England’s Chances of Winning a Major Tournament

Good Morning, followers and readers of my blog!! I would like to just say that I have had the chance to send an article in to www.4thofficial.co.uk  and have the oppurtunity to write for them!! I have only just started blogging, but maybe this is a big oppurtunity for me!! I am keen to get involved in football and this may have opened the gate to something new. And for that I must say I thank Becka Quantick, who you can follow on twitter!! @becka_quantick she is a lovely girl, and a mssive Torquay fan and started a blog. After reading it, I thoroughly enjoyed it and it aspired me to start my own. So thanks!!

Here is my article, that I wrote and sent this morning to 4thofficial:

Here as I speak, we as a nation are just one point and one game away from qualification, to the coming European Championships in Poland and Ukraine. It has been a good qualification for England, and going into the Montenegro game, we are unbeaten with five wins and two draws from seven games. Fifteen goals and just three conceded, make it good showing for our chances in the finals.

But the question is, Can we actually win a Major Tournament? Realistically, we have some word class players, but our squad just doesn’t match up to that of Spain, who has a squad oozing class. Our first XI is very strong, but is the “second string” team good enough?

For me, there are massive problems for England to win a Major Tournament. Since the World Cup success of ’66, England has never reached another final. The best chance of winning a tournament in recent times was 1996, ironically the European Championships played on home turf. England has the quality but there is other areas which will ultimately see us fail yet again. Going into a Major Tournament, there is a lot of hype on the squad to go and win the competition, and we as a nation, do not help the cause. The players come across and seem over confident, saying we will win this time. The press always say “This is our best chance of winning since”, when it is said every time we qualify.

The press play a massive part in our tournaments, and seemingly build the players and manager up, and then knock them back down. This does not help the team for confidence, when suddenly a story of what Wayne Rooney or Steven Gerrard may have done five years ago crops up. I myself, as an England fan enjoy the hype of a Major Tournament and when the first game arrives, can be sure I will be with my mates, drinking and cheering on the lads.

We then come on to the fact that our record of penalty shoot outs. This seems to play on players minds. Can these guys cope with the pressure? Playing for Manchester United at Old Trafford is pressure in itself, but Wayne Rooney still nine times out of ten puts his penalties away, same as Steven Gerrard at Anfield for Liverpool. Frank Lampard is well known for being a goal scorer and tucking away his penalties. They are human as ourselves and make mistakes, but why do they seemingly miss penalties for England? Maybe the pressure that we as a nation heap on them to win is too much for them to handle. In the future, perhaps we should let the players go to the Major Finals without the added pressure. 

I do hope that you have enjoyed reading. Please leave comments and let me know on your opinions!!