World Cup 2010: Analyzing the Hysteria of England vs. USA

Three days after England and the USA’s 1-1 draw in their Group C opening fixture, it is time to look over the reaction with a more sober and dispassionate eye. As is usual with England, the immediate response to the perceived failure was vociferous.

Amongst the worst of the over-reaction was to be found on the Mirror World Cup blog, which published a Jim Shelley article risibly entitled: ‘Genius’ Capello has been exposed as a fraud by this World cup. Five Serie A titles, two La Liga wins and a Champions League victory - obvious marks of a managerial charlatan.

Ironically, some English analysts chose to take aim at the reaction of the US media to the draw, with most criticism being directed at the front page of the New York Post, which screamed: US Wins 1-1, declaring the match to be the “greatest tie against the British since Bunker Hill”. Whilst this headline was patently satirical, the same could not be said for some of the headlines in England. The News of the World’s “Hand of Clod” and the Sunday Mirror’s “worst England error ever” being amongst the worst offenders. English journalists also dipped into the reservoir of colonial comparisons; Jonathan Northcroft in the Sunday Times equating the 1-1 draw with the Boston Tea Party.

None of this should worry the players or the coach too much; the players are well used to the harping of the English press and the manager is experienced enough not to let it affect his preparations. Today however, criticism of the English methods came from an unexpected outside source, as German legend Franz Beckenbauer lambasted England’s opening performance, writing in a South African newspaper column that what he “saw of the English against the USA had very little to do with football”. Der Kaiser returned to a familiar theme for him - the proliferation of foreign players in the Premier League - and claimed that England play a unstylish brand of “kick and rush” football.

England did indeed lack creatively and accuracy in their passing against the USA, but no-one should put too much stock in Beckenbauer’s comments. His position as German cheerleader during major tournaments is well-established, and his comments could be a device to destabilise the old English enemy before a possible second round meeting.

The inquisition continued at England’s press conference on Tuesday, where defender Jamie Carragher was the team’s sole representative. The Liverpool man was given quite a grilling by the English journalists present, whose questions and demeanour typified the frantic response. It was clear that the assembled party had decided that a scapegoat was needed - there was an equally obvious consensus that Fabio Capello be that man. The journalists spoke to Carragher in a manner suggesting that the veteran was seeking to protect his manager from blame. As expected, many of the queries put to him concerned Robert Green’s damaging error; however, they asked not about Green himself, but rather about how his misfortune may have been caused by Capello’s own failings.

This generosity towards Green was somewhat surprising, given the vitriol that was directed towards the goalkeeper by the tabloids in the immediate after the match. However, it was indicative of the schizophrenic volte-faces that typify our tabloids. As swiftly as Green went from being vilified to pitied, England’s manager has been transformed from revered Iron Sergeant to a bumbling dunce.

Carragher was asked several times about Fabio Capello’s selection methods, with particular focus being placed on his revelation of his starting line-up only two hours before kick-off. Carragher fended off numerous leading questions, all implying that this ‘uncertainty’ caused tension and worry inside the camp, which could have been avoided if only the manager had been more forthcoming about his plans. Even after Carragher dismissed the notion - stating that in all his years at Liverpool the starting line-up was revealed to the players in the same fashion - the journalists persisted in searching for a way to blame Capello’s ‘unorthodox’ methods.

Of course, the Italian’s reportedly impersonal and authoritarian approach is precisely what had made him so popular with England fans and the press before the tournament. However, one draw has changed that; he is no longer a revered party pooper and WAG vanquisher, but a big bully who may have hurt our poor lads’ feelings.

With the injury to Ledley King and the probably damage to Robert Green’s confidence, Don Fabio’s best-laid plays have already gone awry and we can expect to see his Plan B in the next group match against Algeria - a plan which will likely again be kept secret until the last possible moment. Despite the anger and despair displayed by the media thus far, if England win comfortably one can expect the nation’s  press to backslide into their worst “1966 again” excesses. Whatever the result, finding the middle ground would be a forlorn hope. Mr Capello will either end the tournament with a triumphant media calling for his honorary ennoblement, or with the ultimate humiliation our country can bestow upon him - his face on a root vegetable.