Do You Still Wish We’d Qualified for Euro 2008?

December 3rd, 2008 | By: Daryl | 2 Comments »

So happy days are here again. We’re top of World Cup Qualifying UEFA Group Four by five points and we just beat Germany in Berlin. Even better, the WAG culture appears to be disappearing and the team is now selected on form not fame, so big name players are no longer automatic picks (sorry Michael Owen.) And I couldn’t be happier.

But it’s worth remembering that the Fabio Capello revolution only came about because earlier this year we failed to qualify for Euro 2008. Remember how much that hurt? Part of me still wishes we’d gone to Swissaustria, but part of me is glad we failed because it led to the end of Steve McClaren.

But what if we’d qualified?

It’s not inconceivable that we’d have made the quartefinals and then lost on spot-kicks. Standard England fare. If that had happened then Steve McClaren could possibly still be England manager. Or who knows, maybe we’d have won the damn thing.

So was failing to make Euro 2008 worth a little pain for the current pleasure of having a respectable and exciting team? Phrased as a sci-fi-tastic hypothetical question: If given a time machine and the chance to go back and change England history, would you have us qualify for Euro 2008? Or, phrased as a poll…

Do You Still Wish We’d Qualified for Euro 2008?
( polls)

Tags: Back to the Future, England, England Team News, Euro 2008, Fabio Capello, Steve McClaren, World Cuo 2010

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Comments

By Rob | December 4th, 2008 at 7:55 pm

God, its tricky. Obviously I would have liked for us to have been there. I remember watching that Croatia game and my jaw just dropped when the final whistle went, i literally couldn’t believe it. As absolutely awful as we were at that point I was convinced we’d pull it out the bag.

And I loved watching the Euros, but It was such a hollow experience without England. Sure there are other teams and players I’m fond of but it wasn’t the same.

I think its analogous to Euro 2000. We’d probably have gone out of the group stage, embaressed, McClaren might have clung on, but not for long. We’d have got Fabio in anyway.

So in that instance, yeah we might as well have been in it. Though it would have been dreadful going out the first round.