Jon Rea explains why the fun of Euro ’96 never quite made it to Nottingham
The disappointing support from local fans is only partly helpful in explaining why, for Nottingham at least, Euro ’96 was the story of the party nobody came to.
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What will be the lasting effect of Euro '96 on the culture of England fans?
So, the parts of England where most of the domestic trophies go finally saw some competitive international football for the first time in thirty years. England played well in a couple of games and might even have won it. Most of the visiting supporters seemed to enjoy themselves and German fans celebrated in Trafalgar Square after the Final without there being a riot. Things went so well, in fact, that the FA have announced that it intends to mount a bid for the 2006 World Cup.
Saturday 1 Paul Gascoigne denies press stories that place him at the centre of the "high jinks" on the England tour plane, saying, "All the newspapers are going to be sued over this," Robbie Fowler, fingered instead as the main culprit, says, "Anyone claiming I was involved had better be prepared to go to court." They might bump into Terry while they're there.
Saturday 8 Venables responds to England's disappointing performance by giving the players two days off. "Relaxed players are happy players," he says, neglecting to add whether they are also good players. Press reaction to the 1-1 draw with Switzerland is predictably apocalyptic.
Monday 10 After protests from Scottish viewers, ITV will drop their Euro '96 signature tune, 'Jerusalem', when they cover Scotland games. They will also replace graphics showing the White Cliffs of Dover and Bobby Moore with the 1966 World Cup. Heritage Secretary Virginia Bottomley says the government would be prepared to use national lottery money to back a bid to bring the 2006 World Cup to England, or Britain (ie England plus Hampden and the new stadium in Cardiff) particularly if it might help the Conservatives stay in power. The FA will decide whether to bid by Christmas – it will take from then until 2006 to perfect a ticketing system guaranteed to annoy anyone wanting to pay to see a match.