England: The Kentucky Basketball of International Soccer

It's long been accepted that coaching a team carries with it the responsibilities of leading the team to victory. If the team doesn't win, a change of leadership must be required, and axeing the coach will make all the problems disappear. When the new coach wins his first game, there is jubilation and the glory days are back again. It happens over and over again like dictators succeeding each other in coups.

Such is the case with England. A 4-0 thrashing of Greece last fall convinced many that new boss Steve McClaren was the man for the job, and his dismissal of former captain David Beckham appeared a stroke of genius. The griping and grumbling of English fans over old coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, who skippered England to another disappointing World Cup (ONLY the Quarterfinals) was gone. We'll just ignore that England has only been past the quarterfinals once since 1966, a fourth-place finish at World Cup Italia '90.

Now it is the exact opposite. McClaren's head is being called for and the supporters who once spurned Beckham as a pretty boy starlet with more hair product than on-field talent are clamoring for his return, a move which McClaren seems unlikely to make any time soon, should he still have his job come next week. Fans and columnists are actually citing Beckham's absence and as such absence of leadership as the main reason why England are "underachieving."

It's time for a reality check. First, England are in third place in their 2008 European Championship qualifying group where the top two qualify, only 3 points behind second-place Russia. They have seven matches remaining (3 points for win, 1 for tie), including two against Russia, and one against Group E leaders Croatia (5 points ahead). The Three Lions are by no means out, or even in serious trouble, especially when one considers that four of their final five matches will be in front of thousands of St. George Crosses at the newly renovated Wembley Stadium.

Their scoring drought (1 goal in four matches, where England have gone 1-1-2) is something to be concerned about, but one must keep in mind that three of those matches were on the road, and the goal in any international tournament is to win at home and tie on the road. The teams they have failed to score against for the most part are European also-rans whose only motivation seems to be to avoid being blown out, hence a tightly-packed defensive scheme that results in ugly football. The only loss they suffered was at Croatia, to the group leaders.

But let's even say that England were shite this year, and WERE in serious danger of not qualifying for the EURO. What is being totally overlooked in this situation is that the only place where coaching really matters in top-flight soccer is in terms of setting the formation, and personnel management, which largely depends on setting the formation. Basically, on the world stage, coaching is largely irrelevant. The players have been coached all they can. They know their job and what they need to do.

England has more than enough talent to play, so the loss of Beckham is not an issue either. Nearly every player on the England roster plies their trade in the English Premiership; largely considered to be the best professional league in the world. Beckham's loss of leadership should likewise not be an issue because on England's current roster, six players are currently serving as captain, or vice-captain of their Premiership club.

So what's to cause for England's recent troubles? The fans. Not in the sense that the fans are not supporting England, but the fans are unrealistic. It's the same reason why if you don't win National titles every year at Notre Dame or Kentucky you get run out of town on a rail. Sometimes in international football, the breaks don't go your way. Especially when your qualifying schedule for one of the most prestigious competitions in the world is heavily front-loaded with road games. English fans seem to expect to win every game 5-0, and to win trophies constantly simply because the sport was invented in England. The fact is, England is a very good team. Possibly not an elite team, but there are many other sides who would LOVE to be blessed with the kind of talent and training infrastructure that England possesses. It's almost as if England fans haven't realized that they haven't won a World Cup since the 1966 final at Wembley Stadium. They're not supposed to dominate. They're supposed to win at home and tie on the road, and for the most part, they've managed to do just that.