My advice to England fans: be humble and enjoy the team and the ride

Our Sports Reporter Jordan Jarrett-Bryan gives us his personal perspective on England’s performance so far at Euro 2024

England aren’t very good. But here’s the thing: they might not have to be to be kings of Europe.

There’s a line in one of the many songs England fans sing that goes: “Southgate, you’re the one, football’s coming home again.” There was a time when that was sung with a genuine level of confidence. But after limping over the line to the knockout round of the European Championships, it’s looking like both parts of that lyric are no longer true.

There was a time when the nation was just apathetic towards the team. Beyond even embarrassed. People just didn’t really care.  Let’s call those the Capello/Hodgson years. We’re not quite there, but the country is bored and with a growing sense of ”we know how this film ends”.

For me there’s two issues. The first is a fan-based one. England did well at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and during what was an effective home Euros in 2021, because the nation was forced into a submission of humility. Having won nothing for nearly six decades, the English just had to enter those tournaments with the attitude, “Let’s just have some fun, don’t disgrace the nation, cos we ain’t as good as we think we are.”

After doing relatively well under Gareth Southgate, an air of expectation and high standards has been implemented but with that, a slight arrogance has crept back in. My advice: go back to being humble, enjoy the team and the ride.

The other is a football cultural problem. One thing that has become obvious, even to those who aren’t hardened football fans and experts, is that when England have the ball, they look at best unaware of what they’re meant to do, at worst scared. That’s because boys and girls are still coached largely to be fitter, faster and more athletic than the opposition.

These are all important qualities for an athlete. But what the English spend less time on is coaching patience, patterns of play, probing, finding and creating space and openings. Do you know who are coached that from the age of four? The Spanish, the Italians, the Croatians, the French. If you don’t know how to control, dominate and create in games under pressure, you’re essentially hoping for someone to do something special, the opposition to make a mistake, or score from a corner.

Southgate is also a victim of something we see in politics. Fairly or unfairly, he’s seen as being dull. He’s seen as not being relatable, not passionate, not charismatic and a yes man. But like in politics, how important is having a personality and being fun?

Or should he, just like our political leaders, be judged on getting the job done? If you want to be entertained, I highly recommend the TV series, “The Traitors.” But when you’re not winning, peripheral issues like how likeable the manager is, add to the nation’s frustrations.

England take on 45th ranked Slovakia on Sunday. Should they win, and then play Italy or Switzerland, a semi-final against Austria, Romania, Netherlands or Turkey awaits. As draws go, that’s the side you want to be on. England couldn’t have dreamt up a nicer route to the final – avoiding France, Portugal, Germany and Spain on the way.

It’s possible this will be Southgate’s final tournament in charge of England, but if he fails to at least increase the level of entertainment for the nation, he’ll be ushered out with the same tone of frustration he was ushered in with.