Gareth Southgate made playing for England fun again – and now it is all coming undone

In his “Dear England” open letter to fans on The Players’ Tribune, ahead of the last European Championship, Gareth Southgate wrote about the joy of “street parties, the barbecues and with every drop of beer thrown in the air in celebration”.

Now that beer is being thrown in anger, with the England players’ families soaked when caught in the crossfire at the Cologne Stadium after the goalless draw against Slovenia.

Beer cups were also hurled at Southgate, who had gone to clap the England supporters, but he was not going to back off when the abuse started and not least because he sees it as his duty to protect the team and be the focus of the frustration, however merited. But it was not a pleasant experience and it smacked of a sense of entitlement among the fans.

“We made England fun to play for,” Southgate said. “I think it’s been enjoyable for the players and we have to be very careful that it stays that way.”

It was an interesting comment. After all, is playing for England meant to be fun? Does it matter when you are talking about the hard edge need to win?

Despite England finishing top of their group – something that France, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands failed to do –and earning a winnable last-16 tie against Slovakia, it feels a long way from the ‘vibes’ in Russia in 2018 when Bukayo Saka was joyfully riding an inflatable unicorn in the hotel swimming pool and Harry Maguire was leading the ‘Love Train’ at set-pieces.

Within the England camp they know they have not played well enough. That is self-evident. But there is shock that Southgate was targeted and now a growing sense of resignation that he will leave after this tournament even if England win it. Which other coach of a country who topped their group received such treatment in Cologne?

While Southgate was left upset and disappointed by this, despite his attempts to later laugh it off with FA staff, the bigger question is where it leaves the England players and not least because for 12 of the 26 players this is their first tournament.

They must be wondering what it is to play for England and whether it is worth it. We thought we had left this behind. During their punditry work Wayne Rooney and Joe Hart talked on the BBC about how great the atmosphere within the squad was at Euro 2016 in their base at Chantilly, but that was patently not true. Anyone who was there knows that.

There was no joy – no fun – at that tournament for England and they froze in their appalling defeat to Iceland and feared the consequences of falling behind. It became a self-fulfilling prophecy of being, to again use Gary Lineker’s word, “s---”. They were inhibited. There was no fun, just fear.

Similarly, during the World Cup in South Africa, Rooney walked off the pitch after the shockingly turgid goalless draw against Algeria and bellowed down a TV camera: “Nice to see your own fans booing, you football supporters.” Now Rooney is lecturing Jude Bellingham about “fronting” the players’ response and looking “very frustrated”. How they forget. England have not sunk to what happened in Cape Town. And that is without mentioning the 2014 World Cup debacle in Brazil.

But the bigger issue for England is where this is leading. We have endured years of cliques, of players putting their clubs first, of withdrawals from squads, of allegations of arrogance, of complaints that players feel under undue pressure, of the England shirt weighing heavy on their shoulders.

Southgate, whatever his merits as a coach or a manager, changed all of that to such a degree that players have reported for duty at St George’s Park to continue their rehab work during an international week even though they are not fit enough to be part of the squad.

And fun does matter. It is not just about beers by the hotel pool on a day off, or playing cricket or padel tennis, or card games like Wolf, or John Stones wrestling with coach Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink to push him under a sprinkler on the training pitch.

England have underachieved. There is no doubt about that. There is also no doubt that Southgate has taken them closer than any other manager since Sir Alf Ramsey to actually doing something.

Sunday’s game against Slovakia will be his 99th as England manager. Add to that his 57 caps as a player and no one – ever – has represented the country as much as he has.

And yet there are those who are quick to dismiss him and eager to ignore his opinion. Southgate has a unique perspective and yet he is being lectured to by those who may have been better players than him but never walked in his shoes and do not have the courage to try and do so.

The fear now is the return of fear and the abolition of fun. Southgate will go, come what may, it seems. England will then face another existential crisis. The players will have the fun knocked out of them as has happened here in Germany. And then what? Southgate dreamt of a summer of love when he penned that open letter before the last Euros and hoped for it again now. But even if England win it may have gone and, once again, the players are left to reflect on what it means to play for the Three Lions. And how unhappy it can be.