It’s hard to be impartial sometimes. Being a child of Scottish and Irish parents, born in London, supporting England hasn’t always come so easily. Watching a horror show at Euro 88, again four years later, and the failure to qualify for World Cup 1994 was difficult. England rise and fall, come close, flatter to deceive and disappoint in equal measure. This summer’s European Championships promise to be no different. The press harp on about the greatest league in the world, and yet the national team are expected to do not much better than qualify through a medium-level group.

The Sun, the average fan and flag manufacturers pray for an England win - but here are five reasons why I hope England bomb.

1. The ‘Golden Generation’ must go once and for all

Germany 2006 was supposed to be the pinnacle. Terry, Cole (Ashley and Joe), Lampard, Gerrard and Owen were due to peak six years ago, and some of that group continue to linger around the squad. Experience is apparently the quality we should aspire to – but at the expense of skill? Of the group above, only Ashley Cole was arguably the world’s finest at his peak, and it’s about time that a bunch of the decent U-21 squad gets a real promotion, and not just sticking Jordan Henderson on the pitch against France. Jack Wilshere is our brightest prospect, but will any others be able to push past the old guard? You don’t see many English players retire gracefully. Heskey and Robinson retired in a huff, while perhaps only Paul Scholes and Alan Shearer went at the right time. Give it up lads.

2. Make the most of St George’s Park

Defeat is not the complete failure if it leads to future success. The FA finally got their chequebook out, product of all those unpopular FA Cup semi-finals, and paid for St George’s Park, the new home for England’s development. Will it be the new Clairefontaine? Producing world champions is the ultimate brief, but if England win this summer, would it be used effectively? It’s believed that Roy Hodgson was employed to oversee the centre, but a campaign based around European Champions such as Gareth Barry, Andy Carroll and Gary Cahill could do more harm than good. It needs more than money, but look at Spain – it took several failures for them to look at themselves, although their recent success could also be attributed to just sheer luck that Xavi, Iniesta, Villa, Puyol, Alonso and Casillas all came through at the right time.

3. Appreciate exotic treasures

The dawn of the internet and digital TV has broadened our horizons to football beyond these shores, and marvel at Munich, Barcelona and Madrid. But we have such a blinkered view to the national teams, still proud of jingoistic stereotypes. An early England departure may allow as a chance to full appreciate the ever-improving German team, the Jekyll and Hyde Dutch, or the tiki-taka Spanish. Remove the blinkers and open our eyes. You never know, your club may swoop for the Ukrainian number 21 for next season. With the growing ex-pat communities of Eastern Europe on these shores, it may be time to get yourselves down to your local Polish boozer and cheer for the home nation and swill some Lech.

4. Roy is not the Messiah

I’ve blogged previously about the topic of manager. While I’m happy that Harry Redknapp didn’t get the job, did Hodgson get the job by default? He’s got international tournament experience, and is renowned for getting great results from average players. Hodgson will give England some structure and stability, but it’s unlikely that he can get much more. The players in South Africa at the last World Cup moaned about boredom. Will endless drills and practice help keep the spirits up? English coaches have always seemed to be behind the times, even the Scottish were the great innovators of the early life of the game. But if Stuart Pearce genuinely thought he was in with a shout, we may have dodged a bullet after all.

 5. Do we want the memories?

We look back at the 1966 team and see the captain sat on the shoulders of his team-mates, lifting the famous trophy. The photos have been shown thousands of times, and that famous red shirt is iconic. If England win this summer, do we want to see photographs of this team? Ashley Cole, Terry, Lampard, Rooney etc gurning their way into the history books is not a sight I want. But looking back, even Bobby Moore was known to get in trouble with the Mexican constabulary.

I look forward to every major finals, whether England are in it or not. England games have provided many memories, and not just the idiot who headbutted a Police horse in Watford High St after the 2006 defeat to Portugal. I want to remember a winner who played the best football, had the finest players and maybe even win me some money (my bi-annual twenty quid on Van Persie to be top scorer looks a sure thing this summer). But I’m also grateful that the closest Harry Redknapp will be to this England team will be staring out of a rainy window in Donetsk to the tune of “Without You”.

 @fantana275 (Arsenal fan)

@Fantana275 can usually be found writing about the lighter side of the game on: http://nelsonscolumnblog.blogspot.com/

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