Before the tournament there was a prevailing consensus that Owen Hargreaves was one of the worst players ever to pull on an England shirt. WCH posted an article when the England squad was announced querying whether the widespread vilification of Hargreaves was perhaps a touch misplaced. His performances in the pre-World Cup games were disappointing, however, and fuelled further derision from the media and fans. At half-time in the Hungary friendly, BBC anchor Gary Lineker announced (with rapier-like sarcasm) that England were making a substitution that would excite us – ‘Owen Hargreaves is coming on!’ After the game, in which Hargreaves was admittedly below par, the BBC panel singled him out for denigration and showed a montage of his errors.

Fortunately Hargreaves was given a chance at the World Cup to show that this targeted criticism was grossly inappropriate. He played well against Sweden in the defensive midfield role, provided sound cover at right-back against Ecuador, and was the best player on the pitch in the quarter-final against Portugal. This latter performance, full of energy and tenacity, was the highlight of our World Cup, but at half-time the BBC still found time to show clips to demonstrate why Hargreaves wasn’t the ideal deep-lying midfielder for England. They acknowledged that he had played well, but positionally he was lacking, and the solution was Michael Carrick. Whilst Michael Carrick has performed well enough in an England shirt, the BBC pundits’ infatuation with him reached ridiculous levels at this juncture. They referred to how much better the team had looked going forward against Ecuador with Carrick in the side, seemingly forgetting that England were utterly dreadful in this second round fixture. What followed in the quarter-final accentuated the nonsense spouted by Hansen et al, as Hargreaves’ effervescent performance reached heights well above the mire of midfield mediocrity around him.

After the game there was still a consensus on Hargreaves - but it had been turned on its head. He was unanimously acclaimed man-of-the-match, and also rated one of England’s best players of the tournament. Newspapers now highlighted that Hargreaves had proven his critics wrong: The Independent stated that Hargreaves ‘won his personal battle with the sceptics thanks to a magnificent display’, while The Guardian noted that he had ‘rammed the boos of England supporters back down their throats with a series of versatile displays.’ But as is perhaps often the case when a prevailing consensus is overturned, nobody owned up to being a member of the benighted army which had been proven wrong.

Whilst Hargreaves’ good performances were underscored by England’s poor overall form the praise is, in the main, deserved. Hargreaves has shown that he is a highly capable player, a long way from the incompetent teacher’s pet image propagated by the media. However, the switch in Hargreaves’ status from pariah to superman over a few weeks highlights the absurdity which pervades English football. Richard Williams in Monday’s Guardian even considered the unique aspects of Hargreaves’ upbringing which might set him apart from his teammates and provide the ‘dynamism that seemed to come from within.’ In reality, away from a hyperbole-riddled, memory-impaired media universe, the truth probably lies somewhere in between: Hargreaves is a very good footballer, capable of both excellent and indifferent performances. I hope that he continues to play well for England for several years, unburdened by jeers but also unrealistic expectations, and I am delighted that he has demonstrated his ability on the international stage.

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