Whilst social media is generally something akin to the most disgusting toilet you could ever look into, what it does do well is reflect the opinions and views of the masses.
More often ignorant, misinformed and downright nasty, the knee-jerk reactions of the public range from very poorly thought-out takes on significant events, to flat-out conspiracy theories peddled by questionable folk hellbent on pushing an agenda that almost certainly benefits no one but themselves.
England’s awful 1-1 draw with Denmark on Friday morning was a tough watch, with one of the tournament favourites inviting the Danes to come at them and going within a small margin of losing to a team most thought the Three Lions would towel up in quick time.
Instead, the men in white stank and fans around the world have had a quick rethink around who does look the goods at the tournament and might be holding the trophy on July 14.
True to form, English fans let rip in the postscript to the match, showing themselves once again as the most fickle group of football supporters in the world and perhaps providing evidence as to why they don’t win major tournaments.
For years I watched on from afar and wondered about the psyche of the English, the absurd obsession with ‘owning’ football and some of the animals who claim to be fans of the game yet do little more that ensure match days are all about them and not the sphere itself.
When England lost the Euro 2020 final at Wembley to Italy, what many were unaware of was the chaos taking place both inside and outside the stadium, as what can only be described as bogans of the highest order smashed through lines of security, determined to access the ground despite the restricted attendance due to the pandemic.
Astonishingly, the emergency situation didn’t have more serious ramifications than those depicted in the Netflix documentary The Final: Attack on Wembley, a quality production that tells the story of the day through the roles of a handful of fans and the stadium employees attempting to combat the physical threat they posed.
Whilst easy to suggest that small numbers of idiots often ruin things for everybody else, the documentary proves conclusively that a significant portion of English football fans have problems with alcohol, racism, the law and using moral and ethical compasses effectively as they make their way through life.
What they also do better than anyone, is turn on their players, the team as a collective, the manager of the time and anything else they can think of, rather than accept the fact that a football game has been lost and the other team may well have done plenty right to restrict them.
The social media tirade directed at the players who missed penalties in the shootout back in 2021 was nothing short of disgusting and plenty was fired at the current team on Monday, despite England still looking a strong chance of advancing to the Round of 16.
England fans react to their side’s performance against Denmark. (Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
Could it be that the somewhat fabricated ownership of the game and a deluded idea of their achievements as a football nation outside the World Cup win of 1966 are played out in fans’ rather bizarre attacks on their team when very few around the globe supporting other nations believe them to be much of a threat?
When words like weak, insipid, hopeless, uninspired and disgraceful as used to describe a 1-1 draw with a creditable Denmark team, are English fans perhaps merely reflecting their football history with a rage that should not really exist at all based on their absence of success?
Of course, not every England fan acts, thinks or behaves like those mentioned in this piece, yet plenty do and will no doubt continue to in the future.
The juxtaposition of the finer things in life, the high culture, language and history of aristocratic England with the sheer buffoonery of football fans at major events has always fascinated me.
What the documentary shows should never be written off as passion or patriotism and perhaps the English Football Association should have a real think about rewiring the minds of the supporters, with a consistent campaign aimed to have them actually supporting the team rather than turning their back on them as soon as trouble strikes.
You would think, with English football history a running gag for supporters of other nations, that the fans would be well used to defeat and able to handle it accordingly.
However, it appears not and without a win in the final next month, they might be queueing up for yet another moment of embarrassment for a nation and sport that deserve better.