England: Do we really care? The case for and against our national side

THE international week has now passed and the focus is firmly back on the nitty gritty of  this season’s domestic run-in.

But following an emphatic England victory over Lithuania in the Euro qualifiers and a rather drab 1-1 friendly draw vs Italy, all this week has done has highlight to me the negativity that surrounds the national team.

Over the last seven days, I have heard people come out with comments such as “I’ve never supported England” and “It’s only through circumstance that I follow them” right through to the ludicrous “I was more of a Scotland fan when I was younger”. Hang on a minute...

What happened to this being a great footballing nation? What happened to us supporting our side through thick and thin?

I understand the England team has been less than inspirational over the last ten years or so, but come on, get behind the team.

I also understand that the weekly toils of our Football League clubs rank higher on our list of priorities.

But England don’t play every week, so why not enjoy it when they do?

I think this feeling comes from way back when I was a nipper.

I remember being on holiday with Momma and Papa Echo at the young age of 10 or 11.

I’d woken my dad up in the early hours of the morning to go down to the bar to watch England v Brazil in the 2002 World Cup quarter final.

There was a group of Irish fans in the same bar who found it hilarious to root for Brazil and after they'd won the tie, go to the nearest market and buy the cheapest rip-offs of Brazil jerseys they could find, just to wind up the English tourists.

It worked.

Ever since that day I have defended my country’s football team, I have backed them up when they have been down and I have looked forward to the next match with optimism. What’s not to love?

Joe Cawthorn

INTERNATIONALS have always presented me with problems and more so than ever these days.

The enforced breaks for largely meaningless fixtures, such as the two just played by England, mean the flow and excitement of the build-up to those vital end-of-season league games is interrupted — and for what?

Speaking with people after the England v Italy stroll-around (on the same night, incidentally, as Cape Verde Islands managed to beat Portugal 2-0 — would that have happened in a "real" game?) it seemed I was not alone in my suspicions and views of internationals and, in particular, those involving our own country.

Why do I find it so difficult to “support” England? First up, it's the fans. Watch a game in the pub and patriotism is instantly replaced by jingoism and racism of the worst kind, basically the type that enabled the BNP to take ownership of the flag of St George. It's the same at the games, with fans hilariously chanting “Where were you in World War Two” at Italian supporters, a move which, at the very best, showed a simple ignorance of history.

Maybe it’s taking a country’s history and that liberal sense of shame too seriously to allow it to influence your choice of national team?

Then there's the players. It is just so difficult to love a team which over the years has included the execrable John Terry, Ashley Cole and Wayne Rooney among its number. Money-grabbers who hold their clubs to ransom while kissing the badge and in their personal lives show a similar amount of loyalty, yet are paid salaries that combined could keep hospitals open...almost.

And the national anthem. Why do we have an anthem that says nothing about our country but more about historical servitude to the head of a family whose behaviour has hardly done this country any favours over the years? Still, it's no worse than Swing Low Sweet Chariot.

We treat international games like we are going to war: an imperialist hangover, a chance to slay the dragon and rule the world. And we fail every time, our efforts a mess of strewn flags, spilt beer and the tears and broken dreams of deluded England fans, who once again bought the hype of a team dominated by avarice and false pride in a nation with, these days, very little to be proud of.

Andrew Mosley