ENGLAND fans want a statue of Gareth Southgate erected in the town in which he grew up.
They have launched a petition to honour the Three Lions boss in Crawley, West Sussex.
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His parents, Barbara and Clive, still live there.
Southgate went to Hazelwick Secondary and the school’s motto — “Effort Achieves” — was sewn on to pupils’ blazers and serves him well to this day.
He played for the school football team — and lined up alongside X Factor star Chico.
The change.org petition, started during the 2018 World Cup in Russia where England also made the semi-finals, has more than 1,500 signatures.
It reads: “Gareth grew up in Crawley . . . and we believe the council should recognise his achievements with a statue of the man himself!”
The petition has been resurrected following the latest successes.
A council spokesman said: “We’re tremendously proud of what Gareth Southgate has achieved.
“He’s a son of Crawley who grew up here, went to school here and learnt a lot of his football here so we want to recognise his achievements. Nothing has been ruled out.”
Meanwhile, social media users joked Southgate would make a perfect partner after one, Madeline Brettingham, called him “the ultimate middle-aged crush.”
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One user wrote: “Gareth would put all the cutlery pointing the same way in the cutlery drawer and hang the tea towel neatly across the oven handle to dry.”
Another said: “He wouldn’t complain about the decorative cushions and would plump and rearrange them after sitting on the sofa”.
Others stated that he would defrost the car and warm your coat on a cold winter’s morning, and do the toast “just how you like it, making sure the butter goes all the way to the edges”.
