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Where it all went wrong for England

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billycopper

Player Valuation: £40m
Defence
  • Inexplicably we went to sleep at virtually every corner. Italy scored one and Suarez very nearly scored twice direct from corners.
  • We weren't quite tight enough to our men. Cahill let Balotelli and Suarez steal a couple of yards on him and paid the price. Jags was also guilty of trying to hold his line rather than staying with the runner.
Set pieces
  • The quality of our delivery from corners and freekicks was very poor.
Lack of urgency
  • Admittedly the climate and tiredness will have been factors but we played at such a slow pace that we were unable to move the opposition around or penetrate them. Sturridge and Rooney's goals came from bursts forward.
  • We were told that the young lions would play without fear but they weren't particularly expressive. Sterling received positive reviews against the Italians but I wouldn't say that anybody really got the English public excited.
Poor tactics
  • Against Italy Baines was overrun by their threat down the right, whilst our most disciplined forward failed to trouble his fullback on the opposite side of the pitch. Sterling's pace would have drawn fouls from Chiellini.
  • The Uruguay match was must win to keep our destiny in our own hands but Roy only sacrificed Henderson for another striker with 2 minutes remaining. If Lambert could have occupied their centrebacks Rooney and Sturridge might have had some joy in the channels.
  • If we could have taken a draw from the Uruguay game it wouldn't have been a total disaster. Presuming that Italy would beat Costa Rica and top the group then we'd have theoretically had an easier task than Uruguay to take second place.
Gerrard
  • He hasn't been awful but it's looking like a younger man's tournament and age may have caught up with the skipper. He's not a specialist holding midfielder but he can get away with it in the Premier League. Whereas in Brazil you have to be able to close the opposition down quickly.
Lack of width
  • Welbeck, Rooney, Lallana and Barkley aren't wingers. They're not going to get to the byeline and put crosses over on too many occasions. They prefer to cut inside and shoot themselves. Maybe it could have been different if Oxlade-Chamberlain had been fit or if Baines was given more license to get forward and Lambert to aim for?
Verdict
  • It hasn't been a total disaster but we've paid the price for being a little naive/sloppy and not having enough flair and invention going forward. I don't think we'll take too many positives from it though. We might as well play our reserves in the final game and see if they can give us a glimmer of hope.
Forster
Johnson Smalling Jones Shaw
Wilshere Lampard
Milner Barkley Lallana
Lambert​
 

I agree, its not a disaster if you're looking at rebuilding a side and clearing out the old guard.

Here's the line up from 2010 vs Algeria. A spectacular low for me.
Substitutes:
Here's the squad for the Euros in 2012. A tournament I felt we did very well in considering the time Hodgeson had.

2012
Goalkeepers
- Joe Hart, Robert Green, John Ruddy.

Defenders - Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson, Phil Jones, Joleon Lescott, John Terry.

Midfielders - Gareth Barry, Stewart Downing, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Scott Parker, Theo Walcott, Ashley Young.

Strikers - Andy Carroll, Jermain Defoe, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck.


2014
Goalkeepers
- Joe Hart, Fraser Forseter, Ben Foster.

Defenders - Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Luke Shaw, Glen Johnson, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Phil Jagielka.

Midfielders - Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ross Barkley, Adam Lallana, Raheem Sterling, Jack Wilshire, Jordan Henderson

Strikers - Rickie Lambert, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge

It's changed massively within 4 years for me.

MIDFIELD
The midfield has more technical ball players and more pace. Which is a key success from the tournament. All play with flair, good control, good with the ball. Its why we've kept the ball more in these 2 games that previous tournaments. Something we've moaned about since 2010, even before, has been fixed. We can keep the ball now and pass with more confidence.

This midfield doesn't include Theo Walcott who would've made a big difference out wide and more than likely would have started over Welbeck if he was fit. The same with Chamberlain. So the point about out and out wide players does play a part. In 2012 we had 5 wingers or wide players - Downing, Milner, Young, Walcott, Chamberlain. In 2014 we had 3 - Milner, Chamberlain, Sterling.

Additionally, and as pointed out, the lack of any defensive midfielder has been key.

In 2012 we had 2 in Parker and Barry and progressed, looking very stable. In 2010 there was Carrick who never played and we were poor overall.

In 2014 we didn't have one. It was a position that needed sorting, but there isn't a young defensive type midfield player in England that you can play minus Phil Jones - who isn't a DM. Gareth Barry is the only one I can think off and he was never going to be picked.

From what I can see, there's a shortage of defenders and strikers.

STRIKERS
Minus Rooney, there's no one with any real international pedigree or back up. That's a worry going forward into the Euros and the next World Cup. Unless someone bursts on the scene, we are going to be woefully short up front.

This has been a bit of a problem for a while since Michael Owen crocked himself. We don't have a really world class striker who delivers regularly.
For this World Cup it showed. We created a lot of chances. Both Rooney and Sturridge were not clinical enough. Both scored, yet both had other chances they should be scoring at this level.

DEFENCE
I agree with the points mentioned. Set piece defending was poor. And yes, they had no protection. But the 3 goals from defensive "errors" are errors pretty much every side in this tournament have made. I've lost count on the amount of perfectly weighed balls being dinked over the defence on for a striker to score. These happen at this level. Spain, Holland, France, Italy, have all been done by crosses so far.

Both fullbacks haven't covered themselves too well. Both fail to stop crosses and get close to the opposition. However, going forward both have been the most creative players in the side. Double edged sword.

As for the centre backs, for the mistakes they made positioning wise, they also did defend well. Its a shame that the press seem to forget that the 3 forward players they've played against - Cavanni, Suarez, Ballotelli - for 90% of the games have kept them quiet. They just happen to take chances from inch perfect crosses or a mistake from a midfielder.

Give them more games, they'll get better. And to be fair...there's no one better than them at the moment.
 
So building for the Euros...
  • Hart will keep his place.
  • Walker will replace Johnson.
  • I don't think that there are any standout candidates to replace Jags and Cahill.
  • I have a feeling that Shaw will overtake Baines before too long.
  • Gerrard and Lampard are done. Wilshere is the obvious choice. Henderson to partner him seems quite likely but I'd like to see Rodwell get his career back on track and stake a claim.
  • We have some decent attacking midfielders and the pace of Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain could have complimented them really well.
  • I think too much is expected of Rooney. The calls for him to be dropped are ridiculous and he could yet form a strong partnership with Sturridge.
  • Who else could make the breakthrough? Stones obviously. Rodriguez would give us more pace up front. Maybe Townsend and Cleverley could rediscover their form?
I don't think we need to make wholesale changes but maybe the old guard have had too much influence for too long. The concern is that we'll replace them with one-paced average international players like Milner and Henderson or that we'll lose a lot of character and big game experience.
 
So building for the Euros...
  • Hart will keep his place.
  • Walker will replace Johnson.
  • I don't think that there are any standout candidates to replace Jags and Cahill.
  • I have a feeling that Shaw will overtake Baines before too long.
  • Gerrard and Lampard are done. Wilshere is the obvious choice. Henderson to partner him seems quite likely but I'd like to see Rodwell get his career back on track and stake a claim.
  • We have some decent attacking midfielders and the pace of Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain could have complimented them really well.
  • I think too much is expected of Rooney. The calls for him to be dropped are ridiculous and he could yet form a strong partnership with Sturridge.
  • Who else could make the breakthrough? Stones obviously. Rodriguez would give us more pace up front. Maybe Townsend and Cleverley could rediscover their form?
I don't think we need to make wholesale changes but maybe the old guard have had too much influence for too long. The concern is that we'll replace them with one-paced average international players like Milner and Henderson or that we'll lose a lot of character and big game experience.
Someone like Nick Powell could stake their claim to a place even if only from the bench. He's only a few months younger than Barkley.
 
220px-SGerrard.JPG


roy-hodgson.jpg


Pretty much be all end all right there.
 

With no friendly in August, there is plenty of time to reassess the set up before we face Switzerland in the opening Euro 2016 qualifier in early September.
 
Just checked, there is a friendly against Norway but it's for the Wednesday before the Swiss game, September 3rd
 

This whole 'Hodgson played a young team' stuff in the media is a complete joke.

There's two players starting for that team who could be considered 'young'. Sturridge and Sterling. Every other player in the starting eleven for both games has been 27 or older.

The guy will never have the tactical ability to lead a national side to anything of note. He's a dinosaur.
Err. Henderson is 24 and Welbeck is 23

Not saying they were brilliant but they are young. Think Chamberlain or Wilshire would have got a start as well apart from their injuries.

Agree that his tactics are a bit outdated though.
 
Err. Henderson is 24 and Welbeck is 23

Not saying they were brilliant but they are young. Think Chamberlain or Wilshire would have got a start as well apart from their injuries.

Agree that his tactics are a bit outdated though.

I said players, so Welbeck is automatically discounted.

I don't consider Welbeck to even be a youth player, the utter waste of space has had four full seasons of top flight domestic football.
 
This whole 'Hodgson played a young team' stuff in the media is a complete joke.

There's two players starting for that team who could be considered 'young'. Sturridge and Sterling. Every other player in the starting eleven for both games has been 27 or older.

The guy will never have the tactical ability to lead a national side to anything of note. He's a dinosaur.

I agree. I wouldn't particularly count Sturridge as a youngster either. I think that Roy has got the job because he's an elder statesman and he's not going to do anything controversial. In some respects he's like Moyes. He's ok at a certain level but he doesn't know how to change a game and he isn't a winner like Fergie or Mourinho.

Uruguay replaced a midfielder (Lodeiro) with a striker (Stuani) on 67 minutes and then they put a centreback on (Coates) to see out the game when Suarez had to go off. It's difficult to imagine Hodgson managing the game in such a way. Most of his substitutions have been like for like.
 

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