40 Years of Hurt Never Stopped Me Dreamin' (England National Football Team)

Member Name: marandina

Product:	England National Football Team
Date:	27/10/05 (391 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Best Team We've Had In Ages

Disadvantages: Tactical Flaws

If there’s one thing that’s remained consistent in my 40 years on this ‘ere planet of ours it’s the almost certainty of the England football team being, at best, brave losers. Sadly, I wasn’t old enough to remember the glory days of the ’66 World Cup Final win (I was only 1!) and even the histrionics of the 1970 finals in Mexico passed me by. Still, being 2-0 down against Germany only to subsequently blow the game 3-2 courtesy of "Der Bomber" (Gerd Muller) was probably one I would have preferred to miss anyway *sigh*

I do hanker for a WC Final win by the English team. I mean we all saw the impact that the rugby team's sterling performances in the World Cup down-under had on the country and even the recent Ashes win in the cricket had a disproportionate impact on the country (who can forget the impressive coverage of the session that went on for hours after the series had finished?). I guess my 2 greatest sporting desires would be see the mighty Aston Villa win their first FA Cup final since 1957 (I was at Wembley for the 2000 final against Chelsea but I prefer not to remember it) and to see England win the World Cup finals. Strangely, most of my mates would rather see their clubs do well than see England prosper but for me the national team come first.

Over the years there have many highs and lows. I can remember Ray Wilkins getting sent off in Mexico; a seemingly disastrous 0-1 defeat to a poor Portugal side; the frustration of being eliminated at Wembley in 1973 after a 1-1 draw against Poland and that earth-shattering defeat in the 1990 semi-final against...yessiree...Germany (again!). With that you have to balance the highs which would be that 1990 tournament where Bobby Robson stumbled upon a playing formation that nearly took us all the way; the brilliant Euro Championships in England in 1996 and all the victories over the Scots during years gone by. I can still recall getting hammered (loik) in a pub in the centre of Birmingham as the boys whipped the Dutch Masters 4-1 and it really was just like watching Brazil for a change (the SAS - Sheringham and Shearer were on fire that night).

That brings us to present times. I have to say, I was one of those people delighted at the appointment of Sven Goran Eriksson. I honestly believed it was about time we grew up and stopped insisting that the national coach had to be English. All of those doubts in the xenophobic media were laid to rest on the night we won 5-1 in Germany. I mean, how brilliant was that night if you were a long-suffering England fan? Sven duly took us into the world cup finals in Japan and Korea and we made the quarter-finals…as usual. A good win over Denmark (even if the keeper had a mare). It really was tough watching us take the lead against the mighty Brazil only to blow it just before half-time and then watch Seaman get done from the half-way line ("Ronaldinho from the half-way line" doesn't have the same chanting quality as "Nayim from the half-way line" does it?). Lets face it, the Brazilians ran rings around us after that goal went in and if ever we were more toothless than that then I simply don’t recall.

This qualification has been relatively easy. Apart from a truly dreadful performance in Belfast (with no disrespect to the Irish who played well) then we’ve had few alarms. Form up until the Austria and Poland games hadn’t been great but then the performance against Poland was much improved. What worries me about all this is the place of David Beckham in the scheme of things. It was mainly his bizarre “quarter-back” role that had de-railed things in Belfast and he hasn’t had a truly good game in quite some time. I honestly believe that his commitment isn’t what it was with all of the other things he gets involved with and it was great to see the other midfielders finding their form again in the absence of Golden Balls. We really do have a world-class midfield, what with Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard at the hub of things and Wright-Phillips is thriving following his move to Chelsea.

As for the other positions then things aren’t so clear cut. We still lack a genuinely left-sided midfielder. Opinion is divided on Joe Cole but, for me, he is a world-class player or, at least, should be. He can change a game with a flash of skill that other players haven’t got and since his move to Chelsea, Mourinho has managed to teach him the art of tactics that was missing before. Anyone that saw him play for Chelski against Real Betis can only have been impressed by his form. The insurmountable problem for Cole is that he is right-footed! So we are left with the issue of who can play out on the left that won’t keep cutting infield? Gareth Barry hasn’t shown international form for a couple of years now and Downing at Middlesborough is inexperienced. For me, I’d love to see Ashley Cole converted into an attacking midfielder. Sure, he’s an outstanding full-back but he would be brilliant in the middle if we started working on it now.

Defence looks good with John Terry, Sol Campbell and Rio Ferdinand all capable of holding their own against the very best. My only concern is John Terry’s poor performance against Portugal in the recent Euro championships. For me, he defended too deep as the game wore on and cost us the eventual equaliser. I’m sure he’s learned from that since but the other 2 have been there and done it so I reckon they have to start the tournament in Germany. Robinson in goal goes without saying after having suffered at the..erm...hands of "Calamity" David James over the years both for England and during his time at Villa (flippin' butter fingers in that 2000 FA Cup Final...grrrrrrrr).

Up front we have 2 world-class talents in Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney. Maradona has been quoted only today as saying England have the best chance of the European teams and that is down to Rooney’s form. He goes onto to say he needs the beast to remain within otherwise he won’t be the same player. I have to disagree with the Argentinean porker (sorry, how can I forgive him for the “Hand of God?”) as he can’t do much for the team sitting in the dressing room having been sent off again! However, cover up front looks dodgy. Resorting to playing Peter Crouch as a plan B is plain ludicrous. I saw the glorified window cleaner at the Villa many times and he is no England International!! The crowd down the Holte End used to call him Rodney after the thin, strip of wind in “Only Fools and Horses” so it makes me smile when I see him lurch about the pitch in an England shirt.

So can we win next year? I’ve been an optimist as long as I can remember and always think we can win. My biggest concern this time around is Sven’s tactical savvy. Basically, he hasn’t had any for the last few months and we seem bereft of ideas if anything goes wrong. Of course, you can take this back all the way to the feeble way we succumbed to Brazil in 2002 and so it’s hard to assume that it’s a recent phenomena or down to the current crop of England players. This is the best group of lads I’ve ever seen playing for our country. Like I said at the start, I was too young to see Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters, Jimmy Greaves, Nobby Stiles et al. If only someone could emulate them one day.

I’d love to know YOUR thoughts.

Thanks for reading

Marandina

Summary: Memories of the England Footie Team over the Years