The Three Lions are landing back on their home turf today and before they even deplane, the English media will be on them like hounds. Their defeated faces will be splashed across the tabloids with horribly corny puns similar to the one shown in Nike’s ‘Write the Future Ad’.
And the whole country is going to be grilling Capello, the players, FIFA, the location, and even the way the EPL is run. Right now, as I type this, England’s (least) favourite Italian is being questioned with more intensity than the Spanish Inquisition. No surprise. England is going to look for a single scapegoat to bear their string of poor performances and German slaughter. We saw hints of this when Capello swiftly shut down John Terry’s all-team meeting and the English media immediately pounced on Terry in attempts of making him a backup scapegoat—just in case the English lost.
England, I ask you, why can there only be one reason why you failed to revive 1966? Because, really, aren’t a combination of all of the above named factors a reason why you lost?
Capello’s not perfect, that’s a fact. But no one is. Not even Maradona. Sure, he spent too much time trying to find the right starting XI, made some tactical errors, refused to pull out underperforming superstars like Rooney and barely acknowledged the team’s request for Joe Cole to play. But that’s his style. Capello does things his way and while critics may say that he should’ve adopted the less-harsh English method, it probably would have lead to a quicker downfall and probably not a qualifier.
The players are always the hardest and the easiest to blame. The so-called Golden Generation of footballers were supposed to pave the way to a victory that only dreams could concoct. But everybody underperformed. Nobody seemed to have the heart to play. Nobody seemed to want it after Robert Green’s howler. The whole team scored a total of 3 goals. Lampard had arguably the best game of any of the players, but even then, his semi-lackluster performance didn’t debut until the threat of elimination was made very real. Speaking of…
USA fans will forever lament the two discounted goals, but they won’t moan about it nearly as much as England will Lampard’s. The call to FIFA for the inclusion of instant replay and better refereeing will be louder from the British Isles than anywhere else. (Except maybe a jilted Mexico). And with FIFA staying mum on their ref’s performances, it’s not going to make matters any better. To be fair, this is probably England’s best argument for their loss, as an equaliser would have drastically altered the momentum of the second half and prevented such a blitzkrieg.
The environment is always one of the first to be blamed for poor performances: altitude change, a wintertime World Cup, poor pitch conditions, vuvuzelas, etc. I’m surprised the team hasn’t lashed out at the Jabulani ball yet…oh, wait.
The most outrageous argument that has come up thus far has been against the number of foreign players that are allowed to play in the EPL. English players are apparently not getting enough playing time and feel suffocated by the number of foreigners in the clubs. Okay.
When it comes down to it, England have only themselves to blame. Maybe Capello’s no WAGs rule had something to do with it…
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Capello has already blamed “tiredness” for the poor performance, but that has been mocked by the British media because on average the German team played more games last season!
I heard one England fan in South Africa on sky sports news claim that we were beaten by a “bunch of nobodies”. Maybe he missed the Champions League final…? Over arrogance has been one of the main problems, some reality is needed.
Agreed- the BBC or ITV commentators apparently stated early in yesterday’s match that none of the German players could play for England. Those thoughts that come up every major tournament comes from splendid isolation, arrogance and the continued imperial hubris of Englishman in promoting their league, their style of play and their game.
Philip Lahm, Bastian Schweinstager, and Mezsut Ozil would walk into the England side instantly claiming a spot in the starting XI, while several other German players would have a good chance to start as well. Ozil is so good that Germany changed their whole system to accommodate his talents, something I have never seen an English manager do when they have a specially talented player.
More EXCUSES
Rooney and the rest of the English players simply can’t cut it at International level. They play in an overhyped kick and chase league for clubs that are packed with superior foreigners. Without any foreigners we can see how good these English players ‘actually’ are.
Hello Ole,
Those are exactly my thoughts: quality foreigners actually make the English players perform better and look impressive when playing for their clubs. I’ve said it before the World Cup started and some laughed it off. The problem is simple: The Three Lions lack quality players and the one player who truly is quality is Rooney yet he was on vacation before the World Cup even started and I must he is the biggest disappointment in the World Cup so far.
He never tracked back when he lost the ball, he rarely put pressure on defenders and he didn’t get involved at all. I must say he didn’t get many passes from the midfield but still with Man Utd one can see how passionate and hungry he can be. Unfortunately for England he did not display the same grit and hunger!
Finally, Capello is better than all the previous managers England had after 1992. He got the best and most solid qualifying campaign under his belt for England yet at the World Cup quality matters and England were short on talent. It was evident.
No excuses but the disallowed goal made a huge difference: 2-2 at half-time means Germany might not have scored from those 2 counter-attacks. Some also forget Lampard hit the bar.
As has been said by many….their coach refused to make the changes necessary formation wise, the coach made very questionable roster decisions, and the players were good but far from great…..
Hello Eious,
Frankly, the English players are overrated because they benefit from having quality players on the club level and that’s why the EPL is so exciting to watch.
Viewers turned on their TV to watch C. Ronaldo before he moved and then the likes of Drogba, Tevez, Fabregas and others.
I think the biggest disappointment has been Rooney who failed to show up for the WC and played without any passion and showed no fight.
In the last 40 years England’s World Cup record is:
1 time semis
4 times quarter finals
3 times second round
3 times did not qualify
In the same time frame their record in the Euros is:
1 time semi finals
1 time quarter finals
4 times eliminated in the first round
4 times did not qualify
So in their last 21 tournaments they’re as likely to not qualify as they are to make the quarter finals (7 each). Why is anyone surprised they went out in the second round again? Its about par for their history.
The wailing and gnashing of teeth over mediocre England teams every two years gets old. Maybe Euro 2008 was so enjoyable for as an English speaking neutral because we didn’t have to listen to the England hype machine. Cheer up you only have to finish second in a group with Switzerland, Bulgaria, Wales and Montenegro to qualify for Euro 2012.
Mark you got a very good point there: Record speaks volume about a team’s ability and trend over the years.
As I said, I felt those choosing to blame Capello are picking the easy way out because the players on the squad, the effort they gave, the whole EPL structure and the disappointing performances of a particular Rooney were all negative influences which explain England’s exit from the WC.
Capello must share blame but he’s not the only reason for the elimination.
If you need a scapegoat, why not blame Alex Ferguson for pushing Rooney and Ferdinand to play when they weren’t fit, delaying their full recovery? Not to mention destroying Carrick who was a decent player at Spurs and Hargreaves who’s been constantly injured since moving to Old Trafford.
Hi Mark,
Rio’s injury turned England’s defensive line into a weak one comparable to the smaller sides in the tournament as Johnson cannot defend while Terry is past his best.
I think the major disappointment has been Rooney because we did not see the same hunger he displays when wearing the Man Utd shirt.
As I’ve mentioned many times before, the influx of foreigners has hurt the national team. Yes, they make the EPL much more fun to watch but they also cover the deficiences of the English players and take away a spot from a potential England youngster on the club level.