The simmering debate over England’s so-called "golden generation" has erupted once again, as two of the era’s brightest stars—Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard—publicly clashed over the reasons behind the national team’s lack of silverware during the 2000s and early 2010s. Both legends, whose international careers spanned from 2000 to 2018 and who together earned a staggering 234 caps for England, have offered sharply contrasting takes on why their star-studded squads failed to make a breakthrough on football’s biggest stages.
Gerrard, the former Liverpool captain who wore the Three Lions shirt 114 times, set the tone for the latest round of soul-searching. Speaking candidly on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, Gerrard did not mince words: “We were all egotistical losers. I didn’t feel part of a team. I didn’t feel connected with my team-mates, with England.” He went further, lamenting the divided culture that, in his view, stifled the squad’s potential: “We weren’t friendly or connected. We weren’t a team. We never at any stage became a real good, strong team. I hated it. I didn’t enjoy it. Hated the [hotel] rooms.”
Gerrard’s comments, which included the admission that he is now closer to former rivals like Rio Ferdinand as a pundit than he ever was as a player, struck a nerve with fans and former teammates alike. “I watch the telly now and I see Jamie Carragher sitting next to Paul Scholes and they look like they’ve been best mates for 20 years,” he observed, questioning why that camaraderie was absent during their playing days. “Was it ego? Was it rivalry? It was down to the culture within England.”
Wayne Rooney, England’s record goalscorer for much of his career and a teammate of Gerrard’s in six major tournaments, was quick to respond. On his BBC podcast, The Wayne Rooney Show, Rooney defended the commitment and work ethic of the golden generation, calling Gerrard’s remarks “disrespectful.” Rooney insisted, “I wouldn’t say [England squads now have a] better attitude. That’s disrespectful to us as players because we worked hard, we tried. We didn’t quite manage to do it.”
Rooney, who played 120 times for England between 2003 and 2018 and scored a then-record 53 goals, acknowledged the disappointment of never progressing past a quarter-final. “Obviously, we didn’t win anything. I wouldn’t quite put it that way but I know what he’s saying. There was a lot of big characters in the dressing room.” Yet, he pushed back against the notion that ego or lack of effort was the root cause: “One thing for sure is everyone worked hard for each other. I don’t think that was an issue. We just didn’t manage to get over the line. I didn’t see that at all.”
The debate comes at a time when England’s fortunes have improved under the stewardship of Gareth Southgate and, more recently, Thomas Tuchel. Since Rooney and Gerrard’s era, the Three Lions have reached two European Championship finals and a World Cup semi-final—a stark contrast to the repeated heartbreaks of the previous decade, which included penalty shootout losses to Portugal and Italy between 2004 and 2012. The sense of unity and resilience now on display was evident most recently in England’s 3-0 demolition of Wales at Wembley, where fresh faces like Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins, and Bukayo Saka shone in a dominant first-half display.
Rooney was quick to highlight the changes in squad culture: “What you have now is [rival teams’] players training [together] before they go back to pre-season together—Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford for instance. It’s a different generation. The big thing is the media coverage of it is much better. The players get on better with the media. From the outside that gives a better feeling.”
Gerrard, meanwhile, reflected on the isolation he felt during international breaks: “In my early days, I’d have days where I was down, like low down. Like I’m in this room for seven hours, what am I going to do? There was no social media, we didn’t have a DVD player or anything. Channel 1 to 5 or whatever it was on TV. I used to get low and down. I used to love the games. I used to love playing for England. I was really proud. I used to enjoy the training sessions but it was 90 minutes a day. And then I was just on my own.”
Despite the lack of trophies, Rooney remains adamant that belief was never in short supply: “The players always 100% believed we could win for sure.” He also acknowledged the difficulties in bridging club rivalries, especially between Manchester United and Liverpool players. “It was difficult to have that relationship with Liverpool and Man Utd players. It’s easier now. I speak to Steven all the time [now]. You can have better relationships now because you can have a beer together and relax more. I was fine with everyone, I got on with everyone. I was aware Becks [David Beckham] and Gary Neville and Scholesy [Paul Scholes], you could see they weren’t going to be close to the Liverpool players.”
Gerrard’s sense of disconnect stands in contrast to his club experiences: “I didn’t feel that with Liverpool. They were the best days of my life. I felt like the staff looked over me, like I felt special. I felt like I couldn’t wait to get there. With England, I just wanted the games and the training sessions and then to be away.”
The recent success of Southgate and Tuchel’s squads has only intensified scrutiny of the golden generation’s failures. England’s current crop, featuring a blend of established stars and emerging talents, appears to have cracked the code of togetherness that eluded their predecessors. The convincing win over Wales—with Bellingham and Kane absent from the starting lineup—showed a team willing to trust in youth and collective effort, rather than relying solely on big names.
Yet, as Rooney pointed out, the margins were often fine. England’s exits on penalties to Portugal and Italy could easily have swung the other way, and the narrative might have been very different. The debate over whether it was ego, culture, or just bad luck that held back the golden generation is unlikely to be settled soon. But one thing is clear: the passion and pride both Gerrard and Rooney felt in representing their country remain undimmed, even as they continue to dissect the past from the vantage point of punditry.
As England look ahead to future tournaments, the lessons of the golden generation—both the camaraderie gained and the divisions endured—will no doubt inform the team’s ongoing quest for glory. For now, the conversation between two of England’s greatest serves as a poignant reminder of the fine line between triumph and disappointment at the highest level of international football.
