We’ve given up hope that England will ever aspire to Joga Bonito and have come to the terms that all the terrible, defensive performances being rolled out by Sven and Macca are not due to incompetance, but rather some sort of carefully executed plan.
So here’s another thought, if England turn out to be World Cup’s Greece, will anyone care?
England are playing the sort of football that makes you cringe constantly, tear your hair out and celebrate like a madman when Joe Cole manages to beat one player. They’re led by a manager who has to be the least inspiring (and inspired) man in football today and who is genuinely hated by a fair portion of supporters.
And they’re progressing.
But despite the fact that they’re both incredibly boring to watch, there are some key differences between the two teams. Greece were perfectly organized while England rode their luck at times against Trinidad and Tobago and Ecuador. Instead of getting the most out of a band of ragtag journeyman players as Otto Rehhagel did – Sven is getting the least out of some of the world’s finest talent.
But could England go all the way just by grinding out the results they need and would any of us really care when Becks is lifting the Jules Rimet trophy for the ultimate photo-op?
No matter how much we’d like to think that winning is all that matters – Sven Goran Eriksson, legendary England coach and hero to millions, just doesn’t sound quite right, does it?