After Euro 2000, the German FA felt such shame at their nation's abysmal performance that they performed an entire overhaul of their football system in order to avoid failure again. England have no such intent. A shrug of the shoulders; an, "I say Alfred, that was a dashing poor performance from whatshisname, wasn't it?" accompanied by some fervent finger wagging before the maid enters the room with at the tea trolley; that's probably a pretty good estimation to the response from the English FA. As a nation, we have to feel ashamed of the state of our international team. We should be so embarrassed that we take a serious vow to change - and then we should actually change. When Brazil dominated the world with flair, their children trained on sandy beaches with tennis balls. When Spain were an unstoppable force, their children has been playing on small pitches and had the tickatacka passing style drilled into them. The unrelenting, mechanical efficiency of the Germans now is underpinned by their children playing on small pitches and trained to play in multiple positions. In England, our children are hoofing the ball on a full sized pitch and chipping the 5"2 goalkeepers who can't reach the crossbar. England has to change. It must decide on the national style and it must develop that style throughout the grassroots world. It has to target 2026 as the next winnable World Cup.
I have been described as a sportsman with the brain of an athlete and the body of a scientist. Since it was established that playing wouldn't work out for me I have taken to writing.
