The current Spanish golden era means that England is now the undisputed Most Under-Achieving Soccer Nation. England, as the English themselves are not slow to point out, gave association football to the world, but their record on the international stage is poor. Failure in the qualifying stages of tournaments is not unknown, and England can be bitterly disappointing online betting prospects when they do qualify – none more so than at the recent World Cup.
For all that, there is usually an air of anticipation in England on the eve of the great competitions, a feeling that if only the stars align England can be champions. This year, it’s not so obvious.
English soccer has been inseparable from soap opera since the David Beckham era, but at least back then it was confined to the WAGs – wives and girlfriends. Now the drama has spilled into the squad itself, and things could blow up for England before a ball is kicked.
It all hinges around John Terry, captain of Champions League winners Chelsea and former captain of England. England stripped Terry of the captaincy over an alleged racist incident in an EPL game. Then-manager Fabio Capello saw this as an undermining of his authority, and walked. Harry Redknapp was the people’s choice to succeed Capello but the English FA choose Roy Hodgson instead, seeing him as a safer pair of hands than the sometimes controversial Redknapp. Unfortunately for Hodgson, the Terry row has boiled over again on the eve of Euro 2012, which is an added complication Hodgson really didn’t need.
England have played two friendlies under Hodgson and, based on this evidence, will go into Euro 2012 as a team whose watchword will be safety first. They have a settled goalkeeper in Joe Hart, but Terry must feel the pressure to not let the FA down after all the allowances that have been made for him. Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry are both lost to midfield, but it’s upfront where England’s greatest worries exist.
Wayne Rooney is England’s greatest talent, a player who would get a place on any other team in the tournament. Unfortunately for Hodgson, a red card awarded Rooney in a qualifying game against Montenegro means that Rooney will miss the first two games of the tournament and can only start in the final game, by which stage it could all be over. His place is likely to be filled by Andy Carroll, a centre-forward of the old – very old – school. Carroll has been a disappointment since his big money trade from Newcastle to Liverpool but right now, all of England’s soccer betting hopes rest on his broad shoulders. Can Big Andy deliver?