![The 11 things about this photo that spoke to a nation of angry England fans](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2024/06/26/TELEMMGLPICT000383446126_17194081233830_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJwfSVWeZ_vEN7c6bHu2jJnT8.jpeg?imwidth=680)
The 11 things about this photo that spoke to a nation of angry England fans
Sometimes a picture captures the mood of a country perfectly, and such an image was taken shortly after tepid draw with Slovenia
![The 11 things about this photo that spoke to a nation of angry England fans](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2024/06/26/TELEMMGLPICT000383446126_17194081233830_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJwfSVWeZ_vEN7c6bHu2jJnT8.jpeg?imwidth=680)
The nation woke on Wednesday with a nostalgic but unmistakable feeling. Sore head, dry mouth, general listlessness, lingering sense of impotent rage. Yes, we have an England hangover.
This condition is brought on by the national team failing to live up to expectations and made worse by any additional dreariness in their performance. These symptoms should pass after lunchtime, but please add an additional four hours if you are also suffering from a conventional hangover.
It was bad on Tuesday night. How else can you say it? Several more ornate adjectives are available but you have probably read them all already. Word processor thesaurus tools have suffered enough as journalists reach for their fourth synonym for “flat”.
Sometimes a picture captures the mood more accurately, and such an image presented itself shortly after the game. Gareth Southgate and Steve Holland went to the stands in Cologne to salute their once-adoring public and the range of responses covered most of the reactions back at home.
What did it all mean?
1-3. The three angry men
![Angry man one](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2024/06/26/TELEMMGLPICT000383435949_17194043838670_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJwfSVWeZ_vEN7c6bHu2jJnT8.jpeg?imwidth=350)
![Angry man two](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2024/06/26/TELEMMGLPICT000383435964_17194043959540_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqsT8WkHhIIGcqf-eU4anH8Rk1mDTumCeH_NeArSD702I.jpeg?imwidth=350)
![Angry man three](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2024/06/26/TELEMMGLPICT000383435957_17194044086140_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJwfSVWeZ_vEN7c6bHu2jJnT8.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Helpfully arranged in order of rage from left to right. Gentleman number one looks to be having a stern word with a graduate trainee about the standards this company expects, after he arrived late for the third day in a row. His neighbour ramps it up a notch, outraged soap opera pub landlord who has caught the louts who keep vandalising his sign. Number three cuts to the chase with his fingers. Sad as it may be given what Southgate has achieved, he represents a growing proportion of the fanbase.
4. The loyalist
![The loyalist](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2024/06/26/TELEMMGLPICT000383435963_17194044203340_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqYS1acP-ch22p5qESP2v6g0VINfKa4zCDQ_zFkNoTnRU.jpeg?imwidth=350)
By my count, there are around 32 fans in the picture whose hands can be accounted for. I make it six who are visibly returning Southgate’s applause. Never good when your manager-fan applause reciprocation ratio drops below 5:1. A real sadness to this fan’s greeting and who can blame her? You expect more when you’ve gone with the perfect hat-trick of shirt, wig and novelty bucket hat.
5. The remonstrator
![The remonstrator](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2024/06/26/TELEMMGLPICT000383435965_17194044298650_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqYS1acP-ch22p5qESP2v6g0VINfKa4zCDQ_zFkNoTnRU.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Not angry, just disappointed. Why have you forsaken me?
6. The documenter
![The documenter](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2024/06/26/TELEMMGLPICT000383435950_17194044381600_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJwfSVWeZ_vEN7c6bHu2jJnT8.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Tell you what is worth looking at if you ever need to cheer yourself up: phone videos you have taken inside stadiums. I love them! The poor quality, the terrible sound, the megabytes they use which could be used for pictures of your family. Yes you were in Cologne, but were you really there without a six-second clip of a blurry Steve Holland being booed by people from Dartford?
7. The manager
![The manager](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2024/06/26/TELEMMGLPICT000383435961_17194045034410_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJwfSVWeZ_vEN7c6bHu2jJnT8.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Thankfully not being pelted by beer cups at this exact moment, which is reprehensible behaviour given what he has done for his country. Away from the fury of Tuesday night (and the added anger-fuel of hot weather and a million pints) most England fans in Germany are sanguine about Southgate. Frustrated for sure, but generally acknowledging that he has given fans two unforgettable summers and a briefly exciting winter World Cup. Supporters have a right to vent but shouting and booing after the final whistle is quite different to chucking stuff at a thoroughly decent man. He deserves better. Let’s hope his team can help with that.
8. Steve Holland’s notebook
![Steve Holland's notebook](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2024/06/26/TELEMMGLPICT000383435951_17194063331900_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJwfSVWeZ_vEN7c6bHu2jJnT8.jpeg?imwidth=350)
What mysteries are contained within the man behind the man’s tactical masterplan? The latest technological advancements allow us to target the notebook and reveal its contents. Computer, zoom and enhance:
![Steve Holland's notebook](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2024/06/26/TELEMMGLPICT000383435959_17194054597040_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqcpoWzwBIzlnewd68KzIvqMSLB5l84RipgJaV97BHC8U.jpeg?imwidth=350)
9. The cool dude
![The cool dude](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2024/06/26/TELEMMGLPICT000383435958_17194045324670_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJwfSVWeZ_vEN7c6bHu2jJnT8.jpeg?imwidth=350)
This guy has the right idea about how to dress for a goalless draw in uncomfortable heat: Dark glasses and topless, possibly nude, except for a flag. A true patriot.
10. The possible neutral
![The possible neutral](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2024/06/26/TELEMMGLPICT000383435946_17194045561810_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqYS1acP-ch22p5qESP2v6g0VINfKa4zCDQ_zFkNoTnRU.jpeg?imwidth=350)
One of few who is both conspicuously unmoved and not wearing any England garb, so potentially a lucky ballot winner who had front row seats for the match of a lifetime: England 0 Slovenia 0. Actually looks quite miserable, although that may be a result of wearing a bodywarmer in 30° heat.
11. The uncertain snapper
![The uncertain snapper](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/football/2024/06/26/TELEMMGLPICT000383435952_17194045707710_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqYS1acP-ch22p5qESP2v6g0VINfKa4zCDQ_zFkNoTnRU.jpeg?imwidth=350)
More usually you see a photographer at such close quarters eagerly shooting their shot. This fella appears trapped in the moment. Maybe he is considering joining the booing? But that is a long lens, perhaps he has spotted something on the half-way line? That’s not… That’s not Salt Bae is it?