Dietmar Hamann slams England and the Premier League

The former Germany global made the remarks to RTE television in Ireland following England’s shock 2-1 defeat by Iceland at Euro 2016 on Monday night.

The Premier League and worldwide football seem so far detached from life as we know it down in the delightful echelons of non-league football, a part of the game I love and with which the bond only grows stronger when you see how much of a failure the national team so often are. “They pay world-class wages for above average players”.

The loss to Iceland is considered England’s worst worldwide defeat since losing 1-0 to the United States at the 1950 World Cup in Brazil.

The former Liverpool and Bayern Munich midfielder reckons that “the Premier League is average” and that they’ve “sold a Skoda for a Lamborghini for the last 15 years”. I hear people say that is a sign of mental fragility.

Hodgson subsequently insisted in a press conference in Chantilly on Tuesday that England’s young squad can recover from the setback at future tournaments under new management, but Gerrard insists nothing will change as long as the current atmosphere surrounds the squad.

Regarding England’s loss to Iceland, he similarly didn’t mince words: “Yes, it’s a shock in a way, but I don’t think we should be too surprised. That is just my own personal opinion, it might not reflect everyone else’s”, Miller said.

Iceland, featuring in their first major championship, are the lowest-ranked team in the tournament and have a population lower than the metropolitan borough of Liverpool.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing of course, but I’d like to have seen what Ross Barkley could have offered in the midfield, especially as a sub in the second-half against Iceland rather than Jack Wilshere who really should have been sat at home watching the game on his sofa like the rest of us.

Alderweireld is one of a number of Belgian players who ply their trade in the Premier League yet have reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2016.

“We were beating Germany a few months ago”. And how many of these players would be on the radar of the top clubs (right now)? You can not stop yourself. You know the eyes of the world are on you. The English football team never won any major trophies since 1966 and some pundits question the country’s football management. You start forcing the game, making the wrong choices with your passes, shooting from the wrong areas and letting the anxiety prevent you from doing the simple things.

“As low as we all feel now we can recover from this and we have to move away from recrimination and get on with finding solutions as soon as possible”.