In Englands Defence In Englands Defence
Same Old, Same Old.England return to the dark ages. GuardianEngland huff and puff in vain. Sky SportsEngland revisit bad old days of World Cup IndependentHow depre sing. How embarra sing. Henry Winterand my personal favourite:Youre the Fool Monte, Fabio The SunOn a night where Scotland gave World and European champions Spain a scare and hooliganism from Serbian ultras caused a European qualifier to be abandoned after just seven minutes Englands mainstream media ran with the previous headlines. The same old calls and same old Winterisms were being promoted shamele
Minkah Fitzpatrick Jersey sly by all and sundry, denouncing the big wigs at Wembley, bemoaning the need for an English manager to lead our stuttering Lions. There seems to be only one saviour: Harry Redknapp, and if that is the case then God help us all.DURING the World Cup the media blamed Fabios choice of formation. 4-4-2 has outgrown its use in the modern game apparently, only an archaic manager would carry on using such an ancient tactic especially in Europe despite the fact Fergusons Utd, van Gaals Champions league finalists Bayern and Quique Flores Europa league
Troy Polamalu Jersey champions Atltico are all keen advocates of the system.AFTER the World Cup Capellos selection policy came under fire. Adam Johnson, Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere and especially, much to Henry Winters delight, a certain Mr Rodwell had all (apparently) done enough to merit not only a squad place but should of been replacing the ineffective, unpatriotic and overpaid athletes posing as pro footballers. All this despite Johnson, Wilshere and Rodwell lacking any real top flight experience. Its easy to look back at the poor performances of our boys and wish we had taken more of a gamble. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but flatters those who are willing to state the obvious and call it insight.With the slightly disappointing performance against Montenegro came the predictable knee-jerk reactions calling for Capellos head and the installment of a good, traditional, made in Britain manager as if describing the virtues of a Sainsburys beef joint. For me its a joke. If the manager is good enough then nationality means squat. Are the players really going to be anymore motivated at a World Cup if they are under an English manager than an Italian? No chance. Communication has only been highlighted as an i sue since performances turned sour. Would I prefer to win a major tournament with an Englishmen at the helm? Definitely. Would I accept a le ser manager to get there? Never.The criticism doesnt stand up for me. BEFORE the World Cup Fabio could of walked up to 10 Downing Street and taken the keys to Mr Browns drinking cabinet with no questions asked. Fabio was untouchable.P W D L F A PTS10 9 0 1 34 6 27Anyone seeing those stats knew
Chase Claypool Jersey that England were a force to be reckoned with. Wayne Rooney was being heralded as one of the best strikers in the world, add to that a midfield line-up that appeared to be working for each other and a defence that had only conceded six goals in total and suddenly the media had grown quiet. No one was calling for Fabios contract to be ripped up, the papers didnt seem to be complaining about the 4-4-2 formation and TALKsport werent taking calls asking what the naive Italian was doing playing Barry instead of Rodwell.Maybe Im a close-minded England fan, blindly patriotic and ignorant of the facts before me. It is not our God-given right to qualify for every international tournament. We dont have the depth that a truly great team like Spain has. Our top players under perform at
Cameron Sutton Jersey the highest level. All of the previous are common criticisms against the national team and whilst I generally agree with these statements it has been far too long since the media and public sporting figures approached the performances and tactics of England with balance, composure and discernment. No longer are England players judged by their on the pitch merits but instead spend half their time looking for the bulls-eye painted on their backs.Whilst, like any England fan, I get frustrated at Englands lacklustre performances and under achievements in major tournaments I still believe in balance. I rise and fall, gasp and shout, cry and laugh in the unique journey that is being a England football fan but I refuse to jump on the easy bandwagon of ficklene s and ignore all of the performances and moments of joy experienced along the way. Two months ago we were praising England for their performance against the Swi s and today we read about the rotten core of our national game and are asked
Mitchell Trubisky Jersey how it has remained unchecked for this long.All I can ask is how have the media remained this unaccountable all this time?