The interesting fates of Southgate and Mariner

Gareth Southgate has been a revelation since taking the reins as England manager, enjoying success that has not been matched in almost 30 years. He has taken on the so-called poisoned chalice and has the Three Lions playing arguably their best football since the mid-1980s to early 1990s.

He guided England to their first World Cup semi-final since 1990 when they reached the last four of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, only to be beaten by Croatia in extra-time. The Three Lions built on their form to advance to the semi-finals of the Nations League where they were beaten by the Netherlands, although they were able to finish third ahead of Switzerland.

Southgate’s men have carried their momentum into qualifying for Euro 2020 where they are backed in the international football betting odds at 9/2 to win the competition for the first time. England have a talented team at their disposal and it would not be a staggering surprise to see them victorious at the end of the tournament next July at Wembley Stadium.

Southgate has come a long way in the 10 years since he was sacked by Middlesbrough after overseeing their relegation to the Championship. He failed to build on the legacy of Steve McClaren, who won the League Cup during his tenure and guided Boro to the final of the UEFA Cup before taking over the England job from Sven-Goran Eriksson after the 2006 World Cup. Southgate couldn’t instil the same magic in his team and seemed ill-suited for the position before he was fired with his side treading water in the second tier in 2009.

He got a second chance with the England Under-21s, perhaps due to his gentlemanly reputation and history of being a solid player during his career at domestic level and for the Three Lions, and now the rest is history. But ten years ago there was another former England player managing in the Championship. Following the sacking of Paul Sturridge, Paul Mariner took charge of Plymouth, tasked with saving the club from relegation.

Mariner was a club legend during his playing career in the 1970s after joining in 1973. He spent four successful seasons with Argyle, scoring 61 goals in 154 appearances before moving to Ipswich. During his career with the Tractor Boys he earned 35 England caps, notching 13 goals, playing in the 1982 World Cup in the process. He avoided management at the end of his playing career before finally succumbing to aid the plight of Argyle.

Plymouth were already in trouble before his arrival, although he managed to guide them within four points of safety with five matches remaining in the campaign courtesy of seven wins, including a 2-1 triumph over Doncaster. However, Argyle lost the final five games of the season to drop into League One. Mariner’s time was up at the end of the season and was replaced by Peter Reid, although he oversaw a relegation down to League Two in the following campaign.

Mariner didn’t get another chance in England, instead his opportunity came in the MLS with Toronto FC. He took over another struggling side and made an initial impact, losing only two of his first 10 games in charge. A winless run of 14 matches to end the season brought an end to his managerial career. Fate works in mysterious ways and if he had joined a stronger club then it could have worked out differently for the former England man – as it has done for Southgate and the Three Lions.