THAT'S it now. David Beckham
must be consigned to the international
scrapheap.
The emotion surrounding
Beckham's 100th cap has finally
been satiated and his performance
proved once and for all
that his capacity to contribute
anything of a telling note in an
England shirt is at an all-time
low.
Let him earn millions in America
and pursue other interests outside
the game but never let him
pull on an England shirt again.
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In the first half against France,
Beckham spent more time as a
right-back than he did as the
deadly winger able to panic opponents
with a cross into their
six-yard box.
No, Beckham's time is up and
now he's become a footballing
centurion he should be allowed
to retire gracefully having served
his country in a distinguished
fashion. But, at 33 in May, his
legs, along perhaps with his desire,
have gone.
Beckham is not the only problem
for the new man at the helm.
Fabio Capello's tactics, even in a
friendly, must be questioned.
Why on earth did Wayne
Rooney spend much of the opening
45 minutes wandering
around like a lost soul in attack?
Rooney plays like a lion for Manchester
United but put him in an
England shirt and he becomes ordinary.
Now, given that you don't become
a bad player overnight, why
oh why do England coaches seem
to create problems where there
are none? Why do they ask players
to do jobs they are not familiar
with at club level?
Until this giant anomaly is
sorted once and for all, England
will remain a disjointed team in
the international wilderness.
Rooney had little support from
Steven Gerrard and England
looked like a team incapable of
creating any attacking threat.
There was no urgency
throughout the England line-up
and okay, yes it was a friendly,
but really that is no excuse.
Then there is the ever thorny
problem of the goalkeeper. David
James was not cute enough to realise
that Nicolas Anelka had the
speed of thought and the physical
pace to bypass the England
defence so he was forced to bring
him down for the spot-kick.
The farce over the captaincy is
also beginning to mask problems
on the pitch. There was nothing
wrong with John Terry as captain
so why bother changing it?
Capello is lucky he is not English.
If Steve McClaren had made
the half-time changes he did, he
would have been lambasted by
fans and pundits alike.
Taking off Rooney, Gerrard,
and Joe Cole and reverting to a 4-
4-2 just proved that England do
not possess the players to make
Capello's favoured system work.
There were too many negatives
in a disappointing performance
yet again and the fans must long
for the day when the coach will
make up his mind and give players
a role and a system they feel
most comfortable with.
Attempting to sum up the problems with the England national team could keep the Echo's journalists in work for the next year!Suffice to say though that they go far, far deeper than the players and coach. International football no longer has the profile it deserves, thanks to the money involved in the Premier League and Champions League. Do you think Wayne Rooney would rather have scored against France, or score next week against Roma? Would Steven Gerrard rather have been man of the match last night, or get the same award in the Merseyside Derby on Sunday? No prizes for getting those right! As for this comment piece by the Northern Echo - a few things to add. Apparently we need to start playing our players in roles and systems where they are familiar at club level. Well the last time I looked the back four play in a back four for their clubs. Joe Cole plays on either wing for Chelsea, Barry and Hargreaves are central midfielders in the Premier League and Beckham has always been a right midfielder. Steven Gerrard for the past couple of months has been playing in behind one front man at Anfield, and Wayne Rooney regularly plays up front as a lone striker for Man Utd (with Ronaldo, etc. for support and Tevez regularly on the bench). When will England fans realise that they have turned into Newcastle fans. Both teams harking back to past glories and still believing they have a god-given right to win. Maybe some day fans will get more perspective about the standard of players in our team, and realise that a 1-0 defeat away in France is actually an OK result!!
Attempting to sum up the problems with the England national team could keep the Echo's journalists in work for the next year!Suffice to say though that they go far, far deeper than the players and coach. International football no longer has the profile it deserves, thanks to the money involved in the Premier League and Champions League. Do you think Wayne Rooney would rather have scored against France, or score next week against Roma? Would Steven Gerrard rather have been man of the match last night, or get the same award in the Merseyside Derby on Sunday? No prizes for getting those right! As for this comment piece by the Northern Echo - a few things to add. Apparently we need to start playing our players in roles and systems where they are familiar at club level. Well the last time I looked the back four play in a back four for their clubs. Joe Cole plays on either wing for Chelsea, Barry and Hargreaves are central midfielders in the Premier League and Beckham has always been a right midfielder. Steven Gerrard for the past couple of months has been playing in behind one front man at Anfield, and Wayne Rooney regularly plays up front as a lone striker for Man Utd (with Ronaldo, etc. for support and Tevez regularly on the bench). When will England fans realise that they have turned into Newcastle fans. Both teams harking back to past glories and still believing they have a god-given right to win. Maybe some day fans will get more perspective about the standard of players in our team, and realise that a 1-0 defeat away in France is actually an OK result!!
Posted by: Lennie P, Nottingham on 3:03pm Thu 27 Mar 08
England and the new manager got exactly what they deserved- nothing and a sound beating. Any side that has aspirations to win major tournaments cannot possibly carry players and base selection on nostalgia and personal honour(- a joke in a team game surely!). I am quite sure that David Bentley was really overwhelmed with Beckhams century-not- we behaved like a nation of losers last night and this goes some way to explaining our consistent failure against the better teams in world football.
Several players on view last night have simply had more than their fair share of opportunity and all they have to show for it is (supposed) underachievement. Lets bring Lineker back for the next one - see if he can get those elusive record breaking goals! Lets try several new lads and give them the time these other superstars have had to develop enough so that perhaps we will qualify next time around.
Come on England get it right this time.
England and the new manager got exactly what they deserved- nothing and a sound beating. Any side that has aspirations to win major tournaments cannot possibly carry players and base selection on nostalgia and personal honour(- a joke in a team game surely!). I am quite sure that David Bentley was really overwhelmed with Beckhams century-not- we behaved like a nation of losers last night and this goes some way to explaining our consistent failure against the better teams in world football.
Several players on view last night have simply had more than their fair share of opportunity and all they have to show for it is (supposed) underachievement. Lets bring Lineker back for the next one - see if he can get those elusive record breaking goals! Lets try several new lads and give them the time these other superstars have had to develop enough so that perhaps we will qualify next time around.
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