Well, I’m not a big football fan, but like so many others I enjoy watching the spectacle of the world cup and the excitement of seeing the greatest teams in the world do battle. There are however a few things that I just don’t get no matter how hard I try to see it from other viewpoints.
- England supporters. I can’t see why football brings out such patriotism amongst people who probably don’t even know the words to the national anthem! Surely you’re either proud to be English…or you’re not? Hanging a St Georges cross on your car to demonstrate your support for the England football team and not having it there at other times seems like a cheapening of our heritage doesn’t it?
- Club vs. country. We have what is generally recognised as the best football league in the world. The best teams, the best matches, the best players. So why when it comes to important matches (World Cup, European Cup etc) do our players perform so dreadfully. It isn’t like we don’t have the talent, because we clearly do. We have players within the team that are recognised amongst the best individuals in the world, and they play for some of the best clubs in the world. They work hard on the pitch and play with pride for their club, but put them in an England shirt and it’s a different story. Their work rate reduces, they lose their competitive edge…it’s like they just don’t care.
- Excuses – the ball was too light, the crowd were against us, there was too much pressure, the ref was against us, there was too high an expectation… If the team invested as much effort in playing football as they do making-up excuses we’d be like Brazil!
We make excuses, but all of the other teams seem to cope well enough.
Even when other teams are getting hammered by their opponents it seems like they maintain their spirit and work flat-out right through until the end where as our team looks like it’s given up even if we’re leading!
I don’t profess to be an armchair football manager, but clearly there is something wrong. There’s a motivation lacking from the players and the team (as their has been for many years) and it seems that we just can’t get it back. Perhaps if we had this motivation the supporters would have real pride in the England team again not out of some misplaced belief that waving a flag was their duty but because they were proud to be English.
So, come in England before it’s too late.
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