WHEN Jordan Pickford claimed he was “hated” for being an England player, many a Three Lions star would agree.
The country’s No 1 held his hands up after the blunder that gifted Christian Benteke a soft goal in Everton’s 3-1 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Jordan Pickford believes he is another England international to be on the end of a vendettaCredit: PA:Empics Sport
Yet it was Pickford’s moan that he has become a target for the snipers that sparked a wider debate.
He seems to believe he is the latest victim of a national vendetta against home-grown internationals.
The Toffees keeper said: “Everyone hates you, for some reason. That’s part of being an England player.
“I think the Press and everybody — look at Gary Neville — they just want to come for the England players.
“You have got to live with it, you have got to learn.”
The irony, of course, is that Neville’s rod of iron approach, when he was a key part of Roy Hodgson’s coaching staff, was a significant factor in the drawbridges going up between England and the world’s media.
Mess up for your country — or even your club if you are an England player — and some people will want a piece of you.
Just look at the stars who have been slammed and dunked in recent years.
David Beckham and Wayne Rooney, two of England’s all-time greats.
Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard, booed at Wembley by their OWN fans.
Michael Owen, condemned as caring far more about his country than his club.
And even in more recent seasons, when, arguably, England under Gareth Southgate have become more popular nationwide than they have in more than a decade, the stick hurled at Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling.
An effigy of David Beckham was hung outside a London pub after his red card against Argentina at the World Cup in 1998Credit: PA:Press Association
PAST SYMPATHY
Yet it was not always so, even when England were massively underachieving.
West Ham fans revelled in the fact the Hammers “won the World Cup” through the feats of Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst.
They did not moan about their club’s lack of silverware.
Even in the fallow years of the 70s, England’s failures brought more frustrated resignation than visceral anger.
Harold Wilson might have blamed Peter Bonetti’s 1970 World Cup horror show against West Germany for Labour’s shock General Election defeat four days later, but the Chelsea keeper was not made an outcast the next season.
Likewise, while rival fans did not like Don Revie’s intimidating Leeds side, with questions over whether the likes of Norman Hunter and Allan Clarke should play for England, there was no orchestrated animosity.
Indeed, while England went ten years between major tournaments before a first-round exit in Euro 80, the likes of Kevin Keegan and Trevor Brooking remained popular.
There was sympathy for Chris Waddle, Stuart Pearce and Southgate after their spot-kick misses against the Germans in 1990 and Euro 96.
SHIFT IN ATTITUDE
Yet over the past two decades, things have changed.
The kick-start was when an effigy of Beckham was hung outside a London pub after his red card against Argentina at the World Cup in 1998.
Boss Glenn Hoddle had, unwittingly, lit the fuse, with his insistence that, while he was not “looking for someone to blame”, he still felt: “I am not denying it cost us the game.”
Beckham, for a year or so, was transformed from golden boy to public enemy No 1.
It was only when he took the captaincy under Sven-Goran Eriksson and scored the last-gasp free-kick against Greece to claim a place at the 2002 World Cup, that he was totally forgiven.
Yet since then, it seems anybody is fair game for the Becks treatment. So it has continued into the Southgate era, with Rooney the first to cop it in the boss’ first game.
Sterling’s stock has risen over the past two years, to the point where Liverpool’s Joe Gomez was jeered at Wembley for being on the receiving end of a training-ground blow-up by the City ace in November.
And while Kane won the Golden Boot at Russia 2018 and is on course to break Rooney’s England record of 53 goals, it seems many — especially Arsenal and Liverpool fans — are desperate to trash everything the Spurs star does.
Par for the course? If you play for England it seems you really are a hostage to fortune.
Despite the relative success under Gareth Southgate, the likes of Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling have received stickCredit: Getty – Contributor
Gareth Southgate baffled by England fans booing Gomez
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
