The dial of the English sporting pysche has long been preset at 'delusions of grandeur'. As a sporting nation England has much to pride itself on. It is steeped in the history of many of our favourite sporting games and indeed can boast the founding fathers of more than a few too. Unfortunately this is part of the problem for many an English supporter nowadays. Rather than give rise to the gentle awakening of a nations hopes and dreams, the past glories of the English signal the onslaught of more the raucous emotions of expectation and self-entitlement. One need not delve too deep into the annals of time to find a litany of examples. David Haye and Andy Murray, as well as the national teams in football, rugby and cricket provide ample evidence of premature proclamations of greatness. Successive English competitors display great promise, not great achievement. Those of a more forgiving nature may point to Ashes victories, near-perfect qualifying campaigns and RWC performances as a specious counterbalance to the presented argument, but ultimately these are borne out of nothing more than delusion. Nine years ago a proud and fine English team did indeed reign supreme in Australia, but this alone stands as justification of what has otherwise been a bombardment of bluster from supporter and media alike.
England- RWC 2003
The fortunes of the English football team and mood of the nation are permanent bed-mates, such is the importance of the former to the latter. In no other sphere of the sporting world has the cerebral distortion outlined above been more prevalent. As major competitions have come and gone so too have average teams, poor performances and of course the now customary solution; the great and omnipotent inquest. Only during these months of fastidious research does the hiatus of the general public come about, and the brief respite for those of us looking in from afar present itself. Of late ,though, one feels the mood has changed a little and the thirst for unlikely glory been quelled somewhat. Repetitive evidence to the contrary of one's held beliefs is always likely to induce a period off re-appraisal. Coupled with Fabio Capello's untimely resignation in February and the internal strife which forced him to take such a course of action, the pysche of the English is markedly altered from even two years previous at the World Cup in South Africa. If there were a tagline for preparations in the English camp thus far it would be 'no expectations'. It has nearly become the mantra of the players and has been adopted by the media with equal readiness. A welcome change, say the playing staff led by captain Steven Gerard. And not before time, the writer would venture to add. The current culture of, at best, reserved optimism has somewhat of an eerie feel about it however. A mere temporary abatement, the eye of the storm if you will. Should qualification from one of kinder groups at these championships be secured, prepare yourself. The welcome lack of expectation may transform from a simple by-product of the preparation process to the altogether more daunting catalyst for another array of prophecies as to the chances of success.
Regardless, the English have good players. They always have good players. At these championships they do pose a threat, and are capable of going far should they succeed in forming a coherent team unit which for once is greater or at least equal to the sum of its parts. The air of calm surrounding the team must be a welcome addition to preparation and as such it is reasonable to expect this is a happier camp than on previous occasions. All bodes well for a good run to the knockout stages, and in reality this is somewhat of a 'free-hit' for Roy Hodgson. He has as close to nothing to lose as makes no difference. Little is expected and so should his team board an early flight home, the backlash will be far weaker than before and he will be given time to build his own team regardless. Should, however, an unlikely victory be achieved Hodgson and his charges will return national heroes.
Roy Hodgson
It is for this reason I find Hodgson's apparent outlook baffling. He is presented with the greatest opportunity of his career at these championships; to make a team currently viewed as a group of underachieving misfits into champions of Europe. The recent withdrawal of Gary Cahill raises some serious questions as to how ruthless Hodgson is prepared to be in achieving this goal. Martin Kelly has been drafted into the squad as Cahill's replacement.
Gary Cahill was ruled out following a clash in warm up game vs. Belgium
On the surface Hodgson's choice may be justified. After all the English public have oft willed management to disregard the older members of this squad in recent years, and instead give youth a chance. Hodgson has now done so. The problem however, is that nobody in their right mind can claim that Kelly has earned his call up over Rio Ferdinand for "football reasons"as Hodgson has claimed. Through whichever rose tinted spectacles you care to peer, Ferdinand is simply not an inferior player to Kelly. The United man has been in exceptional form since half way through the season and played the last 16 games of the Premier League. Omitting him on form or indeed fitness simply does not add up. Building for the future is all well and good but the immediate future is Euro 2012. You are at a major tournament, you simply have to give yourself the best chance you can to win. You do this by picking the best players available, and Hodgson has not done so. His hands may be tied by the presence of Terry in the squad, but this simply exposes the foolhardiness of picking the Chelsea captain in the first place. Ferdinand, for my money has been in better form than Terry, certainly seems less disruptive and was never going to pose such problems as having to call up a right back with two minutes international experience to cover a central defensive injury.
While Ferdinand and his representatives have been accused of sour grapes over the issue, the veteran defender is more than entitled to feel aggrieved.
A partnership we will not see at Euro 2012.
What has struck me most about the issue is not particularly Ferdinand's omission but the wider context in which the decision has been made. The English, long accused of over confidence have apparently come full circle. Before they expected to conquer all before them and obnoxiously told the world as such, and while the bubuzelas of South Africa might not have drowned out such cocksure claims, the performance of superior teams eventually reduced them to a whimper. Approaching Euro 2012 expectations have been reset and the shouting of the rooftops approach conspicuous only in its absence. Unfortunately, no honourable alternative has arisen. Instead their new manager has the contempt to treat the European Championships as an exercise in evasion. The consequences of his decision may seem minimal, but the idea it represents is much larger. His actions have reduced the promise of a new beginning and accompanying hunger of his players to what is now fast becoming a training exercise for players less deserving than others.
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