There WE Said It.com
England Players Will Do Everything To Win
Except Look In the Mirror
| Home | Football | Blogs | Other Sports | Links | Archive |
|---|
England : Pick A Team, Not The Highest Profile 11
20th November 2007
Several things have occured to me including bizarrely something Graham le Saux said on radio 4! (A mate told me it, honest guv I don't listen to that). In the past I have written ad nauseum about how England's 442 v Macedonia, and also Israel, does not work but I think the problems are deeper than just formation and selection. I also see this debate touch on issues to do with player evaluation and also the role and influence of the foreign player.
I find it hard to dispute that in some bizarre way the manager is selecting his best players - albeit best in what way is my question. Most journalists don't select a much different team and most are 442 men and women.
Much of what is said here is linked hence it may seem splitting hairs when some points feel already made. However I think it is worth looking at from multiple angles.
Selection Of Individuals
My main gripe is that whilst I would have an idea how I wanted to play and pick players who could play that way England don't. The manager picks names and falls back on size of name rather than team fit when picking the team. You almost get the idea that selection for England is based on a few criteria:-
Profile: A key role or star at a big club.
The problem here is that maybe the team works for a player (Owen, Rooney, Lampard, Gerrard etc) does not exactly make for a good fit in a scratch team that will not play around players with big strengths and weaknesses nor do these big cog players necessarily suit each other.
Look at Liverpool the only 'free agent' role is Gerrard. At Chelsea there is Lampard and he works up and back. At United there is Ronaldo and Rooney. For England we have tried Beckham, Lampard, Gerrard and Rooney together - add in Owen who plays a limited and one dimensional role at the fulcrum of the team, arguably selfish to boot.
I'd further say that England refuse to choose or even make any allowance for the fact they have so many free lancers trying to play defined roles for their country. Arguably in scratch sides people who can play roles should be preferred to stars.
Who can forget to get the rising Lampard in Svennis went with an unfit ludicrous diamond. Beckham (unfit but had to last 120 mins of inaction and movement), Gerrard (lasted 85 minutes - 39% pass completion) and Scholes (asthmatic in hot humid climes and just last an hour). Not even Jose Mourinho could get the diamond to work all last year.
Profile: Been in the News Lately.
Last season Joey Barton grabbed a few headlines with his classic put down of Lamps, Stevie and co: "I played shit now buy the book". He also grabbed a few headlines with other good news stories and got in the England team. This in a season where he was playing a relatively free role behind 2 strikers and still barely affected the scoreline.
David Bentley missed the U21s but the profile and stink about whether he should be selected meant he was in Clown's next squad but one almost as PR - the kid missed one game but he's done his time. Maybe he should not have been picked for either squad!
Under 21s: Once Identified Only Eventually Dropped.
Theo Walcott and Agbonlahor strutted some stuff for the U21s on Friday as frankly a bunch of top division English lads beat up a bunch of Bulgarian apprentices. However England displayed no linked up team play. Walcott in particular looks great wafting by people but otherwise would appear a liability. Neither physical or clever enough to play front striker nor team player enough for any other position. This did not stop Guardian's Richard Williams throwing him in the England team.
Even an England supporter like me could see that the U21s relied a lot on inidividual breaks and physical power whereas Bulgaria were better box to box and knew how to play team football.
Some under 21 graduates hang around long after they were prospects as well. Who would not rather see Agbonlahor get promoted prematurely than see Newcastle central midfielder Alan Smith picked as a striker. Jenas is finally out of the team after definining nothing player for several years.
Once identified young players have a higher profile than late comers or those who move up the divisions. Worse they tend to fill the squad as nothing replacements who put no pressure on the big guns.
Pointless Talent: No Idea of Team Play
The problem seems to be that young English players, maybe because it suits the frenetic premiership, develop limited skill sets and no tactical nouse. Indeed as the U21s show their physical abilities allow them to beat better technical players at that age.
Take my favourite punch bag Capt Liteweight [Defoe] when I watch him he is a decent finisher but in the truly lightweight category that is best when the game is end to end which normally happens when your team in a ahead (cream on topper). I fear ditto Theo Walcott whose selection ahead of Eduardo da Silva surely has more to do with Arsenal being on a winning run and sensitive to their lack of English players. Alan Smith is completely clueless but more on that later.
When you see Rooney drop off in front of a set back 4 and pass and run into all kinds of cul de sacs you realise growing up he never had to worry about where team mates and the goal was. He just plays head down. His passing often a liability and his back tracking should be banned.
This lack of knowledge probably stems from the focus on physical abilities and their skills. In the same way that Ronaldinho has never been challenged to track back. Arguably England's problem alluded to before is too many 'talented' players and not enough cogs to fit around them and cover them.
Class Is Assumed Never Analysed: Not Permanent Actually
Similar to other points here but more worrying is the lack of analysis of players as they age and change. I wonder precisely how many seconds above 0 has been given to Michael Owen now he has no pace and is constantly injured. I get the impression his name is down before anyones.
Of course Michael Owen was great at scoring early and his burst of pace could be scarry. Yes Owen still scores for England and his all round play has not annoyed me as much lately. However is it really worth playing Rooney out of position and sticking with a 442 that suits no one else?
Jermain Defoe was trumpted as a 10 million pound player after an 8 goal season! (di Canio played far less games and created and got 9!). Now despite no one willing to pay half that he is still is assumed to be better than Kevin Davies and Emile Heskey and other key role players at less fashionable sides. Seriously if anyone who knows him best at Spurs thought he was good would they really have shelled out for Darren Bent? Yet many put Defoe's name up with far far better players. His talent is assumed.
You wonder how many other players would get away with Rooney's miserable competitive performances between 04 and 06 - the BBC kept making him man of the match of course in 04/5. Seriously 30 Champions' League and Competitive Internationals no goals from his CL debut hat trick against Fenerbache! An oddity is that Rooney now he is considered to have less ceiling does not get the extra ordinary praise after a good game he used to get after a bad one....
Striker Obsession
The media know one stat and that is always goals scored. Rooney and Ronaldo get 10 shots for each goal and they are geniuses. Surely what that says is Giggs, Scholesey and others are geniuses at keeping the ball and finding their men?
Michael Owen has a good but by no means great international scoring record. Especially considering he frequently played with Heskey as a non scoring partner to support him. Indeed it is only just in front of Ballack's 35 goals from 75 games in midfield and no one sane would take Ballack as even worthy of a place for Chelsea - Lampard Lite even.
England fans might point to the heart breaking semi final losses in 1990 and 2006 about how teams based around 1 striker work. However both those teams played poorly in the most part. They also failed crucially to push their dominance of the game they went out in into more than 1 goal.
Last year Chelsea played 442 with a dominant centre forward. Yet they went backwards. History is replete with one dimensional poachers joining clubs that go backwards.
Rooney mostly plays front line leader for United. Sure he drops off but is ineffective when he does. Hence it should be Rooney or Owen not a partnership. The partner should be someone with aerial strength not just in the box, unlike Crouch, but in terms of ball winning and challenging. Especially whilst England play 442 as they do.
Self Fulfillment
A lot of what we have talked about so far is effectively an assumed hierarchy of players. This hierarchy as I think I see it is not based on what people are doing on the pitch now. It also makes it hard for those who were not brought up without any doubts.
Few challenge the accepted order in any walk of life and those that do are shouted down rather than applauded. Look at how late starters Andy Cole and Ian Wright struggled compared to a Mickey Owen who never had a doubt and slotted straight in.
Indeed look at Wayne Rooney whose doubts have crept in as the reality of his limitations have been exposed and his self criticality causes him frustration at his inability to be what he expects to be - his anger gets him sent off which does not help. Hopefully his clear likeable self conciousness will eventually act like the chip on Roy Keane's shoulder or the 'Fat' jibes from Hammers fans at Lampard. It may need someone to point out where and how he should play but we'll get on to management later.
Friendlies
Friendlies get used primarily to re-affirm the hierarchy - and allow faded stars to get a 100 caps. They achieve nothing except cement the first XI who play the first half. As said above better talents who maybe don't have the limitless self esteem of an Owen or a Rio or a C'Ashley Cole may need time. Indeed Lampard needed 20 caps before playing well - it may seem like 20 since he played well now of course but it is clearly not doubt that is causing him to under perform now - maybe the opposite!
For me friendlies should be about trying players and formations. After all the manager says they don't matter so why use them to pad caps for big names. For instance in friendlies Andy Johnson was tried in a 4321 not as a front player which would have made some sense. He was used but as bag carrier to Mickey Owen and Wayne Rooney (in roles their fans in the media say they cannot play when making their upteenth excuse for them). What a ridiculous re-statement of the hierarchy to no purpose.
Indeed Johnson and Defoe have had chances in the 1st team but paired with fellow vertically challenged Rooney and Owen! Wow what an outlet for the team. Who plays off whom?
Indeed watching our under 21s out thug teams and bully them maybe our under 21s should play friendlies more and leave the Under 21s to an even lower tier. A mixture of 5 U21s with some older players needing a game would surely be better than wasting a friendly on someone's 100th cap.
Foreigners Help and Hinder
As someone who counts themselves a pretty amateur anthropologist it beggars belief the view that we should have quota's for English players - unless English jobs mean more than the quality of English players. They already are paid and cost too much if you ask the average fan. Restricting foreigners will put even less pressure on them - surely that is obvious?
My view of them is the only way they hinder the top English players is using their skill and tactical nouse to cover for the wandering of the likes of Gerrard and the physically skilled English. They provide passing options. Look at Lampard get a ball deep for England and at Chelsea where he has; 2 genuine wide players; 2 midfield partners who can pass and move; a big target man up front; is not sat in front of a mere back 4 with a Hargreaves stood still but in front of 5 others with Essien alongside. The point is often the only triangles an England player can pass into for England is 2 players behind him.
The point is clearly to me that England have stark choices about star players that clubs with more all round gifted footballers around them do not. Lampard or Gerrard and Rooney or Owen. Not and and and - never mind the remnants of Beckham, seriously does he actually get many assists for the 1000s of balls he pumps up ending moves, giving the ball away and killing midfield play (as he has got older and less mobile).
Intelligence - Ignorance? Do They Know How To Play Football?
I have seen in recent weeks teams with Sol and Rio try a high line only to watch as those two rapidly dropped behind their fellow defenders and created a worse problem than sitting deep. Why do they undermine a team like this? The answer is as with Alan Smith they don't really know how to play football beyond doing what they always do.
At club level this works itself out. For instance Chelsea playing 4321 as they do at their best allows Terry to sit deep. He looks horribly exposed by a high line anyway. The team functions as it has runners like Essien, 2 wingers (1 genuine out and out) and a target man who can hold the ball up and win free kicks built around super cog Lampard.
Yet at international level Terry plays the same deep role in a team without a target man (Crouch does not perform the target man role - see his pathetic display in 2006 on his own up front after Rooney's stupidity) and worse often 2 'midgets'. Thus we get very stretched and with a midfielder designated holder who does not move England have no passing lanes - the wingers tend to stay wide.
Indeed England's formation with its lack of pace at times and its lack of passing options really would be helped by Terry and Rio using the footballing talent one has (JT) and the other is rumoured to have. However nope, Lampard/Stevie comes back looks up sees Hargreaves hands in pocket 2 remote forwards and 2 wingers hugging the touchline. So our attacking midfielder is 70 yards from goal with no passing options bar the hoof. Then we say he had a bad game!
Unlike Terry, Rio and Sol surely have no reason to drop deep other than it makes the game easier to read - even though especially against dreck or in pressure situations it can lead to us being stuck in our own half. It is partly why we cannot hold leads as we let the opposition play us in our own half and emphasis our defensive weakness in midfield, all 442 teams have in the numbers game, not to mention our lousy keeper.
I also think our tendency to cream over people who make last gasp ball and alls or clearences a lot over people who prevent those situations arising shines through. Again it is the highlight reel that favours a Defoe over a better all round player. As true of defenders as attackers.
Micah Richards has all the physical talent in the world but against anyone good his follies up field, especially when covered by the tree Beckham are going to be a liability. Even against Austria Lampard was skinned by a winger when stuck out wide. Richards should study Gary Neville who had no pace and yet his forward interjections were frequent, often quality and rarely resulted in him being anywhere but where he should be - that is smart football and does not require the physique of a greek god, just a brain.
Footballers Who Move And Pass Are Their Own Reward
It would be nice instead of picking camels to get some people who can dribble and use space we get by being so deep. Watching Sol, Lescott and Richards pass the ball across the back was like watching oil tankers turn and pass. Horrible.
Against Israel to compound 2 small forwards, Gerrard as a winger, Hargreaves lack of movement and the deep line we added Lennon, Carragher and Phil Neville in wide positions. No wonder our attacks were slow and ponderous. Plus there was not a left foot among them - lots of 2 left feet mind.
How can you keep the ball and move forward if you insist on picking C'Ashley Cole, Hargreaves, Campbell, Richards.. and that is without my doubts about the first touches of Gerrard and Rooney when cornered... Or Owen's habit of negatively passing when given time and space with no one on.
Club Manager Mentality
At a club as Svennis shows you can let the players sort it out over time and stick by stars having a bad game. Tactics are less important with games coming every 3 days and analysis rare. International managers can nearly lose their head in 5 minutes on plastic in Russia by allowing a single open sore (Lescott at left back where he had no clue). You need brave men who will ignore stars. Jack Charlton took over Ireland with 1 star, Liam Brady, and he got rid of him (of course he did have Paul McGrath who was despite everything a great).
Fear Of The Press
By running scared and picking the press' team you get what you deserve. Managerial backbone required.
Effective Pace and Height
This was the one the Svenster really failed picking no one to start bar C'Ashley who had any pace and often playing 2 small forwards. Even 1 winger with a bit of pace can make a difference. England have actually rarely been poor when Wright-Phillips has played funnily enough. Lennon showed what pace off the bench can do. Even Heskey managed on his last display to show what a little size up front can do - indeed although he does not always play his height it is hard to argue Crouch has not been semi effective for England.
To me it is almost anathema to pick no pace, no forward height, players with little understanding of much more than playing the way they do with their club mates. Add to that clumsy footballers like the admirable Carragher at full back and it is never going to be good to watch.
Living In A Failed Past
Honestly I cringe when I read that some 'star' is a loss for England. Has anyone watched Beckham, Owen, Gerrard, Lampard, Terry, Rio, C'Ashley, Hargreaves and Rooney ever make themselves undropable? Leaving aside my supposition we have too many Charlie Big Potatoes has not them missing games seemed to help? Did we not look better Owen and Heskey than Rooney and Owen? Can we not be more tactically flexible with out Owen? Can we not have more height or pace? Can we not pass the ball better? Was Barry's extra left foot a help?
Keeper
Robinson may actually be worse than Nicky Weaver according to the Times ratings last year. There seems no hard evaluation of keepers. Arguably David James is still head and shoulders the best but no longer fashionable.
Placeholders
Honestly despite no evidence Rooney can play 2nd striker to any level it is called the Wayne Rooney position. Even against Russia his main influence was a beautiful run onto the knock down of Owen not passing and moving deep (Russia could not defend Owen in the air imagine Kevin Davies or someone!). I am ignoring of course his influence for Russia with the penalty and his passing.
Players brought in must feel they are in a no win situation. If everyone is fit again do Lampard and Rooney make way for Heskey and Barry? You get one chance and they get 10 or 20 with no apparent proof they are any better.
This kinda creates a placeholder mentality which means players tend to treat selection as a right.
Injury Prone Players
Why do we pick a team and tactics built around Owen, Beckham and Rooney who are all injury prone? 2 are ageing and slowing down as well and yet reclaim their place. It makes no sense.
Svennis took this to the zenith with his Walcott selection at the last world cup - the irony is late against Portugal with Lennon troubling them and Crouch inadequate he should have thrown the pacy kid on - could not have been worse. Stupid given both went in with fitness doubts and out scored by Lampard in qualifying 5 and against 3 and 0.
Seriously build around Beckham and when was the last time he could stay fit for 6 hard games in 3 weeks? Did his lack of fitness not hurt England and the consequent one dimensional game plan in 02, 04 and 06? So why use him as a starter now? Ditto Mickey Owen, who is in my opinion based on his time in Madrid better and able to stay fitter off the bench.
Dean Ashton
Get fit and he surely starts at 2nd striker/targetman if he is as good as showed briefly. He is the great white whale unfortunately - rumoured and sighted but never there.
And Finally And Most Of All Hunger
Our top players can play 60-70 games for their club and must turn up for England feeling it is an affirmation of their status. The placeholder mentality of the managers and press is surely countered by other teams of pros for whom international football is a major outlet and chance to gain sponsors and profile. It is why lesser Scottish and Irish teams have periodically performed as well and certainly closer to the sum of their parts than England.
As Scolari showed with Figo sometimes you have to level a star and bring on Helder Postiga for tactical advantage. As a result you get a pricked ego who comes up big time next game as a happy bonus. When was the last time a star was taken off for anything bar fitness reasons?
| Home | Football | Blogs | Other Sports | Links | Archive |
|---|