We just don't have the quality players anymore, they are putting their faith in the likes of Cleverley and he's nowhere near the finished article as a player. I agree with comments about the likes of Milner, who would you rather have him or somebody like Chris Waddle who could actually play football, sums up how average we are now. Even the defence- Jagielka could walk past me in the street and I wouldn't realise, he's no Terry Butcher. Rooney is captain and he is anonymous most international games, not to mention his brain deficits. I hate to say it but the goalkeeper is our best player.
Stopped watching England games ages ago ... Been **** and boring for years ...get the feeling players would rather be sat at home with wife rather then playing for England ...
Ps .... Good old vespa's are far more reliable and superior to lambrettas .. Just disagreeing with OLM ...
Bob is spot on - on paper the players are excellent, we just can't seem to get them going. We've always defended well, particularly under Hodgson, but losing Terry is a big blow and we do look a bit ordinary at the back now, so surprise that we concede a **** goal from a set piece now he is out of the picture. Further forward we just need to keep the ball better, I don't think the pitch helped yesterday and Roy pretty much adnmitted he'd told them to hit it longer, sooner but we really aren't comfortable enough on the ball. If you watch us when we got penned in a corner surrounded by defenders we always lose the ball, whereas even Poland (who I thought were as **** as us overall, sorry Artur) managed to play their way out of it a bit and retain possession. Our players are all very similar, they could land a ball at your feet from 50 yards with no one around, but under pressure they really struggle.
I can't argue with the reliability thing, but they don't look as good, that's why they designed Lambretta's to break down a lot, it's so more people get to admire their beauty while they're being pushed along the side of the road.
Thats Carrick to a tee. Why they asked him back i will never understand. Couldnt see the point in Cleverley either. To move Rooney to left mid and then off was ridiculous. Lescott and Jag had to hit long balls cos Gerrard and Carrick didnt show for the ball. That game was the first time I've ever seen Ashley Cole get done for pace, and not just once either. Maybe he is a brilliant RB the Polish lad but thats the beginning of the end for Cole if his pace goes.
We need Crouch or even Ian Ormondroyd recalled up front on his own and get Lampard & Gerrard to pump long balls into the box in the hope of nicking an goal.. I'd also bring back Barton cos he now understands the law and french football.. oh and Hart is too confident.. we don't need that in a keeper.. finally does McShane have an English grandmother?? Northern Ireland anyone?
One thing that shocked me the other night was when the commentator said Rooney had scored 32 international goals, he must have scored a lot of sneaky ones because can't remember many of them
Wouldn't actually subscribe to a Crouch (or Ormandroyd ha ha) recall .. purely because he is actually not that good in the air and is easily countered by top class defenders (who he ends up having to foul), but you do bring up the key issue IMHO ... Alf Ramsey won a World Cup because he engineered a new formation that worked and played to the strengths of his players. Spain have done something very similar in the last decade with their 'tippy-tappy' sytle that many teams are now trying to copy. The problem for us is that our current crop of players have no chance of replicating hat style beacuse it is a bit like trying to make a bunch of hairy arsed long distance lorry drivers into prima-ballerinas - you just can't get shoes to fit. Somebody will come up with a style / formation sonn that will beat the Spanish style more often than it loses - Croatia came close in the Euros. We need to go back to the drawing board - develop a style that the Spaniards will hate playing against - for me it has to be speedy wingers (whi can actually cross a ball) and front players who are good in the air - plus very mobile defensive players who can counter the tippy-tappers close passing in the last third. Here endedeth the FF philosophy ... for now.
