barroldinho
22 Nov 2007, 01:20 AM
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A29361909#commentbox
This is just one of many many ridiculous reactions to England's failure to reach Euro 2008. I post it because it is an example of the kind of attitude that irritates me from the England "faithful".
England isn't in a dire state. This isn't the death of English football. It is simply the fact that we have not had the right manager for a while. Hoddle was an average choice, Keegan had shown promise, but in truth has never withstood pressure well as a manager and Eriksson produced a bland workmanlike brand of footy that produced results for a while but did little to tap into the teams overall potential.
But we get the masses of melodramatic complaints like the one above about the state of "grass-roots football". So Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joe Cole lack skill? David Beckham isn't consistent at providing assists? John Terry is not an excellent defender? Frank Lampard is not one of the most prolific goal-scoring midfielders in the world? Peter Crouch and Michael Owen don't score regularly at International level?
In one argument, the premiership is so inundated with foreign stars that the poor English wonderkids are prevented from ever developing. In the other, the home-grown stars of the premiership who shine among these players are 'overrated'.
It's pants. I'll tell you what's wrong with English football. Richard Wright, Robert Green, Paul Robinson and David James are all very competent Goalkeepers. They've all made mistakes or done something that has deemed them near unselectable in the eyes of England, be it the manager, the press or the vocal, whining fans. It will now be a while before Carson starts for England again. He is a young, developing, talented keeper, but now he will just be the guy who failed against Croatia. Personally, I'd put him straight into the next England game. He has potential, shouldn't have been thrust into the role yet, but he now needs to get another international under his belt to get his confidence back. This won't happen, because we judge one poor international performance as make or break.
Joe Cole had some strong performances at the World Cup. One game where he didn't do anything spectacular but also did nothing really wrong and we had pundits saying what a quiet game he'd had. Ditto SWP against Russia. Beckham was involved in about four goals in the same competition, but it was universally decided that he was to blame for pretty much the whole Sven era and he was supposedly "right to be dropped". Suddenly the incompatible Gerrard and Lampard were failing, chances were in short supply and people started to realise that Beckham actually offered a little more than he was given credit for.
In a move that was more luck than judgement, McClaren selected Gareth Barry to play in Midfield with Gerrard. Suddenly 3-0 became a regular scoreline. Finally the concept of a midfield comprised of players complementing each other was realised. Unfortunately McClaren seemed to miss this somewhere. "Ooh, but Lampard's on form!" they cried. Then Gerrard should have been dropped.
Can you imagine this? A midfield where you get a choice between Barry Carrick and Hargreaves as anchor men, Lampard or Gerrard as attacking midfielders? Scott Parker, Nigel Reo-Coker and maybe even Jermaine Jenas waiting in the wings? A right wing with a choice of Wright-Phillips, Beckham, Lennon or Bentley? Up front we've already got Rooney and Owen, Crouch who has now surely proven he can score regularly for England (and yes we all know he had a period for Liverpool when he couldn't score but isn't it time we realised that it was simply poor form?). Heskey did well recently, Darren Bent, Dean Ashton and Andy Johnson are all more than competent at club level and haven't been given anything like a realistic run. I mean I haven't even mentioned Agbonlahor yet.
I don't see a lack of personnel or young talent in England. I see a continuation of poor management decisions, of trying to cram as many big names into a first XI as possible with actual roles left as an after-thought. I see a continued bias towards selection from bigger clubs (though admittedly, this was something McClaren was a little better about). I still remember the days when Phil Neville wasn't playing for Man U, wasn't looking that great when he did, yet was still playing for England.
Italy and Spain produce plenty of quality players despite foreign players in their leagues. Top internationals at the big clubs simply mean that the up-and-coming Englishmen go elsewhere. They stay in England not because Europe isn't interested, but because they can make more money at home. Yet England Manager's seem terrified of selecting a consistent player for a smaller team because he might have to tell 'Lamps' or 'Stevie G' that they're on the bench.
There isn't a crisis, there is a collection of quality players waiting to be moulded into a team that brings out the best in them. Should we expect to win the World Cup? Nope. Nobody should. The top level of international football is too competitive to assume you're going to win. But with the right man at the helm, with a team inspired and directed into producing their best, with a system that takes advantage of the distinctive pace and tempo of English football, we can at least enjoy watching them try.
As of now we need to use the next year as a grace period to create a team that works, without the pressure of producing competitively for an overly harsh, overly expectant media and the sheep that swallow their melodrama.
English football is suffering from a screw-up, not a crisis.
This is just one of many many ridiculous reactions to England's failure to reach Euro 2008. I post it because it is an example of the kind of attitude that irritates me from the England "faithful".
England isn't in a dire state. This isn't the death of English football. It is simply the fact that we have not had the right manager for a while. Hoddle was an average choice, Keegan had shown promise, but in truth has never withstood pressure well as a manager and Eriksson produced a bland workmanlike brand of footy that produced results for a while but did little to tap into the teams overall potential.
But we get the masses of melodramatic complaints like the one above about the state of "grass-roots football". So Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joe Cole lack skill? David Beckham isn't consistent at providing assists? John Terry is not an excellent defender? Frank Lampard is not one of the most prolific goal-scoring midfielders in the world? Peter Crouch and Michael Owen don't score regularly at International level?
In one argument, the premiership is so inundated with foreign stars that the poor English wonderkids are prevented from ever developing. In the other, the home-grown stars of the premiership who shine among these players are 'overrated'.
It's pants. I'll tell you what's wrong with English football. Richard Wright, Robert Green, Paul Robinson and David James are all very competent Goalkeepers. They've all made mistakes or done something that has deemed them near unselectable in the eyes of England, be it the manager, the press or the vocal, whining fans. It will now be a while before Carson starts for England again. He is a young, developing, talented keeper, but now he will just be the guy who failed against Croatia. Personally, I'd put him straight into the next England game. He has potential, shouldn't have been thrust into the role yet, but he now needs to get another international under his belt to get his confidence back. This won't happen, because we judge one poor international performance as make or break.
Joe Cole had some strong performances at the World Cup. One game where he didn't do anything spectacular but also did nothing really wrong and we had pundits saying what a quiet game he'd had. Ditto SWP against Russia. Beckham was involved in about four goals in the same competition, but it was universally decided that he was to blame for pretty much the whole Sven era and he was supposedly "right to be dropped". Suddenly the incompatible Gerrard and Lampard were failing, chances were in short supply and people started to realise that Beckham actually offered a little more than he was given credit for.
In a move that was more luck than judgement, McClaren selected Gareth Barry to play in Midfield with Gerrard. Suddenly 3-0 became a regular scoreline. Finally the concept of a midfield comprised of players complementing each other was realised. Unfortunately McClaren seemed to miss this somewhere. "Ooh, but Lampard's on form!" they cried. Then Gerrard should have been dropped.
Can you imagine this? A midfield where you get a choice between Barry Carrick and Hargreaves as anchor men, Lampard or Gerrard as attacking midfielders? Scott Parker, Nigel Reo-Coker and maybe even Jermaine Jenas waiting in the wings? A right wing with a choice of Wright-Phillips, Beckham, Lennon or Bentley? Up front we've already got Rooney and Owen, Crouch who has now surely proven he can score regularly for England (and yes we all know he had a period for Liverpool when he couldn't score but isn't it time we realised that it was simply poor form?). Heskey did well recently, Darren Bent, Dean Ashton and Andy Johnson are all more than competent at club level and haven't been given anything like a realistic run. I mean I haven't even mentioned Agbonlahor yet.
I don't see a lack of personnel or young talent in England. I see a continuation of poor management decisions, of trying to cram as many big names into a first XI as possible with actual roles left as an after-thought. I see a continued bias towards selection from bigger clubs (though admittedly, this was something McClaren was a little better about). I still remember the days when Phil Neville wasn't playing for Man U, wasn't looking that great when he did, yet was still playing for England.
Italy and Spain produce plenty of quality players despite foreign players in their leagues. Top internationals at the big clubs simply mean that the up-and-coming Englishmen go elsewhere. They stay in England not because Europe isn't interested, but because they can make more money at home. Yet England Manager's seem terrified of selecting a consistent player for a smaller team because he might have to tell 'Lamps' or 'Stevie G' that they're on the bench.
There isn't a crisis, there is a collection of quality players waiting to be moulded into a team that brings out the best in them. Should we expect to win the World Cup? Nope. Nobody should. The top level of international football is too competitive to assume you're going to win. But with the right man at the helm, with a team inspired and directed into producing their best, with a system that takes advantage of the distinctive pace and tempo of English football, we can at least enjoy watching them try.
As of now we need to use the next year as a grace period to create a team that works, without the pressure of producing competitively for an overly harsh, overly expectant media and the sheep that swallow their melodrama.
English football is suffering from a screw-up, not a crisis.