World Cup vs Premier League

[RaleighBlue]

Not at all; that side was more balanced, so the difference in terms of individual quality was overturned. For example, England had no holding midfield and Italy lacked fluency in the final third.

That's the thing with the World Cup - you can be a nation who produces nine outstanding players but if you have the odd Fred or Jo then the whole system starts to fall down, and international sides can't just buy in the "missing piece of the jigsaw" to cope with it.

That's also been my problem with England for a long, long time. Sometimes, just because certain players aren't playing at the highest level, it doesn't mean you should overlook them in the search for a more balanced unit.

This is precisely England's problem. They pick players as individuals rather than picking a team. Costa Rica picked a team. Not a great team, mind, but a team will always have a chance against a collection of individuals regardless of the quality of the individuals. England's national team would be mid table or worse in a League. They have no defensive cover, no wingers worth talking about, too many No. 10's, no real tactical awareness, and no left sided CB.

When you set up a team like that, they absolutely will struggle with League One opposition.

 

[sbbefc]

A bit off topic but how would the England team fare in the premier league, top 4? champions? mid-table? Honestly think they would be 7-5th.

 

[RaleighBlue]

A bit off topic but how would the England team fare in the premier league, top 4? champions? mid-table? Honestly think they would be 7-5th.

Honestly?
9th.

Only because how gash the bottom half of the table is.

Comfortably 9th. 45-50 points a season.

 

[ilikecheese]

England have too many Chiefs, and not enough Indians. There isn't that clear cut 2 or 3 top players in the England side. You could say the same thing about Germany I reckon. So, back to the manager for me. Roy has no plan.

The Netherlands for example aren't brimming with incredible talent all over the pitch, but they've got Van Persie, Robben, and Sneijder...a clear focal point for the team going forward. Don't laugh, but the Yanks have Jozy, Dempsey, and Bradley...not even trying to compare those three to the Dutch three...but it's still the clear focal point of our set up...and at the International level it works. Costa Rica have Campbell and Ruiz...etc, etc, etc.

 

[Garrick]

International play is not as high of level as the Prem/La Liga/Bundesliga. As others have said, you can't buy to fill holes, and you have a lot less time together with your fellow players and manager to work on your game plan.

I think that's a big part of the reason we see players who struggle in the league do well on the international scene. Jozy Altidore is a prime example of this.

It's also a big part of the reason why teams that "click" (Costa Rica, USA) do better than their on paper talent suggest they would. For whatever reason, there are sides that can get better team play out of the limited time they spend together.

 

[Rook]

Brian Ruiz is pretty much footballing royalty

Maybe his style just isn't suited for the prem but I'm starting to think he's a very good player in a horrible situtation. I mean put Mirallas or Ovideo at that jarg Fulham side with their coaches of the weak, uh I mean week and they might suck too.

I'm starting to think he could do a job at Osman's position and for a creative talent like that he won't cost much.

 

[degsy]

Cricket is a fantastic example of this. I can think of a large number of cricketers who have had all the ability in the world but unable to cope with the pressure. The level I reached would be considered semi-pro, but the people I left behind me I know for a fact had more natural talent in one finger than I did, I just wanted it more.

Footy surely is the same. It applies from grass roots all the way to the top. Bet everyone on here can think of or play with a Sunday Pub League superstar who could've made it but didn't.

Certainly can,

A lad called called Bernie Gillham, played for Old Caths in the early 80's was too old for Everton at nearly 21, well good enough.

At tech I played with John Rogers along with Norman Blackburn, Derek Hawley and one Gerry Withe older brother of Peter, Gerry WAS Ross Barkley in build and skill... the old coulda been a contender thing.

Me?
modesty forbids
and I had a lot to be modest about... one paced would be kind, slow would be better.

 

[LocoKip]

Any of you gents have an idea of how you can search player statistics that filters for the club they play for? I'd like to see which clubs or nations are presenting the best players in the WC overall. For example the "Castrol Index Top 10" lists the following:

1. David Luiz, Chelsea (EPL)
2. James Rodriguez, AS Monaco (FRA)
3. Karim Benzema, Real Madrid (ESP)
4. Arjen Robben, FC Bayern Muenchen (GER)
5. Jan Vertonghen, Tottenham Hotspur FC (EPL)
6. Neymar Jr., FC Barcelona (ESP)
7. Thiago Silva, Paris Saint-Germain FC (FRA)
8. Ivan Perisic, VfL Wolfsburg (GER)
9. Johan Djourou, Hamburger SV (GER)
10. Thomas Mueller, FC Bayern Muenchen (GER)

So, even on a weighted scale and just using the Top 10 players, it would seem that the Bundesliga with 4 of the 10 top players is the most talented league. Nice to have 2 of the top 5 in the EPL though.

Thanks,

Kip