Cod Almighty | Diary

Home thoughts from abroad

15 July 2024

Miss Guest Diary writes: Football will probably make it home at some point, but it was not to be this weekend. Was anyone really surprised? Disappointed yes, but I suspect not really surprised. I've already mentioned here that I tipped Spain to win the tournament before a ball was kicked, and nothing they did caused me to change my mind.

It was noticeable that all the pundits who were giving England a chance before last night's game were very quick to pronounce Spain as the best team all along after they had won. It's this sort of double-think that plays havoc with the emotions of football fans. Spend long enough listening to the 'experts' telling you why your team could win and you start to be suckered into ignoring the facts – which were that, going into the final Spain had won six games out of six, with a goal difference of 10, England, on the other hand, had won three and drawn three, and had a goal difference of three. We're all about the data these days and those facts don't lie.

What is difficult to understand is why England aren't better. It is claimed that the Premier League is the best in the world and, with the exception of Jude Bellingham, all of the England squad currently play or have played in that league. So why does a team like Spain run rings round them? Is it something in the England psyche which tells them (and us) they're second best? Or could it be the style of play? There was talk among the pundits about the prevalence of teams playing on the front foot – by which I assume they mean having an attacking style. No one could accuse the current England team of that, as confirmed by the multiple instances of Town fans on social media comparing Gareth Southgate to Paul Hurst. Answers on a postcard, please.

I confess I'm not really that bothered by England's success or failure – I feel annoyed for about ten minutes and then move on. Town occupies such a huge place in my emotions – and tests them in some way every season – that there's simply no room for another team.

So how are Town shaping up at the moment? It is really hard to get a feel for what happened in the two pre-season games so far from watching a few minutes on YouTube, and Twitter was curiously silent for once. I was glad to see that the four goals scored have come from different players, given that there is a worrying lack of strikers in the squad at the moment. Danny Rose is still injured and Cameron Gardener is mysteriously absent, leaving us with Wilson and (presumably) Pyke, though he hasn't featured since well before last season ended. It's the same old story, isn't it – we go into the season hoping for that elusive striker who's going to get 20 goals and propel us to the top of the table. Not since the heady days of Amond and Bogle nearly 10 years ago has that pipedream become a reality.

Time to take down the wallchart and look forward to my first sighting of the Mighty Mariners at Boston tomorrow.

UTM!