english football

[jaffa.johnson]

gotta agree with that, first 15 mins england couldnt keep ball out of their own half. this result anyway doesnt mean jack, come the torny they be out, because put simply out national side isnt good enough. like it or not

I agree the result doesnt matter to much but the fact england kept spain out is very impressive. Spain dominating the possesion but the way to beat spain was the way we did.

If you try and out play spain you are gonna get beat/smashed.

[andy carson]

So Rooney and gerard and not world class players? I say they definately are.

Just because the managers of england have not got it right doesnt mean they are not englands best players. England played a very defensive game against spain and got the job well done. I agree lamps and gerard has not worked correctly and I can see lampard not making it to the euros if capello sticks to his words on going with a good set of youth players. Lampard has been a great england player and done significantly better when gerard is not playing.

Whats been disappointing for me with the last few england games is gerard, cleverly and wilshere have been missing and I think these 3 plus parker and the main choice for the euros.

Any team in the world right now would want rooney in it. Just like they would messi, ronaldo, iniesta.

both have been injured so not down to the inept italian that one..... also smalling

[vmax4steve]

It's not Englands managers that have got it wrong, they have all had to deal with the same players and no matter what formation and tactics are used the players are just not good enough. The media hype them up by calling them brilliant when they can only do the basics, and sometimes not even that. Just listen to Hansens' and Lawrensons' bollocks when they're on MOTD. Everything Rooney does is greeted with cries of brilliant, even if he only controls the ball with his chest. Jesus wept I could do that when I was ten years old and no bloody coach told me how to do it either.
English football can be summed by two things, pace along with workrate, which is fine whenever England need to qualify because that is done in the winter. Come tournament time in the summer when it's hot and technique and skill matter, 'cos you can't run around like a blue arsed fly in the summer, then England are always found wanting. Remember Peter Reid gasping after Maradona when he scored his wonder goal against England in '86 ? The "hand of god" goal is always blamed for Englands defeat that day but I would cite picking plodders like Reid to play at altitude in 100 degree heat was the actual reason, while the likes of Glen Hoddle were ignored. Matt Le Tissier was similarly ignored and England failed again. Good job that Bobby Charlton wasn't in '66, a player who never made a tackle but made the whole team tick when he had the ball.

[mattyshinobi22]

It's not Englands managers that have got it wrong, they have all had to deal with the same players and no matter what formation and tactics are used the players are just not good enough. The media hype them up by calling them brilliant when they can only do the basics, and sometimes not even that. Just listen to Hansens' and Lawrensons' bollocks when they're on MOTD. Everything Rooney does is greeted with cries of brilliant, even if he only controls the ball with his chest. Jesus wept I could do that when I was ten years old and no bloody coach told me how to do it either.
English football can be summed by two things, pace along with workrate, which is fine whenever England need to qualify because that is done in the winter. Come tournament time in the summer when it's hot and technique and skill matter, 'cos you can't run around like a blue arsed fly in the summer, then England are always found wanting. Remember Peter Reid gasping after Maradona when he scored his wonder goal against England in '86 ? The "hand of god" goal is always blamed for Englands defeat that day but I would cite picking plodders like Reid to play at altitude in 100 degree heat was the actual reason, while the likes of Glen Hoddle were ignored. Matt Le Tissier was similarly ignored and England failed again. Good job that Bobby Charlton wasn't in '66, a player who never made a tackle but made the whole team tick when he had the ball.

nice honest post

prob why we dont do too well is we are easy pleased, " oh hes had a great season for man u"
ar well thats doing no good for us now, that guy who passed him the ball who sets up his goals plays for another country.
than you have managers like fergy who say a certain player cant play a certain international as he doesnt want them to get injuried and cant play for their league team, what a joke.

watching other countries players actually want to play for their side, england doesnt, there work rate was worse than a local town side.

least in 66' they ran there back sides off for 90 mins every game, today players only care about their club, as thats were they get the big bucks from.

love to see them actually try one year, cant see it though

[vmax4steve]

The boys of '66 all grew up right after WW2 and had nothing but football. No money in the game then, the players played for glory and the fans got the reflected glory when they won the world cup. I watched the match on my grandads little blue and white tv, yes that's right a blue and white tv, and we both went ape**** after Hursts' third goal.
I have watched the gradual decline of english football over the past forty years and have noticed many factors involved in this decline. First a lack of intelligence in the players due to rising standards of education and more oppurtunities for clever working class boys other than pro sport or rock n roll.
Second the prevalence of coaching starting at an early age and making young boys do certain things in certain ways leading to a lack of individual innovation that was the trademark of Best, Cryuff, Pele, Maradona etc. People do cite Messi as a great player these days but I see him as a beneficiary of thirty years of diving and conning referees and the game becoming a non contact sport. Defenders like Gentile of Italy back in the day would have had him for breakfast, not because they were dirty but because they were hard and were allowed to be.
Third I blame the F.A. for their insistence that all managers now have an F.A. coaching badge. This has led to every manager having the same stale ideas and using the modern day coached footballers who have no ideas of their own being used as nothing more than chess peices. Matches are now boring and lacking any spark of imagination, with the exception of Harry Rednapps' Spurs I don't watch any live football anymore, but then Harry is old school and probably did the course out of neccessity and promptly forgot it.
Fourth I blame the advent of subscription tv for bringing too much money into the game.
Fifth I blame FIFA for being totally corrupt and allowing all this to happen.

There are some good players today in english football but if they lack pace and/or don't do as they're told they end up moving around from club to club like Shawn Wright-Phillips and Chris Eagles to name two. The future ? can't see one unless this recession bites as deep into football as it has elsewhere and we can all start again.

[vmax4steve]

Football Focus today they were building up Phil Jones to be the new Duncan Edwards, a player described by Bobby Charlton as the best he's ever seen. They're at it again people, hypeing a player up who's basically big and strong and can do the basics, into something he's not and never will be, world class that is.
Why do the british media only ever recognise players like this and ignore those with genuine skill. It's happened throughout the history of english football and come tournament time those players with great engines run out of puff in the summer heat after ten minutes and england get passed off the park.

[vmax4steve]

So Capello quits and Rednapp is favourite to take over. It'll be the end for Spurs if he does, and the end of Rednapp I believe for the england manager can only have a choice of english players and any choice can only be a bad one as english players just aren't good enough.

[ADR147]

lol - england will never learn.

[bigandyg]

lol - england will never learn.

They even think that Ashley Cole is the best left back in the world.

[ADR147]

They even think that Ashley Cole is the best left back in the world.

the last english world class player was 20 odd years ago in gazza.

[jaffa.johnson]

the last english world class player was 20 odd years ago in gazza.

err i strongly disagree. gerard, rooney, ferdinand, few years back.

Ashley cole is up there with best left backs in the world.

[cally]

Is it only me that thinks redknapp only got away with the 'tax' evation because he wouldn't be able to get the england job if found guilty then?

[ADR147]

well that's the trouble with supporting england you really believe these guys are world class. ask anybody who is not english to pick the best team in the world from any players rooney might bet on the subs bench the rest no chance.

[cueman]

err i strongly disagree. gerard, rooney, ferdinand, few years back.

Ashley cole is up there with best left backs in the world.

I would say Ferdinand at his peak was world class, the others only have brief inspirational spells but spend way too much time being distinctively average, especially on the big stage.
Anyway Paul Scholes is the only world class player of the last decade, even the top Brazilians and Spanish players rave about him in their countries which is a testament to his talent.

[jaffa.johnson]

I would say Ferdinand at his peak was world class, the others only have brief inspirational spells but spend way too much time being distinctively average, especially on the big stage.
Anyway Paul Scholes is the only world class player of the last decade, even the top Brazilians and Spanish players rave about him in their countries which is a testament to his talent.

Scholes was my trump card as i knew people would try to argue about the other 3.

Xavi, zidane, rooney himself and more all say scholes is the best / one of the best players they played against or with.

Rooney would get in any team in world.

Gerard is in mine along with other midfielders xavi, iniesta, messi and ronaldo.