Member-only story
England and the England national team
English people are in a daze because Nike released a new England kit with an altered flag. This sort of thing sums up the relationship between English people and the national team. I always get the feeling that English people secretly (or not so secretly) don’t fuck with the team.
I’ve felt like this in the past myself but I’ve enjoyed England for the most part since the Euros where we lost to Italy. It was a vibe and it’s what this country and the nation team needs. A vibe.
The England national team is strange because we’ve not won anything since the 60s, and that was 60 years ago. We’ve had some of the most talented players of a generation at points, and we’ve come close. But close isn’t a title unless you ask a Southgate fan. If you ask a Southgate fan, close is a success.
The mentality
Does the England team have many divas? No, we’ve had some over the years but for the most part, we’ve been pretty well-behaved. I think we struggle with having the winning toughness that it takes to get us over the line. I wouldn’t look at many players in the squad and say they’re tough.
We have winners in the squad at club level, but there are a whole host of other influences at play. It’s not to say that the English players don’t deserve credit.
The fans are typically negative and dramatic which is a buzzkill. I imagine the players feel the same way. It doesn’t feel like support at times, it feels more like entitled expectation and an “I told you so” when it doesn’t work out.
It’s like the fans are expecting us to lose and that may translate on the team. Then they get overdramatic shit for weeks afterwards, like the racism after the Euros.
The manager(s)
Southgate is a man who comes under a lot of pressure. Sometimes it’s fair, sometimes it’s not. I would say I don’t think he’ll win a trophy for England but I think that we’ll win the Euros so he should get one. We have one of the strongest…
