After the Euros We glimpsed a new England – but the bad old one is still there

Despite England’s collective sense of heartbreak at having lost to Italy in last Sunday’s final, we could and should have been able to spend this week celebrating a second-place finish at football’s European championships – a result that just a month ago would have been regarded as an extraordinary success.

We should be busy pouring adulation upon an England team that exceeded expectations. We should be projecting their image and their remarkable backstories around the world, promoting their togetherness and their ethos as an expression of the best aspects of England and Englishness.

Instead, in a damp week, in a so-far largely dismal