England heroes of Italia '90 back Three Lions to turn it around after lacklustre start to Euro 2024... as long as manager Gareth Southgate is ready to gamble with his starting XI

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Unfair as it may feel to some, the level of vitriol currently being aimed at England’s footballers and their manager is nothing new.

Becoming a national punchbag has often been the outcome if the Three Lions perform dreadfully in a major tournament, as they did against Denmark last week.

However, the good news for Gareth Southgate is that the doom and despondency among millions of fans back home doesn’t have to be irreversible – provided he’s brave enough to change tack and find solutions.

The most famous example is Italia ‘90. England’s opening 1-1 draw against the Republic of Ireland was considered so awful, there was a campaign to bring the team home rather than heap more shame on the country.

In response, manager Bobby Robson and his coach Don Howe produced what was then regarded as ground-breaking new plan for England.

England have produced underwhelming displays in their first two games at Euro 2024

Gareth Southgate has been left with a lot to ponder with his tactics coming under question

England's Italia '90 stars Terry Butcher and Mark Wright have explained how Southgate can turn things around

They introduced a ball-playing “sweeper” to provide defensive insurance, build play from the back and maximise the talents of match-winners Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker.

The rest is history. England captured hearts and minds as they surpassed expectations to reach the semi-finals where they lost a dramatic penalty shoot-out to West Germany. More than 300,000 fans turned up to greet the returning heroes – less than a month after they’d been regarded as outcasts.

Whether Southgate, traditionally a pragmatist more than a gambler, will try something bold is the most fascinating aspect of the build-up to Tuesday’s final group game against Slovenia.

Both Terry Butcher and Mark Wright – captain and afore-mentioned sweeper at Italia ‘90 – believe he should.

‘Our first game against the Republic was typical blood and thunder, both teams 4-4-2,’ recalls Butcher, speaking to Mail Sport.

‘Bobby then puts this sweeper system on us with a third central defender. I’d never played it before. The only preparation before our game against Holland was a practise match in training. The first XI got beat by the “reserves” 1-0!

‘It was crazy in a way, just a case of “get on with it”. But there was method in the madness. Bobby and Don knew they had clever players who could make it a success.

‘We were all comfortable on the ball so that wasn’t a problem. The key was our wing-backs, Stuart Pearce and Paul Parker, who were quick and strong and aggressive.’

Sir Bobby Robson changed things up after England made a slow start at the 1990 World Cup

Butcher thinks it’s time for Southgate to pull a similar rabbit out of the hat after England failed to convince against Serbia or Denmark, despite collecting four points with a single goal in each game.

‘Everybody is used to England playing 4-2-3-1. If Gareth does something different, it foxes the opposition’ added Butcher.

‘It’s radical. It’s a gamble. But it’s worth it because we have intelligent players. It would be up to them to make the structure work. Will Gareth do it? I’m not sure but I do think you need several strings to your bow to win a tournament like this.

‘He has the personnel. Sometimes it’s good to look back to look forward and I remember Terry Venables using attacking players Darren Anderton and Steve McManaman as wing-backs at Euro 96.

‘If Luke Shaw isn’t fit, why not put Anthony Gordon as left wing-back. Absolutely he could do it.

‘On the right, Kyle Walker would eat that up. If you wanted him as a third central defender, Trent Alexander-Arnold or Kieran Trippier are options.

‘It could be tremendous. It also solves the problem of the midfield three because you could then play Declan Rice behind Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden.

‘It could work really well. You get to a point in a tournament where you’ve got to do something different.’

Butcher has given a suggestion of Anthony Gordon playing as a left wing-back 

He has also suggested playing Trent Alexander-Arnold on the right if England play with three centre-backs

Southgate used a back three in his first tournament at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Ironically, he ditched it for fear it was too negative. Now the debate has gone full circle.

There was chatter about whether “player power” had forced Robson’s hand in 1990 but Mark Wright debunked that theory.

‘Robson told me before we went to Italy that we’d be changing the system and I was in his plans as a third defender. He just asked me to keep it quiet so I did!,’ Wright revealed to Mail Sport

‘It worked because the squad had so many strong characters. Myself, Terry Butcher and Bryan Robson were club captains. Stuart Pearce, Gary Lineker, Paul Parker, none of them accepted defeat.

‘They’ve got similar attributes in this squad. We haven’t played well but if we can play well, we’ll wipe the floor with most teams because of our talent. We just need to find that spark.

‘You have to shut the back door to allow the creative players the license.

‘All of Gareth Southgate’s players can adapt – that’s why they are internationals. They are 100 per cent flexible.

‘If Kyle Walker is asked to step in alongside two other centre-halves and let John Stones “sweep up” like I did, nobody is going to outrun that boy.’

England reached the semi-final of Italia '90 with Paul Gascoigne one of the leading stars

Gary Lineker has also confirmed that the idea of a tactical switch originated from Robson.

‘Bobby was thinking about changing because of the way the Dutch played,’ said Lineker. ‘The idea was to give us more flexibility and make us less predictable. It changed the tone. We were suddenly outnumbering teams in midfield.

‘He (Robson) went to the experienced players – Bryan Robson, myself, Terry Butcher, Peter Shilton – and we all thought it would suit the type of players we had, particularly with Mark Wright, who was a natural to come out with the ball.’

It was 34 years ago last Friday that Wright headed the winner against Egypt to take England into the knockout stages. The rest of the tournament, David Platt’s volley, Gary Lineker’s pressure penalties against Cameroon, Gazza’s tears, have all become iconic.

This England have a vast amount of work to reach those levels of popularity. The first job is to shift momentum against Slovenia on Tuesday.

Wright, that original game-changer from three decades ago, insists it’s possible to transform the national mood again.

‘We know Harry Kane can score goals if he stays high. Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden can destroy anybody,’ he says.

‘The talent is there – now it’s about finding the balance. The players should really believe. I know from experience how quickly things can change.’