Can England ever win anything?

“It’s coming home, it’s coming home, it’s coming, football’s coming home.” I admit it, I’ve sung it. I sang it at Wembley in 1996 when England beat Holland 4-1 and I’ve sung it in a drunken stupor in my house and at the houses of various friends several times since, usually just before England get beaten on penalties by somebody.

Patriotic

I am patriotic and I would love to see England win something one day. I was four years old when we won the world cup in 1966 so we have won something in my lifetime. The sad thing for me is that try as I might, I just don’t remember it.

The song that I refer to has a line in it that says “Thirty years of hurt haven’t stopped me dreaming.” Well, that is now forty-three years of hurt and the dream still persists even it gets smaller and less clear with every passing tournament.

Emulated

Look, I’d even settle for the under twenty-one team winning something. Last time they were in a big tournament they emulated the senior team by losing on penalties in the semi-final a couple of years ago. Now they are having another go at the European under twenty-one championships in Sweden and before the tournament, as usual in England, hopes were high.

The first game the other day saw England win 2-1 against a pretty average Finland team. The other two teams in their group, Spain and Germany, drew 0-0 but looked to be in a different league to the young English lads.

Grit

Stuart Pearce’s men showed the usual grit, determination and character that you would expect from an England team, particularly one managed by ‘Psycho’ Pearce, as they overcame the first half sending off of Chelsea’s Mancienne, to score the only goal of the second half and pick up the points.

Unfortunately they also showed other things we have come to expect of an England team, a lack of guile, flair, individual ability and that certain ‘X-factor’ that so many players around the world possess.

We would claim that Joe Hart, Micah Richards, Nedum Onuoha, Kieran Gibbs, James Milner, Theo Walcott, Gabby Agbonlahor and others are all exciting prospects in the English game, but once again in international competition they looked less than inspiring.

Battle

Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see these young England lads battle their way to the final and walk away with the trophy, but it saddens me that ‘battling’ is the only way they could possibly do it.

They are never going to outplay Spain or Germany or Italy. Individually, the youngsters of these countries have more basic ability and more flair. I simply don’t understand why that should now be the case as the Academy and Centre of Excellence system has been up and running for several years now. The coaching that young England players receive should be the equal of anything around the world, yet our young players continue to be technically inferior.

Brilliance

In England we have long talked about the brilliance of Steve Gerrard and Frank Lampard. We believe that Michael Carrick, Owen Hargreaves, Joe Cole, David Beckham or Theo Walcott make up a world class midfield that should be winning tournaments. The reality, of course, is that those players coming up against the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Senna, Fabregas and Alonso, are found wanting.

There is no doubt that England has great players but the simple fact is that it is a very long time since they have been great enough. I fear that the current under twenty-one tournament will end up as another ‘good try but no cigar’ affair for the England team and that the excitement building around the current world cup qualifying campaign the senior team are involved in will prove to be yet another false dawn.

Is there any chance that I will experience the joy of England success in my lifetime? The dream is still there but it is fading.