When England players pull on the shirt they seem to shrink; in other countries the players seem to grow. England’s qualification has been like all the others — a stream of dross/shite fixtures and dross/shite performances.
The national team has no defined playing style, and no fluidity, like Germany, or Spain.
The last batch that came out of the academies of England, which made it big, was “Fergie’s Fledglings”. The current crop of Alli, Stones, Sterling, to name a few, are simply not good enough when measured against their counterparts, from say, Netherlands or Spain.
Also, the English media seriously need to stop anointing every other youngster as a ‘Scholes’ or a ‘Gascoigne’. It is a worrisome thing to pressure a 16 year old who is about to make a debut for his national team and comparing him with legends, only to vilify them later on, when they have a bad game. England has no outstanding players who seem confident or good enough to take the ball forward at speed and take on defenders. As a result, England pass the ball sideways or backwards but are pretty unconvincing going forward. Gareth Southgate seems a decent fella, much liked by all, but is he a big or forceful enough character to motivate an international team?
Don’t hold your breath. If England wins the world cup the Bitter Englishman will come online and do a nice positive video instead of a rant.
