Hi everyone. It’s ya boi, Lodatz.

So, I felt inspired to write some long-winded articles, because I've gathered that there’s something of a consensus among some contributors to FootyRoom’s forum that England are, well, perennial flops, and that this is the DNA of our football. Oh, and that we lack flair and intelligence, of course, can’t forget that, not to mention the fact that when teams cheat against us or when the ref makes a bad call, this is merely evidence of the English not knowing how to deal with the dashing cunning of more worldly football.

Of course, that’s pretty insulting, but I’m not writing here to complain about that. Instead, I think it would be better to simply show why I think this isn’t true. In fact, I would go so far as to say that by and large our track record in living memory has been to perform quite well, and usually end up taking eventual finalists and champions to penalty shoot-outs, often without the services of players who have been sent off.

England do indeed usually go home disappointed, but also quite often with a lot of pride, and far more regularly than one might think, grounds to feel aggrieved. So, saddle up for a parade of whiny English excuses as I delve into the (recent-ish) history of the England national team, starting with:

The shocker for me with England is that they have so much talent, player wise, that I scratch my head at why they dont go farther or have more titles. On paper, which is the key thing here, they should be favorites against most teams. Their players are from some of the best clubs, in the best league (EPL), and yet they fall some how. I wont go into getting cheated or bad refs, that is a rabbit hole I dont want to travel down.

The joke with my group is that if it comes to PK's, England will be out. The other joke is that they have some of the best rosters in the world, yet cant play well together, which ends up being their downfall.

For me, and many I know, England is always a top team and one of the favorites to go very far in a cup, but none of us pick them to win it all.

See? This place remains just a hive for hating England

Let's be real, as a neutral fan I always hope the best football wins, but there's literally not a single reason why would any neutral want England to win with what they show on big tournaments. England have more talent on the bench than most of the teams, yet it's not seen on the pitch

Thing is for almost the whole season English fans hate each other due to club rivalries and just for 90 mins they want to put on a three lion's jersey and pretend like they are brothers/sisters. Sorry but we tend to read through all the hypocrisy. Good for the players if they win something.

Yeah, I'd rather kill myself than support the same team as lodatz. I mean Fr.

@tuan_scum:

Yeah, I'd rather kill myself than support the same team as lodatz. I mean Fr.

Feel free to hurry up, you bigoted scum. Congratulations again on killing the forum first.

Also, a big Fuk U to anyone who upvoted him. 😘

Incidentally, update time.

England were easily one of the best teams at the 2022 World Cup, losing narrowly to France (also one of the best teams in the world) thanks to a missed penalty by Kane and an opening goal for France which should not have stood since a clear foul was missed in the build up.

Still, encouraging. Let's see how Euro 24 goes!

@Lodatz To be absolutely fair, I have to agree with you on this, I was one of those doubting England and Southgate before the World Cup but I can tell when I was wrong. England and Southgate really convinced me during the world cup, they did extremely well and were quite effective all tournament long only losing to France on small details. Same France that went on to lose the final only on penalty.

The great thing about this England team is that they are constantly bringing great player to replace those getting older and it doesn't feel like the end of a cycle at all right now. I mean, they got Saka, Foden, Bellingham, Maddison, Grealish, Rice, Rashford who are all either in their prime or still relatively young. You feel like this England team could keep on going strong for a long time.

Sure, some will argue that Southgate haven't exactly beaten a lot major opponents with his playstyle but considering the demand from international football, the consistency with which he keep bringing England at important rounds of tournaments is a feat in itself.

This time around, I'm gonna back Southgate during the Euro and look foward to what he and the England National Team will be able to achieve.

I think it's more an issue that English coaching has been genuinely awful for 30 years, since Bobby Robson. And by that I mean English coaches, rather than excellent coaches like Erikssen and Capello who coached England

Those were low points all by themselves, but, not a problem for anyone else. I don't mind Southgate at all, but the fact that he's the only decent choice is damning all by itself.

I would have an orgasm over Guardiola taking on the role, but we all know that wouldn't happen.

I would have an orgasm over Guardiola taking on the role, but we all know that wouldn't happen.

Never say never, he can't coach City for eternity and then you'll have a lot of people with power who might influence him. However, as much as I'd love to see Pep coach England as well, I'm not sure it would be for the best, club football is very different to internation football so his philosophy and gameplan might not work that well with a national team. Knowing Pep, he would adapt and tweak to find some sort of success but it might not be as good as some might expect at first.