Former England manager Gareth Southgate has weighed in on recent high-profile departures including Ruben Amorim at Manchester United and Xabi Alonso at Real Madrid
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Former England manager Gareth Southgate has expressed his views on the diminishing authority of football managers due to evolving sports structures.
Ruben Amorim was dismissed from his role as Manchester United manager last week, after a 14-month tenure marked by subpar performances and a dispute with director of football Jason Wilcox, which set off a chain of events leading to his departure.
Amorim made headlines in a press conference the day before his exit, asserting that he was the manager of the Red Devils, not "just the coach". This incident occurred shortly after Enzo Maresca's controversial departure from Chelsea.
Former Aston Villa defender, Southgate cited these instances, along with Xabi Alonso's dismissal from Real Madrid, as examples of various "power struggles" that were "ultimately the root cause of the end of each tenure".
The 55 year old, who hasn't managed since stepping down from the England role following the Euro 2024 final loss to Spain, shared his thoughts on LinkedIn: "The erosion of a manager's authority has been a gradual process over many years.
"It has accelerated with the widespread introduction of football, technical, or sporting directors, who now oversee long-term football strategy, report directly to CEOs or owners (or both), and sit structurally above the head coach.
"Personally, I have no issue with this evolution. Strategy, culture, planning, and continuity are critical to success in any organisation - and a football club is no different."
Southgate highlighted the evolving expectations placed upon team leaders and the importance of maintaining stability during challenging periods, revealing that he deliberately requested the title be changed from head coach to manager when he accepted the England position.
"You may have noticed that my current LinkedIn title reads 'Leader, Manager, Coach' – in that order," he posted. "That is entirely intentional. It reflects the hierarchy of skills I believed were required to run the England team effectively.
"The leader operates in the public eye, engaging fans, setting the vision, shaping the culture, and championing and protecting the players and staff.
"The manager is 'managing' stakeholders, departments and people, maximising collaboration and making plans stay on track. Oh, and don't forget the role of persuading 25 financially independent elite performers to put collective purpose ahead of their ego.
"Finally, the coach works on the pitch, setting the style of play, preparing tactics to exploit opponents, and developing the technical abilities of individual players.
"My belief is that we should embrace a modernised version of the traditional manager, where we recognise the people they lead, manage and coach.
"As I once said to my bosses at England: players are not magnets on a tactics board that can simply be moved around. They are human beings. And managing that reality is at the heart of modern football leadership."
Southgate, previously the England Under-21s manager, took over the senior team on a temporary basis in September 2016 and subsequently led them to consecutive European Championship finals.
The former defender, who earned 57 caps for England, also guided the team to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and the quarter-finals of the 2022 tournament.
Rumours have often connected Southgate with the United job, particularly since Ineos assumed control of the club's operations. This speculation was fuelled further when his ex-assistant Steve Holland joined new head coach Michael Carrick's team this week.