1966 and all that
1966 and all that
An article by my good friend and fellow football enthusiast Amit Katwala
This could be the year. Normally this close to a World Cup we’d be bombarded with that phrase. Newspapers would be running stories about England’s golden generation finally coming good, about how the climate in South Africa, combined with handpicked weaknesses of the other teams will combine to allow Capello’s team to lift that elusive trophy and finally give England fans something to talk about besides ’66 and all that.
But this time it seems different. There is no shouting, there are no grand statements.
Maybe its due to the humbling failure to qualify for the European Championships, or maybe it’s because the election is taking up all the column inches, but the mood this time seems to be more reserved. There is a cautious, quiet optimism – a feeling that we’ve got a chance, but we’d better not say anything to jinx it.
Ironically, this lull in expectancy has coincided with a sustained run of performances that have been as good as anything we’ve seen from an England side since 1990. Not always dazzling, granted, but good. Consistently good.
But will that be enough?
