This time last year we were eagerly awaiting the World Cup Finals in South Africa - only to be badly let down. This time next year we will probably be eagerly awaiting Euro 2012 finals in Poland/Ukraine - and no doubt be disappointed again..................UNLESS Lallana, Oxlade anyone?
£6 million a year for three and a half years, barely 20 days real work per year, and a free ticket to any game in the world, and this donkey cannot even learn english! Capello ought to be ashamed.
Obviously the oppo are a higher calibre, but I truely believe Lallana is a much better player than Walcott. Infact I would nearly go as far as to say Dyer should be ahead of him. Without acres of space which he can use his pace he might as well not be there! Lampard was woeful...I think it's time for him to retire
I would also like to be shown 'the proof of how good he is'. It took me four hours to get back from the 'game' when it should have only taken one and a half. Capello is paid 6 million a year to churn out fatigue excuses and why would the players be bothered when the manager is making excuses for them? If he wants to know what fatigue is, he and the players should have joined me on my journey home!
He plays 433 with no wingers and wonders why it doesn't work. Then when he brings 2 on, one plays up front and the other on his weaker side. It's pretty basic stuff.
What I always find amazing is how much more comfortable on the ball our opponents ALWAYS look. The Swiss were passing it around nicely and moving into space. England with the ball were walking about and 90% of passes were just punts long or out to the wings or missplaced passes.
To be honest though I don't buy the whole, 'being difficult because they don't play with each other week after week'. You've only got to look at a few other nations' managers to see that it's possible, and often those that don't have as much talent in the squad as England. England CAN be a force, but I don't think it's gonna happen under Capello.
I am atonished anyone bothers to go to England games at Wembley. I wouldn't go if it was for free. Watching the game on the television yesterday I felt England were devoid of ideas, they couldn't pass or keep the ball, showed no motivation and seemed dis-spirited. It is the game of football that is meant to be simple not our players. I can't remember when I last saw a more talentless bunch of individuals on a football pitch. Sorry yes I can it was when I saw their previous game. We expect the FA to run football when they can't even be trusted to run the Englanmd team.
Before the game he was saying how fresh the players were running around with lots of energy, and then afterwards he made the excuse of fatigue for the bad performance !?!?!
There basically was no excuse, all of the players minus Ferdinand had had 2 weeks without any Football.
St Godders. The ironic thing is that I only got invited to the game on Friday by a mate who had FREE tickets! It was my first full England international and after that performance, most definitely the last. England don't deserve to have 90,000 fans watching them. Why should the supporters turn up when the players can't be bothered to?
Also, am a big fan of Scott Parker in the Prem, but if I saw him do another 360° turn I think I would've punched the tv. It was like watching Fabrice Fernandes all over again.
We can't play like Barcelona, we don't have the players to do it. We do have talent though, enough for a manager to make a decent job of gettng a set of tactics that work. Some things we need: - A 433/451/4231 system that works for us. 442 just get overrun in the middle of the park by the better teams. - A striker who can win headers and hold the ball up. We're not good enough for our passing and movement alone to do that job. - Two wingers on their stronger sides that can support the striker. Theo Walcott is not a winger and never has been. - Axe Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, John Terry, Ashley Cole and Glen Johnson. Keep Rio for his experience. - Don't crowbar Wayne Rooney into a position that doesn't suit him if he's out of form. He's not immune from being de-selected. - Use younger players that earn an opportunity - Widen the selection pool. There are 92 professional teams and an eclectic mix of talent. - **** the media, its not their job to pick the team. - Build the team around Jack Wilshere, he's good and young. - The manager should speak good English.
We've got good players but two things work against any manager trying to build a national team, IMO: they do play too much club football and they only play as "England" seven or eight times a season. Also I agree that the language issue is not just irrelevant - communication is vital to group success.
Isn't that the same for every top international side? And look at Brazil and Argentina. They're players have to travel transatlantic to play for their international side, but those two are both immeasurably better than England, and have had infinetly more success over the years.
A major problem is that the players have got too big for their boots. By the time you get to play for England, you're rolling in money. Everyone one of us (and I'm a girl) would walk on glass to play for our country. I'm not sure it means as much to the modern player as it does for us. The first cap perhaps, but after that....? Where are the Stuart Pierces of today?
