Football’s most revered promulgator of platitudes is at it again. Sir Gareth Southgate, the former England manager, has warned that vulnerable young men are falling victim to ‘callous, manipulative and toxic influencers’. Delivering the Richard Dimbleby Lecture, Southgate said the young are falling prey to an ideology that asserts success is measured by money and dominance.
This is just a tad rich coming from a man who owes his wealth and fame to a game that worships money above all else, and in which everyone – football club owners, managers and players – prizes dominance at any cost over their rivals. In a nutshell, a man who used to manage some of the wealthiest young footballers in the world is complaining that men are too obsessed with wealth and status. We have certainly reached peak Southgate as the nation’s go-to guru.
The former England manager believes young men are ‘suffering’, feeling ‘isolated’, and spending more time online ‘searching for direction’.
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