The former England men’s manager knows his football – but has he been keeping up with Fantasy Football?
The penultimate gameweek of the Premier League season kicks off tonight (15 May 2025) at Villa Park, with Europa League finalists Tottenham Hotspur visiting a Champions League spot-chasing Aston Villa.
Many of you may be recovering from some Biba conference-related exhaustion after travelling home yesterday, but this is your official Insurance Times reminder to not forget to update your Insurance Times Fantasy Football League team.
Those of you who stayed in Manchester until the official end of the conference at 4pm may have managed to catch former England manager Sir Gareth Southgate’s speech to the gathered insurance industry, where he spoke about the importance of leadership and gave his opinions on the changing world of work.
In the speech, for example, he noted: ”A lot of leaders of businesses have been reluctant to ask people to go back to the office. But, [its] better for building a team, better for understanding your people as a leader, better for young people – especially [when it comes to] learning from others.”
Following this speech, Biba’s management team graciously introduced some of the Insurance Times editorial team to Sir Southgate – with chances for photos and short questions.
Gameweek tips?
Despite our best efforts, however, we were not able to extract expert Fantasy Football insight from Southgate, with the admitted Crystal Palace fan telling news editor James Cowen that he hadn’t been keeping up with who was injured or in form.
However, the England man did note that he believed Crystal Palace were in strong form ahead of their upcoming FA Cup Final against Manchester City and said he had maintained a strong emotional connection with players that played under him at England.
With that in mind – and utilising an admittedly liberal extrapolation of what he said – Insurance Times has a couple of players to recommend for points chasing players this week.
England stalwart Jordan Pickford – who performed admirably under Southgate at multiple touraments – is a strong pick for this week, with his club side Everton coming up against bottom of the league anbd already relegated Southampton.
Pickford’s England colleague Bukayo Saka – who, Southgate told deputy editor Yiannis Kotoulas, was one of the most mentally resilient players he’d ever met – is also a strong pick for this week.
Saka has not scored in multiple weeks, but has generated lots of chances for team mates and hit the bar on numerous occasions. His club side Arsenal are also keen to ensure that they qualify for the Champions League and maintain second place in the Premier League, despite faltering form as the season comes to a close.
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