So, the fat lady has sung. England are not going to host the 2018 World Cup. It is a shame, not looking forward in reading the morning papers. I will predict loads of blames that will echo all over the place but to be honest, let us not blame anyone. Not the BBC, not Panorama, not anyone.
I see it as that England made many, many faults. They took very little notice of the successes of London 2012. The 2012 bid team tried really hard for those athletes to get the opportunity of a lifetime and be part of something magnificent. They succeeded with Kelly Holmes, even David Beckham helped then. Major British icons which are an inspiration to many.
What did England have as their "mascots"? Yes, David Beckham helped a lot but so did David Cameron and Prince William. Tony Blair did very little to help the London 2012 happen back in 2005. He just made a little congratulations speech after it was announced. He knew he was unpopular and he knew that politics would not help the bid. That's probably why Vladimir Putin didn't attend Zurich for the announcement?
Not many people are into politics and not many people even in England are into the "traditional English" ways. We are moving on and in generations to come, we will become even more multicultural than what we are now. There wasn't enough of it in England's presentation. A lot of passion, I'll give you that but nothing which shows the 21st Century England.
David Cameron has been given a lot of stick since he was sworn in as Prime Minister. Public Sector cuts, University cuts. And even Prince William's wedding announcements didn't get too much approval from the English public, apart from the fact that there will be an extra bank holiday. They have so many football players which are loved by everyone - Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes. They were nowhere to be seen. Even the golden oldies, class of 1966, Sir Bobby Charlton et al. - didn't see much of him either.
Also, I have to be critical of the choice of venues. No disrespect to Milton Keynes, Bristol or Plymouth but why on earth would anyone consider these cities to host a competition so prestigious. They may have the capabilities but there are many other stadiums in London which exceed the Fifa's requirements but were ignored. I must admit, I was surprised that the first three cities mentioned were even considered to be host cities. I can't think of many attractions in them.
Plymouth is close to the sea and separates Devon and Cornwall, ok. Bristol is a major city which has a very famous and iconic bridge, fine. Milton Keynes is an up and coming place which is fine by me but none of them can shine as leading cities. You can say I am being harsh and they had seven and a half years to prove themselves but the first impression is always the most important.
This leads to my next reason. London 2012 was supposed to be just based in London, hence "London 2012". However, in their bid, they said that this is going to be the "British games". They have Scotland and Wales involved in something which the whole country cannot wait for.
England 2018 made their bid very English completely disregarding the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and the stadiums in Scotland such as Ibrox and Hamden Park. Yes, it's England 2018 but why go through all the bother building new stadiums where there are easier alternatives prior with agreeing with the Welsh and Scottish boards.
Let us not forget Northern Ireland. They have Windsor Park which has a perfect atmosphere. You can argue that London were representing Great Britain but the bid name wasn't "Cardiff 2012", "Glasgow 2012" or "GB 2012", was it?
Eventual winners Russia didn't seem to be the strongest contender in my eyes until this morning. Watching the presentation, I have to say that I was impressed. Andrei Arshavin may have copied Beckham with the emotional speech by shedding a tear or two but other than that they rose to the challenge.
Talking of Andrei Arshavin, he is twenty-nine years of age. Not very young but he has developed a lot since his childhood. He is over eleven years into his career and his dedications goes to the youth development.
We see English development for the youth and it's not amazing. They get over excited about the likes of Scott Sinclair (now at Swansea) and Adam Johnson (for Manchester City) but neither of them have created the flares of Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst 44 years ago. England play with a similar strategy (i.e.) picking the same players - John Terry, Wayne Rooney so the kids are not going to get much of a chance.
Yes, England have given Jay Bothroyd and Andy Carroll a chance to play against France a few of weeks ago but that isn't not going to improve the youth system. A lot of money has been put into these developments but there has to be a psychological plan for less children to play in their back gardens and more to FA training fields.
Perhaps it's a lack of encouragement or publicity. Whatever it is, the England FA has to find a way fast and get new players which look like world class footballers. We wouldn't like to rely on Paul Scholes again, would we?
Russia are a country which have just come from hell in the 20th Century and now back up again in this century. A country dominated by politics in recent years, Prime Minister Putin did not attend the ceremony in Zurich but their sport minister was there. So where was Jeremy Hunt? Our Government's sport minister wasn't there.
Russia has offered a lot to football fans across the globe. Firstly, they said all of their stadiums are either being built as we speak or are already ready. The venues looks stunning though. Also, they are offering free visas to whoever has a World Cup ticket.
When they announced that, already I was sold because I knew, from friend's experiences, that it's impossible to get a visa there. Also, free train journeys from one city venue to another will be free providing that the person has a World Cup ticket was another pledge they made. Best to save my pennies now before seven and a half years time when I will be 26 years of age!
The main problem with England was that they hadn't produced what I call "The Seb Coe effect", something was missing in England's bid. But doesn't mean it's the end of the world. England still has one of the best league's in the world. No consolation there? Well, they have to do nothing else but to move on.
I think I've ran out of things to say. But I would have written much, much more. May I end this rather critical blog to congratulate Russia and Qatar for their success in their bids for the World Cups in 2018 and 2022 respectively. I will be looking forward in watching these tournaments come rain or shine.
I see it as that England made many, many faults. They took very little notice of the successes of London 2012. The 2012 bid team tried really hard for those athletes to get the opportunity of a lifetime and be part of something magnificent. They succeeded with Kelly Holmes, even David Beckham helped then. Major British icons which are an inspiration to many.
What did England have as their "mascots"? Yes, David Beckham helped a lot but so did David Cameron and Prince William. Tony Blair did very little to help the London 2012 happen back in 2005. He just made a little congratulations speech after it was announced. He knew he was unpopular and he knew that politics would not help the bid. That's probably why Vladimir Putin didn't attend Zurich for the announcement?
Not many people are into politics and not many people even in England are into the "traditional English" ways. We are moving on and in generations to come, we will become even more multicultural than what we are now. There wasn't enough of it in England's presentation. A lot of passion, I'll give you that but nothing which shows the 21st Century England.
David Cameron has been given a lot of stick since he was sworn in as Prime Minister. Public Sector cuts, University cuts. And even Prince William's wedding announcements didn't get too much approval from the English public, apart from the fact that there will be an extra bank holiday. They have so many football players which are loved by everyone - Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes. They were nowhere to be seen. Even the golden oldies, class of 1966, Sir Bobby Charlton et al. - didn't see much of him either.
Also, I have to be critical of the choice of venues. No disrespect to Milton Keynes, Bristol or Plymouth but why on earth would anyone consider these cities to host a competition so prestigious. They may have the capabilities but there are many other stadiums in London which exceed the Fifa's requirements but were ignored. I must admit, I was surprised that the first three cities mentioned were even considered to be host cities. I can't think of many attractions in them.
Plymouth is close to the sea and separates Devon and Cornwall, ok. Bristol is a major city which has a very famous and iconic bridge, fine. Milton Keynes is an up and coming place which is fine by me but none of them can shine as leading cities. You can say I am being harsh and they had seven and a half years to prove themselves but the first impression is always the most important.
This leads to my next reason. London 2012 was supposed to be just based in London, hence "London 2012". However, in their bid, they said that this is going to be the "British games". They have Scotland and Wales involved in something which the whole country cannot wait for.
England 2018 made their bid very English completely disregarding the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and the stadiums in Scotland such as Ibrox and Hamden Park. Yes, it's England 2018 but why go through all the bother building new stadiums where there are easier alternatives prior with agreeing with the Welsh and Scottish boards.
Let us not forget Northern Ireland. They have Windsor Park which has a perfect atmosphere. You can argue that London were representing Great Britain but the bid name wasn't "Cardiff 2012", "Glasgow 2012" or "GB 2012", was it?
Eventual winners Russia didn't seem to be the strongest contender in my eyes until this morning. Watching the presentation, I have to say that I was impressed. Andrei Arshavin may have copied Beckham with the emotional speech by shedding a tear or two but other than that they rose to the challenge.
Talking of Andrei Arshavin, he is twenty-nine years of age. Not very young but he has developed a lot since his childhood. He is over eleven years into his career and his dedications goes to the youth development.
We see English development for the youth and it's not amazing. They get over excited about the likes of Scott Sinclair (now at Swansea) and Adam Johnson (for Manchester City) but neither of them have created the flares of Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst 44 years ago. England play with a similar strategy (i.e.) picking the same players - John Terry, Wayne Rooney so the kids are not going to get much of a chance.
Yes, England have given Jay Bothroyd and Andy Carroll a chance to play against France a few of weeks ago but that isn't not going to improve the youth system. A lot of money has been put into these developments but there has to be a psychological plan for less children to play in their back gardens and more to FA training fields.
Perhaps it's a lack of encouragement or publicity. Whatever it is, the England FA has to find a way fast and get new players which look like world class footballers. We wouldn't like to rely on Paul Scholes again, would we?
Russia are a country which have just come from hell in the 20th Century and now back up again in this century. A country dominated by politics in recent years, Prime Minister Putin did not attend the ceremony in Zurich but their sport minister was there. So where was Jeremy Hunt? Our Government's sport minister wasn't there.
Russia has offered a lot to football fans across the globe. Firstly, they said all of their stadiums are either being built as we speak or are already ready. The venues looks stunning though. Also, they are offering free visas to whoever has a World Cup ticket.
When they announced that, already I was sold because I knew, from friend's experiences, that it's impossible to get a visa there. Also, free train journeys from one city venue to another will be free providing that the person has a World Cup ticket was another pledge they made. Best to save my pennies now before seven and a half years time when I will be 26 years of age!
The main problem with England was that they hadn't produced what I call "The Seb Coe effect", something was missing in England's bid. But doesn't mean it's the end of the world. England still has one of the best league's in the world. No consolation there? Well, they have to do nothing else but to move on.
I think I've ran out of things to say. But I would have written much, much more. May I end this rather critical blog to congratulate Russia and Qatar for their success in their bids for the World Cups in 2018 and 2022 respectively. I will be looking forward in watching these tournaments come rain or shine.
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