England are enjoying remarkable success at underage level this year, with the U17 World Cup win at the weekend added to the Under-19 European championship win and the Under-20 World Cup.
They evidently have an extremely talented crop of players coming through, with their main challenges lying ahead how to navigate the absurd hype, criticism, and discourse around the senior team. And for the Under-17s, just days after their World Cup win, it has started.
Speaking on TalkSPORT (the station that yesterday brought us Joey Barton's claim that David Unsworth would not succeed at Everton as he is overweight), Danny Murphy has criticised the players for turning their jerseys around during the on-field celebrations, and showing the world their names rather than the England badge.
Here's what he said, replete with grand sociological musings:
There’s no England badge in the picture of them winning the World Cup – for me, that’s wrong.
They’ve all turned their shirts around because they want their names across their chests, so everybody across the world can see who they are.
They’re all saying, ‘I’m a good young player coming through, look at me’, but that in itself is what is wrong with society.
In effect, they’re thinking about fame as well as being a footballer and I think it creates a big debate here.
I thought the way they played was amazing and the way they’ve been coached has been fantastic and Steve Cooper deserves great credit.
Some of those players could go on to be superstars. We’re talking some amazing talent in that group and the freedom they played with, everybody should be happy to see that in an England shirt, and I am too, I was proud of them.
But the England badge not being in that picture says a lot.
The fact they want their names to be on the front of their shirts and think about getting their name out there so people know who they are – they are not wrong, but it’s what is wrong at the moment.
Sure, their exposure to the world's media will have to be managed, but to criticise them for this is ultimately a self-defeating prophecy.
See Also: "He's A Good Player, Him" - Carragher & Neville Were Loving Jeff Hendrick's Goal
