16. Thank you, Gareth

“Football, bloody hell”.

As you may know, this was a quip from the great Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. And goodness me, rarely has this been more relevant than the past couple of months.

Euro 2020 was quite literally unforgettable (other than the final two goals England scored against Ukraine, but hey, that’s Jägerbomb/Guinness cocktails for you) and though I wasn’t planning on writing a blog post about England’s journey, it was so bloody good and left me in such emotional tatters, I felt compelled to.

As you can probably tell, this post is basically going to be me fanboying Gareth Southgate and the England football team for the next 3 minutes, so if that sounds worse than someone screaming “IT’S COMING HOME!” in your face, it’s probably a good shout to get off this page as quickly as you can.

So, here we go. As the dust settles on the Euros and I (hopefully) enter the final stages of both the grieving and sobering up process, I wanted to reflect on what has been an incredible few weeks.

To actually have a bit of relevance to the initial purpose of this blog, I thought it’d be worth looking at this through the lens of mental health and wellbeing, as I believe a few interesting themes popped up that were applicable in this area. And not just the joy of sinking a few Fosters and singing Southgate You’re The One.

The tournament was amazing from an England point of view, and especially in relation to the preceding year or so.

As we all know, lockdown was a bit of a shiter. Although it did have some positives, it largely involved dealing with levels of boredom, social isolation and a sense of meaninglessness that we’ve likely not had to before. I mean, let’s be honest, you’re probably not going to start a blog about wellbeing and mental health if you’re living your best life, are you?

However, the extreme contrast between these lows and the sheer elation of the past month meant that these Euro 2020 highs were just magnified. The bad times made the good times even better. And I suppose this shows a potential benefit in going through the inevitable difficult moments in life; the eventual light at the end of the tunnel is that much brighter.

The tournament also coincided with a surge of good weather, and the easing of lockdown. This meant that we could socialise, and actually enjoy the thing with other people. And boy did that happen. Speaking as someone who was fortunate enough to be living in London during the Euros, the wider sense of community and social connection that was formed was amazing to witness, and something that I hadn’t experienced in a long time… especially in light of the more fractured and divisive society that has developed in recent years.

And Gareth Southgate and his England team didn’t just unify the country by producing results on the pitch, but also in the exemplary way in which they composed themselves off it. For anyone who's followed the England football team for any period of time will know how rare a feat that is...

They were a delight to follow, and created a real sense of togetherness. The number of random people bellowing “Come on England!” as you walked past them in the street was a testament to that.

They also gave us something to look forward to and genuinely get excited about (and hasn’t that been in short supply over the past year!?). This may sound extreme and potentially laughable, but that level of excitement almost provided a sense of meaning and purpose to people's lives... and the emotional benefit of that can’t be understated.

The enormous impact of England’s showing at the Euros naturally created a huge void when it was over. Especially the devastating way in which we lost.

Monday 12th July was a sombre day. Without exaggerating, I spent pretty much the full day lying on my sofa, eating chocolate cake, watching every single piece of England football content I could find, and welling up. I was a sorry state (yes, even more than usual).

Though of course, it wasn’t all a utopian fantasy.

There were the downsides. Horrific downsides. Nothing more so than the disgusting racial attacks on Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka; three men who will be central to England’s hopes of success over the next 10 years.

To provide that level of sickening abuse to three people who had given every ounce of energy they had to their country over the past few weeks is something I still can’t get my head around. Totally mind-boggling and absolutely gut-wrenching. Along with the despicable scenes at Wembley on Sunday, this left a very sour taste and totally let down a country that I feel had been united under Southgate’s leadership.

I don’t want to get too political on this site, but the requirement for ID to open a social media account seems like an absolute no brainer in keeping people accountable for their actions. And it’s been really promising to see the petition to implement this gain further momentum over the past week.

The outpouring of support for the three lions that are Rashford, Sancho and Saka has also been incredible to witness, and I like to think consistent with the wider values, sense of community and togetherness fostered by Gareth Southgate’s England team.

In my books, every single member of the England staff - from the cooks to the content creators, and the physios to the players - has been absolutely world-class over the past few weeks, and in Southgate we have the perfect manager to carry the team forward. His leadership, integrity, passion, and all-round quality has provided joy to millions, the most incredible memories, and a real beacon of light in bringing the country together.

And for that, all I can say is thank you, Gareth.