England’s 4-1 victory against Montenegro on Friday night highlighted why England will not win the world cup anytime soon.
Against a stubborn Montenegro team, England failed to break through until the 49th minute through a Wayne Rooney goal, showing that Roy Hodgson is tasked with an almost impossible challenge to perform on the world stage.
It was only after Montenegro had tired, that England took control of the match, with an own goal, an Andros Townsend stunner and Daniel Sturridge penalty giving the scoreline an air of respectability.
Hodgson’s tenure as England manager has been dogged with a very negative style of play. They do not go looking for the victory when it is there for the taking, which has left England in a tricky situation, needing a win against Poland on Tuesday to guarantee their place in Brazil next year.
Hodgson’s lack of adaptability was exposed even further during the week with his desire to explore the eligibility of the talented Manchester United youngster, Adnan Januzaj, showing that he doesn’t trust the eligible players he currently has to get the job done in the future.
Cast your mind back to the golden generation in 2002, and the world cup in Japan, where England went in as one of the favourites for the tournament before losing to Brazil in the quarter-finals. This was the last England team that had any hope of winning a tournament.
Since then, England have plodded along, getting to tournaments, or even failing to do that with Euro 2008, but never pushing forward to the next level. Unfortunately, other countries have moved out of sight, with the likes of Germany and Spain bringing through world class player after world class player.
Greg Dyke’s recent speech about the state of English football is a step in the right direction, but until players, and even English clubs, take their duty to the England team seriously, it will be stuck in the past.
There are bright spots on the horizon, with the debut of Andros Townsend showing that, once the likes of Lampard, Gerrard and Cole retire, there will be players who are closer to the Spanish mould coming to the fore.
But it will take a manager other than Hodgson, to fulfil the fan’s desire for success. Hodgson’s tenure as England manager rests on the home match against Poland. Win and he can say that he has set out what he intended to do, fail and it will be just another reason why England will not win the world cup anytime soon.
What’s your take? Is this a side that is capable of winning the World Cup?
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