England fail again - but why?

It is easy to suggest that the England players are hubristic, narcissistic, selfish, overpaid and lazy. Because, superficially, it appears that they can sometimes exhibit these traits. After the defeat to Iceland last night, it is even more tempting to buy into this idea of England as a bunch of self-serving clowns. But it doesn’t quite sit right. England are a very bad side, obviously, but it doesn’t stand up to scrutiny that the problem is their arrogance. Young English footballers are given a great deal that most in this and other countries will forever do without. They are paid huge amounts of money to perform, and yet they don’t for England. However, you only have to look at how they perform for their clubs to see that it is too easy to suggest the usual criticisms hold completely true.

There are plenty of players in the England squad who put in performances for their club which are more than adequate. It suggests that the problem is not with individuals.

Danny Rose and Kyle Walker are both extremely vulnerable full-backs. Their defensive positioning and awareness is clearly lacking, and easily exposed. It was against Iceland, it was before then, and it will be again. With Spurs, that matters little with a solid defensive pairing of Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld, and in a well drilled, disciplined side.

Eric Dier, ahead of them for both club and country, is an adept central midfielder and should grow into an assured and reassuring presence for those around him. As he gains more experience, he will offer more protection to those behind him and assistance to those ahead of him. Probably. But even now, he is a player worth including in the national side, and he has impressed in one of the best leagues in the world.

Dele Alli, another team-mate, and Harry Kane, have both been exceptionally threatening this year, and from what they contribute for Spurs, it seems reasonable to expect serious improvement in the seasons to come. All five players do well for Spurs - better than well in many matches - but fall apart for England.

Away from North London, Jamie Vardy has had a superb season, despite justifiable misgivings about his character. Daniel Sturridge is clearly frail but has enormous ability, which can sometimes win matches. Jordan Henderson might be one-dimensional, but it can be of assistance in support of others around him to do something more imaginative, just as Adam Lallana can competently occupy space on the right in a more sophisticated side.

Some of these players are vital to their sides, others of them are merely acceptable parts of a team. But for the most part, they do not disgrace themselves with incompetence or gutlessness. There is a foundation there to build a side that might well still lose to France, Spain, Italy and Germany, but should have no real problem in dealing with Iceland or Slovakia. That is no criticism of either of those sides, but it is a failing that England cannot negotiate their way past them with the players available to them.

Of course, there are players there who can’t - or don’t - do enough. Chris Smalling and Gary Cahill play for two of the biggest clubs in the country, and they still, despite their experience, need someone better than them to constantly tell them what they should be doing. Jack Wilshere is plainly far too interested in celebrating Brexit than he is improving even slightly upon the player he was at 17. He is, simply, a badly-coiffured fool. Raheem Sterling showed what a dangerous player he can be when given Sturridge and Luis Suarez to work with, but the last two years have demonstrated that he is not yet mature enough to lead a team.

The worst two influences for England, on the pitch, are Joe Hart and Wayne Rooney. Hart conspicuously shouting in the tunnel before the match, reminiscent of him screaming at a ball boy in a previous match, was almost certainly no use at all to the less experienced players around him. His veins were full of adrenaline, and when he stepped on the pitch he was unable to perform basic tasks, such as saving to his left. He is the worst form of thinking that passion is a substitute for leadership, and for making sure that he leads by the wrong example rather than simply doing his job to an acceptable level.

Rooney, on the other hand, leads the players with his friendly demeanour to those around him. He seems to be liked by most people around him, and well respected. He has won almost every trophy going, played hundreds of games for Manchester United, and at times been by far the best player for both teams. But he is now simply an awful player, feted as a statesman of both sides, and rewarded absurdly well for it. Everyone should know how bad he is now, but it still seems like it is impossible that more than a handful will ever accept it. He is an actively negative presence on the pitch.

The worst players play for the clubs which are traditionally the big four: Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United. It is they who underperform and drag those around them down. The ones used to the biggest stages and the highest demands are those who fail most significantly. Perhaps the problem is that they cannot rely on their foreign club teammates to take responsibility, and to think for themselves in tight suggestions. There is a problem with the mentality of England, and much of that is the fault of the manager. But it probably isn’t a question of attitude, or wanting to win, but of not having a manager who can turn superstars into leaders.