England, Euro 2008, Global

With the England position increasingly likely to be given to either Fabio Capello or Jose Mourinho, it is time we asked a crucial question: Are England fans expecting too much?

In 2006, when Luis Phillipe Scolari was scouted as the next possible manager of England following Sven’s reign, he quite rightly refused, citing the English press hawks, and fans’ expectations as being beyond the team’s capability. Scolari was vilified for this, and the media proclaimed, ‘‘He was not the right man”.

Of course he was not the right man. I mean, he single-handedly knocked the stuffing out of England in each of the last three tournaments, managing this with Brazil and Portugal (twice). This same Scolari delivered the World Cup in 2002 with an under-performing Brazil side. The same Scolari who took Portugal to the Euro 2004 final, knocking England out in the process. The same Scolari who knocked out England at the last World Cup. I do sense some familiarity here. So if the problem was not his ability to knock England out, what was it? As Scolari suggested, it was all down to “expectation”.

England always ‘expects’. Since the 1966 World Cup win, England have been in a permanent state of emergency. It’s like a 40-year hangover from that great day at Wembley. Every time the England team crawls into another tournament, the nation expects. And why not? They should, of course, but what exactly do they expect? It was on these shores that the ‘beautiful game’ was created. It was on these shores that players such as Bobby Charlton, Stanley Matthews and now Wayne Rooney grace our pitches.

But it is also on these shores that the country has seen moments of weakness. In 1993, despite beating San Marino 7-1, England had to rely on Poland to beat the Dutch to reach USA ‘94. They failed. In 2001, David Beckham had to score a 93rd minute free kick against Greece to qualify for the 2002 World Cup. England do not do things easily. For the last 20 years, expectation has risen but failures have consistently followed.

As the impact of the Croatia defeat sinks in, last weekend saw the draw for Euro 2008. Mouth-watering.

The Dutch, the Italians and the French in one group. Germany reunited against old war rivals. Spain in the mix with able Swedish and Russian national teams. And then there is England. Poor England, missing from the tournament. But we should not take anything away from the Croats. They outwitted, outpaced, and quite simply, outplayed England.

Where does the problem lie? Firstly, the media portray the England job as the hardest in the world. If you asked Mourinho about his time at Chelsea, or the expectation of the Real Madrid board for their manager, the England role seems exaggerated.

Go to any country and they will tell you their job is the hardest in the world.

In Italy, Donadoni’s job was insecure after just three matches. Surely inheriting a team who just won the World Cup is harder then inheriting a team who has failed consistently for the last 40 years. In France, Raymond Domenech’s position was questioned by the media throughout his tenure. In-fighting, player disputes, questionable squad selections. But Domenech has got on with his job. France reached the World Cup final, and they too qualified for Euro 2008.

Nevertheless, it is always the England job that is portrayed the hardest. The media portrayal of England is so badly assumed that this in fact reflects back onto the fans, who then expect miracles too.

Secondly, who said England are one of the best teams in the world? England are a major player, undoubtedly, but the mindset of one of the best teams in the world is wrongly manifested. ‘Team’ would mean players who bond together, performing as a united group.

The England team at present is a group of individuals put together by sheer reputation over anything else. Gerrard is paired with Lampard in hope it just ‘works’. Beckham is dropped for Wright-Phillips for ‘pace’. Robinson plays in goal despite numerous mistakes and calamities for club and country. Why weren’t Gabby Agbonlahor, Gareth Barry, Andrew Johnson, or even Matthew Taylor given an opportunity?

England can roll out the names off the tongue: Rooney, Beckham, Gerrard, Ferdinand, Lampard. But where do these players perform on the same mantra as the likes of Messi, Kaka, Gallas and Pirlo when it comes to the international stage? Can these players transform club form onto the international front? The lack of a winter break like that in Italy or Spain means the English league doesn’t take a breather to recuperate. At times, players will play up to 60-70 games non-stop. This does not help, especially when it comes to fatigue.

Since McClaren’s fall, four managers have blamed the influx of foreign players, but that’s rubbish.

Sir Alex Ferguson even went as far as condemning Arsenal’s player policy. There is no doubt that Arsenal have one of the most upcoming multilingual, multinational teams in the world. So do we sit and blame Arsène Wenger’s policy of fielding 11 foreigners?

In 11 years at Arsenal, Wenger has brought to the English game one-touch passing, new techniques, new dietary requirements and beautiful football. Give Wenger or Rijkaard the England job and England would be, without doubt, a far more entertaining outfit. The fact that he plays 11 foreigners is a mute point.

There are still quality players in the England team. Right from youth football, the money spent on the grassroots game is more than in Holland or Spain. It is down to the team to ”up” its performances. Foreigner influx is what makes the Premier League what it is. The likes of Cantona, Henry, Bergkamp and Cristiano Ronaldo have only helped the English game.

Another argument is the failure of youth development. Looking at the current England team, two players come from the Arsenal youth set-up (Bentley and Cole), two from Liverpool (Gerrard and Owen), three from Manchester United (the Neville brothers and Beckham) and one from Chelsea (Terry).

Youth development is down to not only the clubs, but also the individuals themselves. More often than not, players transfer onto the riches of bigger clubs, and this type of moves cover up the realities that youth development is not at the heart of the problem. Players get greedy, move to bigger clubs, and then sit on the bench. Examples include Wayne Bridge, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Peter Crouch, Darren Bent, and more recently Owen Hargreaves.

How about the quality of coaching? Are English managers good at what they do? Steve McClaren was NOT first choice after Sven. Before him, Wenger, Scolari, Allardyce and Curbishley were all courted. Whilst the quality of coaching is important, it is not something that plays a critical role. England managers do not buy and sell players. England managers do not deal with contracts or rebellious players. They pick the team and picking the right team, not the team that the media or the fans want, is their job.

The theme of my argument has been expectations. Expectations have to be lowered. If they are not, and the blame culture is not addressed, then England fans will only be disappointed. Instead, one must understand that England are not the best team, nor among the best. They are more a sleeping giant, reputable because of the league they represent, and because of the fact that the game started on these very shores.

Of the last three World Cups, the winners have all been nations with no expectation on the domestic front like that of England. In France ‘98, the French team under Aimé Jacquet played without a recognised striker, but beat the favourites 3-0 in the final. When it came to 2002 World Cup, France became the favourites, didn’t even make the knockout stages, and the underdogs - Brazil - went on to win it. At last year’s World Cup, who would have guessed an Italy-France finale? Two extremely unfancied sides ultimately locked horns in a memorable final.

When you expect something, more often than not you are left disappointed. Football is like a relationship. You get out of it what you put into it. You cannot expect an amazing relationship without putting the hard yards in yourself. Liverpool worked hard in the 2005 Champions League campaign, exceeded expectations and won. In 2006, they arrogantly went about their way, and lost to Benfica. The 2006 Brazil side under Carlos Alberto Parreira put together 11 superstar egos and won nothing.

With expectations so high, England fans must note that their nation has not won a major tournament since 1966. It seems, 41 years on, that England is overly hopeful. It’s not the youth system, the foreign influx, or the manager but the expectation.

Some would call it the 41-year hangover. Until the next World Cup in South Africa 2010 then, England fans take note. In expecting so much, the feat of ‘66 will never be repeated. Support your team, support England, and be passionate - but consider that by expecting too much, less will ultimately be achieved.

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