Rebirth and Decline

Congratulations to the Scotland side who managed to bring back a bit of national pride with their cracking 1-2 victory over Norway the other night. As everyone is saying, Walter Smith and the goals of Wolves striker Kenny Miller have managed to instil some belief and fight into a bunch of guys who were being routinely beaten by nothing nations only a few short months ago. Although qualification for Germany 2006 is probably a bridge too far, it would seem we are back from the brink.

Not so England, our more illustrious cousins. After his first defeat in a qualifier Sven-Goran Eriksson has the English press and a number of fans out for his blood.

England’s problem is that they believe their own hype. European football results do little to bare out the commonly held belief that the Premiership is “the best in the world”. Yet that’s what English football supporters uniformly believe. You just have to listen to the incredulity when one of their teams is defeated (like two were, Liverpool and Blackburn by then Scottish champions Celtic in 2003).

So the fans are living in a dream world. Fair enough; they are fans, they are allowed to dream.

But the players all seem to believe it as well. The England team always give the impression they think they are World Cup winners in waiting, fed by an English press pack constantly telling them how brilliant they are. Again, results have failed to bare this arrogance out, but it's the inevitable consequence of listening to a bunch of sycophantic so-called journalists who know nothing.

A classic example of the kind of media uber-tube I'm talking about is Spoony, a DJ who has inexplicably been given the task of hosting radio football phone in 606 on Radio 5. After the match on Wednesday he cut off a caller who suggested that Paul Robinson should have picked up a throw in instead of lumping the ball up the park:

"Can't do that mate, it would have been a foul. Can't pick up a throw in." Spoony assured him.

Of course, a goalkeeper CAN pick up a throw in, as anyone with even a basic knowledge of football would have known.

So there is part of the problem right there, one of England's foremost football opinion-makers hasn't a clue what he is talking about.

When England deservedly went one down to Northern Ireland on Wednesday, commentator John Motson lasted about 2 minutes before hinting that the manager should be sacked. In his after-match interview with the utterly insidious Garth Crookes, Skipper David Beckham gave Northern Ireland no credit whatsoever. England apparently beat themselves. Baseless arrogance even in defeat, and from players who are nowhere near as good as they think they are.

Watching them flounder against a Northern Ireland side full of the spirit and grit England so sorely lacked was a pleasure. It will be even more satisfying watching them fail yet again in the World Cup, should they eventually qualify.

Why? Because there’s nothing better than watching Billy Big Baws getting a showing up.