England
Today I sat myself down and watched the England-Algeria game. This was a first for me, since I have not really had the time to watch a game in its entirety till now, usually flicking in and out and catching the last 20 minutes when not traveling.
The game today was abysmal from an English viewpoint, but ended quite well for the Algerians (they have given themselves a chance to progress). England by now should have been the first to qualify for the round of 16. The U.S. has a competitive edge (physical fitness) that most teams cannot boast. Throughout this world cup I’ve noticed a real drop in players energy levels towards the last 10 minutes of the game, and this is where the U.S. can capitalize. England, though, on paper look like they will be in the round of 16. However, I don’t see much progress beyond that.
Why does England perform so poorly, esp when flooded with a bunch of premier league superstars? I’ve boiled it down to three points:
1. No footballing exports from England to continental Europe. This is the main problem. The current team is loaded with players from Man Utd, ChelC and Liverpool. I find it hard to understand how bitter opponents for the last 9 months are meant to come together for a possible 7 games. Esp with the kind of end of season we just had. These guys have egos way over the majorities head. Overseas based players can help mitigate this bitterness and ego problem. Additionally exported players help provide diversity in their understanding of differing footballing customs. This is vital in terms of footballing knowledge. I hope this makes sense to you.
2. Two out of the three goalkeepers were busy fighting relegation all season. Relegation comes with conceding far higher share of goals. How I wonder can your top goalkeeper can be those that have become familiar with conceding goals rather than keeping clean sheets. This just makes no sense. Are the decision makers in the England camp really that bad in their judgements? The highest placed premier league team with an English starting keeper is Birmingham who conceeded 47 goals this past season, while both West Ham and Portsmouth conceeded 66. How the England team still refuses to go with Hart is a mystery. Further, the strongest league in the world does not have an English starting keeper amongst its top 8 teams.
3. There is no system! Who is the pointman? Rooney, Gerard, Lampard???? This team has had an awful long time to be built around certain players. Watching this World Cup and seeing Rooney playing almost in your own third (defending) should be an embarrassment to all the players. The lead striker playing everywhere but upfront. Are the players tired after a gruelling season? I highly doubt so. What I see is a complete lack of will on the part of management and players. Probably making difficult decisions is not part of this England management team’s responsibility. Plenty of people want to see Joe Cole. My problem with that is that out of the starting 11, 8 would be from Man Utd, ChelC or Liverpool. And this again points to a clash of egos and bitterness.
I totally agree with number 3. The system was supposedly a 4-4-2, with Gerrard on the left flank, but after seeing the match, I think Capello was trying to play 4-5-2 with only 10 outfield players…
Gerrard was never on the left flank, Lennon was switching sides constantly, and this this seriously affected the attacking game! Sometimes Glen Johnson had to occupy the right flank alone, and sometimes, Ashley had to do it on the left flank, and when the Algerians were getting the ball, they were allowed to run back freely in the opposite half.
It’s time to make big changes!!! Heskey is not doing his job (i.e giving balls to Rooney), Barry seems not to be in top condition, and Lennon and SWP are not doing the job!
Slovenia is an European side, plays good football and leaves spaces, and I think Capello should opt for a simple and rigid 4-5-1, with Carrick as the holding midfielder (he must be given his chance as both Barry and Milner have failed), with Joe Cole on the left flank, Lennon on the right, give more liberty to Gerrard and Lampard, and with Rooney as a central striker (and no zigzagging on the flanks)… And yeah, Beckham should stop sulking on the bench and start shouting to the players…
@Uno… Joe Cole is no more a Chelsea player now, and I don’t think it is a problem if 8 players come from Man Utd, Chelsea or Liverpool…This was the case in the qualifying stage, but still they delivered! Let’s just see how England plays against European opposition, and if they can re-create the form they had in the qualifying stages… Slovenia is ranked 25th in the FIFA rankings, whereas Croatia is ranked 10th and Ukraine 23rd!
Hey RFG,
I can understand your point, however, during qualifying, there was a whole premier league season ahead of us. The bitterness levels had not peaked. This England squad is divided, and it will always remain so. Joe Cole may be a free agent soon, however, he spent the entire season at ChelC. Not so easy to detach from emotions for most people. The behaviour of the last few days is evidence of disarray.
To win a world cup you essentially have to get past atleast three non-european teams, with one of those likely in the knockout stages.
Anyways, I look at England as an outsider, since I am not from there nor do I support England. However, either way, this is going to be the most exciting world cup since ’86 and I’ll go a touch too far in saying probably a first time winner of the cup.
I think there some comments made are being put out of context by the English media, and they are trying to make an analogy with what is happening with France… Words like ‘mutiny’, ‘unrest’ are being highlighted, but I think the general behaviour of the players is quite good, and there is bound to be some tension in the air because they are facing a do or die match! So it’s unfair to say the behaviour of the last few days is evidence of disarray. There has been no ‘mutiny’ till now, and the players still believe in Capello, so England still has a good chance to finish top of the group, and has relatively ‘easy’ path to the semi finals… I just hope for the best!
Terry’s interview was quite a divider, no media twisting and turning there.
Yeah but he said some good things, and was frank… He said there was no unrest, that they fully believe in Capello… Yes, he said that some players talked about the match over dinner, but I think this is a common thing in big teams; players talking to each other… But today, Lampard gave a brilliant and positive press conference, gave more details, and cleared things up… So, let’s just hope for the best now, and let the team do the talking on the pitch!
Well I do hope for the English’s sake this team can perform, though I have my reservations about the lot. 5 substandard players from the last starting 11, really shows what a difficult task lies ahead. 3 of these can be replaced with much higher quality. The problem with the right side is always going to be hard to fill, with or w/o JC. Who knows though, wishing them all the best.