Adam Crozier, the ex-chief executive of the Football Association, once dubbed the likes of Paul Scholes, David Beckham and Steven Gerrard among others, as the ‘Golden Generation’ of English football, destined to achieve great things for the Three Lions.
But despite having the likes of Rio Ferdinand and John Terry at the back, Scholes, Gerrard and Frank Lampard to choose from in the midfield, Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney leading the attack, England consistently failed at international tournaments under both Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.
Owen Hargreaves, the former Bayern Munich and Manchester United star, who was part of the so called ‘Golden Generation’ has a theory as to why he and his compatriots did not live up to the expectations.