POLL: Options for England from here
nevada
Posts: 1,979 Forum Member
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Lots of discussion, but going statistical what do you think England should do?
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nevada
Posts: 1,979 nevada
Posts: 1,979 nevada
Posts: 1,979
Comments
- jettison Gerrard, Rooney and Lampard, all three of them remnants of an era that promised so much yet delivered f**k all
- field a team that works for the game in hand, not being beholden to star players
- address the issue of how a nation of 53 million cannot produce players with the skill of much smaller countries such as Uruguay and Costa Rica
Option 1 is a short term measure and doesn't get to the route of the problem that England face. They've had many managers since I started watching football and they've always had the same problem with possession, shape, and being too direct no matter who was in charge. We produce players of a certain type right now in this country and we are lacking others which other countries have in abundance. Culturally we are behind in football terms and that comes from everyone, not just the manager.
Option 2 has to come from the manager. Only he can select players and anyone selecting on the basis of age is only tipping their hat to this country's obsession with youth (the same youths who we will be told in 5 years time wasted their potential and never fulfilled their early promise for England - same as Gazza, Rooney, Owen, Gerrard, Lampard, etc). You pick the best players to fit your team whether they are Pirlo's age or Draxler's age.
Option 5. I think the players try very hard. I don't think lack of passion or effort is a problem but I do think they seem to be a bit worried and inhibited going into tournaments. Past failures weight heavily on them and although they say the right things in the media pre-event (mostly) I don't really believe that they believe them. So passion and effort - I wouldn't worry about. Confidence and being able to express yourself - yeah, I can see shortcomings there. Could they work with psychologists and performance directors from other sports like cycling? Do they do that currently?
Loads of quarter finals ? Best 8 of the world?
Quite OK for a desolate cold and rainy island between the Atlantic and the North Sea.
I think the "lack of passion" argument is a load of bollocks. I have no doubt in my mind that the players gave nothing but their 100% in the games against Italy and Uruguay. It's a totally meaningless, knee-jerk argument from fans who don't know what they're talking about and think football is about running around like a headless chicken as long as you're "passionate" (whatever that even means).
It's undeniable we had a very tough group (arguably the last time we did was 2002, when we had a much better team), and we were undone by that one moment in the Uruguay game which completely changed the outcome of England's campaign, which was admittedly due to poor defending. We have been lacking a strong leader to organise the midfield & defense, since Gerrard really hasn't cut it. He's good for Liverpool, but they've suffered from major defensive deficiencies all the same. Curiously much of the media coverage today has made it sound like Roy Hodgson was the one managing Italy against Costa Rica yesterday.
OK, three quarter finals in the last ten years.
Also, England is not desolate. It is one of the most developed, well-off countries in the World, with a population of over 50 million. Not sure what climate has to do with it but it is not dissimilar to that of The Netherlands and much of Germany and France.
By your logic, Tim Henman must be one of the all-time greatest tennis players!
As is saying keep him without even considering it properly
The fact is, we cannot beat a top side.
We haven't beaten a top side in a tournament since 2002 and before that it was Holland in 1996.
We've had a few lucky draws that have pitted us against weak opposition in groups and the last 16, but once we run into a top team we are on our way home.
If he's in form then play him. If another player is in form and Rooney doesn't fit into the system then leave him out.
I agree.We played players out of position again just to accommodate the supposed better players. Sven said England players can't adapt tactically and I think that became pretty obvious this last week. Gerrard is used to playing in a three these days and was totally exposed for the fading force that he is. Henderson too didn't play the sort of game he does for Liverpool. Danny Welbeck was playing on the wing where he rarely plays for Man Utd. Then of course there was the Rooney/Sterling affair. Trying to fit two players into one role. Add into that Sturridge not playing up front with a out and out strike partner and you have the entire front 6 not playing the game they do for their club sides and woefully unable to adapt
Roy pretty much picked his best 11 and tried to make a team out of them. For me it would have been wiser to pick a team that were comfortable in the positions they were playing. If you don't think Rooney is as good as Sturridge don't play him and visa versa. If you really think Gerrard is that important then build the team around his needs. Just don't shoehorn players into a team
The weather is imo worse here than in Germany and deffo worse than the south of France.
As for Holland ... i'll give you that one.
The best any England manager can do is to take a long hard look at the players he has at his disposal and try to work out a system that fits those players. His job then is to try to win games, or at least not to lose them. Forget the media and the public, if that means boring the nation to death to get results it doesn't matter.
In this World Cup we were obviously weak at the back, there was nothing Hodgson could do to change that. We should have offered them more protection, and tried to grind out a couple of results. It wouldn't have been popular but we might have lived to fight another day. Instead, we played some bright stuff going foward but got caught out in defence. No disgrace, and if we can find some reliable young defenders to play behind our promising attacking talent, we can progress over the next few years.