The Three Blind Lions

What if England's trophy case was overfilled with numerous World Cup and Euro titles? What if they lived up to their expectations not just through their league, but through their national side? What if? The reality is England has always been stuck in the 'what ifs' of football. The three lions only have one world cup ('66) on home soil, while their best run at the Euro competition was a semifinal loss also as tournament hosts ('96). Even though England always underachieved throughout the years, they still are one of the most overrated teams before each major tournament. The reason behind the hype and expectation lie heavily on their domestic league. The English Premier League has the highest amount of investment, world viewership and overwhelming talent in football. However, sometimes you get the good with the bad. While the league is gaining even more momentum, the national side is quickly falling to its knees. It's getting so bad that no English player would currently make it in a world starting eleven nor on the bench for that matter. Still, for a country with one of the biggest football leagues in the world why is it that the national side just can't live up to the same status? After examining countless criticisms and theories regarding this issue, I've found that it's more of an inability to change the traditional English way of thinking about football. Granted the current trend in their domestic league relies heavily on foreign investors, foreign coaches and foreign players, which helps create the league's global status, it's also about an inability to step out of the English comfort zone. FA Chairman Greg Dyke said current figures show the 92/93 league season was made up of 69% English players, while last season season consisted of only 32%. Last season English players under the age of 21 only covered 2.28% of the total minutes played in the league. It's easy to criticize the increasing trend of foreigners in the league since these figures show that English players just aren't getting enough playing time. However, the English need to change their way of thinking. If English players can't break into their own league they should try and go abroad. There they can hone their skills in leagues that will be willing to accept young English talent. Leagues like the Eredivisie in Holland are filled with teams vying for new talent as their figures show a different trend, where the best talents tend to leave at a young age. Even English coaches should push their knowledge on the European scene as Steve McClaren did at FC Twente taking the team to their first ever Dutch title in 2010. Since the EPL is the upper echelon of all the leagues it would make sense for a young English player to take small steps in a foreign league only to one day return to the EPL with a fresh style and worldview. At the same time, the English are known for their northern style of high pace, physical and attacking football. Though this style is attractive and appealing, England need to start taking some influence from successful sides in Europe. Countries like Spain and Germany are currently major contenders because of their playing styles, but also their source of talent. When one thinks of these two countries it's really F.C. Barcelona and Bayern Munich that come to the forefront. The two countries implement similar tactics in accordance to their club counterparts, which means there's already a steady foundation in their national sides. Now, looking at the English side there's really no foundation from a Manchester United or Arsenal or Liverpool side. Basically, what England needs is a club side in the domestic league that would have the majority of the top players alongside each other week in and week out. The reality is many of these England players just don't weld well together because the national side consists of too many different top clubs with different philosophies. Another aspect lies at the grassroots level. The English tend to focus on bigger players rather than the small technically gifted. There appears to be a tendency on size and strength over technique in youth development. Once again the English should change their traditional ways by scouting different types of young players, so they could create a new depth in their next generation of footballers. Currently, the English are trying to combat these issues with new strategies recently implementing the EPPP (Elite Player Performance Plan), which will try to improve youth development through more funding. In order for England to really contend and possibly win a World Cup by 2022 it won't take an evolution, but a revolution in the English FA. For that revolution to take place the FA will first need to take off their blindfolds, so they could see that their out of date English mentality just isn't working.