14th June. Just six months ago. England were 4-0 down to Hungary at Molineux in the Nations League and Gareth Southgate was visibly struggling on the touchline. He brought on Harry Maguire after a late red card and was abused and hounded by the England fans in attendance.
Cries of ‘You don’t know what you’re doing’ echoed round the ground, and they were hungry for blood at the home of Wolves as the abuse on social media suddenly became very real. It is that moment, a pointless Nations League match in the middle of summer, which could cost England their greatest manager since Sir Alf Ramsey. And the fans who threw abuse that day must shoulder the responsibility of their actions should Southgate decide to walk away at this point.
"I've found large parts of the last 18 months difficult," the boss admitted after the defeat to France.
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"For everything that I've loved about the last few weeks, I still have how things have been for 18 months - what's been said and what's been written, the night at Wolves.
"There are lots of things in my head that are really conflicted at the moment, so what I want to make sure, if it's the right thing to stay, is that I've definitely got the energy to do that."
Southgate is hyper-aware of his public perception. England’s managers rarely leave the job with credit in the bank. His predecessor Sam Allardyce was a one-game wrecking ball, Roy Hodgson was public enemy number one after the loss to Iceland, Fabio Capello walked away after a falling out and World Cup failure, and Steve McClaren - oh god, remember Steve McClaren?
It goes back further than that too. Fans were sick of Sven Goran-Eriksson’s quarter-final exits by 2006, Kevin Keegan quit in the dressing room after that Wembley loss to Germany and Graham Taylor was brandished a turnip by the tabloids.
The last England manager to leave with his reputation intact was Sir Bobby Robson, but even he announced he was leaving ahead of Italia ‘90 due in large part to the abuse he had received from the press.
"I don't want to be four, five months down the line thinking I've made the wrong call," Southgate added. "It's too important for everybody to get that wrong."
The current boss got things tactically spot on against France, nullifying Kylian Mbappe and controlling the midfield. But sometimes, especially at World Cups, good football teams beat good football teams. And that’s fine.
If he decides to walk away, he does so as the man who has transformed the national team. Sure, he just fell short of winning a trophy, but he has given England some of their most memorable nights and transformed the way the public think and feel about the Three Lions.
However, walking away, despite leading to a much quieter life, will also spell the end for Southgate as a top level manager. The England job is the pinnacle for every boss, but it is true that it is also a job that has suited the former Aston Villa defender down to the ground.
He is a man shaped for international management. He created the perfect environment for his young players to flourish and doesn’t have to deal with transfer business, difficult owners, or the day-to-day rigmarole of working at a football club. As a much less experienced manager he was relegated with Middlesbrough, but still the overwhelming feeling is that club management, dominated by finances and not good vibes, wouldn’t suit him as much.
So for Southgate, this is it. Does the burning desire to take England to Euro 2024 glory outweigh the potential abuse? Only he knows the answer to that one. In some ways it would be nice for him to leave while the waters are calm, but the fact is the Three Lions are unlikely to get a better international manager than him.
The underlying frustration that his departure could be imminent grows when you consider the reaction to the France defeat has seemingly been largely positive when it comes to the gaffer. But it isn’t this World Cup that has put him off staying on as England manager. It is that game against Hungary at Molineux.
The Euros may only be 18 months away, but the opinion of English football fans can change overnight. That horror show against Hungary came just 12 months after England came within a penalty shootout of becoming European champions but perhaps it’s a lesson we need to learn.
If Southgate leaves, fans who were at that now-irrelevant game in the summer may come to the stark realisation that their actions have consequences. Only the major tournaments matter, everything else is just filler. Yet that filler, and that night of horror in the Midlands, may have irreversibly scarred England’s greatest manager since Sir Alf Ramsey.
