An undeniable stench of pompousness and gluttony

The second half of last week’s Brighton vs Carlisle game offered some of the most entertaining football I’ve witnessed for a long time. The guile and determination shown by the both League One sides was the complete opposite of what was on display at Wembley a few days earlier when the England players pathetically blew the opportunity to qualify for Euro 2008 even though it had been handed to them on a plate.

I never thought Steve McClaren was the right man for the job. He made some dismal decisions and didn’t get anywhere near the best out of players like Gerrard, who would walk into almost every international team, but it is all too easy to lay the blame for England’s failure solely at his door. Similarly, while the players must shoulder their share of the blame, it would be foolhardy to simply make scapegoats of Scott Carson, Wayne Bridge et al and then blindly hope that they will play better under a new manager. To get to the very heart of the matter, English football needs to take a long, hard look in the mirror.

Okay, so considering that we’ve only won one major trophy (nearly half a century ago), maybe we should accept that England isn’t as great a footballing force as we imagine it to be, but when supporters are asked to pay extortionate amounts for tickets while players take home a hundred grand a week and a hopeless manager can pocket a £2.5m pay off, is it any wonder that the country is fuming at a team that can’t even beat the likes of Macedonia?

The feeling of disillusionment will continue until the English game learns a little humility. In a culture where Premiership players seem to be celebrities first and footballers second, English football is eating itself from within. The Premiership is certainly pretty to watch, yet it carries with it an undeniable stench of pompousness and gluttony.

I don’t completely buy the popular notion that foreigners are ruining the English game (I’m sure that playing with and against the likes of Dennis Bergkamp for all those years can only have been of benefit to England’s players), but it is worrying that, according to FA Director of Football Development, Trevor Brooking, the academies aren’t bringing through much home-grown talent. Will we do any better when trying to qualify for the next world cup?

It will take a cleverer person than me to come up with a solution to England’s woes, but if the FA is keen to appease a disgruntled nation, it’s going to take more than just a new manager. English football needs a complete overhaul - from the very top down to its grass roots.

Enjoy this? Check out my rant about Wayne Rooney here.