EDITORIAL

By Jason Moore
WATCHING the victory parade through the streets of London yesterday it came home to me how starved on sporting success England as a nation really is. I don't remember the epic 1966 World Cup victory so for me it is the first time that I have seen a World Cup winning team. Rugby union is not a mainstream sport but we are good at it. Soccer will always be Number 1 but I have come to the conclusion that we are not very good at it and I find it very hard to get too optimistic about England's chances in the European championships next summer. I will bet you know that the England squad will watch the final from their homes. I am not being defeatist, I think I am being realistic. Before we start being engulfed in talk of England going all the way, egged on by the tabloids and by the TV company who will have the rights to the finals, let's get one thing clear. I don't think England has the squad. Sven Goran Eriksson has done little as England manager and he picks the squad which any football punter would pick. There has been no radical change, there has been an influx of young players, tactically the squad is naive, just the same old faces, who are all now slightly older. The only one bright spot is perhaps David Beckham who may have learnt some new ideas at his new club. But that is it, I am afraid to say. So whatever the sporting arguments may be, we now have a choice. Soccer will always be king, but I doubt that we will ever see a parade like the one in London yesterday led by David Beckham. I hope I am proved wrong, but I don't think so. We now have a team who have shown that they can win, even away from home soil. I wish the England squad the best of luck in Portugal and hope they can get to the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, rugby fans and those who like to see England win at anything can savour the moment and enjoy being Champions of the World, which is a rather nice feeling.