It was "England expects" "wot" lost it

I had visions of writing a panegyric about the England football team this morning but they lost again, to Italy, in a penalty shoot-out in the Euro 2020 championships.

The team and their coach and manager should not be blamed. They got to the final and drew at both full and extra time. Surely, there is case for sharing the title when the final is a draw, just like a cricket series or a British and Irish Lions series - honours can be even. But, of course modern commercial and nationalistic instincts dictate that there must only be one winner.

There were some disturbing aspects to the latest football competition.

Football is not the most important game in the world. In my opinion Rugby is; I have been to a number of Rugby World Cup championships.  The supporters put the sport above most other considerations, the aggression only happens on the pitch but in a controlled way. The supporters do not cry into their beer if their team loses and do not become euphoric and silly if their team wins. The supporters, from every competing country, meet without rancour and racism. Rugby Football is a complete contrast to  Association Football in this respect. There is some of the "Corinthian spirit" left.

There is this dreadful attitude amongst some Football supporters and the media that England expects a win and that England is entitled to win. The team is lauded if it wins and is traduced if it loses.  The media piles pressure on the team. Gareth Southgate, the coach, was featured throughout the contest missing a penalty in 1996 and was unjustifiably blamed for an England defeat. The young players who missed penalties in the latest game will now be featured relentlessly in play backs and be blamed unjustifiably for another defeat.

 The "England expects" attitude is exacerbated by corrosive nationalism whipped up by the media. This has encouraged the more lunatic fringe of so called England "supporters" to indulge in violence amongst themselves, harassment of the children of  Danish supporters, booing the national anthems of opponent teams, booing when Italy took their penalties, shining laser beams in the eyes of the opposing team and probably the worst aspect of it all - racism and the abuse that it generates.

How can a team be expected to perform at its full potential when they see these shameful events happening before their eyes, whilst unprotected from the media attention and opprobrium from some quarters.

The young men who missed their penalties have been exposed to extreme pressure. They knew that they could not afford to miss because of the abuse that they would be subjected to, and the attitude that they are only true Englishmen when they score goals but are foreigners when they miss. These men pushed themselves to their limits  to do their best for their parents, communities and, dare I say it, their country; so probably the pressure prevented them from performing as they would have done on the training field. The press and media are now pressurising them further by repeatedly showing what happened. Anyone who is interested in football saw what happened and there is no need to show it again.

We have seen how the blatant nationalism spoils the chances of other British or English hopefuls. The young lady who performed so well in the Wimbledon championships was exposed to extreme pressure from the media and the adoring public. This caused her to show all the symptoms of a panic attack with breathing difficulties, whilst playing a match, after the pressure became too much for her. This ruined her match and performance on the day and it could ruin her promising sports career. 

You do not become a top Football  or Tennis player because you are British or English. You do it by developing your talents and working hard. Nationality does not confer rights upon you and, nationality should confer no obligations upon you to perform in a certain way. British or English nationality does not entitle you or any one else to win or gain privileges. The only thing that British or English nationality should guarantee is basic human rights and respect for everyone despite the colour of their skin or their background.

There is a Football World Cup competition around the corner. English football will be relying upon the same players to do well. The competition will be stronger with Brazil and Argentina added to the equation. If the public want the English team to do better then the abuse and triumphalism will have to stop and, the pressure on the team and their manager will have to be projected into a different direction. The "England expects" attitude will have to be dropped. All the players should be given respect. The media will have a huge part to play to relieve the pressure on the team by not incessantly replaying missed penalties and mistakes. 

If you want to give England a fair chance of winning then please cool it, after all its only a game and the sport itself should be bigger than any individual player, supporter or nation. Let's not miss the point again.