English Football. (long)

[Bedreviter]

So you think he turned down Chelsea because of the "love of football"?

And Bill Gates is giving enourmous amounts of money to charities, still he is often accused to abusing Microsofts position to harm other companies and use unfair advantages to increase income for his company and himself. In fact I think you will find that the majority of insanly rich people in the world are donating to charities, and that doesnt stop them from working 760 hours a week to maximize personal profit and income.

[The once and future king]

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i dislike the english style of soccer. it's a very grinding style and tries to amass a large # of so-so scoring opportunities as opposed to trying to generate and capitalize on a few quality ones. it can be effective, but it is not particularly creative and not much fun to watch.

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Yea, EPL games are so boring, something needs to be done before the EPL becomes the most watched league in the world.......oh wait. [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

[The_Dealor]

Well, that was a shock. A week spent making the most of all potential excuses, in which we heard continuous bleating from the media and the England camp about the plastic pitch, as though they knew that defeat was inevitable. Then again, defeat is always inevitable with England. Any progress at international tournaments is generally the result of luck and desperation. There are few cool and efficient performances, nor outright destructions of the opposition. A couple of good games in the last 15 years, yet we are still convinced that the right man will come along and see our nation prosper and regain our 'rightful' place at the top.

But it's all nonsense, isn't it - because we aren't very good. On a technical level, there has been little change since the 80s. We all refer back to some of those players who represented us, highlighting how much worse it could have been, without taking note of the fact that this current generation are no better than those who came before them. Any (marginal) technical superiority is negated by a lack of fight. Where once we could at least rely on a blood-and-thunder display in the face of the controlled passing of the opponent, we now can only expect to see yet another meek capitulation, followed by hours and days of hand-wringing, finger-pointing, and media-whoring.

The mailbox is full of people desperate to name and shame the villains of the piece, but that is a naïve and short-sighted answer; we have been doing the same thing for decades, and it has got us nowhere. The problem is not McClaren, nor is it the players per se. It is a far deeper rooted issue, one that betrays us the moment we set foot on a football pitch. We are technically deficient. We rely on things such as bravery and courage to win us matches, and while these are important attributes, they will only ever get you so far. This is not a sport where sheer physical prowess wins, but a game of skill and guile. We complain that no-one will put their foot on the ball, and slow the tempo, but that is simply because we cannot do it. A player with a splash of technique (Rooney) comes along, and we hail him as the messiah because we never see such ability in home-grown players.

We would be out-passed by most nations in the top 50. Over time, the flaws inherent in England will only become worse, and we will become nothing more than spectators at our national game. This is something that must be dealt with immediately, and at every level. The out-moded old-boys network of coaches must be smashed, because they focus so heavily on strength, speed and will to win, without any real understanding of how to win matches WITHOUT resorting to physical dominance. Players such as Riquelme, Kaka, and Messi would have been cast aside as youngsters in this country for being too slight and fragile, and not being able to outmuscle an opponent; Cannavaro would have gone the same way, as he is 'too small' to be a centre-back.

We spend far too much time pushing ten-year-olds into competitive matches to see 'if they can hack it', when we should be teaching them the basics and allowing the natural side of their game to flourish. Give them the coaching they need, and see where that takes them. Just let them spend time with the ball at their feet for hours on end, rather than in an under-11s free-for-all where they all chase the ball like a pack of hounds with a fox, and the biggest comes out on top.

Don't bemoan the 'golden generation' for their failures, because they are simply doing what has been instilled in them since their first coach told them to 'get stuck in'. If you want a scapegoat, blame us all, and the mentality that winning is everything. Blame the youth coaches who pick the 6-foot 12-year-old striker because he dwarfs the opposition, or the 10 year-old centre-back with the physique of a grown man. Blame every mother and father who stands on the touchline at their kid's match, screaming abuse at all and sundry, rather than applauding the rare moments of skill that have yet to be smothered from the children's game.

We f***ed this up a long time ago. If we want to fix it, we have to start all over again. Next time you take your kid to training, ask the coach how much time he/she will spend actually kicking a ball, and then ask yourself if he/she is any better off for it. They may be quicker, but we are trying to develop footballers, not athletes; if they haven't got the ability, then running ten laps isn't going to change that.

Another article, this one written by the guy the first article was intended for. so fair to say he has knowledge of the game as hes an editor for a football website/magazine.

[tarheeljks]

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Also, the Premiership is the No 1 league in the World, and I don't think thats up for debate tbh.

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no 1 in what way? it's certainly the most famous league, but uefa has la liga ranked ahead of the epl regarding performance

[medgar]

2nd essay is spot on, sums up many of my thoughts, the coaching at youth level really does need a mass overhaul.

[Bedreviter]

Yeah, Spains technical football surely have done them a lot good in the European and World Cup...

The most successful European team has been Germany, anyone impressed by their technical skills?

[tarheeljks]

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Yeah, Spains technical football surely have done them a lot good in the European and World Cup...

The most successful European team has been Germany, anyone impressed by their technical skills?

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i think that begs the question of whether the players place more significance on their club performance or their national team.

[Bedreviter]

I believe that England have the players needed to compete for the titles, but have suffered from poor managing, terrible tactics and lack of luck in the penalty shootouts.

Of course England could need a Kaka or a Ronaldinho, so could everybody. But both Argentina and Brazil could need a Rooney, or a Gerrard or a Terry.

Since (acccording to the second article quoted in this thread) small weak players are cast aside in England, how did tiny little Micael Owen become the youngest player to play for England in a century?

[The_Dealor]

i think england have the talent no doubt. but the players have become more celebrities than footballers. they have become bigger than the clubs the play for and the fa itself.

i remember rooney refusing to appear in any fa commercials until his ban was revoked. fair play his ban stood, but for just saying that he should have had the ban extended.

i think gerrard is a good player, but the majority of nations better than us have someone better in the centre of midfield.

brazil kaka
spain xavi, or fabregas, possibly iniesta
argentina riquelme
portugal deco
italy pirlo totti
france is questionable, obv zidane was but he has gone
holland, well fair enough they dont.

[ThaSaltCracka]

I think there are a lot of similarities here with whats going on with US basketball. I think of the international level, the game changed quite a bit and England(and the US) have been caught off guard.

I don't know a ton about English people or their mentality, but I have heard that English people are stubborn and proud. Perhaps that is why they haven't changed?

In regards to US basketball, most involved with the NBA and the national team have asked immediately, why are we no longer the top dog in the international game, and I think steps are being made so that the US reclaims that position.



Now, in regards to the England National Team. What I find so crazy about this fall from grace is that two of the most successful teams in the Premiership, Arsenal and ManU, play the continental style of play. How the managers and coaches in England can't see that this style of play is what is successful is beyond me. As you say, they should be preaching technical ability and possession. There are some teams in the EPL that I simply cannot watch. TBH, I would rather watch the worst team in MLS play than the worst team in the EPL. Its just long balls non stop.

This whole notion of using heart and gusto is so silly. You constantly hear this coaches talk about it in interviews as if they should have won because they fought hard and weren't afraid to get stuck in. Heart never won you anything but a heart award.