Euro 2016: Five people who let England down in France
Let's be brutally honest, England have been terrible at the UEFA Euro 2016. They needed a good start, and what they got was an extremely average Russian side (who lost all of their other games) sucker punching them at the last minute, and Gary Cahill crouching down and mouthing "f*** me".
That set the tone for the competition, and whatever positivity was achieved in the win against Wales was lost in the stale possession based football against Slovakia. There was a lot of positivity when England drew Iceland in the round of 16, but the way they played a capable Portugal side made it clear that they weren't ones to lie down and take things for granted.
It is difficult to pinpoint a select few people who caused the situation, but well, I will try my best, some of them being more obvious than the others. By the way, I couldn't resist an "Honourable mentions", read on.
#1 Joe Hart
Joe Hart is one of those who shouts gusto to every player when they come out of the dugout, says the right things in front of the media, and owns up his mistakes. The problem is there has been an awful lot of owning up for his own good.
I am sure he would have apologised to everyone in the dressing room after making a meal of the Gareth Bale’s free-kick, and I am sure he will apologise again for his mistake of letting in a shot at the pace of a pass back go through him. With the quality of Fraser Forster and Jack Butland waiting in the wings, one wonders, how long apologies will keep him on the side.
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola has started looking for a new goalkeeper.