by Victor Meldrew »
03 Dec 2010 20:00
Have just read Jeff Powell's article in the Mail,a paper and writer not renowned for Tory or Royal bashing and how refeshing compared with all the "we wuz robbed" rubbish,yes rubbish Maguire.
A few excerpts:-
The England project was fatally flawed from it's inception by the strategy of bragging that English football is the greatest.
Not until it was so late that the doomsday clock was chiming did it dawn on any of them that what FIFA really wanted was to bestow its greatest gift not upon the rich,smug and famous but on a region in need of those five-star football facilities.
Meanwhile,on went the FA,blundering down the road of arrogance towards a gauche display of celebrity and royalty,before which FIFA were expected to bend a craven knee.
It was ego which betrayed the nation,long before expose,and a growing suspicion that the figureheads of English sport are not to be trusted.
The roots of that unease stretch back to our bid for the 2006 World Cup finals when the FA reneged on a gentleman's agreement to give Germany a clear run in return for their support in bringing Euro 96 to this country.
England got barely a handful of votes then.Germany got the cup.
There is then a bit about Coe's Olympic promises not coming to fruition.
Yet into Zurich went David Cameron making promises of not only billions for an England World Cup but billions more to help FIFA spread the football gospel around the world.
England never had a chance yet they carried on spending lavishly.By the time they arrived in Zurich -bleating about the media-they were like a football team citing injuries and fatigue as their excuse in advance for losing.
Shame on them.
Incidentally listening to Talksport on the way home both Durham and listeners were talking of breaking away from FIFA and bringing back Home Countries internationals and taking Germany,France,Spain etc with them to form a new version of FIFA.
Once again the arrogance to believe that the Home Countries would join them once England clicked their fingers after ditching those countries when it suited them some years ago when the end of season competition was abandoned..
Also to think that they could carry the other top European countries with them is a massive and incredibly optimistic leap of faith.