I don't think Barnes knows what he's talking about most of the time. The people who sold the telly's with the promise of £10 back per goal did know what they were talking about.
It's great Barnes talking about England 'after' the event. It's laughable that the 2 teams he gives as an example, in Argentina and Brazil, are destroyed in the next round, and 'all' South American teams are now 'out' of the competition.
Spain have been awful too, so he is basically talking through his ass in most respects.
Yes, we need to play as a team, but that has always been the case, and it isn't a new revelation conjoured up by John Barnes.
We sucked at the World Cup for many reasons. We had a team full of controversy. We had a 'typical' team that any fan of football could have predicted, regardless of country, because the papers said so, and a manager who can't understand that a guy who scores 30+ goals is a more likely success than a guy who scores none. Then we have the 'goal line technology' scandal, and the apparent 'anti English' attitude of the governing bodies in the game. We have the wrong people in the FA, with all the wrong ideas, and we have a league that sold it's soul to television, but good ole boy Barnsey thinks he has the answer in 'socialism'.
Players competing at the World Cup can be compared to a chef serving an expensive soup. It's all about the ingredients and preparation. You need to know the recipe will work before offering it to the table. I don't know many Italian chefs that would make fish and chips better than the greasy spoon down the road.
Saying it's just about team work is nonsense.
