Carlos Tevez: doesn't fancy it (Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images)
Football in Britain has forever been associated with strength and manliness. It’s a belief that dates back to the game’s origins and its development in the 19th Century. From this, the image of an English ‘hard man’ has grown; your ‘no nonsense,’ ‘big hearted’ and typically dim individual who we know never to pull out of a tackle, never to give the opposition at inch.
Naturally, this isn’t the default for all footballers across the world. Many countries have sought technique over physicality, or chosen to intellectualise the sport rather than use the hell-for-leather approach sometimes adopted in the English game. The point is that different countries produce different footballers, with different preferences and a different understanding of the game. This is why some footballers struggle to settle in other countries; it can be a case of finding it difficult to adapt to a new league, or simply find living hard without home comforts.
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The Darren Bent debate: did O’Neill’s record warrant more cash?
Should O'Neill have been given the £18 million his successor has spent on Darren Bent?
Darren Bent’s £18 million move from Sunderland to Aston Villa has provoked much debate and opinion, and even accusations of xenophobia from Villa boss Gerard Houllier.
The main focus of discussions however has centred on Randy Lerner and his strained relationship with former manager Martin O’Neill. It is believed O’Neill left the club in August last year because he felt he was being inadequately supported in the transfer window by Lerner, who supposedly encouraged a sell-to-buy policy.
Was it passion or fatigue that let England down in South Africa?
England's summer tournament failures: passion or fatigue?
One of the great images of English football is Terry Butcher’s wide-eyed, blood-splattered expression after a heroic performance to help England qualify for Italia ’90. It epitomised everything a fan wants to see from an English footballer; single-minded focus on doing one’s best for one’s country.
The image has also come to drive public expectation of players pulling on the white jersey of England; the catchword becoming ‘passion’ for millions of supporters. If England are misplacing passes, losing 50:50 tackles or, as we saw in South Africa, being comprehensively outpaced, outmanoeuvred and outplayed by an old enemy, it’s happening largely because the players lack passion.
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