We learnt nothing from England’s World Cup exit in Brazil, at least nothing new.
The media are experts in hypocrisy when it comes to reporting on England. Whilst members of the press rightfully label England now to be in a ‘new era’, some members of the press themselves would not be doing any harm in conforming in this new era in their journalistic styles.
When it comes down to it, the onslaught of mainstream media outlets and newspapers in particular need a story to report on. Unless England somehow manage to win an international tournament, it is – and always will be – far more easy to be critical. Take Jack Wilshere smoking, Wayne Rooney being shamelessly scapegoated in Brazil or any other scandal and the media jump on it willingly, destroying the reputation of those they claim they want to succeed.
Of course, this is unsurprising. Since 1966 England have been consistent in failure, falling short of ridiculous expectations year after year. Fans of England are now used to begrudgingly removing overly-optimistic flags from cars, embarrassed in even believing things could go well. The media themselves have a two week mourning period where ‘the experts’ tell us with the wonderful tool of hindsight exactly what went wrong. And finally and most predictably round about now we get our hopes up for the ‘new era’ with European Qualification firmly in sight.
It’s a strange cycle which nobody really enjoys but of which everyone manages to be a part.
We would like to think lessons have been learnt. We would like to think we have concrete ideas which can be built upon and help move the nation forwards miraculously. What we wouldn’t like to think about is the copious amounts of effort it takes to improve. This, in essence, being the most important untaught lesson of all. Very few acknowledge the root of the problem, preferring to gloss over the attitude of rolling your sleeves up and addressing the extremely tough job that lies in wait. This being improving grassroots football in England, in particular the way players are developed.
Take Holland, one of many surprise packages of the World Cup. Then add a youth system like the one in Ajax. Then begin to look at the root of the problem. England are years behind. Currently a youth system near the standard of the one in Ajax is non-existent and even if you do look to emulate it, a rival nation has acted first, a distinct disadvantage. Does England get young, good quality players through academies? Yes. The ‘class of 92’ being a prime example. It is infrequent though to see batches of players come through in this way. There are other issues that need addressing yes, but if you have a strong foundation in place success is likely to follow.
Another lesson which this summer has received some of the more valuable media spotlight is players, or the lack of them, who play abroad from England. Ashley Cole, ironically a player left out of the squad and unlikely to make a return is one of the few to buck the trend, moving to the Italian giants Roma this summer. Micah Richards headed off to fellow Italian side Fiorentina on loan too, again being one of the few.
The problem with the lack of players playing abroad is simple. Different countries and their respective league have completely different styles. These styles are incorporated in International tournaments and whilst the opposition will be familiar with how English football is played, England are merely using guesswork in comparison to their opponents. Ashley Cole suggested English players fear venturing abroad and maybe he’s right. If in time more players can take the leap of faith and find suitable teams in different leagues, this can only be a positive and would be welcomed by the coaching staff as an extra tactical advantage to fall back on.
The good news, however slim it is, is that improvements are being made on the grassroots front if nothing else. Although only established in 1998, Manchester City’s youth academy acts as a beacon of hope. With some of the clubs millions pumped into it, it has drastically improved and is creating vital opportunities for young aspiring talent. There are others in the Premier League trying too, but English talent needs to be developed across the board, these are the logical first steps to improvement. The reality though? Right now, England are playing catch up.
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