Sean McGuire: What do England fans base expectations on?

Nov 29 2007 by Sean McGuire, Liverpool Daily Post

BOOING used to be reserved for villains – real or pantomime – so it is bemusing that so many people jumped on the bandwagon last weekend.

That the England team under-performed collectively against Croatia in missing out on qualifying for Euro 2008 may appear to be obvious.

But what is also obvious is just how ludicrously inflated opinions are of England’s standing in the world game.

The oldest member of the England squad at Wembley was 37-year-old David James.

Since he was born in August 1970, just weeks after England’s quarter-final defeat to West Germany in that year’s World Cup, there has been precious little for fans and players to be inspired by or to base their optimism on.

England’s record in the European Championship in James’s lifetime makes depressing reading: did not qualify, did not qualify, round one, did not qualify, round one, round one, semi-finals, round one and quarter-finals before the latest did not qualify was added to the list last week.

And in the six tournaments that England did qualify for, they have won just six matches. France have won seven matches in the last two tournaments alone.

The last six tournaments have seen 10 different countries compete in the final, with only Germany and France making a return visit.

Yet we still cling to the notion that we are one of the best countries in Europe.

As a country we need to reassess our position in the football world order and accept that our self-view would be unrecognisable almost anywhere else in the world.

England may have given football to the world, but it will need to learn some humility before it has a chance of staking a claim to be part of the playing elite once more.

Gone but not forgotten >>>