I've just been trawling through the Guardian football blog comments and I've read repeatedly something to the effect that "the english style of play doesnt suit the international game." Why?
Isn't that alot like saying the Spanish style of play doesn't suit international football? they choke at every tournament. And yet we're told to play more like...well....Spain. Or more like Italy...who until this tournament had a recent record not much different to England. And when, if ever, have an England team played anything like the style of play seen in the Premier League? One of the reasons foreign players say it's so difficult to play in that league is because of the pace, the tough tackling, and the good mixture of style and determination (Roy Keane stood next to Paul Scholes for example). But England haven't emulated that style much at all except once in Germany and maybe against Argentina in a recent friendly. Top Premier League teams come absolutely flying out of the blocks - but when England play the same players look like their shitting their knickers for 20 minutes in case they make a mistake. McClaren was farting on about an "English performance" before the game - blood, guts, passion, drive, etc - which when you look at it he really meant "I hope we play like Wimbledon in the 80s and 90s." At which point that didn't even happen. Something seems to happen to English players when the pull the shirt on - they freeze up, make mistakes, basically don't do what they normally do. Gerrard can't pass, Lampard can't do anything, nobody runs past anyone, everyone bottles it. (Then again if I read one more journalist use the phrase "uncharacteristic display" to describe John Terry/Rio Ferdinand cocking up again I'll scream) I'm not being reactionary because England lost - they are a second tier team at best anyway - but these performances are killing me.
So what is the English style? And why can't they change? This has been going on for years now - why?
I don't get to watch much football, but watching the World Cup, I saw a difference.
The English team, for the most part, looked as though they had just been introduced to each other just before the game. They didn't "know" what the other player was going to do. The Brazilian players, on the other hand, looked as though they knew each other well. they were making blind passes, knowing someone would be there, or moving there.
I have no idea why we play like turtles when we wear the England shirt. Only once in a while do we explode like the 5-1 in Munich or the 3-0 against Poland back in the 80s.
I won't bother watching the delayed tape of the Croatia game on tomorrow night. I'll watch a team that plays with heart instead. The 2006 Detroit Tigers.
Here's another question - why do the media continually state that Thierry Henry bottles it in big games but not Wayne Rooney? No goals in Champs League or Internationals in 2 years? Sounds fairly poor to me.
I think England should start picking more players from lower leagues.
Put a few of the non-bottling Premiership players in there but start dropping in more from the Championship. It would really mix it up and it can't get any more negative than now so what's to lose?
If the current England squad is the pick of the bunch in England, then the picking is flawed.
There's plenty of good players in the Championship. Andy Johnson has proven that after spending a year down there and coming back up to star at Everton.
As for our crap performances, aren't they almost always when we are not wearing red?
Why, if Croatia were wearing their change strip of blue, didn't we wear red instead of the washed out white?
Looking at the fantastic performances of England wearing red, why do we even consider not wearing it.
Our colours should be red and white. Change strip white and red.
I think England should start picking more players from lower leagues.
:grin: :grin:
You cant pick players Like Andy Johnson because the newspapers expect the magic boy Wayne bloody Rooney to play !!!. We still await his magic , keep waiting.
I cant type anymore or I will start ranting...
I have no idea why we play like turtles when we wear the England shirt.
It's performance anxiety.
There's plenty of good players in the Championship. Andy Johnson has proven that after spending a year down there and coming back up to star at Everton.
To be fair didnt AJ pull out of the squad last week because he had an injury?
He probably would have been on the bench anyway :roll:
Ranting time.
From what has been said during Sven's reign it was McClaren who came up with the idea of playing Johnson on the wing. Nice touch there from Second Choice Steve. I really don't think recent international managers have had the balls to drop the glam players for a team that functions well instead. The Rooney and Lampard problem is as clear as daylight to almost everyone but they picked game after game. Sadly we're short on strikers at the mo with Ashton, Johnson and Owen not being fit. But then Owen wasn't lighting the place on fire was he?
For me it is clearly the midfield that is the problem - they don't play well in the way they are trained to. If McClaren really did drop Beckham to play fast wing-play he should at least play fast wingers - the last game was a clear example of not doing that at all. It seems we are enamoured by the holding-player/creative player template but not playing it well. We've all been told that the problem was the holding player but surely it's clear it's the other 3 as well. We have no movement off the ball, no passing ability, no one going forward, no one challenging others, and our solutions to this have been dire. Getting to by-line and crossing only works if you have different quick players than Downing. And to my knowledge Lennon and Wright-Phillips aren't much cop at crossing either. And McClaren asking Gary Neville and Ashley Cole to do it is as infuriating as playing Gerrard, Hargreaves and Rooney out of position. Besides - that's as one-dimensional as hoofing it over the midfield to Crouch.
We need to actually play football! We have the players to do that - they do it every week for goodness sake. We need to drop those who aren't performing (other nations seem capable of dropping the so-called stars for the good of the team) and not pick real duffers. It's a dual problem really because the alleged class such as Lampard and Rooney aren't doing well - and the lesser names such as Downing and Defoe are to my mind poor poor international players. I think with changing the squad somewhat and a better manager we'd be doing well. A good example is Aston Villa - a quality boss has done wonders for them. Players who were flagging like Angel and Mellberg look reborn. As for changing the squad Italy and Germany are a good example - never afraid to drop the moody star players for those who fit the system.
So next thing is then - what's our frikking system.
Can we assemble a Britnet England squad and then figure out the tactics and formation from there?
How about you pick your squad from any of the leagues? Must be eligible of course or if you don't have time, pick just the defense, midfield or attack?
Ooh this'll be fun - we can all show just how inept we are! I'm going to asume everybody is fit even though they aren't. And this is based on current form which personally I think it should be anyway.
3 Keepers
Paul Robinson (well who else is there?)
Chris Kirkland
Scott Carson (need a young promising keeper to get used to it all)
8 Defenders
Wayne Bridge (personally I think he's playing much better than Cole)
Gary Neville (bah...)
Ledley King (quick and better than both Rio and Terry)
John Terry (not captain for me though because he should be dropped at the mo)
Jonathan Woodgate (quickest we have)
Rio Ferdinand
Micah Richards (good young player challenging the rest)
Tony Hibbert (decent right back in my view)
8 Midfielders
Steven Gerrard (play him in his actual position)
Joe Cole (did well on left)
Owen Hargreaves (if he's good enough for Bayern...)
Jimmy Bullard (he has been consistently excellent for 2 years)
Aaron Lennon (pace is good)
Gareth Barry (has a left foot and isn't Stewart Downing)
Kevin Nolan (on form alone0
Gabriel Agbonlahor (on current performances)
5 Strikers
Andy Johnson (best English-style striker in England)
Dean Ashton (Sheringham Mark 2)
Rob Hulse (he'll be bought by Manure for silly money next year)
Peter Crouch (sub material even with the form - but what form!)
Wayne Rooney (sub - thin ice for me and capable of dropping entirely)
5 Reserve Call-Ups
Nigel Reo Coker (as logn as he's playing for Wham)
James Milner (looking very good right now)
Bobby Zamora (fast and in form - Rooney better watch his back!)
Michael Owen (due to lack of options really - he's stil got something)
Michael Dawson (solid sub player)
Oddly when I look back at it that looks laughable! Which it is of course. I would have a simple rule really - if you aren't playing regularly then you aren't in the squad. So Wright-Phillips, Carrick and Beckham don't count. Players who shouldn't be there are Downing, Defoe, Gary Neville, Jenas, Richardson and Brown. Not up to it frankly. A few players need to be dropped to make a point really - Lampard being one. Ashley Cole needs a serious talking to. Dropping him would seriously make a point to him. I think there are a few system/tactic options there. What I'd base us on is the Klinsmann/Low Germany model - good mix of stars and position players - not scared to drop players (Ballack being one) - lots of formations - not afraid to try youngsters (Lahm and Sweinsteiger come to mind) and seem to knwo how to actually play football.
See! I know nothing!! lol
Edited to add - this criticisim of the best in the world FIFA list is pretty funny -
http//blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2006/10/13/where_have_all_the_great_footb.html