Larry Ryan: An alternative view to the World Cup
“Who knows if we will have good World Cup,” mused Roy Hodgson last week, in his final rousing call to arms. We might never know for sure judging by the resounding TV acclaim for England’s defeat on Saturday night, as Roy enjoyed the fruits of his own long campaign to dampen expectation as well as FA chief Greg Dyke’s insistence that the 2022 World Cup is the one they are really after.
Gary Lineker’s conclusion that it was “not the most depressing England defeat” summed up the cheerful mood on BBC. Unusually, the positivity was largely shared on RTÉ, at least until Steven Gerrard, in his post-match debrief with Gabby Logan, argued that “you couldn’t point a finger at anyone”. That was when Gilesy had enough. “You could point a finger at him.” Eamon Dunphy concurred: “Gerrard was non-existent.”
