim England boss following Sam Allardyce’s resignation after just one game.
The former Middlesbrough boss, famous for fluffing a crucial spot-kick against Germany at Euro 96, will oversee games against Slovenia, Scotland and Spain but starts with a World Cup qualifier against Malta this Saturday.
The 46-year-old may have begun his managerial journey ten years ago, but considering he spent four years out of the spotlight following his dismissal at the Riverside in 2009, he will probably feel as though he is still a relative novice.
Take a look at five of Gareth Southgate’s greatest games as manager thus far:
Middlesbrough 2-1 Chelsea
There was much trepidation ahead of Gareth Southgate’s first home game in charge of Middlesbrough. The former captain had succeeded Steve McClaren in the hotseat, who had departed for the England job in the summer following the club’s UEFA Cup exploits. Southgate had gotten off to a rocky start, overseeing a 3-2 loss at newly-promoted Reading in his first game after having been two goals up inside the opening 20 minutes.
With two-time Premier League champions Chelsea arriving at the Riverside, Southgate could hardly have been dealt a harsher test and found himself trailing to Andriy Shevchenko’s poked opener after 15 minutes.
The Blues looked as though they would see out another three points, until Emmanuel Pogatetz sent the home crowd into raptures with an 80th-minute leveller, heading home Fabio Rochemback’s free-kick. Ten minutes later, Mark Viduka stole the three points for the hosts when he collected Yakubu’s pass on the edge of the six-yard area to drill home an unstoppable strike past Carlo Cudicini.
England under 21 manager Gareth Southgate
Middlesbrough 2-1 Arsenal
With Arsenal not having lost any of their opening 15 league games of the 07/08 season, not only were they being spoken about as potential champions but many were musing whether they could replicate their unbeaten efforts of five seasons earlier.
Middlesbrough put paid to any notions of that however, with Stuart Downing putting the hosts ahead after four minutes with a cool penalty following Kolo Toure’s foul on Jeremie Aliadiere. Arsenal pressed for an equaliser but were found wanting in their efforts and the hosts punished their profligacy when Tuncay Sanli drilled high into the net in the 74th minute to seal the points.
Tomas Rosicky’s late consolation for the visitors did little to quell the party atmosphere in the stadium, as Middlesbrough won their first game in three months.
Picture Supplied by Action Images – Arsene Wenger
Middlesbrough 8-1 Man City
In a scoreline that seems incomprehensible when measuring both club’s ambitions at present, Middlesbrough racked up their biggest win in Premier League history with relative ease against a hapless Manchester City in Sven-Goran Eriksson’s last game in charge.
City were enduring a miserable end to the season, with this being their tenth defeat in their previous 17 games. For the hosts, it was an unexpected rally especially when Alfonso Alves, who had bagged just thrice since his mid-season arrival, doubled his seasonal tally with a hat-trick.
City’s problems started when Richard Dunne was dismissed inside the first ten minutes for conceding a penalty which Stewart Downing calmly dispatched. Alfonso Alves doubled the hosts lead before half-time, before Downing curled home a third on 58 minutes. Alves raced clear to add a second minutes later, before Adam Johnson shot home a deflected strike against his future employers.
Fabio Rochemback fired home a stinging free-kick before Jeremie Aliadiere got in the action to make it seven. Elano may have grabbed a late reply for the visitors, but Alves made sure of the last word with a stoppage-time eighth.
Middlesbrough’s Afonso Alves looks dejected after missing a chance to score
Middlesbrough 2-0 Liverpool
When Liverpool visited the Riverside in February 2009, neither side could have been in a more contrasting predicament.
Middlesbrough hadn’t won a game in 14, while the Reds hadn’t lost in 16. Southgate’s men were embroiled in a relegation dogfight while Benitez was chasing a first league title in England.
However, after having climbed to the top of the pile at Christmas, Benitez’ infamous fact-driven rant at Sir Alex Ferguson had coincided with four draws from six games. Middlesbrough took advantage of their dip in form, with Xabi Alonso turning into his own net after 32 minutes before Tuncay Sanli doubled the hosts’ advantage midway through the second half.
It wasn’t enough to prevent Middlesbrough from slipping into the second tier but it did prove something of a knock-out blow to the Reds’ title ambitions.
Dirk Kuyt, Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres – Liverpool look dejected
England U-21 2-1 France U-21
The Toulon Tournament may not be the most prestigious event in world football, but Gareth Southgate does at least have what a lot of his opponents for the England job don’t have – international honours with England.
In May of this year, he guided the U-21s to success in the competition for the first time since 1994 after disposing of France 2-1 in the final.
Lewis Baker had given the Three Lions the lead after eight minutes with a looping header, before his Chelsea team-mate Ruben Loftus-Cheek doubled the lead with a composed finish.
Abdou Diallo reduced the deficit for France but it wasn’t enough to prevent England from seeing out the victory.
It meant that England left the tournament with a 100% win record, having beaten Portugal, Paraguay, Guinea and Japan on the way.
England’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek celebrates scoring their third goal with Nathaniel Chalobah
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