As I am sure many others are doing today, I am writing you this letter to express my sincerest gratitude for what you, the staff and the players have done for this country. For the past month you have united a nation at a time when it has been at its most divided.
There has perhaps never been a better time to be an England fan and that is down to you.
I have followed your journey as manager closely for the past three years and have the upmost admiration for you as a person way beyond any football result.
Although in the interest of transparency and honesty I have a confession to make. For many years I felt a sense of disconnect and resentment towards the England team for what I felt was its lack of identity and affinity with the fans.
I am someone who feeds off emotion, energy and experiences more than anything and throughout my life I have heard stories of Gazza’s tears, Stuart Pearce’s penalty celebration in 96, the boys of 66 and the impact they had on the country.
I wanted that for my generation, a team in which we could relate too and I became disheartened when I felt we were not getting that.
That leads me to the main part of my confession, at the start of your tenure I wrongly called you a yes man which I wholeheartedly apologise for because that could not be further from the truth.
In my frustration at the team, I also wrote a Facebook post as a 17-year-old saying ‘Come on Scotland’ when we drew with them at Hampden Park, but believe it or not, behind that post was a boy yearning for a team to be patriotic about.
I love this country Gareth and everyone in it and our national sport has the power to bring us all together like it did in this tournament and in 2018. At the start of the World Cup, I had resigned myself to another summer of disappointment and my friends tried and failed to get me in the spirit until something changed.
The moment that swung it for me was after the penalties win against Columbia when you screamed “Come on!!!”.
I knew then that you and this group of players were different and the outpouring of emotion from you let me know that you were all with us and that you were all one of us.
Some may call it glory hunting as my support came back when the team were doing well, but I can honestly say the result then and the subsequent ones are secondary to me. It is about having something to get behind and be a part of whilst knowing that we are all on the same page.
That is why when people say to me why do you like Gareth Southgate so much? I say because he cares!
If you lost the next six matches in a row, I would say the same thing. You and the players are also not afraid to speak out on issues outside of football such a racism and mental health which has influenced a generation including me more than you will ever know.
If I may I’d like to give you a brief background on myself. I am a 21-year-old wheelchair user from Padiham Lancashire with a condition called Cerebral Palsy, and I am also an avid Burnley FC season ticket holder!
I have had my struggles with mental health over the years due to bereavements and finding it difficult to accept the way society is in regards to disabled access and equality, but in August 2018 I began to take control of my situation.
Since then, I have become a Level 1 football coach on Burnley FC in the Community’s Disability Sports Project, started a Multimedia Sports Journalism Degree at UCFB Etihad and raised £8,097.64 for my local hospice doing a 100 round boxing challenge during the pandemic.
On my way back to positive mental well-being and achieving these things I took inspiration from yourself Tyson Fury and David Goggins.
I still have my off days, but I stay calm during those and do the right things like daily exercise and mental stimulation which help me to win more battles than I lose.
There are too many words to write in one letter Gareth, but I hope I get to meet you one day to thank you for what you have done for me and so many others. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.
Yours Sincerely,
Joe Skinner
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