I think the confusion is that, historically, it was definitely the former. We thought we were a disappointment when actually the team was doing about as well as it could be expected. But the last 25 years turned a sort of self-deprecating arrogance and expectation into pessimism and apathy. Iceland the final nail in the coffin, I guess.
We also rode out a decade or so where the English league and players and football were so clearly inferior to at least the Spanish and German ones. But the Premier League has been dominating European football for a few years. And probably more so than the last time it happened in the mid 00s, a lot of the best, most technically gifted players in the best teams in the league are English.
I think the other factor is that we have a very young team, so simultaneously have a bunch of players among the most talented for their age in the world, and few who are the finished article. Which leads to a feeling that you’re overrating them one minute and underrating them the next.
