Truemors
England lost to Russia yesterday in a humiliating defeat before 87,000 ecstatic Russian fans. The score was 1-2 and maybe should have been 1-1, if it were not for a controversial penalty assigned to Russia.
The deeper impact of this game however, is now becoming clear. Russia is almost certain to qualify for the EURO 2008 tournament if it defeats Israel on November 17th, and will simultaneously knock England out. If England miss the tournament, the equivalent of the World Cup for European nations, it will mean that England have not won a major International Cup since 1966.
The English tabloids had a field day today, blaming the team, the management, injuries, and giving praise to Russia and its new coach, Guus Hiddnik. But the media also started to look deeper at the persistent problem of English performance at the International level. It is now questioning if allowing only 37% of English players to start in English Premiership games should not be challenged. Questions abound about why World Class players like David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, and many others can not put together a winning international campaign.
International success for England has been non existent for 41 years and counting. “If you look over the years we have not been successful. There is something deeper than just the manager," Graham Taylor, former England boss, told journalists recently. He is of course right, and the Football Association is taking notice.
"In 10 years' time, you don't want us just being pleased to qualify for tournaments," warned Sir Trevor Brookings, director of FA Development. Ten years may be optimistic, England would be pleased if the team qualified for EURO 2008, and if Russia has anything to say about it, in a month England will have plenty of free time to work on new player and team development strategies.
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