Kevin Whitcher
Well, well, well. There is only one place to start really isn’t there? Nice yesterday evening. Woy’s last stand. And proof positive that the last two years at international level, have been wasted, and that Hodgson should have been given his P45 after the disaster in Brazil. Although I have few doubts the online soccer odds on an Iceland win in 90 minutes would have been fairly generous, at the end of the day, can anyone really say they were surprised by England’s abject failure? In comparison, the failures under Sven Goran Eriksson begin to look like positive triumphs, losing in three consecutive quarter finals to decent opposition, twice via penalty shoot-outs.
However, Iceland. What can you say? Described as the worst England performance in years, although I can recall a good number that felt pretty similar. But on the national humiliation scale, it’s right up there with Italy losing to North Korea in 1966. Or, indeed England losing to the USA in 1950. There is no hiding from this. As long as anyone reading this is alive, the defeat will be recalled when sporting humiliations are the topic of the day. A population of less than 350,000 people. And fair play to them. They have not progressed through the tournament because of good luck. They have earned their last eight spot. Certainly, their football has technical limitations. Barcelona they ain’t. But in tournament football, winning, or at least not losing, matches is what counts. No-one has beaten them so far.
As for England, I caught a little of the post-mortem. Roy Hodgson does not know his best team or formation. Actually, I am uncertain this is totally true. From what I can see, the defence and midfield was always going to be what it was in terms of personnel, with Rooney as one of the advanced midfielders. To these eyes, the only real questions were which three he would play up front and which one of them would be central.
So I don’t buy into this idea that the team was not settled. Sure, decisions needed to be made up front, but the base of the team, it’s solidity, was in place, with players good enough to actually give the attackers a solid foundation. However, the reality is that they were woeful last night. Did not perform. And as a consequence, two goals were conceded and England go home.
Jack Wilshere was thrown on for Eric Dier at half-time. Fair enough in that Iceland rarely ventured forward after the interval. But what did Jack bring to the party? I accept that he is not fully fit, but even so. I fear this is a player who has shot his bolt, for whatever reason. The talent we saw when he was 17 just seems to have completely disappeared. I am far from convinced he will ever recapture what it is that made Roy Hodgson take him to France, certainly with any level of consistency. One that might have been. If Arsenal were to announce he had been sold tomorrow, I really cannot say I would be particularly bothered. Hodgson’s biggest mistake last night was not putting Marcus Rashford on 20 minutes earlier, as here was a player willing to take defenders on with some success, unlike his more experienced colleagues.
When Roy Hodgson delivered his resignation speech instead of taking questions at the post match press conference, I can only imagine he had it prepared well in advance. When he stated of the players, “They've been fantastic and they have done everything that has been asked of them,” I had to wonder whether he had been wearing a blindfold during the match against Iceland.
I cannot get worked up about the national team. They are the gift that keeps on giving, a constant source of amusement. I never expect anything from them in a major international tournament and they rarely disappoint. They do make tournaments more interesting because of the pantomime element. Euro 2008 was a lesser tournament, in terms of drama, for their absence. The drama of their opening two matches at the last World Cup was thrilling.
Of course, talk now turns to the next England manager and the latest odds suggest that money has been pouring in on Gareth Southgate, presumably based on some inside info. That would be about right. An Englishman, and a guarantee of further tactical mediocrity. Nice guy. Diplomat. But a motivator? A top class tactician? ITV dropped him because he was too dull. As for insight, I rarely saw much of that, and even if he had it, that does not guarantee you can get players doing what you want, as Gary Neville will testify. I’d give Glenn Hoddle another shot myself. If only because he did seem to get the country playing some decent winning football, falling short at his only tournament opportunity because of the naivety of David Beckham.
Anyway, there are seven other matches to express my thoughts on, but I will save that for tomorrow. Things are shaping up nicely though, and at least there is no need to put restrictions on the sale of alcohol anymore…
‘Please don't take me home’? – after that performance, more a case of ‘I’m an England supporter, get me out of here!’ for those who were in the south of France. Fortunately, after my 12 day excursion during the group stage, I am back home and have enjoyed the eight knockout games so far from the comfort of the sofa.
