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Letter from Martin Glenn to all EURO 2016 England fans

Letter from Martin Glenn to all EURO 2016 England fans

Posted by Team England at 17:07 on Wednesday 29 June 2016

Dear Member,

Our defeat to Iceland and exit from Euro 2016 was obviously a bitter disappointment to us all.

The performance was nowhere near the standards required in the knockout stage of a major tournament and far below the level we aspire to for England. It was a huge let down to the many thousands of fans who followed the team so passionately and loyally - not just in France but through the qualifying campaign as well.

You will have all seen Roy Hodgson's decision to step down from his role along with the other members of his coaching staff. It is the right decision and we support it. Clearly we need to change to improve if we are going to achieve our ambitions in the years ahead.

As I say, what has stood out has been the magnificent support given to us from the stands. At every single match, England fans were incredible and never stopped singing.

In Marseille, you came through an incredibly difficult situation with great dignity. In Saint-Etienne, the Mayor of the town was amazed by the backing you gave. It was no different in Nice and then in Lens alongside the Welsh fans, you created a celebratory atmosphere befitting of a special fixture between Home Nations. Everywhere we have played, the reaction has been the same.

Our young squad will better for the experience and the passionate support you have given them will encourage them to want to do better in future tournaments.

Rest assured, from my side we will consider everything that has gone into this tournament and ensure we learn the lessons. Work is already underway with Dan Ashworth, myself and David Gill to ensure we manage the process of appointing a new England manager. These are not easy decisions but we will take the appropriate time to get it right.

I am confident that our investment in Coach Education and Sports Psychology in the National Football Centre at St. George’s Park which we started two years ago will bear fruit in the coming years and the success of our development teams gives me confidence that this will happen.

Of course, I appreciate nothing I can say about the future can make up for the hurt we are currently feeling, but I felt it important to say ‘thank you’ and stress we will never take you for granted.

Martin Glenn
FA CEO

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  • Did you not think proof reading this would be a good idea?  The FA are a shambles just like the team

  • if the players had half the comment the fans had we would win every world cup and euros . people spend good money and a lot of hard work to get to the games . fantastic support year after year.................

  • Was looking at the above photo and thought it doesn't look right...it isn't even an England game......its Spain V Turkey !!

  • A free renewal to all those who have followed the team during this tournament would be a step in the right direction from the FA rather than hollow words. Show the fans you don't take the support for granted with a meaningful expression of your thanks. Prove the many, many doubters wrong.  

  • It's just all words, when I read it, it sounds like the teacher from Peanuts in my head.

    Time to really show us how much our support means to you.

  • thought it was gunna be the never has there been a better time to join and give us more of your money speech

    i know loads who have had enough.....following the national team is tough and expensive

    the first home game back at wembley could be an interesting crowd

  • Yes Stuart Brown it would be the very least they could do. They charged me for an extra ticket as my friend could not attend so I took my son, you should have seen his face when they said he couldn't have the ticket I had paid for but under a different name to my son. Yes I know why but common sense should have prevailed not take the opportunity to blackmail me in front of my son and sell me a higher Category ticket, churns my stomach even now. Mr Glenn it is blatantly obvious what needs to be done a) start with their heads, call in the likes of Paul McKenna and b) for god sake get a manager who has passion and knows how to change a game with subs, Hodgson should have gone after the Uruguay match in Brazil. We all knew we wouldn't win this but Monday was as bad as the match in 2010 in Cape Town against Algeria - The FA management told us - guess what - wait for it ... We will learn from this ... Please take a look in the Mirror as well as blaming the manager and the players this is a shared blame you need to admit too before you can move on...

  • After following England throughout the qualifiers and then travelling all around France, in hope of watching a good performance, the pampered stars even made our trip home a  disaster. We flew back from St-Etienne airport, with Ryanair, to Stanstead 21st June 2016. We arrived at the Airport over 2 hours before our flight, to find the airport barely adequate with hardly any seating, and therefore spent most of the time sat on a cold concrete floor. Even though there were only 2 planes at the airport, we ended up with another 40 minutes delay, as the England team had rolled up and caused us a delay due to security. You would have hoped they could have had the decency to say, let those loyal fans go, as they have already waited long enough and we have already let them down with our play. No, they did not have a delay. Thank you England!!

  • Doesn't really change the way I feel right now Mr Glen  ..fuming angry gutted thats putting it very polite ..If I said what I want to say in the way I want to say it I'd be banned probably ..but rest assured our fans are the best there is and I'm sure when the dust settles on another disaster of a tournament the fans will return in there thousands for the love of there nation ..what I will say the fa the players the whole system s to look at themselves and change quickly or we will remain a laughing stock for years to come .. but I'm a proud English man and fan of my team and will continue to follow the team ... cus that's what us england fans do

  • sounds like the words of a man fearful for losing thousands of fans, bums on seats at Wembley and therefore the most important thing to them- money! I'm out, my priority will be my club now, a bit like the England players

  • Losing to Iceland was not a bitter disappointment, it was utter humiliation. One of their players plays for Swansea, one for Cardiff and the rest for obscure lower league Scandinavian sides. The population of Iceland is similar to that of Coventry.

    Losing to Germany is a bitter disappointment. Going out on penalties to Portugal is a bitter disappointment, but losing to Iceland is I think the worst result in the history of the England team, a dire indictment of our overpaid, pampered "stars" and it will be the epitaph on Hodgson's tombstone. What England needs is a psychological shake up - someone like Eddie Jones or Mike Brearley - and a lot of kicking up a lot of backsides.

  • 20 years been a member same old same old. Players  management  heads of FA all going in wrong directions sort it out. Heard it all before.

  • What I expect Mr Glenn, sorry what I demand is, actual "real" England fans as members of your englandfans team to offer advice and opinion on the running of the "club" and decision making process therein.

    I'm retired and I'm quite happy to do it for free should expenses be an issue in the new membership period.

  • This is the lowest ebb for me. There have been many before but they felt different. Basically, a long throw and a flick on did for us this time. I accepted a long time ago that my support for the national side is unconditional and that I will keep on going. I also gave up expecting any success though. I fear that eventually we will move from being abject at tournaments to struggling to qualify for them.

    I urge the FA to act quickly to appoint our new manager because s defeat in Slovakia could spell curtains for our World Cup qualification campaign.

  • "Work is already underway with Dan Ashworth, myself and David Gill to ensure we manage the process of appointing a new England manager."

    TFFT. For a moment I was worried that it was gonna be the same shambolic lot that appointed Hodgson.

    I note there was no honest apology for the mis-posted Euros tickets fiasco. Hundreds of us were given conflicting stories about what had happened to our tickets. Trying to find my tickets at the local post office was more nerve-shredding than watching Henderson trying to pass to a team-mate.

    Mr Glenn, Andrew Hookway (above comment) makes a very good point. How about appointing a few members of the ESC onto the board at the FA? I appreciate you wouldn't normally mix with folk like us, but you might get to appreciate how the rank and file fans feel and we might even have some useful ideas. And maybe the FA can explain in more detail where all their money goes? And surely you guys can tap a bit more out of the Premier League to help fund more coaching schools?

    Just askin. Peace.