By Harley Quin
June 24 2006

Now is not a good time to be an England supporter of our three major sports, football, rugby and cricket. If our teams need something to stumble over you can guarantee they'll find it. They promise the earth and deliver a few muddy clumps. But do the fans give up? Nah, we're all bulldogs!

I've reluctantly traipsed through the BBC sport headlines of the last week and discovered that whichever way you look, the England team (of all three religions) test the patience and commitment of their followers to the limit. 

What is it about we English? We invent all the major world sports and then forget how to play them. Let's have a look at the headlines:

"Struggling England ring changes"

Was this the headline for Sven, Robbo or Duncan Fletcher following the Swenden match, the first Aussie Test or after the mighty Sri Lanka showed the holders of the Ashes how to play one day cricket? Good news rugby lovers, it was the rugby.

"England will get better"

Oh oh, that old promise. Fortunately for the egg chasers it was from Mr Beckham and not Mr Ashton.

Hey hey! Got to be the cricket this time. Hmm maybe not it could also be the rugby. Phew, it's the footie!

Ah now that's the rugby! No it's not it's the cricket!!

So what's the answer to the current form of our three England Teams? 

In both football and rugby one has to lay much of the blame at the feet of the two England coaches but surely not with the cricket. Duncan Fletcher has done a magnificent job in recent years and maybe he's just unlucky to have lost Vaughan, Jones and Flintoff. However if he studies his losses in detail he'll find the wicket keeper (Geraint Jones) is his weak spot and therefore as coach and main selector he has to take responsibility. So perhaps we can blame the coaches?

What about the players? All paid well and treated like Gods yet they blow hot and cold, with their form failing to turn up at key matches. It's always been the same, well ever since I've been watching sport (40 odd years) so we shouldn't be surprised. Let's face it, Johnny Foreigner also loses form - unfortunately it's never against us!

What about the administrators? The FA and RFU are a shower: always have been always will be. If you owned a unique and valuable business you would not let these people anywhere near cleaning the toilets let alone making the strategic decisions. The ECB are slightly different in that they preside over what is becoming a minority sport with little money. However they're still a shower. Who in their right mind would sign a contract to relegate a minority sport to a minority channel and then complain about lack of profile and participation?

So is the problem the coaches, the players or the administrators? I'd love to say the pen pushers but actually I think all three have to take their share of the blame!

What do you think?