Gerrard: 'Culture of fear' surrounded talented England camp
Steven Gerrard has seen it all, and then some, during his long tenure as midfield stalwart for the England national team.
The 36-year-old, now with the LA Galaxy, understands just how the current crop of players feel after being ousted from Euro 2016 courtesy of a 2-1 loss to underdog Iceland in Nice.
In an article penned by Gerrard himself for the Telegraph, the former Liverpool skipper shares his take on the Three Lions' woes, surmising that the team suffers not from a lack of quality but from a debilitating fear of failure.
"They knew what was in store as soon as Iceland scored their second goal," Gerrard writes. "When England went behind, many of those players will have been thinking of the consequences of defeat as much as what to do to get back in the game.
"I hate to say it, but your mind drifts to what the coverage is going to be like back home and the level of criticism you are going to get. You cannot stop yourself. 'What if we don’t get back into this? What will it be like if we go out here?'
"Panic sets in. The frustration takes over. You freeze and stop doing those things you know you should be. You start forcing the game, making the wrong choices with your passes, shooting from the wrong areas and letting the anxiety prevent you from doing the simple things."
Related: The Times gives England '0' ratings across the board after Euro 2016 exit
Gerrard goes on to explain that while the reaction could be the symptom of mental fragility, it could very well be the result of 50 years without a trophy.
He explains that, unlike setbacks at the club level which can be ratified soon after, the prospect of losing on the international stage is daunting because a team's next chance at meaningful redemption comes two years later.
Ultimately, Gerrard says, England is a nation with talented players but lacking "a culture of winning."
"I do not and will not accept that there is not a good England squad out there, or that the players are products of a poor league," Gerrard writes. "We failed so badly on Monday night because of our poor decision-making, an inability to respond to events as they unfolded and because we repeated too many of the mistakes of the past.
"There is no environment of calm around the national team. There never has been. It is always hysteria. There is a culture of fear within and it has not been addressed."