Another tournament passes, and another England team exits, with bowed heads, having failed to justify the expectation of the impatient masses. The blame has found itself placed at a number of doorsteps, but a common criticism is that of English coaching - not up to continental standards, outdated, and ill-equipped to deal with modern football.
Hope, Not Hoofing, Is England’s Problem
England’s coaching has been blamed for their early exit from the European Under-21s Championship. But whether their methods, or their performances, are substandard is questionable.
Proponents of a radical overhaul of English coaching and youth development appeal like politicians cashing in on a public appetite for change. It is presented as an alternative to an ineffective status quo, of hoof-and-run, working the channels, big men up front, and the putting-in of shifts. There’s no doubting that such an approach is outdated, but there is a serious question to be asked of whether it is genuinely one that is held dear by England’s coaches. One can hardly believe that Stuart Pearce, for all his gung-ho, trench mentality reputation, ordered his charges to play in the manner in which they did.
England were scared, and overwhelmed, essentially. Setting out with the honest intent to keep the ball and play along the ground is not a guarantee that hoofing, getting rid, and panicked, directionless running will not be featured in the resultant performance. From training, videos were proudly displayed by the FA showing neat one and two-touch moves, in particular one superb display of crisp passing which ended in a neat finish by Tom Cleverley. None of this was replicated when it mattered.
In the end, Cleverley was one of the disappointments, in a tournament where few players could go home with their heads held high. That the ones who could included Kyle Walker, Danny Welbeck, and Daniel Sturridge at least showed the value to coaches at larger clubs of letting their players gain Premier League experience, which will serve England well in future.
Overall, however, the tournament served to further show up the great myth about English football’s strengths. ‘Mentality’ is often given tremendous emphasis, which leads to many of the proponents of a coaching overhaul to suggest that it is being over-prioritised in place of technique. In fact, England are in desperate need of whatever assistance they can get for their mentality - often lauded for their grit and determination, in actual fact they lack what they profess to have in abundance. Shocking mental weakness is routine for English tournament sides, and the Under-21s exited the tournament in the end due to complacency after taking the lead.
Winning mentalities come in different forms, where teams possess a determination which sees them overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. They have a belief behind them, that they will prevail in the end, no matter how great the setback. England have that, but their belief is backed up by neither recent history nor the will to make it happen.
What continues to be surprising is the outlook that England have underachieved, not just by exiting at the early stages but in failing to compete for the number one spot. This is perhaps the only view common across the spectrum of English football, and it’s also one which is measurably false. Saying that England hasn’t produced a great team because of coaching failures betrays the same delusion - that England have in fact underachieved at all. They have done about as well as would be expected of a country of similar stature in recent years.
Perhaps, therefore, it would be of most benefit to England if they were permitted to play free of the weight of misguided expectation. Any suggestion of underachievement in fact shows a sense of entitlement, which leads to panic and shock as soon as things do not go as planned. England don’t have the mentality to deal with expectation, and decades of moral posturing haven’t done anything to improve the former. Perhaps removing expectation altogether is the key to having a team which performs freely, and crucially, without fear.
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