However this time, one senses Barton is right and not speaking from a purely selfish point of view. His beliefs surrounding the England setup have been echoed outside of London for years, particularly ‘up-north’, where he is from. How can fans connect with a team who constantly play in one particular stadium, hundreds of miles away?
Yes, it is nice to have a recognised ‘home’ for the national team, especially one that HAD so much heritage attached as the old Wembley did. But perfect opportunity was given for a fresh approach when the famous old towers were demolished and ‘new’ Wembley was built. During this time, England HAD to ‘tour’, playing its home games up and down the country whilst the new ‘home of football’ was built. It gave local fans the opportunity to go and see and support THEIR countries team, and feel a national pride once more – not feel like an outsider going for a daytrip to the nation’s capital.
It is something that the national teams in Spain and Italy have done for years – and these are countries that have bigger regional differences and issues than England. However once the new stadium in Wembley was built, it was back to London, Team England went. It was another point Barton noted: ‘I felt England really came back or became a part of the nation again when they toured while Wembley was getting built’.
The ‘Team England’ topic is also an issue. Many England managers have come in with the mantra that players will be chosen ‘on form’ only. After many years, we know this is simply not true, as certain ‘names’ have always remained a safe bet for national duty regardless of their current club form. It is of little surprise that Barton, an English player in the English league has branded his own national team as ‘elitist’, and I would wager he’s in a majority of other professional players who think exactly the same – he’s just the only one brave enough to say it. What the majority of fans think, I would also wager Barton is correct. Can I take any bets?
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Written by jimmyareabi for FootballFanCast.com
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