Alan Shearer has had time to calm down since his brutal TV diatribe about England’s humiliating defeat to Iceland.
The former Newcastle, Blackburn and England striker tore England to pieces after watching Roy Hodgson’s side knocked out of Euro 2016 with a whimpering performance against the competition’s minnows.
.@alanshearer sums it up about England #ENGICE #bbceuro2016 https://t.co/GKmahUWk4P
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) June 27, 2016
But you’d have thought that after a bit of quiet reflection in the days following the Iceland defeat that Shearer might have calmed down.
Nope. It only seems to have made him even more angry. He is still calling it the worst England performance he’s ever seen and the country’s greatest footballing humiliation – in fact he no longer considers the Three Lions to be in the ‘big football nations’ bracket after the loss.
But there one was man that Shearer reckons is to blame for the whole Euro 2016 debacle which saw England labour through the group stages then go out without so much of a fight against a country the size of Leicester.
Roy Hodgson has taken both barrels from Shearer who is evidently still seething in his column with the Sun.
“Roy Hodgson says this was a ‘young, hungry and extremely talented group of players’. No it wasn’t, it was one that caved in under pressure.
“Hodgson was a manager who caved in too.
“He had two years to plan after the awful display at the last World Cup but changed nothing.
“He didn’t know his best team, best tactics. He came to France and just made it up as he went along. This campaign has been an unmitigated disaster from start to finish.
“We were given a great group and couldn’t top it.
“We were gifted a way through to the quarter- finals but couldn’t accept it, because we could not match Iceland’s thinking, work-rate and ability.”
He didn’t stop there either. He rightly questioned Hodgson for failing to get anywhere near the best out of a squad the veteran manager himself called ‘young, hungry and extremely talented’.
Tiredness was put down as a reason Harry Kane failed. There are plenty of Prem stars out here with other nations who don’t look tired.
He was a shadow of the player who did so well with Spurs.
But is that down to one manager who can get the best out of him and another who can’t?
What was he doing hitting corners in one game and free-kicks in the next?
We don’t think Shearer is going to calm down for a very, very long time about this.
