Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has spoken out about England’s failures in major tournaments over the last few years.
Neville himself was involved in many disappointments for the national team and he has revealed that even Sir Alex Ferguson couldn’t have helped England win major silverware.
The Sky Sports pundit said: “Ferguson may have got more out of the squad, But the reality is would we have beaten Spain in the last World Cup? No, because they were better than England.”
Neville then went on to say that he looks back on his England career as a ‘waste of time’ because of the lack of success he achieved over 85 caps.
He continued: “I loved playing for England but we’ve fallen short and I’ve contributed to that over the last 10 years as much as anyone.”
“The analogy I use is if a man takes a woman out 85 times and then she’s not your girlfriend at the end of it, you’ve wasted a lot of time.”
However, Neville thinks there are some excellent young players coming through and that the future of the England national team could be brighter.
He said: “I see a different type of player coming through – a more intelligent type of player. Players who grew up in the 1970s and 80s watched a more straight up-and-down football.”
“But since the likes of Zola, Bergkamp, Cantona and Ronaldo came in, players are looking at more technically skilled and cultured players and England will get the benefit.”
“The likes of Wilshere and Cleverley will give England a better chance of winning the World Cup.”
First things first though, England need to qualify for next summer’s European Championships and they have two important games coming up this week.
Fabio Capello’s men take on Bulgaria this evening, followed by a home game against Wales on Tuesday. Two victories over the next few days and England have one foot in Euro 2012.
As for the young players like to make an impact in these games, Jack Wilshere will miss out through injury, but Manchester United duo Tom Cleverley and Chris Smalling could both be involved.
Perhaps England will play the type of football that will excite Neville and others watching. There are certainly a new generation of players coming through and perhaps the more successful times start now.
Bulgaria v England gets underway at 7.15pm this evening.
