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And that quote right there is the reason why England will probably be going home from the World cup at the group stage. A manager who can't embrace creativity and sticking with the tried and trusted old guard like Gerrard has cost us. You could see it against Italy and boy was it more evident last night. The side should have been built around the likes of Barkley but well done to Rooney as its all about him and him getting his first WC goal aged 29. This will be his last WC fortunately and a new generation will be forthcoming with Barkley the main man.
Who would have thought that the street footballing force of nature at Euro 2004 would turn into a Botoxed Footballing Elton John - full of trantrums and hair transplants.
Bit of a joke really. All about him and his goal.
Hopefully Barkley comes back from this world cup with an attitude of "I'm better than this lot" - cos in reality he is. Martinez must have been scratching his head,
Bit of a joke really. All about him and his goal.
Hopefully Barkley comes back from this world cup with an attitude of "I'm better than this lot" - cos in reality he is. Martinez must have been scratching his head,
Blue 1
Player Valuation: £70m
He was eligible to play for Nigeria, I believe.
Is anyone else becoming concerned over the amount of hype being built around Barkley? He is now starting to be viewed as the next saviour of English football, as were Rooney and Wilshere before him. He does look an exceptionally gifted player but the weight of expectation on him could have an adverse effect. To have people like Harry Redknapp saying the England team should be built around Ross does nothing but put pressure on the lad and is premature in my view. I think Roberto handled him very well last season, letting him express himself when he was on the pitch, but also protecting him by taking him out of the team on occasions. I don't think Rooney has been able to cope with the pressure he has been put under since he first broke onto the scene and has not developed into the world beater we all thought he would be at 17.He is still a very good player, but has fallen short at the highest level and when the pressure is most on.
No I actually think it needs to happen, if anything he's too polite and seems to be thinking he's not good enough or has something to prove.
Watching Rooney try and nab the ball off him on two occassions told me everything I needed to know about that set up - there is a pecking order and Barkley is seen as a threat. Ross needs to know he is numero uno - be the alpha male, that is the problem with England, the ego's get in the way.
The way I see it is that he needs to be fast tracked to captaincy, he needs to be schooled by a sports psychologist - someone who will get his mindset absolutely spot on. He needs to know how to be the leader, how to assert himself. Some people can do that naturally like a Lothar Matheus, Sergio Ramos, Roy Keane, Vincent Kompany.
Once he has that accountability and status he will flourish, he just needs specific coaching to get there, ability wise the sky is the limit.
Chang Elephant
Forum God
Jamo Martinez
Player Valuation: £70m
Yeah.
Chang Elephant
Forum God
Must have been pissing himself watching Henderson from the bench.
As a German, I just don’t understand England’s mentality. Since I moved to London eight years ago, friends have been asking me what the problem is with the national team, and I wish I knew the answer. They’re clearly lacking confidence and self-belief at the moment, but should still be doing better than they are. England have been unpredictable for a while, but they shouldn’t be going out in the first round of the World Cup, even in a group including Uruguay and Italy. Uruguay are not that good. They have Luis Suárez, but they are basically a one-man team. England’s players knew all about him and they should have taken better care of him.
One of the big problems is that England do not have a philosophy. When you watch Italy, Germany and Holland you have a good idea of how they’re going to play and they’re fairly consistent, even if some players are out of form. With England you never know what you’re going to get. They have some promising players, like Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling, as well as Wayne Rooney, of course, but they play as individuals, not as a team. There is always something missing.
As individuals, England are not weaker than the other teams in their group, but as a team it seems that they are. From the outside, it looks as if they lack trust in each other, and their own ability. It may be down to their history of poor results and failing to meet the country’s expectations, which means they cannot get results at tournaments when it really matters. England look like less than the sum of their parts, and many of the players don’t play as well as they do for their clubs. I’m always impressed when I watch Steven Gerrard for Liverpool — as I was when I played against him for Chelsea — but he’s not the same player for England. He just doesn’t have the same influence on matches. He should have the same standing as he is the captain in both teams, but with England he is not the same.
It may be because he has — and feels — too much responsibility. At Liverpool he has other players to do the running for him so he can concentrate on organising his team-mates and there is a shared responsibility. He is playing within a clear structure and to a set philosophy, which brings the best out of him. When Gerrard plays for England he just passes the ball from side to side. He doesn’t get forward. Maybe he’s tired now after a difficult season, but it has been a problem for a while.
There is not enough quality anywhere in England’s midfield and they are incapable of controlling games. The best teams at this tournament have midfield players who can pass the ball, hold the ball, make offensive runs and cover defensively, but England do not have one player who fits that description.
Not one single player can run from box to box, although Ross Barkley maybe will be able to in the future. I like him because he is a strong runner who likes to arrive in the penalty area, but he needs to improve.
Gerrard and Jordan Henderson have been guilty of sitting far too deep and just concentrating on keeping possession. They were both doing the same job and there was no danger from either of them, no goal threat. With nothing coming from them, there was far too much pressure on the No 10 and Rooney, left, is more of a striker than a creative player.
England’s defending has also been poor, particularly against Uruguay. They were two bad goals to concede as England had two more men on each occasion, but they lacked awareness and concentration. The second came from a long ball over the top, and that should not happen.
For me the only player who looked like making a difference for England was Rooney. He is the only one who can hurt teams, and the only one who is really world class. Some people are saying he should be dropped, which is crazy. He should always play through the middle, as asking him to move out wide is a waste of time. He’s the best player and should have the freedom to play.
Despite all these problems, England look better than they did two years ago and Roy Hodgson should build the team around Rooney and tell his team to do everything they can to play for him.
Jags..class
Player Valuation: £70m
Did anyone notice that Ross pass the ball sideways more since Roy came out with the outburst of Ross losing the ball. He didn't seem to gamble as much, Hope Martinez tells him to ignore Roy.
Jags..class
Player Valuation: £70m
Cant stand this way, making players scared of making mistakes, its pathetic.
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