Well my optimism was unfounded. I was of the belief that we improve sufficiently to go out heroically in the Quarter Finals to Argentina, as we did in Mexico 86. But, apart from a 15 minute spell midway through the Germany game, we just didn't get going. Why?
Wayne Rooney. That is the sole reason we didn't perform. I am not blaming Rooney but, it shows how reliant we are for him to play at his peak every game. He had his foot injury in March/April and has not been allowed to fully recover. Watch him play and see how he is more careful with his tackles. How he nearly always has a slight limp after a challenge. Other players didn't play to near their best but if Rooney under performs then the rest of the squad are like headless chickens.
Radio 5's Danny Baker came up with the quote of the tournament:-
'We are not playing well enough to go home yet'. What a peach. How true that is for most tournaments. We play our best game and also get knocked out on pens or some other heart wrenching way. This time we didn't have that last great game to remember the tournament fondly.
How often has it been said that we have the best players in the world and the Premier League is also the best in the world too. Well, the best overseas players are obviously making the English players look better than they are. Maybe even carrying some. But, reducing the amount of foreign players in the Premier League, won't make our National squad any better. I believe we need to lower our expectation as a nation, then when we get a 1 - 0 win over teams like Slovenia, we will have something to cheer.
The sad thing about this World Cup, is that France and Italy are already out and Germany were there for the taking. One big missed opportunity.
Roll on the European Championships.
