Comments on: The Sweeper: England and the Last Empire of Football http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2009/09/07/the-sweeper-england-and-the-last-empire-of-football/ A soccer blog featuring essays, news and photography exploring soccer around the world Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:59:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: English football and the illusion of superiority « Wait until next year http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2009/09/07/the-sweeper-england-and-the-last-empire-of-football/comment-page-1/#comment-8900 English football and the illusion of superiority « Wait until next year Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:52:12 +0000 http://pitchinvasion.net/?p=2788#comment-8900 [...] football, national team, simon barnes, times I commented today on an interesting post on the expectation in England that the national team will win from the Pitch Invasion blog, a response to Simon Barnes’ article in The Times, England remain [...] [...] football, national team, simon barnes, times I commented today on an interesting post on the expectation in England that the national team will win from the Pitch Invasion blog, a response to Simon Barnes’ article in The Times, England remain [...]

]]> By: Steve http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2009/09/07/the-sweeper-england-and-the-last-empire-of-football/comment-page-1/#comment-8895 Steve Tue, 08 Sep 2009 09:39:17 +0000 http://pitchinvasion.net/?p=2788#comment-8895 "Why is an exception made for football?" I guess in every other arena there has been an accumulation of events over time that have led to an English acceptance of no longer being superior. Since the Second World War, the US has proved itself to be the pre-eminent world power. In cricket over the same period Australia and the West Indies have often been dominant (and at the very least, competitive) when facing England. In football, however, the "1966 and all that" mythology prevails, while English clubs have consistently been successful in Europe. Even though the top English club sides are now dependent on imports, they still have English players at the heart of things - Gerrard, Terry, Rooney etc. The national side, meanwhile, has had its bad times (failing to qualify for Euro 2008 being the most recent example), but generally are in the reckoning at major tournaments, and are seen as, on their day, able to beat most other sides. They may be perennial quarter-finalists in practice, but losing by penalties does help perpetuate the idea that with a little bit of luck England could dominate again... “Why is an exception made for football?”

I guess in every other arena there has been an accumulation of events over time that have led to an English acceptance of no longer being superior. Since the Second World War, the US has proved itself to be the pre-eminent world power. In cricket over the same period Australia and the West Indies have often been dominant (and at the very least, competitive) when facing England.

In football, however, the “1966 and all that” mythology prevails, while English clubs have consistently been successful in Europe. Even though the top English club sides are now dependent on imports, they still have English players at the heart of things – Gerrard, Terry, Rooney etc.

The national side, meanwhile, has had its bad times (failing to qualify for Euro 2008 being the most recent example), but generally are in the reckoning at major tournaments, and are seen as, on their day, able to beat most other sides. They may be perennial quarter-finalists in practice, but losing by penalties does help perpetuate the idea that with a little bit of luck England could dominate again…

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