It's easy to lose hold of logic and reason in the face of such passionate events like the World Cup. For one, I slunk to a new low and purchased The Sun's Guide to the World Cup. Reviews on Amazon were positive and truth be told the guide is good. Good comedy that is.
Besides picking England to win the World Cup, the Sun's experts - including sages Ian Wright, Terry Venables, and Harry Redknapp - predicted that Germany would fail to make it through their group stage. Yes, the German team that placed third at the World Cup in 2006 and were runners up at Euro 2008. While England, who haven't progressed past the quarter-finals in twenty years at the World Cup and didn't even qualify for Euro 2008, would win the lot. Had me in tears. Mind you not the same kind of tears streaming down the faces of the English nation yesterday.
Funny really how English tears of pain pretty much lead to tears laughter everywhere else in the world. Everyone here at Pass It! has had a right good laugh, not only at the atrocious England performances but at the headless-chickens-running-around-the-yard reaction from the press. Is it Johnny Foreigner's fault? John Terry's failed coup? Exhausting Premier League season? Over hyped millionaire brats? Lack of goal line technology? Robert Green's blunder against the States? Incompetence of the FA?
The difficulty the press is finding is a clear cut scapegoat. In 1998 it was Beckham's lash at Simeone. 2002 it was David Seaman's flapping against Brazil. 2006's quarter final exit was once again blamed on a sending off, this time to Wayne Rooney. But now in 2010, with so many abject performances and no sending offs the English media have no single person to blame.
Since most you've probably already been beaten over the head with "expert" analysis as to England's failure in South Africa I'll limit my reactions to those regarding the coach, Fabio Capello.
The media is divided over this one. Folks like Harry Redknapp - good old 'arry - protest the need for an English manager; putting forward his own name with Roy Hodgson and Sam Allardyce. Big Sam for England? The thought alone of an Allardyce's 4-5-1 has already put me to sleep.
As has been well documented, no English manager has won the league title since Howard Wilkinson in 1991 and only two English managers - Joe Royle and Harry Redknapp - have lifted the FA Cup since 1994. There simply have been no successful English managers during this "golden generation" of footballers.
A number of journalists have also pointed to the fact that while Capello has had a successful club career he has no experience at major international tournaments. This is rather silly as the past three World Cup winning managers (Lippi, Scolari, Jacquet) also had no prior international experience - unless we're counting Scolari's success with Kuwait in the 1990 Gulf Cup.
The manager though has to shoulder a lot of the blame. He obviously didn't bother learning English and if he treats some players in the disgraceful way he treated Stuart Pearce I wouldn't be surprised by a lack of motivation in the squad. The English squad was the oldest at the tournament with aging players like David James and Jamie Carragher featuring while Premier League standouts Joe Hart and Michael Dawson didn't get so much as a sniff. Darren Bent, scorer of 25 goals this year for Sunderland didn't even make the squad. The fact that on the eve of announcing the squad Capello tried to convince Paul Scholes, six years retired from the national side, to return speaks volumes.
While a different manager, or an English manager, might not have been able to win the tournament, I imagine the side would have performed a hell of a lot more admirably. Personally I'd much rather have a Mike Bassett-esque manager telling the media he's going to play "four-four-fucking-two", watch a couple of traditional wingers bomb down the sides and read stories of players out on town until the wee hours of the morn.
As 1966 wades further and further into the distance the English have become more and more desperate, to the point where international football is no longer any fun. As the country that gave us the game and entertains us with the best league int he world this is quite sad. I can only hope Ian Holloway leads a young plucky England out to Euro 2012.
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