Gary Neville believes that England will not win a major international competition "for at least 10 years".
Former defender claims Three Lions are just not good enough
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville believes that England will not win a major international competition "for at least 10 years."
Writing in his autobiography 'Red', serialised in the
Mail on Sunday, Neville made a blunt but frank analysis of why the Three Lions are struggling to cope with other major footballing nations in the world, and warned that they are likely to go barren for a decade more.
"We have our football culture in this country based on the traditional power player and I don't see us competing seriously for a major tournament for at least 10 years," wrote the former England international right-back. "I'm afraid we still have a lot of catching up to do."
The 36-year-old, who retired from football last season, also lamented the lack of support and the abuse he and his England team-mates had to endure when things went wrong for them.
Waste of time
"There have been times when I reflected on my international career and just thought: 'Well that was a massive waste of time'," Neville continued. "Sorry for sounding sour, but my best mate, David Beckham, got butchered after the World Cup in 1998, then my brother, Phil, after Euro 2000.
"The whole lot of us got it in the neck at other times. Sometimes we deserved it, but playing for England was one long roller-coaster: some ups and downs, but also quite a few moments when you're not really sure if you're enjoying the ride.
"It should be fantastic, the best moments of your life. But there is no doubt that too many players spend too much time fearing the consequence of failure when they pull on an England shirt."
Man United more enjoyable
Neville featured in three European Championships and two World Cup finals for England, but admits that playing with Manchester United gave him more pleasure.
"I regard myself as patriotic but, truth be told, playing for England was a bonus," he admitted.
"Winning for my club was always the most important thing and given a straight choice of a European Cup with United or a European Championship with England, it's United every time."
