Carsley, legacy and hope for the future.
In the build-up to England’s game against Greece in Athens there was plenty of debate about the importance of this Nations League international. Debate and dissent were fuelled by frustration at the interruption to the club season and by the withdrawal of nine England players. I was on Nicky Campbell’s BBC Radio 5 Live show yesterday morning and some fans were ringing in complaining that the game was meaningless, that they wouldn’t be watching and that club mattered more than country. So here are 10 thoughts on why the game was so important…
1. It should mean Thomas Tuchel can focus on the World Cup when he arrives and not a March Nations League play-off. England have a fine collection of players, a mix of experienced campaigners and exciting youngsters, have an elite manager capable of leading them far at the World Cup, and need to concentrate on their dream of ending 60 years of hurt. They can now (Sunday’s Republic of Ireland result permitting).
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2. It was on terrestrial television. Many people have subscription channels for club football but many don’t. Many can’t watch elite games live. So the fact that ITV was showing England’s game against Greece matters to many people, and doubtless the viewing figures will be good.
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3. The Nations League is competitive, even the second tier. The meaningless friendlies are gone. Clubs and fans hated those. Greece weren’t at their best, certainly not as dangerous as they showed at Wembley, but still had a period when they threatened England. Promotion back to League A of the Nations League will bring even more competitive games. The system works.
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4. Such a high-profile game, indeed any game, should not be policed like this. England fans struggle to shake off their old reputation amongst many foreign police forces, who refuse to see the improved behaviour, the self-policing by formal and informal fans’ groups (England Supporters’ Travel Club, Block 109 etc) and also the presence of English police spotters. There will always be some idiots, bigots and trouble-chasers in a 3,000+ travelling support but the majority are blameless and did nothing to justify the Greek heavy-handed approach. Fans arriving 90 minutes before kick-off complain of being held in a long, packed queue, filing slowly through too few turnstiles and many getting in only 15 minutes before the start. Reports are already hurtling to the FA, and on to Uefa, about being the shambolic, dangerous policing and even being tear-gassed. It is hard to imagine many of the travelling England fans replied favourably to the petition at Greek airports to return the Elgin Marbles.