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The soccer publication is curiously tedious, yet curiously irresistible. Its title is confusing. Dear England currently names a popular theatrical production, an future TV show, and a public letter penned by Gareth Southgate in 2021.

This edition of Dear England isn’t officially connected to any of those. It stands as an oddity in the Dear England Multiverse, a volume about leadership: a typically dull top-level coach theme that the author follows persistently, relying on the words “leader”, “leading” or “management” at least 500 times across the book’s entirety.

Themes Raised

“What defines a leader? What actions do leaders take? What insights do leaders have?” Southgate inquires early on, setting out his stall, but declining to address “When are leaders?”, topics presumably reserved for a second book.

Otherwise, this publication has a notable absence at its core. It’s a venture in subtly confrontational self-justification, in nearly but not entirely saying the underlying truth, skipping adeptly from unsettled score to unscabbed wound across a collection of graphs, corporate platitudes and references about Thomas Cromwell.

Engagement

Going through the book is like overhearing your family members having a controlled but profoundly personal argument in the next room while you’re attempting to focus on a business seminar titled “Countless Explanations for My Eventual Success”. But it is also challenging to disengage, as the author keeps coming close to an issue you actually want to hear about, before suddenly veering away.

Revelations

There are inevitably news headlines in publications of this nature, due to the intense interest with the role of England manager. The most notable instances include: Southgate decided he was absolutely going to resign as England manager after spectators threw beer glasses at him at the tournament; he almost chose to forfeiting the game at mid-match against the Bulgarian team in 2019 after his players were subjected to racism; he invented the idea of specialist dead-ball trainers and all teams in the top division is now adopting his methods; he has now abandoned his love for soccer, a startling revelation briefly included in a short passage at the conclusion.

Guiding England through a period of fury, hope, upheaval and confinement was a harsh experience. The bruises are clearly still raw.

Commonplace Material

In other sections, the content is flooded with an AI-style verbal clutter of standard management talk. Review editions of this book were shared with journalists under non-disclosure agreements prior to publication, presumably out of apprehension someone might reveal that “challenging discussions can, by their very essence, be challenging”, that you should always consider the consequences, that guidance occurs where transformation meets understanding.

Sincere Expression

Readers will find nevertheless authentic feeling present. Leading England through a era of anger, aspiration, upheaval and lockdown was a grueling ordeal. The scars are evidently still unhealed, though expressed in a buzzword-filled reinterpretation of the traditional football manager theme: how my decisions were correct about everything all along.

Notable Cases

Even book’s introductory section, disguised as gripping recollections of the final of the European Championship, is all about how successful Southgate really was at player changes (the primary Southgate gripe revolving around he wasn’t successful at substitutes). Later, he delves into great depth about how he oversaw the championship match of 2021 perfectly – particularly the unsuccessful penalty shootout – because he complied with a predetermined process, which must mean that throwing on inexperienced squad members very late to take the crucial attempt of their careers was logical and correct.

This was validated by a winning shootout against Switzerland in a subsequent competition after a match where England spent the full duration looking as if they were attempting to don a sweater the backwards. “Our dominance in that shootout was simply thrilling,” Southgate states, amid equating the showing to special forces killing a notorious figure. Dear me.

Avoided Revelations

When we come near to a insight, Southgate withdraws from naming names or sharing the substance. We learn there were challenging England squad members who demanded more attention, possibly because they were spoilt during the beginning of their time in football. But as you lean forward expectantly, the author is already veering off into a topic named a leadership concept, which claims that rather than a grouping of characteristics or ideals, organizational ethos is in fact a phenomenon that is developed by, gah, enough, we’ve heard enough.

Strengths

Included in the more compelling sections are when Southgate discusses about the piecemeal method of fostering mental toughness in the next generation, or how he attempted to articulate Englishness more lucidly and more positively than anyone else in the spotlight. The standout section, there is a truly compelling narrative of that harrowing match in the Bulgarian capital where England’s African heritage squad members were targeted with hatred (and afterwards supported forcefully by their leader).

Genuine Ending

Perhaps the most heartfelt part {comes|arrives|appears