I don't hold the England team responsible for the media's actions, or vice versa. I'm simply not a patriot so it all tends to get a bit much. Yes they build up and knock down everyone, but with United for example, there'll at least be a degree of sense and objectivity. When it comes to England all bets are off. It becomes utterly ridiculous and often somewhat distasteful...and I don't really like the idea idea of the people responsible gaining the satisfaction of their team being succesful. It's not a reason in itself for me not supporting England...it's one of a number of contributing factors to me usually not supporting them very much (or often not at all).
Other reasons include being forced to cheer for John Terry, being left repeatedly annoyed by the conduct and reward of managers such as Capello and Sven, the ridiculous blaming and hounding of identified scapegoats when England are outplayed and beaten by someone better than them, and of course the non patriot thing. I often end up feeling sorry for most of the actual team.
If I was a diehard England fan though, I WOULD hold the FA partly responsible for the England team's actions, and lack of relative success, because part of the FA's job is to manage and look after the England team, and they do an absolutely pathetic job of it.
I can agree with holding the FA resposible, but not the other way round. Again, the Glazers get stick for what they're possibly doing to United, but United don't get the stick..
Also, I'm not a patriot by a long shot. I hate our national anthem, our colonial history, the war we're currently in, our Prime Minister and both Ant and Dec (though mainly Ant)...But the football team is a football team. I've always supported them in a completely paralel way to being patriotic. I guess that's largely because I always have, and my dad used to take me to Wembley as a kid so it's always been a huge part of my footballing life, and though I can see why people who haven't had that and aren't pro-their country might not feel any bond to them, I see it mainly in an separate way. Much like how I'd see supporting United and being proudly Mancunian to be two distinctly separate things. Which is good, as I'd be fecked otherwise.
It's pretty annoying to be always called a patriot or a nationalist whenever I stick up for England. No one calls the Irish on here, or anyone else who also supports their national team that (apart from vuc..who clearly is), but then they don't have to keep defending the shitness of their team and it's obvious relation/culpability for the media, the fans, the booing, John Terry, the FA, Richard Keys or the piss poor standards of Saturday evening family entertainment in every thread on the subject from people champing at the bit to say "United>Ireland/USA/Denmark/India/Mooseland etc."
It isn't all or nothing...You don't have to hate or like every facet of your nationality in order to be on either side of the fence. I hate the tabloids and people in green horsey gillets who over pronounce the H at the beginning of words but I think it's kind of cool Shakesepeare and Paul Scholes were born within the same borders as me.