‘Up there with Geoff Thomas and Jim Cannon’ – Alan Smith reflects on former Eagle Gareth Southgate ahead of Euro 2024

BY ANDREW MCSTEEN

An interested spectator of the England vs Bosnia and Herzegovina clash at St. James’ Park in Newcastle on Monday night was former Crystal Palace boss Alan Smith.

But Smith was not there to watch the four Eagles in the England squad – Ebere Eze, Marc Guehi, Adam Wharton and Dean Henderson – the first time since 1991 that the South London side provided four players to the national team and when Smith was assistant in SE25 to Steve Coppell.

Smith was there to support his former captain and now friend, Southgate as he looks to fine-tune his side ahead of the summer European Championship.

“I always support Gareth’s games, so that’s my main reason for going. I have done since he’s had the job and I haven’t really missed a game at home. He always lays on a couple of tickets for me,” explained Smith about his trip up to the north-east.

“My support is for him really, but Monday had the added interest of the Palace boys being in there and to a certain extent, Conor Gallagher because I’ve always been a bit of a fan of him, especially that period he had with Palace where he was quite outstanding.”

This Friday, Southgate will have his final test before the summer competition when England take on Iceland at Wembley and less than 24 hours later he will have to cut his training squad of 33 down to a tournament squad of 26.

As ever, the eyes of the nation and the footballing world will be on the selection and their performance in Germany, which kicks off on Sunday 16 June when they face Serbia.

With everyone from the man on the street, to the football pundit in the studio having an opinion of Southgate’s selection and the performances of him and his team, Smith offered his of the current England manager who he has known since he was a teenager.

“From the moment I met him at 16 he’s always had a bit of steel about him,” explained Smith, who became youth and reserve team manager at Palace in the mid-1980s, before becoming assistant to Steve Coppell in 1989 and then manager in 1993.

“I’ve always said to lots of people he never had things easy. Some people might think he’s a bit of a middle-class kid that’s done alright, but he had to battle. When he was at Palace to start with, he was only signed on a Youth Training Scheme (YTS) by the Government. I think he played over 100 reserve games before he ever got in the first team.

“At Palace he was up there with Geoff Thomas and Jim Cannon – they were captains too,” added Smith, who made Southgate captain and who led the Eagles to the 1993/1994 First Division title.

“But, because of the fallout with (former Chairman, Ron) Noades, it got a bit brushed over. Now, it’s sort of highlighted a bit more. It’s only latterly, that Palace have realised what a good player he was and what a good captain he was.

“Sometimes people are critical of Gareth and I get slightly annoyed, but I am biased, so let’s be frank. They forget he played 57 times for England. That’s some number and he played under some bloody good managers for England; Glenn Hoddle, Terry Venables. He hasn’t played under mugs. He picked up a lot of information.”

So what does Smith feel now, in 2024, watching him on the touchline from the stands?

“I’m reluctant to say as I don’t want to hang on his coattails too much, but I’m proud of what he’s achieved,” said Smith. “I’m not particularly surprised. He always had something about him that gave me that feeling. There was a natural form of leadership in there. He’s got great humour. He’s quite good at putting himself down, but what comes across is his normality.

“I’ve never seen Gareth change. He’s a person that’s always on an even keel. He doesn’t get excited. If he wins, he keeps it on a level. He puts the players first. It’s almost annoying in a way, I find it hard to have a criticism of Gareth because he’s just seems on a level key, he doesn’t get highs and he doesn’t really get lows. And I think he’d appreciate the Palace players [in the squad], because he knows how hard it was.”

Nowadays, the 77-year-old Smith is an active poster on X, formerly known as Twitter, showing his visits to various non-league and international games across the country, as well as meeting up with former coaches and players, plus regular visits to the cricket.

And this summer, Smith is planning to continue his support of Southgate and England in Germany, continuing his enjoyment of following his interests.

“I’ll go in and out, but I want to make sure I don’t give cricket up at the minute,” said Smith with a smile about his summer plans for the Euro.

“One of the things I didn’t like about football was that you spent a lot of time sitting in a coach or hotel. I like to utilise my time and you can see from my tweets I really enjoy watching my sport. Cricket now has a different level than it has been in the past.

“Steve (Coppell) and I probably see a (football) game once a week somewhere and I really cherish that. I enjoy it. I don’t have to go to Palace every week, I think it’d be wrong if we did as you don’t want to harp back to the past all the time, although I probably accept that I do slip it into sometimes.”