Shame of a Nation. Owen Hargreaves, England fans and the press.

By Garry Cook

Why’s he picking Owen Hargreaves? He is s***. F****** S***. W*****. Total B*******.

So the conversations went for 12 months before, during and after every England game up until the World Cup.

Just why was Hargreaves, the young European Cup-winning Bayern Munich central midfield anchorman, being selected for his country? Can’t think why, me.

As if it wasn’t bad enough that this was the popular view of almost every England fan across the country, these thoughts were also echoed by the majority of sports journalists.

Professional writers. Paid for their opinions. Getting it totally wrong. Prize tossers.

These guys should at least be aware of the finer points of the game enough to appreciate Hargreaves’s worth.

That they weren’t was shameful.

You can forgive a crowd of football fans whipping themselves up into a misguided frenzy as England failed to inspire in their friendly and World Cup qualifiers.

But what I can’t stomach are the ‘professionals’ giving opinions equally ill-informed.

If England played badly against Denmark (friendly, 4-1 loss) or Northern Ireland (World Cup qualifier, 1-0 loss), was it really the fault of Hargreaves?

The central midfielder (just to reiterate his position) was rarely picked by former England coach Sven Goran Eriksson – and when he was he was played out of position on the right wing. In the two games mentioned Hargreaves came on as a late sub, replacing Frank Lampard both times (this bit is crucial).

And you can forget the fact that (arguably) he was England’s best player in the games he played in before injury in the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. Well, you should not forget that fact. But, evidently, you can.

Quite simply, it is a case of out of sight, out of mind for Hargreaves.

Hands up if you know who Bayern Munich played the weekend after the internationals in September*. Come on someone, have a guess. Anybody at the back want to have a go?

No. Didn’t think you’d get that one. And that’s the problem when it comes to Hargreaves. Unless you’re living in Germany, you won’t know what he’s up to. And it’s just too damn easy to criticise someone who’s not around. Totally unjust, but easy.

By the time the World Cup came around, fans and football writers were united in jeering the Canadian-born player at Old Trafford.

It was mass stupidity on a grand scale. Hargreaves was forced to defend himself, saying he understood the criticisms. He was careful not to upset the fans further when he should have stood up, lobbed the V’s and walked out.

Why hardly any writers were calling for Hargreaves to be installed in his favoured central midfield role with either Steve Gerrard or (preferably) Lamaprd axed, god only knows.

Some football columnists play a manipulative game of always giving their opinions based on fans’ views. Keep the fans on side, they think, and you can say almost anything you want.

That is fine until the fans are coming out with total b******s. That’s when you earn your money as a writer, that’s when you stand up and be counted. Go against the grain, show your incisiveness, be pro-active not re-active.

All too may failed. They know who they are.

To his credit, Eriksson ignored the popular opinion and selected Hargreaves for the England squad heading for Germany.

Only problem was, the Swede fudged it by refusing to drop his darlings Gerrard and Lampard in favour of the Bayern midfielder.

And when it became plainly obvious that the two attacking midfielders don’t work together (despite having four years to work that one out) in came Hargreaves.

Only problem was, Eriksson still refused to drop his dead duo. England stuttered out of the tournament on penalties to Portugal in the quarter-finals.

But guess what? Hargreaves emerged as (arguably) our best player. Again.

Now, like Peter Crouch who was also booed by England fans in the build-up to the World Cup, he is the darling of the English media. Even Manchester United tried to sign him.

But what happens in four years’ time? Will Hargreaves be booed and blasted again by his country’s fans? Absence, as they say, makes the heart go fonder. Makes your brain frazzled as well, apparently.

* Bayern Munich did not play the weekend after the international fixtures. On Saturday, September 16, they travelled to Arminia Bielefeld. Hargreaves broke his leg in the match.