We all know the talent pool England have is very shallow, so the players that get in to the team should come as no surprise.
Printable View
We all know the talent pool England have is very shallow, so the players that get in to the team should come as no surprise.
The Euro's and the last seasons PL just proved that talent and reputation doesn't mean shit at the moment.
Near enough anyone can hoof their way deep into a competition as long as they're set up right. Sam will do that much at least.
This is because the entire focus has shifted to not losing. As Arsenal fans we know too well how utterly pointless possession of a football can be. And technically the levels have fallen to such a degree it's debatable you can even call this a professional team any more. Most of these players can't kick a ball. Consider this. Theo Walcott was the most technical player on that pitch when he came on. He stood out a mile from the other turds. And he's no good.Quote:
Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory
What we see here is a pub team stuffed with players who could never make it in a top league, hyped beyond the bounds of credibility by a media that has a vested interest in keeping up the pretence that English football is top tier. Gerrard and Lampard may not have been our favourites but they had 10x the ability of the likes of Henderson or Sterling or the laughable Alli. We hated them because they never did enough to win, but that's nowhere near as hateful as sacrificing everything to avoid losing.
I don't have the words to adequately describe how ludicrous the whole thing is. After the game we had the clips of Alli fucking up every single move he was involved in, while the pundits literally recounted the opposite of what we could see with our own eyes. Then they concurred this fuck up player who has been elevated simply because he is English (like Walcott), should form the heart of the team in tandem with you-know-who, because under it all they know full well there aren't any talented English players any more. So they have to invent them.
Then we had the customary serenade for shrek, a player who has had one half decent game in his entire career at international level and one good season and two semi-decent seasons at club level. In other words, a very, very ordinary player notable in one respect, he had a lot of stamina as a kid. Oh and he scored that goal against us. Yet this old has-been/ never-was continues to span the generations with his stench. Why? Because he's the great English media icon and he gets paid a lot of money to be such a mythical figure. So it doesn't matter in English football circles if Alli and Rooney are nothing players with close on zero talent, because this only gets highlighted to a bewildered public once every two years when the national team is humiliated, often by "minnows" who have a fraction of the footballing history and resources. That leaves plenty of hype time in between - the money must flow.
We don't like Owen either. 5x as good as any English striker around today. We didn't like Lineker. 10x better. Or Keegan, 20x better. The standard of football has collapsed inversely to the rate money has come into it. So much money has now come in that there's no standard at all. Not in this country anyway. In the short term it's just too unprofitable to lose, so the long term is chucked in the bin. And that's what we've seen over the decades since England could compete, short term hype and a failure to do what the Germans did when their football hit the buffers - rebuild and take the pain until the long term plan unfolded. The English media doesn't have the patience for it, too much cashing in to be done on the immediate hype.
That same Lampard and Gerrard team failed to qualify for the Euros. It's not just because the focus has shifted either. That team string passes together no matter how hard they tried.
Didn't that team get to 2 World Cup Quarter Finals?
We have zero chance of getting anywhere near that these days.
Those were the days, getting to the quarter-finals.
Why didn't we like Owen? He was great when he first came on the scene, hamstring injuries and a move to RM put paid to his career.
I think it's because he's a pillock.
That, and the cup final.
A lot of players are, but I judge them on footballing terms. You can't hate a guy for being able to put a ball into the net putting so much spin on it that it goes out of reach of the keeper.Quote:
Originally Posted by Douglas Reynholm
We have a chance. Look at the Euros. Portugal have a very average team. Wales are average. On paper, we had a solid team but it comes down to bad management. I think it was during the World Cup in the first half against Italy, we were playing the best attacking football I’ve seen from England. Quick rapid attacks and it came from us playing Sterling behind the striker. Roy, like the idiot he is, decided to play Rooney in the middle and switch it from the second half and we looked a totally different team. We need a manager to make some hard decisions about selection because we’re not that far off technically.Quote:
Originally Posted by Letters
Kane, Vardy, Sturridge, Welbeck, Rashford all are pretty decent front options. Germany, Portugal, Wales and Spain don’t have that sort of striker option. Our midfield isn’t that bad either. It’s weaker than our rivals but we’d be far worse off if we had a Lampard and Gerrard situation. Neither player distributed the ball well for their clubs and were lucky to have foreign partners next to them to ease that burden. We really struggled to play the ball to feet and would end up knocking the ball long to Peter Crouch or we had the days where we knocking it long to Heskey for him to nod it down to Owen. It was a piss poor long ball football.
Why does Vardy hardly ever get a game for England?
It's bad management. I'd play Sturridge or Vardy over Kane. Or just play a two striker system. We should be able to build a fast counter attacking team.
We've been saying "it's the manager" for 50 years. I just think it's the players. I don't care who the manager is, the technical ability on show on Sunday was bloody awful.Quote:
Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory
The best players in the PL have been johnny foreigners for years.
I actually thought Lallana played OK, he looks half decent for England TBF. I'd keep Sterling in the team too, he's slightly headless chicken-esque but I think Pep will work wonders on him.Quote:
Originally Posted by Goonermarvee
The whole team is a problem and will continue to be until the Manager takes the required action.
The fact that Big Sam more or less said Rooney has a free reign to do as he pleases says it all. At least he's honest I suppose. :rolleyes:
Me too, Kane really struggles for England, he's been woeful.Quote:
Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory
And I'm saying the technical level of our strikers, wingers and midfield is far better than what it was 10 years ago. We're still behind but we're a lot better than what we 10 years ago. On technical level.Quote:
Originally Posted by Letters
Do you think Wales and Portugal are far more advanced than us technically?
He makes my ears vomit.Quote:
Originally Posted by Douglas Reynholm
It's our job as fans to irrationally hate some footballers from other clubs. Real world logic doesn't need to come into it because none of this shit matters at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by Goonermarvee
But when they end their careers and end up on TV droning on like every other vapid pundit, then they deserve all the crap thrown their way. And that includes ex-Arsenal players. Henry was and probably always will be my favourite Arsenal player but I wish he'd shut the fuck up on TV.
I don't think Wales or Portugal are more advanced technically actually so I guess if Portugal can blunder their way through and win it (and I still can't quite believe they did) then we can.Quote:
Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory
But I don't rate this lot at all. 10 years ago - maybe longer - I felt we had a chance against the big guns. In 90, 96 and 98 we lost on pens and in all 3 games we were fantastic and unlucky to lose.
I guess that was a long time ago now but now I don't feel we'd have any chance against a Germany or Brazil.
Owen is woeful as a pundit, but I liked him as a player when he played for England. At least he knew how to get the ball in the net.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kano
England in the Euros reminded me of Arsenal in the Prem last season, best time to win it, nobody standing out etc and probably had the worst tournament in years.Quote:
Originally Posted by Letters
Agree.Quote:
Originally Posted by Goonermarvee
Iceland! :lol:
Sodding Iceland!
Can't remember when we went to 2-1 down but we had a good hour to score a goal and barely got a sniff. Pathetic.
:doh:
We didn't beat those teams in major competitions back then either. We didn't even qualify for the World Cup in 94. In fact, I'd fancy our chances against Brazil now because their national team is nothing to be afraid of.Quote:
Originally Posted by Letters
Heck, once upon a time the most technically gifted England player was Joe Cole ffs. :lol: I think we've got more rounded players but they're young and haven't really honed their best weapons just yet.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Goonermarvee
Exactly. So we weren't miles behind the rest of the teams on paper. I'm not usually one to blame the manager when it comes to England because for years I watched the press try to paper over the fact that we were shit and most of our players were overrated. But I think this generation of players are technically better. Sterling, Wilshere, Lallana, Ox, Sturridge, Kane....they have a solid base to work from when looking at their technique. I think they'd all benefit from going overseas and learning how to play in Spain, Italy, Germany, Holland....just so they have to work an earn their right to play.
We didn't beat them back then but we went toe to toe with them and on the 3 occasions I mentioned we were unlucky not to beat them (Gazza's outstretched boot in '96 :crying:)
Back then I felt we had a chance, right now I wouldn't hold out much hope.
There is a problem with coaching in England, it may be getting better but historically we have been starting competitive games on big pitches with kids far too young which favours the taller players who aren't as technical, we don't get the basics right first technically as they do overseas. Maybe that has changed now.
I think something went wrong mentally for that Iceland game because we couldn't make a pass in that game but we've seen that same group look a lot better than that.
Technically we're not great but I think we should be better than what we've seen at the last few tournaments.
For me though I think the problem for a long time has been the mentality of this and the previous generation of players. I've never had the feeling that these guys enjoy playing for England, it's almost treated like a necessary evil. No matter how good the manager is, the tactics, the players etc, if you have a group of players that see the national team as a chore then you can't expect to amount to anything.
Scholes had it right a few years back when he spoke about the selfish nature of some players in the England squad and the lack of comradery. It's been a similar story with the Netherlands throughout the years as well.
Yeah this. I also think it doesn't help that the media blow these players up as the second coming of Christ due to their performances in the Premiership which is massively overrated IMO.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marc Overmars
Football is so geared towards finances now that you are probably right in that the players do not really care that much for the national team, why would they when they are not getting paid 100k per week or getting obscene bonuses.
In terms of the Manager, Allardyce is the best of a bad bunch, we've not really had a true elite manager since Capello, regardless of what people thought of him his track record at club level was very good.
Allardyce will do OK, same old stuff really, we'll cruise the qualifying group and come up short when the real thing kicks in.
But even though they had most of the possession, there was something lacking from these players yesterday. The media went down the route that after a hard season, they were tired when we were knocked out by Iceland. What excuse is there now? Three matches in and they still looked like they were playing on gloopy porridge.Quote:
Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory
It's still mental. A new manager and they're still under pressure to perform.Quote:
Originally Posted by Goonermarvee
But besides the mental part, Kane can't lead the line. We need more pace up front and he's non existent at the moment. Rooney also has to play further up the field as a 10 or nothing at all.
It's just the basic skills they don't seem to have mastered. The number of crosses which went sailing over everyone's heads or shots which were scuffed (yes, Theo, I do mean you).
How can these be the finest footballers England have to offer?
That's probably a slight exaggeration. Theo was hit and miss. A really bad miss and I recall a really poor first touch but he also whipped in a good cross and had a goal disallowed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Letters
It's far from perfect but hasn't that always been the case with England? I'm just saying with this England squad you can attempt to build a squad that are capable of more than just hoofing it long.
He did whip in one very good cross but shouldn't players at this level be able to do that on a fairly consistent basis? I'm constantly baffled that they don't seem able to.
I guess it has always been the case to an extent.
Apply the same logic to a penalty kick. It's always been the case.
Xhaka sent of for Switzerland in their 2 - 0 win over Portugal. :lol:
Rashford banged in a hat trick tonight on his U-21 debut. Prem, Europe and both levels of international he's scored on his debut. The boy is looking pretty promising it has to be said.
I watched Belarus France last night, ended 0-0.
Bif was a bit shit.
Apparently Xhaka applied to switch nationality to Kosovo.
I'm sure that will endear him to the Swiss.
There are so many holes in his plan.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marc Overmars
Quote:
With this letter I want to tell all around the Albanian public opinion, that my next career will continue in the future for Switzerland. I also want to clarify in this paper to all the readers how I came to this decision.
According to an official statement distributed FIFA, we’ve been informed that if someone played in the European Championships in 2016, they are no longer entitled to play for another national.
The Kosovo Football Federation and FIFA do not have a clear agreement on the transfer of players from Switzerland to Kosovo.
FIFA clearly states who played at EURO 2016 has no right to change the team they represent.
For this reason it is now impossible to change.
If he has applied, hopefully his onfield decision making is a bit more consistent.Quote:
The debate about you playing for Kosovo has been rekindled, you’ve had to spend time addressing it…
I’m sick of having to repeatedly justify myself. You can’t imagine who exerts pressure all on one hand. My letter on Instagram [Xhaka published a letter in Albanian] should explain why I’ve decided to play on with Switzerland. When headlines are written because of a poor translation, it’s regrettable. What more can I say?