The very English nature of our expectations creates the illusion of chronic failure
There is a peculiar tendency in Britain (maybe just in England) which insists that nothing but the best is good enough. The government wants the NHS to be “the best in the world”. Our millennium celebrations were supposed to be “the envy of the world”.
Clubs are spending too much cash on foreign players
Here are some opinions that you might have read in the papers recently. There are too many foreigners playing football in Britain at the moment. There aren’t enough foreigners playing football in Britain at the moment. There are too many of the wrong kind of foreigners playing football in Britain at the moment.
Chester City fans celebrated the arrival of Terry Smith, who took over the club last year. They are not celebrating now, says Mark Howell
Terry Smith, the 40-year-old former coach of Manchester Spartans American Football team, took control of Chester City in July 1999. Asked to explain his interest, Smith cited his children’s love of Chester Zoo and the fact that “Americans love history, and Chester is steeped in history”. Supporters celebrated nonetheless. They had raised over £100,000 towards Smith’s takeover and were set to own over 30 per cent of the club, which had been in administration for almost a year.
If Howard Wilkinson has his way, professional coaches in England will eventually have to obtain an official qualification. Bernd Huck explains how the system works in Germany
Karlheinz Riedle never wanted to be a coach. But when Mohamed Al-Fayed sacked Paul Bracewell and asked Riedle to take charge at Craven Cottage, he agreed to do the Fulham owner a favour. “But only for a short time, because I’m really not the coaching type.”
Craig Brown talks to Jonathan Northcroft about his expectations for Euro 2000 and how is job as Scotland manager is affected by changing trends in international football
Which countries do you expect to do well at Euro 2000?
If I had to pick a winner, I’d choose France. My top four favourites are France, the Czech Republic, England and Holland – in that order. People might be surprised I’m putting England that high, but I feel that when Kevin Keegan gets his squad away from club distractions, their performances will improve. There’s so much at stake at English club level these days, it’s bound to have an effect. If you’re a Manchester United player, for example, you naturally concentrate on the Champions League and winning the Premiership during the season. Get the players away at the training camp, where Keegan will be very good, where he can get the motivation bubbling up, and it’ll be different. The French have obvious qualities – they won the World Cup with a great team and none of those players has since gone over the hill. Indeed they’ve strengthened their squad by bringing in quality young players like Johan Micoud. Laurent Blanc’s still in great form, aged 34, and Didier Deschamps still battles in midfield. Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet are great striking options. And Zidane is still the man, for me. They’re the closest the world’s got to a complete team: as well as their skills, they’ve got great athleticism and just look at the size of them. The fact they struggled a little in qualifying was just a natural reaction to coming back to earth after winning the World Cup.