Of course, we have all been here so many times before that it should not be a shock or a surprise. The England team enter a major football tournament with hopes of reaching the latter stages and we even dare to think that it could be 1966 again but deep down we know that is unrealistic and we will settle for a heroic failure in the Quarter-Finals.
But 2010 episode of this long-running saga was a horror show. England left at the last sixteen stage after one of the limpest concessions ever see. Forget Lampard's "phantom" goal, which could well have swung the balance in England's favour for a while but can you really imagine this team managing to seize control of a game, especially against a German side who showed how togetherness and skill can be natural bedfellows, whereas England seem to think that these two attributes are mutually exclusive. Mind you, one in isolation would have been good. Capello's team in South Africa were disjointed, untogether (there are a variety of stories circulating about friction in the camp but regardless of true cause, they never showed any unity or sense of purpose) and prone to costly mistakes.
The little Englanders will point to the foreign coach and nod sagely that this will never work until we get an Englishman, preferably with St. George tattooed on his chest, back at the helm. It has to be admitted that Capello made some errors, (he was in good company) but the root of our problems lie far deeper than the nationality of the coach. The coaching system in this country is a shambles - there are plenty of people going through various FA Coaching levels but they are being taught the same old system by the same old coaches. Having been through Level 1 and known a few who have progressed further it is abundantly clear that the English coaching system is flawed as it is one dimensional, unimaginative and ultimately not likely to produce good enough coaches at the top.
We need to take a root and branch approach to the whole area of coaching. Be brave, be bold. Rip it up and start again. But this will not happen as there are too many vested interests involved. The FA has never been a forward-looking organisation and one cannot imagine they are going to start now. To rid ourselves of all the conservative traditions and staid people who are holding English football back, will require a strong person who has the requisite vision and tenacity. A figure such as Henry V or Churchill. At least they were English.
