Out of the EU and out of the Euros. A theme seems to be running through England this past week; out of Europe (twice), no Prime Minister, no England manager, no leadership. I had a sense of Deja Vu as Roy Hodgson emerged from the changing rooms with his pre-prepared resignation letter to announce that he felt he was no longer the right man to lead the country forward. Hodgson let his head hang in shame shame as he read the empty words he had prepared for himself and then left without so much as a backwards glance.
England started in an exciting manner, the temporarily rejuvenated Sterling earning a penalty which Rooney tucked into the corner. The players then seemed to remember that this is England and self imploded spectacularly. One long throw and a weak shot later and England are trailing, to Iceland.
No disrespect to Iceland, they were the better team and deserve to go on to face France in the Quarter finals. However, Iceland are a nation without a professional football league and a team of England's size and stature should have progressed with relative ease. Yet they didn't, why?
Pressure is a word often associated with England in their seemingly endless cycle of failure and disappointment; pressure from the media, pressure from their clubs, the pressure they put upon themselves. But do we really think the French or the Italians or the Germans feel it any less? I think not. England looked like a team that had ran out of ideas.
England have lost their identity. There is no continuum, no recognisable style of play. They were disjointed and lethargic, unable to string passes together, and when passes did reach their mark, they slid under foot again and again.
England need a plan, a system. We tinkered from a diamond 4-4-2 in qualifying to a 4-3-3 in the tournament. We seem so scared to get things wrong that it's impossible for it to go right. The players seem to possess a mentality that inhibits them from playing when they switch their club kits for the national one. We continually produce players that can continually produce brilliance for their clubs, yet these same falter for England against lesser opposition.
English football is a confusing conundrum, a conundrum Hodgson deemed to confusing to solve. The 'poisoned chalice' of football is yet again up for grabs. Hodgson's successor, whoever he may be, faces a truly daunting task. England have a multitude of problems to overcome if they are to be successful.
It's now been 50 years of hurt since England last lifted a trophy, it doesn't look like football's coming home anytime soon.
Source: DSG
