At the risk of invoking a collective sigh of "oh no here we go again" from our readership, it is with a little regret that RTG begins this posting by mentioning the dreaded 1966 triumph. Dreaded, of course, because it is held up there as England's one and only major trophy success and is now 41 years ago. Anyway, there you go we've done it. But we've done it for good reason.
Since that glorious day, generations have passed, whilst only one further plausible attempt at winning prizes has been made – that in Italia ’90. It has felt, at least to us at RTG, like a never ending cycle of supra-hyped up ambition, followed by the inevitable damp squib of a tame exit. As part of that cycle, we of course get a media-led campaign featuring the hard luck stories of those that have had a direct effect on the exit - namely the spot kick fluffers and the usual scapegoat who made a mistake and felt the wrath of a nation come down upon him (usually it seems a Manchester United player). People have talked about systems, tactics, techniques, lack of Englishmen at the top level etc. etc. to explain away these failures. However, there has also been a nagging worry in the subconscious that maybe by the same process in which the British Empire finally extinguished itself in the 1960s, we had also lost the right to consider ourselves as a leading player in the world. So for cultural, historic and characteristic reasons, England was to be, for the foreseeable future at least, confined to ‘also ran’ status. To be mocked by numerically inferior and financially weaker nations, who possessed superior skills and the most vital of ingredients – nerves and will – to win at the highest level.
Well, this weekend’s events showed that we can, as a nation, still stand up and be counted. To put in performances whilst having the odds and expectations stacked against you. No, of course, we’re not referring to England’s comfortable victory over Estonia on Saturday afternoon. Instead, we are referring to the England Rugby team who put in one of those performances on Saturday evening that has stirred the nation. It was a performance which collectively utilised the team’s strengths but, above all, was one of sheer doggedness. They didn’t panic, even as time was ebbing away and their points deficit was so tantalisingly narrow. Breathtaking stuff, and we hope an inspiration for all England teams, whatever sport. It’s a relief to know that the spirit and courage do reside within us. Interesting isn’t it, that like the Football team of 1990, expectations and media hype for the 2007 Rugby team were the lowest ever.
If this all seems a bit hand-on-heart, spirit of the blitz type stuff, there is an important point here. Strip away the so-called 'personalities' who allow the effect on their media persona to influence how they play sport and stick to a basic philosophy of teamwork and determination and it can be done. We don't need to overrate our players or stick them up on a pedestal they can never live up to. The tragedy is that we may never see the like again where the England football team is allowed to act purely for the common good of the sport in isolation of the media and the over-egged expectations of a nation. Perhaps one good example to illustrate this is Steve McClaren's enforced selection of Emile Heskey and Gareth Barry against Israel and Russia last time around. Rather than having all his first-choice 'superstars' available he had to pick players who were eager to play, come-what-may, in a properly thought-out system designed to do a job. And guess what? They played like a team for once having started with fairly low expectations from a media still strangely mourning the absence of the continually ineffective David Beckham.
On a slightly different tack, but related nonetheless, we should mention Scotland here. It is early days yet but few could argue that there has been a significant rebirth of the Scottish national team during this Euro qualifying group. One of the reasons put forward for this renaissance is the collapse of the Sky deal for the SPL. Unlike in England, where foreign players tend to be cheaper than their English counterparts, in Scotland they came at a premium. Consequently, a number of them had to be let go when the Sky money disappeared. But what you got as a result was Scottish nationals being asked to come in and fill the shoes of the foreign players. They got to play competitive football at a higher level more often than before. The result is not necessarily a bunch of more skillful Scottish players, but a group of players used to competing at the highest level, more visible to the national manager and desperate to give their all for their national side. There was no expectation on Scotland to get out of that group. But through teamwork, determination and a desire to give their all when asked, they have taken themselves very close.
Reclaim the Game - The Weekend's Events
Much has been writtern about the artificial pitch that England are having to play their Euro 2008 qualifier against Russia on in Moscow on Wednesday night. Some say it increases risk of injury. Others that the ball does not bounce the same way as it does on grass. Either way, surely it is not right that some teams in the group got to play on grass while England are having to play on the artificial surface. This, quite literally does not ensure a level playing field for all. Russia have known about this fixture for over a year. Surely, their wealthy benefactor, Mr Abramovich, can afford to put in some undersoil heating so the game could have been played on grass. It is not acceptable that UEFA are allowing this fixture to go ahead in this way. Hopefully we will be able to report on Wednesday night that it did not affect England's performance.
Frank Lampard once again came on to boos from a small section of the England crowd on Saturday. You may have your own opinion on whether you think this kind of behaviour is acceptable or not. Firstly, you have to say, it is hard to imagine this having any sort of constructive input to the success of the England team. But, perhaps, the amount of money supporters have to spend to watch football, and the sums of money they see being earned by the players themselves has led to your average supporter feeling that it is their right to abuse players in this way. The problem is that the over anlysis of every aspect of the game in the media today also fuels this kind of over-the-top reaction. Trust us it won't happen, but the powers within the game, and the players themselves, should be constantly reminding themselves that people are more conscious of the money they spend on football these days and whether they feel aggrieved at being booed or not, should not forget that the supporters are the ones who ultimately can make or break the game.
Hats off. Take a Bow (or not!)
Player of the Week - Sean Wright-Phillips. Not for anything particularly special other than for finally making people start to ask, "David Who?". Special mention also to Gareth Barry for showing that players can maintain a dignified silence until asked to do a job for their national side and give it their all when they do. No whinging to the press. No temper tantrums. And no private jets home after being left out on numerous occasions.
Hero of the Week - England Rugby Team. For showing us that England teams can have the mental strength to win important games against the odds and when the pressure is on.
Villain of the Week - Frank Lampard. We've already stated we're of mixed opinion concerning Frank getting booed. But when a football player (and don't forget that is all he is) gets his PR people to insist that he will only give interviews for the non-sporting section of the paper in order to preserve the correct positioning of his image, you do wonder. Add to that the fact that he has to vet the questions first and approve the final article before publication and you can see why people are getting fed up of this sort of bullshit.
Cliche of the Week - Pictures of John Terry in his mask. We've seen this in the past often enough. Gazza, Gary Mabbutt et al all wore them when they had facial injuries. So we get it OK. Can we now dispense with the incessant picutres of [our hero] JT in his plastic mask?!
Shock of the Week - Scotland beating Ukraine to go top of the group. Not a shock particularly the way the Scots are playing just now. More that despite two wins against France, they are still likely to have to get points from Italy to qualify. If they do qualify, they will certainly have earned it.
