Even more woeful than I expected England to be before the World Cup started. There is so much wrong with that team, squad, manager, the FA, the media etc etc... that it would melt the internet if I went into detail. So in summary... ENGLAND ARE ****.
Can anyone give us the opta stats for Wilshere? That should prove once and for all if stats can ever be used in arguments without being laughed at. Most important ones are pass completion (my estimate 30%) succesful dribbles (5%) giving the ball away (80%) All of the above are infalted in Wilshere's favour because he got a lucky free kick a couple of times when he was about to have another fail against his name. Just read back a few pages and I have to say were it not for Barkley and Wilshere I thought today was a vast improvement on the last 2 games. If it weren't for Wilshere and Barkley we could have held onto possession a lot more and also have been able to get into the danger areas more. Wilshere's only good moment was the pass to Sturridge but other than that he was soooo poor, and Barkley takes 2 men on too many before even considering passing.
Think Wilshire is the only player in history to hit the turf even before his first touch of the ball. He's hopeless. If he's England's future...
First 10 minutes my 9 year old son and I said repeatedly 'And Wilshere loses the ball' and no, we weren't willing him to. These were reactionary statements. He was awful the first 10 minutes and not much better for the remainder of the match, yet in the half time analysis Lee Dixon (Arsenal) points out he is the key man and if we can get the ball into the 'space' he is finding we can do well. This guy is going to get 100 caps I'm sure of it.
Just staggering really. Sturridge couldn't hit a barn door, Barkley - too greedy and ineffective, Wilshire - well, it's all been said - falls over a lot (key man? They're having a laugh), Adam should have stayed on and they should have given Rickie a chance to pull defenders for the other players. Luke showed why he's head and shoulders above Baines and Jones (even though I don't think he's that good) was far, far better than Johnson. Oh - the keeper had a decent game and so did the "old man" - Frank ........... Future? What future .........
Collection of individuals. None of them know where each other are [apart from Shaw and Lallana] and Sturridge has forgotten where the goal is. And Rickie Lambert gets a 5 minute World Cup career, after being the team's most likely to score player whenever he stepped onto the field, prior to the tournament. He also happened to be the best quality passer whenever he was there, as well. I bet he didn't expect it to be over that fast. I'm actually hoping for Roy's sake that Rickie had Montezuma's Revenge or was injured or something, so that it made it impossible for him to play, because any other playing reason would be unfathomable to me.
And who should we appoint? The truth is that there is no enough depth and quality players to chose from. Most of them are technically poor and with the Premier League so financially lucrative who is going to take risks producing young players. You could put Sepp Blatter in charge and they still wouldn't win.
Kenny Jacket.......Gus bloody Poyet.......anyone! If we just keep the ol' woys club we are going to be further back in four years than we are now. Lets start again......but properly this time.
No, no, no..! Don't fall into the pundits' trap. There are plenty of English players with great technical ability, and many of them are in the current squad. Haven't we just been in a tournament where our group has been won by the least capable players who work well as a team..? Don't believe that crap about poor technical capability and lack of strength in depth. It's a complete brainwashing excuse to let the England set up off the hook. The fact is that the England squad are a collection of talented individuals and not a team. They are all leaders who think they know better. As McMenemy might have said, they all want to be lead violinists, and nobody wants to do the road sweeping.
Sorry TSS, the number one reason why our national team is not successful is that we are not coached technically well enough and do not have good enough technical ability. Yes, the "team" bit comes into it a lot, but look back to 2010 when Algeria passed us off the pitch. They had far superior touch to our players and so do most teams. Re-watch the Uruguay game. Rooney got credit from the pundits for being our best, or one of our best on the night. Typical English view. He tried hard, but during the first half I got fed up of watching him chase his first touch 2 meters nearly every time it was passed to him. When English players control the ball, 90% (guess) of them there is a little bobble or movement upwards of the ball.
The problem is HR, that the media and the fans won't allow it to happen. You are correct though; we need to start again properly. The FA (muppet dyke) stating we want to win the World Cup in 8 years doesn't help. We need to start at the bottom and get it right there.
Well I'm sorry FLT, but I think you're wrong. The players ARE good enough. Don't tell me Costa Rican players are better technically than English, especially when Bryan Ruiz can't get into a relegated Fulham team, but goes on loan to the Dutch league. No, I'm not having it. It's a bloody excuse. English players have perfectly good technical ability when not playing for England.
FLT is, as usual, spot on. It needs to start at the bottom of the pyramid. We've discussed this before. FLT. You are right, there is a lot wrong with the game at grass roots level. But, I also have sympathy for TSS's view. Tonight I kept wondering about players I have seen this season who were quite awesome - our Luke for one - just looking so much that they were playing within themselves. They play against world class players most weeks. What is it with the "****-I'm-playing-for-England" thing? They get picked because of the job they do for their clubs, yet they become shadows of themselves when they play for England. Can you tell I've been drinking. {Peace to all, man.
I tend to agree with TSS. Take the team that played today and the team that played the last 2 games and what is the problem? Our main passers are trying to win matches on their own. Gerrard has to try 70 yard raking balls with every opportunity. Sterling, Barkley, Sturridge, Wilshere all try to go past players to get a shot rather than pass. When they do pass they try to thread it through the eye of a needle and fail. The 'control' aspect can be explained by the above. Balls were coming into players at such pace that they are going to mis control at least half of them. I rate Rooney. The problem is more a case of him being passionate so much that if he is not getting the service then he gets into the midfield. In the first 2 games he came back to get the ball off the defence several times. That is what Henderson and Gerrard should be doing. Barkley was doing the same today. In all honesty the only disciplined and team players through the tournament (and I exempt Rooney because he just gets fed up with the rest of the selfish team) were Milner, Shaw and Lallana. That's the joke. We've all slated Milner for eons yet he has never done anything wrong, it's just we don't think he should be selected as a winger. Again tnight he's in the front 3 players??? With Barkley in the midfield 3??? I think Milner will be around for a long time but please Roy (or next manager) play him in midfield, not as a winger and not as one of the front 3. We missed Barry/Carrick this world cup which is sad
Look, I understand that FLT may be right about the average level of English ability, but these are the finest 23 English players in the World, or should be. That means they will be amongst the best technically. Whatever is slightly different is minuscule and should be eliminated by good tactics and game plan. Currently, I'm watching Greece v Ivory Coast, Do those teams have better technical players..? I seriously doubt it. Greece are currently going to be second in their group, and Ivory Coast have 3 points on the board. Both are playing with a freedom that I have seldom seen in an England team, and the least technically capable team, imo [Greece], are currently leading. One of the best technical teams, Japan are on their way home. Don't be fooled. It's an easy target to blame lack of technique in English players. Lallana has more technique in his little piggy toe than most players foreign or otherwise. It was the same criticism of English players when Le Tiss was at his height. It might have been true then, but not now. Rooney is meant to be World Class. Sturridge is meant to know where the goal is. Barkley is an exhilarating powerhouse. Sterling is a game changer. Shaw is going to be a great all-round player. These are just examples, and the rest are perfectly capable for their clubs. Just not in the England setup. The poison lies there, and someone needs to find out what it is. A new FA broom may sweep it away, but a bit of intelligence may do it much quicker and cheaper. I'm not talking as if this is a new thing. England players have played less well for the national side for donkey's years. Bony scores for Ivory Coast..! 1-1.
I swear all the Saints players now look heavier than how they ended the season with us. Free mini-bar maybe?
