- .With just one pathetic draw under their belt, the wounded 'Lions' of England limped home this afternoon
- .Players will now enjoy holidays before linking up with their club sides in July
- .The squad finished at the bottom of group D and have swapped the luxury of Brazil for England
Just a few short weeks ago, a nation dared to dream that an energised, youthful England squad could maybe, just maybe, set the footballing world on fire at World Cup in Brazil after so many years of raised hopes followed by bitter disappointment.
Even an early setback to a veteran Italy squad couldn't completely crush our expectations. How naive we were.
Now the squad has touched down first in Manchester for the northern-based players, then at Luton for their southern counterparts, as the under-performing stars, who finished bottom of Group D, swapped the glitz and glamour of the Copacabana to return to reality in England.
The players will now head to their family homes before embarking on their summer jollies to celebrity hotspots including Ibiza, Miami and Marbella before returning to their club employers for pre-season.
That's that then: Wayne Rooney arrives back from Brazil to Manchester Airport after the England squad's poor World Cup performance in Brazil
A grim-faced Steven Gerrard descends the steps. There were no fans to greet them on the tarmac
Despite total apathy from fans, stars like Wayne Rooney, Steve Gerrard and Joe Hart were met by chauffeur-driven cars next to the runway to avoid standard airport procedure and whisk them away back to their mansions after The FA's privately-hired Boeing 767 landed from Brazil shortly after quarter past one in the afternoon.
Greeting the all-white aircraft, which didn't carry any markings, were a handful of photographers, but no flag-waving fans to welcome them back following the team's dismal early World Cup exit.
But it made the day of one primary school class on a day trip to see the planes.
One-by-one, the deflated squad came down the steps and walked the few yards to their cars; led by coach Gary Neville and followed by Hart and Everton's Phil Jagielka, wearing what looked like squad regulation navy blue shorts.
Manchester United and England centre back Chris Smalling. The loss to Uruguay, followed by Italy being overcome by Costa Rica, sank the nation's hopes
Glum: Ross Barkley glances at photographers as he descends the steps
Despite total apathy from fans, stars like Wayne Rooney (pictured), Steve Gerrard and Joe Hart were met by chauffeur-driven cars next to the runway
Everton's musical left back Leighton Baines clutched the guitar that has kept him company in South America.
After dropping off the northern-based players, the South African-registered plane was due to continue onto Luton Airport carrying manager Roy Hodgson and the rest of the squad.
The muted atmosphere on a pleasant warm day in Manchester, where the hidden private terminal sits between Terminal One and the aviation centre for plane-spotters, was in marked contrast to other receptions the England team have received in the past.
Hundreds of supporters went to Newcastle Airport in the early hours of the morning to cheer the England players when they flew in after beating Germany 5-1 in 2001.
The big four north-west clubs Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Everton supplied more than half of England's squad and among those also disembarking at Manchester after the long flight from Rio were James Milner, Chris Smalling, Ricky Lambert, Glen Johnson, Danny Welbeck. Ross Barkley, Jordan Henderson, Danny Welbeck and Raheem Sterling.
England’s already-sealed fate appears to have led to a slump in viewing for their last match of the World Cup, with less than half the audience of the previous game tuning in.
Maybe Qatar eh Joe? The England goalie smiles to a flight attendant as he leaves the plane
Raheem Sterling's performance was a rare highlight in an otherwise derisory performance in Brazil
See you at Euro 2016: Joe Hart and Fraser Forster hug on the runway
Back on English soil: Leighton Baines, clutching his guitar, and James Milner head towards home
See you in the league: Manchester City keeper Joe Hart bids a fond farewell to Liverpool's Raheem Sterling
A picture of disappointment: Photographers chronicle the players' depressing homecoming
Harsh, but funny: Bookmaker Paddypower's banner quips: 'At least try and maker it through baggage reclaim'
Yesterday’s 0-0 draw with Costa Rica managed to pull in an audience which at its height was more than 9 million, with an average of 5.8 million watching throughout ITV’s coverage.
But it was a sharp drop on the numbers who saw the clash with Uruguay last week - which left England with little chance of progressing beyond the group stage - which had a 13.1 million average.
The peak for the Uruguay game of 20.3 million - said to be the highest on British TV since the London 2012 closing ceremony - was well up on yesterday’s peak of 9.5 million.
Yesterday’s match in Belo Horizonte was still the most watched programme of the evening, and the peak as the match neared its conclusion represented almost half the TV audience at that time.
ITV4’s coverage of the Uruguay v Italy match yesterday - which included the moment in which Luis Suarez appeared to bite defender Giorgio Chiellini - had an average of 700,000 viewers with a 2.9 million peak.
Welcome home, we suppose: The England Football Team's plane landing at Manchester Airport
A fan with '66' written on the back - a reference to the World Cup-winning England team of that year, watches the plane touch down
Now THAT's dedication: Fans waiting on the roof of the car park at Manchester Airport for the England Football squad to disembark
SOCIAL CLUB CHANGES BEER NAME FROM 'LION'S ROAR' TO 'LION'S WHIMPER' AFTER TEAM'S WORLD CUP FAILURE
A social club changed the name of its speciality England beer from Lion’s Roar to Lion’s Whimper and dropped the price so they could cheer up their punters.
Steward at the Knowl Club Paul Moon, 37, created a new label for the guest beer after a paltry 12 people turned out for the England v Costa Rica
game on Tuesday night.
game on Tuesday night.
The father-of-one, from Mirfield, West Yorkshire, said: 'I made a label and stuck it over the name. I think whimper was a more appropriate name for this
campaign.'
campaign.'
He also reduced the price of the beer, described by brewery Banks’s as a 'rip-roaring brew', from £2.50 to £1.50 and decided to donate all proceeds of
sales to the local kids’ football teams at Battyeford Sporting Club.
sales to the local kids’ football teams at Battyeford Sporting Club.
Paul, who has been steward at the club for 18 months, said: 'The place was rammed for the last couple of games with well over 100 people coming in to
watch the game. It’s almost as if people forgot that they were playing.
watch the game. It’s almost as if people forgot that they were playing.
We’d brought in guest beers for the qualifying stages and took on extra staff in preparation, but of course it wasn’t needed on Tuesday night.
'I think at least we ended on a high because the beer went down a storm with the lads that turned up and we had a laugh and a joke about it.
'I’m hoping that by donating the money to youth football we might be investing in England’s future prospects.'
Drinker Maurice Hirst, an 80-year-old retired boat builder, said: 'I’ve seen a few England games over the years and calling it Whimper seems to sum up this tournament.
'I’m pleased my drinking could help future England stars.'
Market trader David Butterworth, 64, said: 'Whimper is a great beer. I just wish the official sponsors, Budweiser, would follow suit and reduce the cost of
their beer too.'
their beer too.'
Banks’s guest beer Lion’s Roar was created for England’s efforts in the World Cup tournament. Their website says: 'Banks’s has produced a rip-roaring beer for every English football fan to enjoy.
'This easy drinking, ‘belter’ of a beer with malty, hoppy flavours and a refreshing clean, bitter "finish" is a winner every time. Back of the net!'
No comments:
Post a Comment