England committing crimes against football at Euro 2024 but biggest violation of all came eight years ago
Gareth Southgate's side have failed to inspire a nation
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England have stunk up the Euros so far. There's no sugarcoating it - but there's been an even bigger disgrace at this major tournament that has overshadowed everything else.
Gareth Southgate's men have performed well-below expectations to the point they've deservedly been booed off the pitch in their final two group games.
The England boss can argue all he wants that the hostile reception he and his players received is having a knock-on effect, but the supporters have had barely anything to shout about.
Going back to the opening group game against Serbia, England came out all guns blazing with Jude Bellingham's thunderous header inside 13 minutes getting the pulses racing amongst the Three Lions supporters.
Germany and Spain had laid down a marker the two days prior and it looked as though England were going to follow in the footsteps of their rivals.
Bellingham was stepping up the plate having led Real Madrid to the La Liga and Champions League double in his debut campaign in Spain and looked unstoppable.
Gareth Southgate's side have failed to inspire a nation
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But there were also signs that it wasn't all clicking with Harry Kane dropping deeper and deeper to get on the ball while Phil Foden failed to have much of an impact out wide.
Trent Alexander-Arnold's trial in midfield was hit-and-miss as he failed to replicate the kind of performances fans were used to at Liverpool.
That opening 45 minutes of the Euros for England fans proved to be the only bit of positivity throughout the entire group stage.
Kane got off the mark against Denmark courtesy of multiple fortuitous deflections before the ball fell to him six yards out.
But England never looked comfortable in the match and it got to the point where Southgate's side tried sitting back to hold on to a 1-0 lead.
Lest forget, this is an England side with La Liga's Player of the Year, the Premier League Player of the Year, the Bundesliga's top scorer and last year's PFA Young Player of the Year in the four attacking positions.
It's no secret that England's best form of defence is attack but they appear to be playing with one arm tied behind their back.
Southgate has taken heavy criticism for not being able to unlock the full potential of his world class attacking players.
There's still time and their favourable draw in the knockout stages means there's every chance that England could go all the way.
But the party mood usually surrounding England in major tournaments is nearly nonexistent at the moment and that's all due to their uninspiring performance.
However, England's dispiriting group stage could also be blamed on the real travesty of the European Championships.
Eight years ago, the Euros were expanded from 16 teams to 24 in a move that has turned the group stage into a farce.
England were never in any real danger of not qualifying for the knockout stage
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There is no longer any jeopardy in the groups for teams with high expectations as they're almost certain of progressing to the knockout stage without needing to get out of first gear.
The last Euros that had just 16 teams saw plenty of drama right up until the final set of group games with teams like Portugal, Italy and France all being at risk of missing out.
Croatia got four points in their group that year and still missed out qualifying for the knockout stage. Brutal yes, but that is the nature of major international football tournaments and how it should be.
Georgia qualifying for the knockout stage makes for a great story and their win over Portugal to book their spot in the last-16 will go down in their history.
Georgia qualified mainly because Portugal had already won their group
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But the only reason that result was possible was because Portugal had already secured top spot in that group with no jeopardy in the final group game.
For England, there's a sense of imposter syndrome with how they ended up getting top spot.
After they won their opening group game against Serbia, Southgate's side only ever had to do enough to make it through.
There was never a sense of panic or urgency to make things happen and that's how many games have felt at this year's Euros.
England aren't the only one of the pre-tournament favourites to have been lacklustre with France, Italy and Belgium all failing to inspire.
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Slovenia made it through despite drawing all three games
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The match between France and the Netherlands was supposed to be one for the history books, but a draw for both sides meant they would both secure qualification to the next round regardless of what happened in their final group game.
It resulted in a drab 0-0 with the 38,500 in attendance and the millions watching from around the world left bitterly disappointed.
UEFA are fully responsible for this mess and there has even been sensational talks about further expanding the competition to 32 teams.
Football bigwigs have cashed in at every opportunity that has presented itself in the 21st century and continues to raise the question when will the bubble burst?
But if anything that bubble is still growing and this year's Euros may well be the point of no return.
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