Time for this little fella again. please log in to view this image That's twice in less than an hour.
Is it because we feel distanced from England players...I certainly don't regard them as heroes the same way as I did Lineker, Platt, Butcher etc. And there is an awful lot of football on the TV.
No, it is because they are awful. I know because I have been excited by lauded England players in the past, none of which were from Southampton FC, and they played quite well. Remember Euro 96..?
I don't what it is about Rooney but I really don't want him to Break Bobby Charlton's goal scoring record. That said, I had him down to score tonight so 3 points to me. Woohoo!
Some neat passes from Lambert plus he takes up positions that draw the defence all over the place. Neither Hodgson or Rogers seem to realise what he has to offer. I'm convinced we'd have scored more with Lambert on the pitch.
Seems we're "excellent" until we come up against a real team in competition, then we fall apart. Why, oh why, does Roy watch players at their clubs week in and week out and then insist they play out of position. I thought Lambert was good on the right wing ....................
2-0 up at half time against san marino, bring on two known quantities, and then another when we're 3-0 up not buying it.
As a Saints fan I lost any affinity to the England team prior to the World Cup, seems light years ago when I was scraping myself off the ceiling after Rickie scored that header at Wembley.
Why is it us fans have such a different outlook to pundits? Yes we won and should be happy but it took us 70 odd minutes to break down Estonia and we could only do it when no one was allowed to tackle? How can somebody look at that and say "well the diamond rotation has been working to great effect...."? Am I the only one who saw Rooney give away the ball so many times that if a Wigan striker played like that would be called an awful performance? Aside from 1 or 2 passes he ran the ball in to nowhere and lost our momentum in attacks. How can we watch our team of premier league players struggle and look half arsed against Estonia but pundits say it was good?
The only reason Hodgson puts anyone in the squad from outside the top six clubs is so that he can tap them up on behalf of the top six clubs. That is his only function as "England Manager". The only reason he has the job is because of the financial clout the top six clubs have with the FA. IMHO of course.
What I found particularly frustrating is that players such as Sterling, when left 1 to 1 on the corner of the area, won't take their man on to either create the the space for a cross or shot. For their domestic clubs they would do so without hesitation, but they seem too hesitant, or even scared, when playing for England. Compare that to the Yanks in the World Cup.
Wasn't just him though, Welbeck's touch and pass were just as awful, if not worse! I remember one time in the first half he was dribbling back towards our own half, I'm using dribbling in the lightest sense here as he looked like a subuteo player trying to dribble.
I remember Rooney's debut and "running the ball into nowhere" was what he did all game. My mate and I were begging for him to be substituted at half time. The 'pundits' loved him! To me, he has done the same thing ever since (not with Man Utd but with England). Of course he's had the occasional good game but not enough to justify his god-like status in the England set up. Also, because he believes his own publicity, he chases the ball all over the pitch, getting in other players' way. Wilshire has the same quality. The one thing I will say for Rooney is that he has a passion for England. Unlike many of the others who only seem to have a passion for themselves.
Wonder what it is with Sterling. Roy says he told him 3 days after the San Marino game that he was too tired. Hodgson went on to say that it wasn't being tired in the legs from training, but perhaps because Liverpool had had a poor start to the season??? Not sure Roy should have given out even that much information....sounds like stress or depression.
... Or pressure from his club manager. Liverpool lose player to injury after England duty; Liverpool and England boss have lengthy discussions; next international two Liverpool players are substituted at half time; next international Liverpool player is too tired to play..... ....Mmm me Hodgson bowing to the pressures of the big clubs?
Just watched Jamie Carragher and Redknapp discussing it...they think Raheem may be responding to instructions from his manager. They also think Hodgson should have kept a private conversation private as he could just have passed it off as giving Lallana a chance. It was mentioned how much more football Sterling is playing now and even Liverpool rested him for the Villa game. It may be that Sterling doesn't recover as well as other youngsters...may need nurturing. Can't help him being caught between two managers. The dig from Hodgson about Liverpool's poor start is a bit of a clue....if they were sailing, it may not even be an issue. The twitter criticism of Sterling is a bit strong...it's not the same as refusing to go over the top at the Somme.
Welbeck's touch is poor. He'll get goals because of his pace, but his technical abilty, like that of most English players, is limited. That's what makes Lallana so exceptional as an English footballer; he actually has good close control. Very few of our players do, don't really know why (but I can guess).
