Euro 2012 
/ Romilly Evans / 06 June 2011 / Leave a Comment 
Broken Hart. The Manchester City keeper looks distraught after being at fault for both goals
"None embraced them more than the hapless Joe Hart, who should claim a hearty assist in the statistics for both Swiss goals. If the first was down to simple misjudgement of an aggressively average free-kick, the second was a schoolboy nadir, beaten at his near post by an effort which should’ve been easily turned away."
Romilly Evans looks back on another textbook comedy of errors by an English keeper and ponders if we should simply accept the national side's flair for disappointing.
In the final analysis, nothing much has changed after the weekend's games in Group G, England's qualifying pool for the Euro 2012. Wales were not in action - and so remain rooted to the bottom of the table like an out-of-favour Eurovision act on "nul points" - while the other four teams shared the honours with a pair of draws.
Accordingly, England remain firmly on track to book their place in next year's finals ([1.19] to back to top the group, and [1.1] to qualify), edging Montenegro as they do by a healthy goal difference on 11 points, with some welcome breathing space back to Bulgaria and Switzerland with their paltry five points apiece.
The latter side, of course, presented a few more problems than many had imagined at Wembley. Having taken a two-goal lead and enjoyed the lion's share of play in the first half, it was all England could do to peg them back - mostly through the excellent Ashley Young (bizarrely overlooked in the starting line-up) who provided a rare ray of light as the linkman between midfield and the attack.
But even Young missed a good chance to win it late on - and on a day when some fresh faces stepped in, the familiar frailties were still there for all to see. None embraced them more than the hapless Joe Hart, who should claim a hearty assist in the statistics for both Swiss goals. If the first was down to simple misjudgement of an aggressively average free-kick, the second was a schoolboy nadir, beaten at his near post by an effort which should've been easily turned away.
Goalkeepers, of course, have the unfortunate lot in life to be defined by the mistakes rather than the saves they make. And England has a long line of recent pantomime villains whose role Hart reprised: Rob Green's defeat by a slow-motion US pot-shot, Scott Carson's failure to acknowledge that a ball can bounce against Croatia, Paul Robinson's air-hoof to a timid back-pass, David Calamity James must've done something wrong to earn his soubriquet, while David Seaman got the blooper reel rolling with his brief bouts of disorientation against Brazil and Macedonia. You get the idea.
The trend is all the more disturbing when you consider that each of these "cats" had been showing the sort of feline poise and balance at club level to fully endorse their selection. Hart certainly had a fine season for Man City, probably their best player behind Carlos Tevez. Tending the bars at international level, however, made him look like he was tending bar at pub level. Maybe Joe had helped himself to a few while the manager wasn't looking? Or perhaps the spectre of England goalkeepers past hangs like the sword of Damocles over all who dare to don the No.1 shirt?
Either way, Hart is too good to be readily cast aside on flights of superstition or conjecture. And in truth, he made a couple of early stops in the match which ensured the ground conceded to the Swiss was at least recoverable. That said, those saves should've bolstered his confidence, not scuppered it upon the rocks of self-doubt. It was an all-too-familiar story, indicative of the wider cautionary tale that is following England as a fan and punter. They're [9.6] to win the thing next summer, incidentally.
Yes, nothing much has changed after the weekend's games in Group G. Especially when it comes to the Three Lions.
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Switzerland's striker shortage should see England keep a third successive Euro 2012 qualifying clean sheet, says Michael Cox, as Fabio Capello has another opportunity to hone his new 4-3-3 formation. It seems like a long time since England's last Euro...
Republic of Ireland will be looking for a repeat of their March victory over the same opponents when they travel to play Macedonia in Skopje on Saturday night, writes James Eastham....
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