At the dawn of another challenging Monday morning, the realisation that our England fell short, in the final of the Euro Final in Berlin, is brutally painful. No amount of beautiful melodies from my delightful feathered friends can lift the gloom that has enveloped my heart, as I slump over the dining table. History will remind us that we lost 2-1 to the favourites who played the best football of the tournament but the reality is that this feels like another opportunity missed.
Despite their wonderful form going into this match, I sensed fear in the Spanish armoury mentally, for the first 45 minutes, and we failed to exploit it. On realising that we were not going to play on the front foot despite our embarassment of riches, Spain saw the soft underbelly and were ruthlessly urgent in the way they set about us to open the scoring; if Holland's forward line were more clinical, thre same would have happened on Wednesday. Having boldly made the decision to take both Ivan Toney and Olly Watkins, at the expense of proven international players like Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish, I expected a more proactive approach with one of them in his starting line-up. Successful teams have a clear understanding of their philosophy, believe in it and deliver in the big moments; Harry Kane was a passenger with a season ticket in this tournament who, for his minutes on the pitch, should have been contributing more. His opposite number Alvaro Morata, who incidentally has also has lost a yard of pace, applied his experience to greater effect before giving way to the ruthless Mikel Oyarzabal who scored the winning goal. It is worth noting that Portugal manager Roberto Martinez had the same problem with Cristiano Ronaldo, a player he dared not remove, who in reality should never have been anywhere near the starting line-up either.
Goals change matches and in both the match against the Netherlands and in the final against Spain, our advantageous passage of play should have produced a decisive goal. It changes the narrative and plants seeds of doubt in the minds of the opposition. The collective frustration felt amongst the watching British public, is that we genuinely believed that this squad could and should have produced more when it mattered but were hampered by fear when freedom of expression and a willingness to attack would have served us better. In this tournament there has been a collective frustration from the English public, and I feel it is justified, that Gareth Southgate had a brilliant squad of players on this occasion that could have lifted the trophy, if he had dared to be brave but the wait goes on.
Gareth Southgate's time is done in my opinion, he has created a different vibe for all of us, by consistently progressing deeper in tournaments. As a leader he managed the England squad with an integrity that was a beacon for us as a nation when we needed it most. Sunday 14th July 2024 was a pivotal day because we had something to be excited about. He fostered a spirit amongst a group of young men that was beautiful to behold. We have, under his watch, learned to believe in and love following the England football team whether we truly love the game, or not. Football didn't come home this time but I simply want to say "Thank you!"
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