England are preparing for their first game under new boss Roy
Hodgson. The friendly against Norway marks the start of a new era in
English football.
With the European Championship just over two
weeks away Hodgson will have his work cut-out to get his ideas across to
his players.
Expectations
England have
gone into most international competitions in recent times with big
expectations. They have even been favourites with some bookmakers for
recent international competitions. However I believe that was because of
over-enthusiastic fans hyping the team up.
The whole country gets
carried away when England have any sort of success and tends to suffer a
bout of depression if the team loses.
I suppose that sums up our
football culture. Prior to the start of every international tournament
there is this mass wave of optimism in the country that England is
finally going to claim silverware.
However, there seems to be
little expectation about the England team this time around. Hardly
anybody is predicting that England will win the competition and there
are no big claims of being the best team in the world.
As a
Englishman it feels very unsettling for the country not to be optimistic
about our chances of success at a major tournament. However, this could
be England’s secret weapon at the Euro’s.
Surprise
England
head into the European Championship with a new boss. A new boss means
new ideas, so England could just surprise people. The team hasn’t been
at their best in the past few months but still qualified for the
tournament with relative ease.
Some teams will definitely underestimate the Three Lions and maybe Roy Hodgson’s side can take advantage of that complacency.
Spirit
I’ve
heard various players and managers from other nations saying that
having a new manager could help team spirit. Maybe they believe that
England could produce a performance out of adversity. The team certainly
haven’t had long to prepare under Hodgson.
Pressure
The
lack of expectancy certainly means that the players will feel under
less pressure to perform. Maybe that will give them a freedom in their
play that has been missing. At times some England players have looked
like rabbits in headlights.
They freeze on the big occasions and
don’t produce their best form. With a lack of expectation maybe the team
can perform to their maximum and surprise everybody.
Winners
I
have to admit I don’t think England have a good enough team to win the
European Championship. Most people in England know that and that’s why
expectations are so low for Euro 2012.
The Three Lions don’t have
enough world-class players to compete with the likes of Germany, Holland
or Spain. Football is a funny old game though as a famous ex-footballer
used to say and you just never know. England could surprise everybody
with their performance but I very much doubt it.
Future
Roy
Hodgson must use the European Championship as a stepping stone for the
future. He’s came in too late to put his ideas across and bring in his
own players, so he really hasn’t had much choice but to select players
from the previous regime.
Most people in England have written-off England’s chances at the Euro’s and are focusing on building good foundations for the World Cup in Brazil in 2014. I hope by then England will have a stronger team and a manager who is more settled into his role.
Could low expectations help England this summer?
