England World Cup: Terry Butcher Reveals Masterstroke Decision

TERRY BUTCHER

Right now is the time when the players will be feeling their most homesick, so the decision by Gareth Southgate to invite the families back into the camp is another masterstroke.

The fact you are in a semi-final does not sink in for quite a while.

In 1990 we played in Naples, got back in the early hours and found out that one or two of the rooms of the players had been burgled by some of the staff, so that was not particularly helpful. Several of the players had some strips taken and World Cup shirts – a bit of equipment. Nothing really dramatic, just irritating stuff. It was not good and put a bit of sour stuff onto things.

I was the captain and we had discussed before the quarter-finals against Cameroon inviting families to come out to the camp if we won. The manager Sir Bobby Robson told me to come to him afterwards and discuss it further.

So, on the day after Cameroon, I was down by the pool because we had to do a little bit of rehab. After I had done all that I was sunbathing and Bobby came and sat next to me. He was asking my opinion of the team, how we were playing, how the players were feeling and all that – we were having a good chat, captain to manager. I then went on a two- or three- minute spiel about how the opposition squads like Germany had all had their families to visit, and how the players were getting a bit homesick and what a great thing it would be for morale to see out wives and kids. All of a sudden I heard snoring. I looked around and Bobby had fallen fast asleep while I was talking. I know I can be a bit boring, but I thought this was an important point to make.

So standing up quietly, I went to the end of the pool and jumped in with the biggest running bomb you have ever seen, splashing water all over him right by the edge. He woke up, we finished our conversation and three days later he had got them all organised and out they came. Sadly, though, it was only after we had lost the semi-final. We would have loved to have seen them before.

Being with family grounds you, makes you really relaxed and more comfortable. You are not missing them anymore. The more you are away, the more you miss them and the worse you feel. By seeing them on a regular basis it is more like being back in the UK.

This year, the families have been out all the way through the competition for certain days, which is brilliant. It is when you most want to be with your family, when you have had success and progressed. It is a lovely feeling to have.

What it does, more than anything else, is it brings you down to earth more than anything, because family matters more than anything else. It gives you a chance to put the World Cup on the back burner, which is difficult when you are all the time in with the other players and the press, wondering what is happening in the news back home.

It actually gives you a chance to relax and unwind – and that process happens very quickly when you are with your families, which is lovely. That is a great idea – very good.

But Gareth understands this and it all part of what he has done to change the DNA of the entire squad. There is stability in terms of ‘this is what we do’ and ‘this is how we do it’.

The format he has set up and the structure will take England even further forward in future years.

Then you wonder why this hasn’t been done before. When you look at what we have invested in foreign rubbish – managers who have completely ruined any potential DNA we could have had to build on after 1990.

It has taken a long time for somebody to come along like Gareth and say, ‘This is what we should be doing for England’. It has reset the national identity for the best.

In fairness, Bobby was a good planner; I just don’t think he was always given the opportunity to by an FA who he had to fight for everything. They were miles behind the times, never in sync with the manager.

Now it is great – there are more forward-thinkers in the organisers and everybody is moving together. That point needs to be made, in fairness to the FA.

They have supported Gareth and the results are there for everybody to see.