Hart left in limbo and must stand aside to rebuild his reputation
Goalkeeper’s England place may be next on the list of goodbyes after another difficult day
Joe Hart said an emotional farewell to Torino two weeks ago, and must be thinking his England starting place is next on the list of goodbyes.
International football provided no refuge from the uncertainty in Hart’s club career when Scotland’s Leigh Griffiths beat him with identically-taken free-kicks twice in three minutes.
A review of both Scotland goals raised doubts about the England wall and confirmed the quality of the execution. Gordon Strachan, Scotland’s manager, spoke of “Scotland’s best ever free-kick, then their second ever best free-kick.” He was serious, too, even after thinking back to great Kenny Dalglish finishes on this turf. But there is no dodging the reality that Hart was beaten twice from long range by dead balls, and will now find his England place under threat again from Jack Butland.
At 30, Hart is in a shadowland, caught between Pep Guardiola’s brutal rejection of him at Manchester City and the end of his loan spell in Turin.
He recently said a fond cheerio to that Serie A club on Instagram. His departure from Italy coincided with City spending £35million on another goalkeeper, Ederson, from Benfica. So now Hart is looking for a club where he can rebuild his reputation as an A-list goalkeeper. The concession of two admittedly fine free-kicks to Griffiths will not have helped him in that endeavour.
Southgate assured us afterwards that Hart has been “one of the leaders of the group” in the run-up to this British derby, which started badly but then whipped up a crazily entertaining finish.
England’s senior goalkeeper has always radiated a strong personality. As things stand however he needs to find a new home where he can reestablish his confidence and consistency. In the meantime, he should stand aside at England level for Butland or Fraser Forster.
There is life in the world’s oldest derby yet. A double hit by Scotland in the 87th and
90th minutes was consigning England to ignominious defeat until Harry Kane saved them in stoppage time. “The end for me is a significant moment because the character of the team has to come through in those moments,” Southgate said.
By this time of year – tournaments aside – international football is like a party guest that just won’t go home. Listless but persistent, it hangs around, adding little. Everyone in this Hampden Park crowd deserved a medal for bringing patriotic fervour to a game initially so low on quality. Then the players decided to repay them for their loyalty with a Cup-tie finish of three goals in six minutes.
In the oldest fixture in international football – an animosity show that dates back to 1872 – a minor foul becomes an outrage, a handball in the middle of the pitch is felt as a national insult. The reactive noise levels are way out of kilter with the seriousness of the crime; which is the way England and Scotland fans will always want it.
The first sign was the raucous booing of God Save the Queen by Hampden’s home contingent, and the retaliatory howling against Flower of Scotland by England supporters, some of whom had exhausted the Football Association’s patience at the Germany game in Dortmund. Two lifetime banning orders from that match were an attempt to head off a return of the imbecilic conduct that followed the team around before behaviour improved after 2002.
England exist in Scottish demonology as an oppressor to react against: an insufferable neighbour, expert at condescension. The loathing feels largely reflexive, traditional. Some north of the border find this irritating, because, they say, it traps Scotland in a ‘victim’ mindset and inflates England’s importance.
No Scotland fan could have any actual grudge against Dele Alli or Marcus Rashford. Many probably enjoying watching them in Premier League games. Yet the England shirt remains a grievous provocation, even two days after Scottish National Party electoral losses suggested a waning appetite for independence from London.
Scott Brown, the Scotland captain, turned his own internal clock back to the 1970s by going after Alli in the opening five minutes. One hefty challenge was forgiven. A second drew a yellow card, which left Brown facing eighty-seven-and-a-half minutes on a caution; the purest example you will see of a player allowing emotion to flood his judgement, and counter-productive aggression to take over.
Others soon went crashing into challenges. In these games, players feel obliged to display their macho side, to show they can mix it with the enemy. A reckless challenge is more likely to produce a roar than a rebuke from the audience. And both these countries, it must be said, are fighting against long historical paralysis.
You’re just a s--- San Marino, England fans sang. The Scots in the crowd responded by copying Iceland’s viking chant – a reminder of England’s mortifying Euro 2016 exit in Nice. And with that taunt still fresh, Griffiths stayed cool. “He’s a wonderful character. Strange, but wonderful,” Strachan said. “I’ve been involved with Scotland for 40 years now and I cannot remember anyone hitting a better free-kick and then coming away and hitting an even better one. It was just phenomenal.”
It was not the kind of history Hart wanted to be part of. But he is not currently in control of his own story. Over the next 12 months, his loss may be Butland’s gain.