Samizdata readers who are bored senseless by team sports can scroll down – Okay, this evening yours truly watched as England’s football team lost 2-3 to Croatia in the qualifying stages of the European Championship to be held next year. As a result of the loss, England will not take part in the competition; England’s manager, Steve McClaren, who seems to be out of his depth in the role, will either resign – not yet at the time of writing – or be sacked. Many of the players, who often earn vast salaries to play for their Premiership teams, played with a lack of guile and commitment that was embarrassing to behold.
I would like to put on an act and claim I do not care about all this, that it is “just a game”, blah, blah, but that would be lying. I enjoy watching football but England’s football team was abject, terrible.
I wonder whether there are every any political or cultural implications of things like this – I am not sure. But the crapness of the football team does rather reinforce the glum mood of this country right now: lost data, Northern Rock and a rapidly cooling economy. Football is the English national game – even more than cricket or rugby union. But it might not stay that way much longer.
The pointy ball team did rather well this year.
And that at least is something to look forward to in these dark days.
There is a simple reason for why they lost: CROATIA HAS A BETTER TEAM.
Resign? He ought to be made to eat his own feet in the centre-circle at Accrington Stanley live on Sky Sports 3.
Quite why they can’t find a good manager for England is beyond me. Every bloke in every pub in the land knows how to do the job!
Why didn’t McLaren start with Beckham? Why did he pick a noobie (debut) in goal for such an important game? Most importantly, why didn’t he play 4-4-2? Every Englishman who has ever played this game at even a remotely seriously level knows 4-4-2. At International level the coach’s job is to analyse the oppo, pick the best players and motivate. All the rest is crap.
As Brian Clough once said: “Players lose you games, not tactics. There’s so much crap talked about tactics by people who barely know how to win at dominoes.”
Still, at least this heaps more pressure on Broon. Silver lining and all that.
Sorry, but I’m thrilled England failed to qualify. The amount of hype we get here in the States over David Spice is sickening, and the BBCWS are almost as bad about any British sporting success.
Ahh, schadenfreude- the last haven of an armchair-general, Ted.
Anyhoo, political implications… Of course there’ll be implications- moreso with Brown at the helm.
First off you have the usual ‘doom and gloom’ reaction of people, which inevitably is taken out on a government in polls- I think ICM, Populus, YouGov and assorted pollsters will be taking the temperature today. It usually mirrors the popular conception that the economy slows down, with retail sectors taking a hit in spending.
Second- and I think this has to be taken in context, particularly- I think Labour’s reaction could be quite drastic to the loss.
We’re in the middle of a bit of a shit storm for the PM, his chancellor and the government. There’s little sign of it abating yet and we all know how Macavity likes to spin his way out of trouble.
At the same time, from what I understand (which isn’t a lot), there’s something of a crisis in English football, with fans bemoaning the quality of players and the game at a national level. Clearly, Something Must Be Done.
My thoughts are that the PM will- misguidedly- perhaps see this as an opportunity to start to talk about ‘doing something’. I think he’d do some kite flying first, rather than come straight out with it (he’s got one eye, not half a brain), but I’d expect something along the lines of throwing more money at sport in schools (yawn) and British Football Players for British Clubs. It’s the last one that I think he will gamble more mileage on and the one that worries me most, but they would both appear to go hand-in-hand with what some of the grassroots football fans have been heard to say now and again. Quite possibly Brown’s chance to ‘save’ English football, in his eyes.
Will any of this happen? No, as I’m usually always wrong.
The way I see it, international football is an anachronism in the modern world. It (i.e. the world cup) was born in the heyday of nationalism and the worldwide rise of socialism – it is a zombie from the early 20th Century staggering on into the 21st Century.
Even if that view about the origins of international football is not true, you need only look at what people in the game today say about it to realise that international football is steeped in socialist ideas of nationalism.
Regular club football in wealthy countries like England is already ‘international’ in more senses than one. Not only are more and more players of foreign nationality, but the top clubs play in European competitions each season and take on pre-season friendly tours throughout Asia and America. Against this background – international football is nothing but a nuisance for players at the top clubs already stretched with the demands of domestic and European competition.
I am a football fan, but of my club side not the national team. I totally lost interest in the England team some years ago when SGE took over as manager. And you can ask my wife for confirmation but I predicted a Croatia victory yesterday afternoon!
Yep Euro 2008, is going to be very low key in the UK, it has amused me for some time, the sheer mindless optimism, that accompanies England to the European and World cups, we seem to have this delusion that we are amongst the favourites, whereas the records suggest generally last eight material at best, (and I always think that last eight is actually pretty good in international footie terms) I think it this delusion that cripples the England manager (who-ever he may be) from day 1.
Mind you a whole bunch of East European nations did get in, so next summer you wont be able to find a plumber, builder or barmaid for love nor money on match days!
Croatia?…………er, wasn’t it a small part of Jugoslavia a while back…………..lovely coast, I remember, Rab & Krk etc. And now they have a football team; interesting. Wonder if they’re any good.
Quite simply we lack the skills to play the game at the highest level in this country.
One thing that always used to drive my late father wild was the fact that British players are almost all unable to kick with either foot. In his day (the 30s) it was a skill which was specifically taught and makes the game much easier if you dont have to manouvre the ball to your “good” foot to take a shot at goal.
I agree. If these bastards get paid £120,000 a friggin week they can bloody well learn how to kick with both feet.
Brazilians agree. I was just listening to a coach on the radio, who in a parody of Peter Cooks last interview has just been saying:-
Up to the age of 14, we teach them just three things-
The ball, the ball, the ball.
Beckham did his job though. Our only decent goal came from his cross, and Crouches good finish. They were the only two on the park earning their money!
permanent expat: the Croats are very good footballers; many of them now play in the English Premier League. Good techique, good passers, aggressive and good as a unit.
Steve, you think English optimism is mindless? You should have been in Glasgow on Saturday afternoon before the inevitable defeat of Scotland by Italy. You’d have thought the Jocks had already won.
I stood behind two blokes in a queue wearing Saltire flags as capes:
“Ma da’s pit a tenner oan.”
“Oan us tae win?”
“Aye. ‘Course oan us tae win.”
“But…”
“But whit?”
“But… well, ah mean… whit if we draw?”
Touching, really.
Wake up, Jonathan! I was writing about England.
permanentexpat, you were being sarcastic, obviously!
Oh dear…..
Irony, Jonathan……Irony.