How can England match their expectation?

England have recently qualified for next year’s European Championship. After an often worrying campaign England ended up relying on their impressive away form to make up for the poor performances at Wembley to finish top of the group to ensure Euro qualification.

However don’t be getting the booze out ready to celebrate just yet. Remember 2002? Remember 2004? Remember 2006? Remember 2010? These are the four most recent international competitions that our national side has competed in, all have ended in failure. Hopefully in 2012’s tournament things will change, I’m not too hopeful. But why?

There are many reasons: The poor midfield and the team’s mentality are just two along with the lack of patriotism and spirit shown from the players.

But we’ll start with the midfield. In the latter stages of qualifying the central midfield consisted of Gareth Barry and Scott Parker. Neither are known for their silky skills or cutting-edge passing, instead we see the same dreary and uninspired performances that leave us bored and wishing we were watching something else. Next year if we want any kind of success we’ll have to beat the big boys: Spain, Germany, France and Italy. How can we as fans expect anything but another premature exit with no flair in midfield?

Jack Wilshere is a hope; he has been injured of late and will be injured until early 2012. Before this injury he was a regular feature in the national side. He is one who has a bit of flair and can pick out that needed killer pass. But he needs a midfield partner. Someone who is more defensive minded than himself. Someone who isn’t Gareth Barry or Scott Parker.

My solution: Phil Jones of Manchester United. Like Wilshere he will be just 20 by time next year’s tournament comes around and two inexperienced players in midfield could be dangerous. However, Jones is a ball playing defender who has played in midfield often for his club and alongside Wilshere they will certainly give England the flair and pace they have lacked in the latter stages of qualification.

With the creativity coming from Wilshere and the defending coming from Jones the strikers will get that much needed service to try and score goals. Barry and Parker can be on the bench or with the reserves to add that extra depth and we have Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Jordan Henderson and James Milner too! England have lots of depth in midfield. It’s just time for manager Fabio Capello to play the right pair and the side will meet its expectation and go further in the tournament.

If (and it’s a big if) Capello does decide to play the right team we still have the dreadful mentality of these players to contend with. Unfortunately they are playing for a country with a huge amount of expectation, they are playing for a country that made the game over 150 years ago and they are playing for a country where many top footballers come from. But this brings means the media and fans are automatically expecting big things from these players, big things that these players that aren’t good under pressure cannot bring.

But enough of excuses for the players. The disappointment has mainly come from the players not seeming to care about the pride of the nation. They haven’t played with passion, they haven’t put in the effort needed and they have been generally rubbish and embarrassing because of it. As soon as the team begins to play with their hearts on their sleeves like the team did in 1966 then England will once again be a force on the international stage.

Fortunately for the English, the future seems bright. Clueless coach Capello’s contract is terminated after the Euro’s next year and a fresh crop of superb players is coming through with the likes of Danny Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge, Theo Walcott, Tom Cleverley, Jack Wilshere, Jack Rodwell and Chris Smalling coming through the ranks among many others. However over the past ten years we’ve had equally exciting players such as David Beckham and Steven Gerrard but they just haven’t managed to win us anything. It’s all good having good players, but the only way they are going to win you trophies is by integrating them as a team and finding the best manager to do so.

Step forward Harry Redknapp. The 64 year old Southerner has had excellent success at the clubs he’s been with, reaching an FA Cup final with debt ridden Portsmouth and knocking Liverpool off their perch to finish fourth in the league with Tottenham thus qualifying for the Champions League. Harry is an excellent man manager as well as an excellent coach in general, he’s exactly the sort of thing England needs to go further in tournaments. He’d pick the young players and nurture them into established internationals, for me Harry Redknapp is the solution to our national side’s poor managerial situation and the exact man we need to begin to match our expectation again.