In The Mail on Sunday, he is quoted talking about the power of practice - candidly citing his own Euro 96 penalty miss as evidence of what happens without it. Earlier in the week he unveiled plans to ban 11 a-side games for under 13s - a move which would bring England, finally, in line with the greatest exponents of youth development in Europe: Holland, Spain, France, Italy and Germany.
I am reminded at this point of a scene in 'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet', in which Jimmy Nail's character, Oz, discusses English schoolboy football with his estranged wife's new Italian lover, Sandro.
"The pitch is too big - all they learn about is space," Sandro says. "In Italy they play on the street, the beach - they learn control."
The mismatched pair are watching Oz's son, who Sandro has been coaching, dictate his team's victory on a full-sized pitch. Sandro is beaming with pride and Oz, grudgingly, has to concede that the Italian is right.
That episode was made in 1985. It has taken the FA a further 26 years to come to the same conclusion.
Southgate is spearheading the new blueprints for youth development. Smaller pitches. Smaller goals. Greater emphasis on skill over athleticism. It's a major overhaul of a system which has produced too little indigenous talent - and even less variety of talent types - in the modern era. The English era of hard-running, hard-hitting kick and rush players (Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard and co all fit this bill) is coming to an end. Our newest and shiniest light, Jack Wilshere, has already benefited from being schooled under similarly forward-thinking conditions. Arsene Wenger shares Southgate's philosophy, and was one of the few people to openly endorse his management style.
As Middlesbrough manager Southgate was often derided, even by Boro fans, and was ultimately sacked in favour of the more 'old-school' Gordon Strachan (who, as a Boro fan, I would quite like to punch in the face - but that's beside the point).
Southgate's long-term vision for Middlesbrough was centred around Dave Parnaby's highly productive youth academy. He knew that building a culture of development at a club, as Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson have done, is conducive to long-term success. Strachan systematically un-picked the seams Southgate had sewn, in pursuit of shorter-term achievement. He failed spectacularly.
Perhaps Southgate's patient philosophy does not marry up to the modern pressures of front-line management. Fortunately for him, and for England, it does marry up to his new role. English footballing generations to come will reap the rewards.
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