As we are on an international break, i though i would ask all the guys here to clarify something for me, that has baffled me for years, "why does the English team continue to underachieve". There is no doubt in my mind that England has the players equal or better than most other countries. I look at the English players that have come and gone without having being successful at international level. I know that this can be blamed on the the ever increasing level of "foreigners" in the Prem but i dont buy into this as there were very few "foreigners" in the Prem in the 70s and 80s and yet nothing was achieved. Every international competition that comes along (World Cup / Euro Champs) i look at the English team with envy and always think they have to be in the top 3-4 teams in the Comp. But yet no recent success. I wonder is it the coaching setup at underage level as so often inferior players and teams seem to pass and hold the ball so much better than England or any of the British or Irish teams for that matter. I often look at the English players in the Prem and i know here in Ireland we would give our left arm for even a couple of the players that you have at your disposal. I have my own theory on this and for me the English FA has consistently picked poor / average managers. I would like to hear your opinions on this as i cant understand how you are not winning or seriously contending in competition after competition. Thoughts!!!!!
I think the problem has been the management of the team. Every time a vacancy came up it was given to the most successful manager at that time, which is why we got Graham Taylor. There has been little continuity since Bobby Robson left and even he took frightful stick during his time. We then went foreign and Sven had limited success followed by Capello who was successful in his first qualifier and got his current contract just BEFORE the disaster of 2010. What is needed is a manager who can handle the egos, plays a system which isn't adapted to accommodate certain individuals (Gerrard/Lampard) and has the tactical nous to change the system if we are behind and being outplayed. Don't laugh, but I think Roy Hodgson would be ideal as he has been reasonably successful in international football and has the experience to do a job. I think Redknapp is an example of the type of manager we normally picked after a bit of domestic success.
Short answer - they need to pick Joey Barton (according to a mysterious individual who goes by the name of Boey Jarton). Long answer: There's a hint that the season is too long because all the players look fairly sharp in qualifiers but look as flat as Rio's leg when Heskey landed on it by the the time Summer comes round. Foreign players don't necessarily look as jaded but that's only due to having fresher (don't have 55 games at Prem pace due to good Champion's League runs and 1.5 major domestic cups). The only comparison there is to the perpetually overachieving Ireland team but a fair number of their team are squad players these days and so don't flag like England. Then there's the managers who come with "no reputation" speeches and then fall victim to media pressure (why no Lampard etc). The press virtually dictates the first eleven and, simultaneously, builds up those players to a pressure point where they wilt. The formation is ruined by fitting in players that might not work as a unit. We need a manager that understands the pressures, can get the team playing to our strengths at full Prem pace (the one thing that compensates for a slight lack of technique) and picks the best team not necessarily the best players. Should players and managers bottle it due to the media? No but the sooner everyone accepts it the better and then we can try to work around it. Sorry, bit long and rambling.
Matt A couple of interesting points there mate. The British media do tend to over hype the team before and during every tournement. They tend to get nasty when things are not going well and defo place a huge unnesceesary burden on the manager and players. The number of games has to be a real issue as well. I cant see how this can be fixed without reducing the number of teams in the Prem. I fully agree with the pace that England tend to play at, or to be more accurate, dont play at. Surely if they played the high tempo high energy game that defines the Prem they would be far more successful. But to do this you have to keep the ball which always seems to be Englands main problem, getting and holding the ball. This is what mystifies me as the quality of Gerard, Lampard, Walcott and the many others can easily do this at club level
"There is no doubt in my mind that England has the players equal or better than most other countries" I would disagree. Look at the individual players from the top countries in europe and sth america, and then compare them to English players. Skill level, technique, confidence on the ball ....big difference. if anything I think England have over achieved by being consistently ranked in the top 10 in the world.
Call me unpatriotic, but at the moment I couldn't care less about the England team. Capello fills me with the ethusiasm of having an operation to remove Haemorrhoids. Always sail through qualifying and then stumble throught the first group stage to be blown over by the slightest breeze of opposition in the knockout stages. These international breaks are killing me, hard to get any momentum going when you have to stop for two weeks after every other game
Go back to basics and really really really admit we need to start from scratch instead of pretending we are the bees knees ... We ain't Get a new FA and smash all the quangos .... Ray Wilkins in charge Go against the idea that international football is a ****ing science Play to our strengths And stop the bollocks
