Am I right in thinking that Ãzil's goal last night was his sole contribution of any merit to Germany's campaign so far?
Continuing the Hi-jack.... it is not about one thing, it is about several things. Mental approach covers a lot of those areas for sure, yet I still say that basic technique still is a major contributor. Keeping it losing on track, Algeria had excellent technique and a good mental attitude, however one important mental part let them down; they didn't have the ability to 'set' their mind right at the final pass/shot/choice of pass. Their enthusiasm and adrenalin got the better of them at that point.
Yep. I think the ITV commentator may have said something along the lines of his great energy at the end, but that was because he'd done sod all for the most part. The game passed him by but, to be fair, he plugged away. He's actually gone backwards while at Arsenal. No surprise there, in my opinion.
Ozil is a player with incredible talent with a football. He is however what I would call a 'fair-weather' player (I don't mean literally). Whenever I look in his eyes, he doesn't seem to be a strong person and I think he needs to have some steel put into him. That may never happen. To put it in politically incorrect terms, he comes across as a bit of a pansy; easily bullied. If the tide is going in his direction with his team, then he can really shine. If not, he is never going to steer a ship through choppy waters.
I was listening to Talksport the other day and Colin Murray was saying "forget Balotelli, what Arsenal need is some steel in the spine of the team" and I think he is right. I get the "backward" comment at Arsenal, however I am not so sure he has, more Arsenal don't have someone in their ranks to get a hold of people and keep them at it. At Madrid he had Mourinho and people like Ramos on the pitch. Arsenal just don't have one of those anymore. They need a Patrick Viera desperately (not a Morgan)
Everybody has better technique when they play with confidence and without fear. You, Me and the one legged chap down the road will play better with confidence and bravery. Just imagine what players at that level do. Playing with fear is like turning off a skill switch. This England Select were chosen because among their attributes is not just good, but great technique, in several of the players. Transferring that skill to international matches is not about whether or not the players have the technique in the first place. It is about whether they have the right mindset to maintain what they have. If they played to somewhere near their club level, this England team would still be in the World Cup. At this level, most of the difference is in the attitude. But hey, anyone can play badly. Italy, my other team went out in the group stages as well.
I will read the rest of your post shortly, but if this was a conversation, I'd have politely interrupted you right at this point.... I'm not talking about playing well, I am talking about technique. Yes, a player with good technique can mis-control a ball, but I still stand by my comment that our players (one or two exceptions) do not have the same technique with a football, or as good as it should be. This is down to how we are coached as youngsters. Edit: I have now finished your post. I disagree. There is an element of mindset, but you have again mentioned club v country performance. I can watch Wayne Rooney have a great game for United and still say his technique is not as good as top players in other nations. You say they have "great technique"... we will just have to disagree. They haven't. TSS, I am sorry, but I have re-read your post. The line that says Transferring that skill to international matches is not about whether or not the players have the technique in the first place. It is about whether they have the right mindset to maintain what they have is just so wrong. It is entirely about whether they have the technique in the first place. My friend who is just finishing his A license spent two weeks at St Georges last summer. A couple of days they watched England train and he was horrified at just how poor some players touch was in simple training exercise.
This whole tournament has been so frustrating to watch for me. So many german players are placed out of position or kept on the bench for inexplicable reasons. 1. Lahm needs to go to RB, i know he's played DM for Bayern and wants to stay there but he's gonna have to suck it up. 2. Durm or Grosskreutz need to come on for Howedes as he adds nothing. 3. I sincerely hope Mustafi's injury rules him out for the rest as he's useless 4. Re-arrange the front, 4-3-3 isnt working and its actually preventing attacks from forming. In my opinion it needs to be a 4-2-3-1 with the line up as follows Neuer Lahm Boateng Hummels Durm/Grosskreutz Schweinsteiger Khedira Schurrle Ozil/Gotze Draxler Muller Better cover for the defence and more options going forward. Low's little experiment hasne't worked and trying it on like he did against Algeria could result in an absolute mauling by the much more clinical french.
Yeah, I don't think Joachim Low is a particularly great manager. The four CBs thing annoys me, especially as Boateng is the best of the four at playing on the left, and yet they put Howedes there anyway. Why Lahm isn't playing right back I have no clue. I was willing to assume it was some clever tactical decision which I hadn't thought of, but after their performances so far I'm gonna say it's not clever. I'd line them up like this: Neuer Lahm Hummels Mertesacker Boateng Schweinsteiger Khedira Schurrle Gotze Podolski Muller
I always thought Lahm was excellent as a left back. Did he not score in a final/semi-final cutting in and curling a right footer inside the far post? I absolutely agree about the earlier comment of no protection for the back four.
Thats pretty decent but for me Mertesackers should be a sub only. Hummels and neuer steer the defense so the only thing he adds is heigh, which would be fine except he's far to slow (might work in your line-up admittedly) and seems to be getting caught out constantly. The rest of your line-up i would agree with, podolski hasent convinced of late though so i would keep draxler in a constant state of warm up for 'poldi' to be aware of.
It was a good game, and Algeria deserve a lot of recognition for their pacey, dogged performance but in truth (from a germany fan perspective) it should never have been a contest. It seemed like half the team was out of position and lumbered with a DEF lineup that simply doesnt work..or has worked in the past games. This was the Round of 16 game with probably the biggest perceived gulf in ranking/quality and under favorable weather conditions and yet Die Mannschaft looked dazed, confused and idea less for long stretches of it while some of the more creative talents sit on the bench waiting for a call up that most likely will never come. The frustration isn't born from a lack of talent...that german 23 man team reads almost like an all star list....but from obvious ineptitude and spurious decision making from the management that is just allowed to happen and isn't being addressed. I personally point my lazy, armchair sitting finger at Loew, Flick and the team...its fine to try new things but the world cup is not the right time and retrying the same mistakes over and over again is just painful to watch P.S. I know i'm rambling a bit and jumping on every reply but i needed to vent a little so here i am.
