A Year To The Day

It is a year to the day that a woeful England side limped out of the World Cup, finishing bottom of the group in which they were playing. Tonight, the stars of the future, the glittering array of stars coming through the ranks in our Under 21s, were well beaten by Italy and they finish bottom of their group in the European Championships, just below Italy who are also going home. People are calling the Radio Five Live phone in to vent their collective spleen, bemoaning our lack of technical ability, the dismal level of coaching in this country and calling for the manager to be sacked. What’s worse is they somehow seem surprised at our early exit from the tournament. Have they not been paying attention?

England’s team tonight featured one player, a reserve, from Chelsea, no one from Manchester City, no one who played for Arsenal or Liverpool last season and a group of Premier League reserves and Championship players. Far from improving, our national team is still on the decline. I am not sure all that many people care about England these days. It’s not just the Premier League that people regard as more important than England. Speaking locally and anecdotally, I know a lot of people who are far more interested in how Bristol Rovers and Bristol City are doing. It might be that they are worn down by a lifetime of mediocrity. People in their 40s have never seen England as likely winners of anything, with the exception perhaps of the 1996 side that produced two brilliant performances in the Euros and three crap ones. We all conveniently forget how useless we were against Switzerland, Scotland and Spain!

Perhaps it is the distance that has opened up between footballers and everyone else. There are players in the Premier League who earn in a week what I earned in eight years. Even the young players, the very average players in our Under 21s, are all on generous five figure salaries. It is a different world.

For those of us who do care about English football beyond the clubs, I see a game that is rotten to the core. In the top flight, clubs are owned by oligarchs, rich foreign companies and individuals. Even the so called fairy tale stories such as Wigan and Bournemouth are anything but. Anyone rich can own our clubs even though in spirit they belong to the fans. And anyone can play for them. The homegrown star barely exists. van Gaal at Manchester United picked a number of sides last season where there was no one who had come through the ranks. He is a great manager but he does not have the Old Trafford traditions steeped in him, like Sir Alex Ferguson did. He respects the traditions of course, but for him it is about winning trophies. And he knows that if he doesn’t win trophies, he won’t be manager for long. So he needs to think short term. He is renowned for giving the kids a chance but he is also pragmatic. If a kid comes through the academy, he might get a game, but not if the manager has already shelled out tens of millions for the finished foreign article.

Below the top of the pyramid, right down to youth levels, the emphasis remains on winning. The FA makes all the right noises but throughout the summer young children will play in tournaments, supported by baying parents and shouty coaches, with one aim: win at all costs. In no circumstances should a boy dribble with the ball or make an expansive pass. Get rid of it, hit the channels.

We can talk about replacing the managers at international level, but then what? I don’t see anyone better or more qualified than Roy Hodgson, although I have major doubts about Gareth Southgate’s credentials. But even those doubts are tempered by the dross from which he has to select from. Multimillion pound dross, I grant you, but dross nonetheless.

Football is almost unique in this country as being a sport where most people only care about their clubs, apart from Rugby League and even League is trying to change the mindset. In cricket, in rugby union it is all about country first. They see the benefits of a successful national team but football is different. The Premier League is hugely popular around the world because it is rather like London: the world in one place. London is in no way representative of Britain but by the same token the Premier League is not representative of English football. They are both worlds of their own.

Arsene Wenger always says that he does not care about the passport of a player when he selects his team, which explains why last year he went back to selecting teams that had not a single Englishman in them. And why should he? Those wealthy enough to get along to the Emirates Stadium (remember Highbury, anyone?) will not give a toss if Wenger picks players from Mars as long as the qualify for the Champions League.

I am in the shrinking minority that does care about England, but I fear that the national side is beyond hope and help. This time next year we will probably have a number of players from League One breaking into the England squad which will almost certainly exit the European Championships at the group stages as per normal.

Won’t we ever moan about that. eh? Then we’ll wait for the new season and celebrate the arrival into the Premier League of the second best left back in Slovenia joining our club ahead of the young lad who has come through the academy.

We’re shit but at least now we know we are.