- The Observer,
- Sunday October 8, 2000
Gloomy England begin life without their most optimistic supporter, Kevin Keegan, this morning. The manager who has always been honest to a fault took a close look at himself minutes after succumbing to Germany and recognised he could take England no further. Amid frantic, emotionally fuelled scenes in the dressing room the Keegan era - never a dull moment - was over.
After beating the old foe in Euro 2000, probably his finest hour-and-a-half at the helm, he expressed his hope that the tide of German superiority had turned. 'I hope we make them pay as we've had to pay,' he purred. Four months later, defiance gave way to doom as he paid the ultimate price and walked away from football. He leaves England playing catch-up one game into World Cup qualification.
Japan and South Korea in the summer of 2002 looks a very, very long way away, no matter how you look at it. In the short term it is destination Helsinki, and if England want any chance to revive a qualification campaign which began in the worst possible taste, victory is essential.
As Gareth Southgate points out: 'We've got to regroup quickly and make sure we win on Wednesday to rectify things immediately. In qualification for Euro 2000, we lost our opening game in Sweden and drew the next game at home to Bulgaria. We have to make sure we lift ourselves. Players will be stung into action.'
And how they need to be, to prevent the possibility of another competition faltering against Scandinavian opposition. The 1984 European Championship was scuppered by a goal from Denmark's Alan Simonsen. Norway's turn came when a 2-0 triumph began the rot which accounted for Graham Taylor and the 1984 World Cup. Sweden took up the baton in the turbulent approach to Euro 2000. Is it time for Finland?
England fly to Helsinki this week in a state of turmoil. They will be bolstered slightly by Greece's 1-0 home win over Finland yesterday thanks to Panathinaikos striker Nikos Liberopoulos's goal. But, while that result means England are not yet out of the reckoning, Finland showed enough tenacity to suggest they will be no pushovers at home and that, coupled with England's own current lack of self-belief, could yet lead to an upset.
All of which Howard Wilkinson, the man responsible for picking up England's shattered morale and selecting a team to claim much- needed points (with David Beckham, the most influential player, a worrying doubt), is aware of.
In temporary charge for the second time, he faces a far more critical task than on his previous experience, when a 2-0 defeat in a friendly against France at Wembley saw his charges thoroughly outclassed as the World Champions taught England a lesson.
As did Germany yesterday. For two nations wallowing in the international doldrums during last summer's European Championship, there couldn't have been a greater contrast in the way they have responded. Rudi Voller's men were well drilled, moved fluently, and each player looked comfortable with his role, to make them an individually and collectively efficient outfit.
Southgate admitted England did not do themselves justice: 'Everybody will have their opinions on formations but we have to take responsibility as players. I don't think we played well enough in the first half. We didn't perform. We livened up in the second half but we were chasing the game then.
'We didn't look like creating enough chances and we've given away a sloppy goal. It's bitterly disappointing to be beaten by them. The first game of the group, against Germany, the last game at Wembley . . . we all wanted to go out on a high. It didn't happen.'
A sense of shock shuddered through the old stadium as the last hurrah turned into a wake. After the debacle of Euro 2000, a creditable draw in Paris last month was supposed to herald a new dawn for England. It turned out to be yet another false one.
Why did they fail to carry that confidence through? Why did players in key positions struggle to spark? Paul Scholes and Nick Barmby, in particular, were poor imitations of the creative attacking forces expected of them.
David Seaman is also under fierce scrutiny for the blunder so ruthlessly capitalised on by Dietmar Hamann. Southgate tried to exonerate the 37-year-old keeper, suggesting they were all culpable.
'We didn't get a wall organised in time. Dave wanted two men in front of it and I think we were all looking at each other, waiting for each other to get in the wall. He couldn't see it until very late and it skidded up off the surface. It's not a question of blaming David at all. We need to sit down and have a think about the way things have gone. We'll probably watch the game again and see things we could have done differently.'
Perhaps Finland will choose a different video to psyche themselves up, by borrowing the legendary Norwegian commentary from the moment England's Scandinavian troubles began: 'We beat the best in the world! We beat England! Lord Nelson, Lord Beaverbrook, Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Anthony Eden, Clement Attlee, Henry Cooper, Lady Diana . . . Maggie Thatcher, can you hear me? Maggie Thatcher, your boys took one hell of a beating!'
Keegan said that if he left one legacy, he at least left a team with good spirit. That was hard to detect as they made their final journey down the Wembley tunnel, a grim-faced set of silent, sorry, shameful players.
Another 90 minutes of hurt to add to the annals. Reaction to Keegan's departure was - under FA orders - restricted to pursed lips and evasive eyes. Now it's time for the supposed cream of the country's footballers to stand up, speak up, play up, and be counted.
