It’s been 10 eventful days since I returned from Manila. On the blogging front, it has been a total silence, not helped by an especially nasty bout of flu and the throat infection that followed. Body breaks down (recovered generally), mind breaks down (still recovering), mobile phone goes to the shop (back in working order), home desktop PC dies (still at the shop), and one other big change in my life which I shall no discuss here.
What I would like to talk about is the football team I have supported since I was 10 and have come to a point of deciding I have just about had enough of them – the England national team, the entire set-up around it, have just got to be the biggest joke ever seen. And you don’t even have to be in England to realise how bad it is.
This morning, at the unGodly hour of 4am, I got up to watch the so-called Three Lions host Croatia at the new Wembley. What transpired over the next two hours was nothing short of laughable – a totally inept display with no passion, no organisation, no drive, no ideas – it’s the very lack of ideas that make me wonder why every week these guys are looked upon as heroes by millions of fans across Asia.
To start with, England should never have been in this position – how many bites of the cherry does one get? After the ineptness of their early qualifying performances, they went to Moscow looking to earn a point that will make their final match against Croatia easier. They failed. Relying on Israel to do them a favour, England somehow got that lifeline they were seeking when Israel did indeed beat Russia, which left them the task of at least earning a draw – at home – against Croatia. And they failed, miserably.
WHY??? I put the blame squarely on the fat cats at Soho Square. Not only does Steve McClaren need to step down (or be sacked), those people that put him there also need to go. For their lack of ability to make the right decisions and make the tough calls for the betterment of the game, those at the FA need to fall on their swords, and NOW. You know that makes sense.
