No offence COL but this did prick my ears when I read it: As I said earlier, that's everything that's been wrong with the national team. Supporters still believing that England are in the elite group of international teams when in reality, for decades now, they've simply been a decent team along with the likes of the USA, Portugal, Mexico etc. A good side who on their day might cause an upset. But never up in the heavy weight division with Brazil, Spain, Germany etc. We all want England to do well because she's the only one of our nations that can possibly ever compete at a Championships. However, there's a number of reasons why this MASSIVE Leeds syndrome survives amongst the fans and here's my reasoning: * History. The game was invented in England - or at least codified there - so there'll always be a sense of, for want of a better word, "entitlement" to be at the top table regardless of how far the national team has sunk over previous generations. * The Premier League. While it might not be the best, its certainly the most entertaining league in the World and commands more money from broadcasting corporations and all sorts of other places than any other league on the Planet. It has unparalleled exposure so naturally the England fan is going to subconsciously believe his team must be one of the best, even if all the evidence suggests otherwise. * The tabloid media. Its known internationally that the British tabloid press is in a league of its own when it comes to sensationalism and populism (I should know, I'm a SUN reader!). When you add in its infatuation with celebrity culture and the fact that the PL and its players, management etc are part of that, you get a distorted sense of the abilities of the English players. Its also fair to say that with the amount of foreigners playing for all the top teams, they make the British players in their team look better than they really are. I think most of the fans are slightly delusional just like the Leeds fans I encountered on their Board talking about how they were going to break back into the top four - not of the Championship but of the Premiership!!! They expect far too much and consequently that ends up on the player's shoulders who are simply not good enough for what's expected of them. The supporters should lay off for a decade or two, be more realistic in their expectations and be happy to qualify and if they make it out of the group on occasion then its a bonus.
Sorry but I also have to take our Sword's standpoint on this thread and fully agree with his post66 Yes, very impressive whiskers...
Saying they COULD be the real deal is hardly saying that they are NOW world beaters. Potential I said. Patience I said. I'm out of this one now. The game's long gone.
