‘What I want to speak about is much bigger than football…’
It’s notoriously difficult to make good film or television out of football. For every Mike Bassett England Manager, there is a Goal! Even Ted Lasso, a bafflingly beloved show, it seems, only occasionally intersects with the reality of football management. Considering how former England manager Gareth Southgate is such a divisive figure, it was inevitable that Dear England, the BBC’s four-part dramatisation of his tenure, would receive some backlash, and I’ll concede that, taken out of context (random clips shared to social media and subsequently derided), it does the show no favours. If you can get past the earnestness, however, Dear England is actually pretty good…
Beginning with Southgate’s appointment in 2016 through to his resignation in 2024, Dear England covers what will go down as one of the most successful eras of English football ever. Writer James Graham (who also wrote the stage version) explores how Southgate completely changed the culture around the team and the perception of the England squad to outsiders. While some of the casting is a bit dodgy (Jack Grealish won’t be happy), Will Antenbring does an incredible impression of Harry Kane, Joseph Fiennes excels in reprising the role of Southgate from the stage play, and Jodie Whittaker is as reliable as ever as sports psychologist Pippa Grange. Director Rupert Goold does a great job in combining archival footage with newly filmed material, and much of the dialogue is stirring and surprisingly convincing. It’s also satisfying to relive some of the memories that Southgate and his squad provided. It really did feel like a golden generation for a while there until things went sour.
Dear England will be too earnest for some, but the tone is simply a reflection of its subject matter. Southgate is earnest; he is genuine. And it was this authenticity and willingness to do things differently that captured the imagination of both the players and the fans in the first place. As the memories of 2018, 2021 and 2024 begin to fade, history will no doubt be kind to the second most successful manager in the history of English football. Dear England is the start of that – a thoroughly decent examination of a thoroughly decent man.
