Sadly Predictable
There’s something both touching and pathetic about England’s relationship with its football team. On the one hand, the media builds up huge expectations and on the other, the team’s performance is almost always substandard.
Anyone watching England’s games in this competition over the last few weeks would not have been brimful of confidence regarding their further progression. The players are certainly capable of better but seem completely bereft of any motivation every time they put on an England jersey.
And so it was yesterday at a match that should have been the pinnacle of a footballer’s career we saw the usual execrable performance - lack of commitment, poor positioning, poor tackling etc. etc. It’s no use blaming the manager, there’s something systemically wrong with the team itself and no guarantees that if you condemned the rest of this pitiful bunch to the bench, you’re not going to end up with the same woeful performance from another team.
It’s also a waste of time blaming the poor decision making of the officials but at this level, it’s insanity not to employ the same technology that is used in other sports. Even with this, the score would still have been 4 - 2.
The latest in a depressing string of mediocre performances stretching back decades and yet the players are not about to commit seppuku (as they deserve to) but rather refer to the game as an ‘off day’. I feel for sorry for the fans who spent hard earned cash to see their team. Perhaps next time that England play an international, no-one turns up.