A Short History Lesson

In 1642, I was called upon to defend our great nation's nascent democracy from a group of elite aristocrats convinced in their King's divine right to absolute rule.

It is sometimes forgotten however, that the Parliamentarians did not initially intend on overthrowing the monarchy - although that was the eventual outcome - rather we wished to ensure that the executive power of the King was held accountable to the nation's representative bodies: the Scottish and English Parliaments. In other words, my intent was not to become the Lord Protector but rather to ensure that the interests of the state were aligned with the interest of its people (albeit during my time, "people" meant rich landowners... again not too dissimilar to the majority of the wargaming community!). 

Similarly to the purpose of the Roundheads, the aim of this present intervention is not one of revolution (that most distasteful of foreign institutions and one alien to all true English-persons...), but of self-reflection and to encourage healthy debate.   

It will be uncontroversial to suggest that the English Age of Sigmar community is seen by many as the "premiership" of AoS. We have Nottingham's Warhammer World as our Wembley, the densest of tournament calendars (all within driving distance unlike our Atlantic neighbours) and many of our top players are lauded as leading lights of the international scene (most recently and notably via the auspices of the OnwardsAoS project).

So why does there exist so much antipathy towards the English National Team? Is it simple jealousy? Is it due to a rejection of "competitive" wargaming? Or are they just easy targets for online trolling? In this humble author's opinion - although some of the above factors may have some impact - the overriding reason for our distaste is the very same reason the House of Stuart fell foul of the New Model Army. Namely that Team England does not, and probably never truly has, represented the English AoS Community. 

But what does that even mean: to represent a community? And does it really matter? Surely the point of AoS Worlds is to WIN!!!

The first premise I would submit, is that representation is less about an outcome and more about process. I think no-one with half a brain would begrudge the current Captain for his appointment. He is after all, in my humble opinion, the most talented Wardolly General this island has to offer. It is also fairly evident from the social media rumour mill, that Captain Morton intends on surrounding himself with the best available Warhammer minds, regardless of previous allegiances. Arguably this is precisely the outcome (save perhaps for the allegiance point) most of us would want and yet it is perhaps inevitable that this new iteration of Team England will be the most unpopular team since Vinnie Jones played for Wimbledon.

The second premise I would like propose is that to represent something, one needs to be accountable to those you represent and that in turn requires a level of transparency. Otherwise you aren't really a national team, rather you are just bunch of mates wearing silly shirts playing at a tournament to win a plastic trophy. I would therefore ask the current establishment to consider and critically interrogate what it means to be "Team England" and whether this current process really is worth being known as the WAAC team that nobody really likes. 

There is another way, with perhaps the same or with a similar outcome (i.e. fielding the strongest team available). That way starts with opening up the selection and appointment process to the community. My proposal for a first step towards achieving this is to setup a constitution that sets out a fair and open procedure for said selection and appointment process. Such a document could also emphasise the values of the English Community and through representation and transparency, the England team might not only achieve greatness by "bringing it home" in 2024, but we, England, might actually be proud that they did...

God save England and God save Sigmar

Yours truly

Oliver Cromwell

PS: In anticipation of the counter-argument that "we tried to be open and we lost". I think it is more reasonable to attribute England's performance at Worlds 23 to being out-prepared by the Danish (and others) who worked out the GHB and pack better than any other team. England also had several dropouts both in terms of players but also in terms of "brains" to help with lists. Due process and the selection process had very little to do with the loss and any argument to the contrary is indicative of a failure to truly appreciate what went wrong in 2023. 

PPS: It is not this author's intent on being a part of any Team England establishment or to start up a separate team (my purpose is of unity, not division). However if this missive is well received, I may be motivated into drafting or feeding into a constitutional document.