Wednesday 29 June 2016

Memorable, historic, unifying. This is England

What better reason to give in to the unrelenting clamour for me to restart blogging (an off-hand remark in passing every few months) than potentially the greatest night in England's glorious sporting history?

In a single night, 11 heroic and passionate warriors sacrificially gave their all to unite not just the nation but the whole continent. At a time of almost unprecedented political turmoil and cultural upheaval, what else could have brought about such a sense of togetherness and universal agreement? What else could have brought Wales, Russia, Iran, Australia, South Africa and the whole of Europe to share an undivided opinion? 
What other unifying force could have led to people from all spheres of life and from across the full political spectrum to be so unanimously of one mind? No longer are we debating formations, starting line ups, tactics or even what might constitute success. Such was the scarcely describable performance and result of the English national football team against Iceland. 

Unquestionably it will go down in history to be discussed, remembered and referred to. A landmark against which any future results even remotely similar (if that is even possible) will be compared. Already the benefits are being felt by the journalism industry, sprouting a plethora of articles discussing every possible angle and perspective. My personal favourite is this creative journalist's view on England's player ratings, he must truly have put his heart and soul into giving every single outfield player a 4/10. 

As the rugby and even cricket teams attempt to sow discord by actually winning, we can thank our footballers for their efforts in the cause of international unity. As we turn our attention to Wimbledon, the Olympics, the Ryder Cup (essentially anything to distract ourselves from what we just saw) let's be grateful that we potentially move on from a manager who has only lost one match in the Euros (Roy) to someone with his own outstanding record at the Euros (Gareth):



Exciting times ahead...