Euro 2008 - Face it: England are second-rate

Eurosport - Thu, 18 Oct 15:38:00 2007

Former England international Paul Parker delivers a few home truths about the rotten state of the national team after Wednesday's defeat to Russia.

Steve McClaren won't be sacked unless England fail to qualify for Euro 2008, and even though I don't like him, that is the right decision.

If we somehow get through, it wouldn't be wise to go into a tournament with another manager, although I can't see England getting far with the current situation.

The harsh reality is we are not good enough. When things go wrong all we get is spin and beaming teeth. But smiles are not going to help us face up to our failings, and will only perpetuate the myth that we are a top international side.

It might be helpful if we don't qualify. Then we can stop papering over the cracks and start afresh with a new manager, take the opportunity to mix the side up a little bit, maybe change the formation to make the team more adaptable.

McClaren was very keen to show he was different from Sven-Goran Eriksson but he doesn't seem to have brought in many new ideas.

England were unfortunate with a poor penalty decision, but if you sit back on your lead you invite pressure. If Russia have the ball around the box there is always a chance they will get lucky.

The same with the second goal. It wasn't great goalkeeping by Paul Robinson but if you let your opponent take pot shots from the edge of the area these things can happen.

The manager seems to select whoever the media like at that moment in time, hence the selection of Gareth Barry and Joleon Lescott for the most recent games. Lescott had a poor game but there is no point blaming the player when he is just shoved in and expected to perform.

For a game in a hostile environment in Russia, an experienced head like Phil Neville would have been a much better bet at left-back. Not a big guy who has only played a handful of games on the left and is really a central defender at heart.

You don't feel McClaren is picking a team to win a game, but rather one that the press are going to find acceptable. Successful coaches aren't afraid to ruffle a few feathers. We need someone who isn't scared of taking chances, and is confident in stating his intentions when he gets the job.

Juergen Klinsmann made himself very unpopular in Germany before the last World Cup because he did the job his way and made some unusual decisions like basing himself in the USA. But in the end he was judged on the results during the tournament and he ended up a hero.

As nice as it would be to have an Englishman in charge of our national team, the bravest coaches seem to be foreigners like Klinsmann, Jose Mourinho and Luiz Felipe Scolari. Sam Allardyce probably has the most imagination of any homegrown manager.

England are becoming a second-rate football nation. We might keep on saying we've got the best league in the world, but that is mainly because of the great foreign players that all these millions are bringing in.

Steven Gerrard is the only player we have who is unquestionably world class. Wayne Rooney has his moments but needs to improve his consistency, while most of the rest are decent players made to look better by their foreign team-mates at club level.

Quite simply our players are not as good as they think they are. When you lose to Croatia and draw against Macedonia and Israel the evidence is there, yet still we don't face up to our failings. That unrealistic level of expectancy is still there.

England's players do not realise the hard work and sacrifice needed to succeed at international level. I once played on for England despite having a hamstring strain because I didn't want to come off even if that meant making it worse.

Today's squad would have half an eye on the next Champions League game and would come straight off. Compare that with a Croatian team that earn less money and play for lower-profile clubs - they would die for each other on the pitch and it is no wonder they are so much better collectively.

Nobody seems willing to realise this, especially the players. If we get lucky and qualify, they will all be sounding off about winning Euro 2008 and ending 42 years of hurt. But there is a reason why it is so long since we have won anything.

We need to have English players getting regular football, young players coming through and developing. But with the money and the immediate demands of success in the Premier League it is much easier to spend five million on a foreign player than nurture a teenager.

As much money as the Premier League has generated, it is damaging the England team. Our players are not good enough, and when you couple that with a manager who is tactically poor and cannot seem to motivate his players, you can see why we are in this mess.

Paul Parker was talking to Alex Chick / Eurosport