Sweet FA

I had the pleasure of attending last nights game at Wembley and I have to say (despite the inepitude of the football itself), the experience WAS a pleasure.
I'd had my doubts about Wembley and whether it could live up to the Millenium Stadium as a place which could truly create a sense of awe for the average football watching punter like me, the answer is a resounding yes.....

As we walked into the stadium to our seats (in the top tier), a collective "WOW" emanated from myself and my companions (perhaps we're too easily impressed) as we took in the magnificent surroundings................ this was quickly followed by the words '"Pitch looks a bit crap Dad" from my daughter, who was the first to study the 'business end' of the place in any detail. She was of course correct, as I am sure anybody watching on TV would also have noticed.

Now this brings me to my point..... for what it's worth...

Firstly I do not believe for one moment that the state of pitch itself contributed to the way England played last night (in fact I think the pitch 'played' a lot better than its appearance suggested - the fact that Sol Campbell could slide nearly 50 yards on his, not inconsiderable, arse, (to everyones great amusement) suggested that under the crappy looking surface the pitch remained pretty firm)........

My point is the state of the pitch was indicative of the way the English FA have managed our game over recent years. That the FA (and I know they dont 'own' Wembley) could allow such a high profile match to be played on a suface that resembled Sloughbottom Park after a wet week in February ( which by pure bad luck had coincided with the annual Mile X graffiti writers paint spraying jamboree), suggested to me that those in charge of our national team are guilty of;
a lack of pride;
a lack of authority over their partners (like Wembley and the Premier League);
a lack of sense of a occasion and
a lack of understanding of what footbal at this level really means to the populus.

All this may be overstating the importance of a patch of grass but for me summed up my thoughts on how the FA have handled our game over recent years, from youth level right through to the international team and managerial appointments - no pride, no authority, bad management, no strategic thinking ........ McClaren deserved to go but the ineptitude of the FA remains at the core of the England team problems and the problems we will continue to see through the power of the Premier League which the FA are not strong enough to control......until the FA fundamentally changes the game will continue to lurch between farce and crisis

Not sure if the pitch analogy worked here , but rant over, thank-you for your attention.......

Posted By: StrangeBrew on November 22nd 2007 at 15:19:30

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