Euro U21 Championships

I think we're fine on technique and footballing brain overall. I think the higher powers at the FA have been guilty of trying to change too much. One thing the English have always had more than a lot of nations is higher fitness (needed it in the prem), more strength and a hell of a lot of passion. We play high tempo football. We don't want to see the ball going from one side to the other, we don't care about our possession being 80%. We want attacking football and we want goals.

English football has always been about quick attacking football and getting stuck into the opposition. I understand we need to adapt but if we want Spanish style possession football then as I said, you're looking at the English players around the age of 16-19 at the moment. There are some very solid players technically at that level. There's a lot at City.

So why have we stopped playing that way. Senior and U21's both play with little direction and even less tempo.
We look like we have set patterns of play (ala Chess) and if they don't work, well we're fucked ;-)
 
So why have we stopped playing that way. Senior and U21's both play with little direction and even less tempo.
We look like we have set patterns of play (ala Chess) and if they don't work, well we're fucked ;-)

Because we've got a load of donkeys running English football. They think - look how well Spain and Germany keep the ball - that's how you win tournaments. Let's get England keeping the ball as well. So they've slowed it all down, made sure that we focus on keeping the ball rather than playing a risky through ball and it's all static and slow because it's not natural. England have rarely been good at keeping the ball, even with Scholes, Gerrard and Lampard in the side. Even then the MO was get the ball forward quickly, it was generally a case of option a) ball over the top to Owen or b) ball into big man like Heskey, runners playing off him. Then it was a case of sitting back, being compact, defending deep and counter attacking again.

Yes we did keep the ball for spells but that's been the English way. Frantic, quick, powerful attacking football. The continental style is fine. It works. Barca and Bayern have implemented it well. But the likes of Real have had success through a very English style of fast attacking play. It's for the next few generations to develop the ability to keep the ball and create chances. We can keep the ball okay, we just can't do anything productive with it at the u21 or senior level.
 
Because we've got a load of donkeys running English football. They think - look how well Spain and Germany keep the ball - that's how you win tournaments. Let's get England keeping the ball as well. So they've slowed it all down, made sure that we focus on keeping the ball rather than playing a risky through ball and it's all static and slow because it's not natural. England have rarely been good at keeping the ball, even with Scholes, Gerrard and Lampard in the side. Even then the MO was get the ball forward quickly, it was generally a case of option a) ball over the top to Owen or b) ball into big man like Heskey, runners playing off him. Then it was a case of sitting back, being compact, defending deep and counter attacking again.

Yes we did keep the ball for spells but that's been the English way. Frantic, quick, powerful attacking football. The continental style is fine. It works. Barca and Bayern have implemented it well. But the likes of Real have had success through a very English style of fast attacking play. It's for the next few generations to develop the ability to keep the ball and create chances. We can keep the ball okay, we just can't do anything productive with it at the u21 or senior level.


We’ve also lost the art of defending.
I can remember all the World Cups and European Championships from 1970, and until the last two tournaments, I’m struggling to recall many goals conceded from corners inswinging free kicks, or even open play headers.

Now we look vulnerable, even in qualifying matches, against teams like Slovenia.
 
We’ve also lost the art of defending.
I can remember all the World Cups and European Championships from 1970, and until the last two tournaments, I’m struggling to recall many goals conceded from corners inswinging free kicks, or even open play headers.

Now we look vulnerable, even in qualifying matches, against teams like Slovenia.

Again, I think that's largely because of the players being asked to press up the pitch. That and the fact Smalling is an absolute liability. He seems to think pressing the ball means clambering over the opposition attacker and desperately trying to get some part of his body on the ball. That's definitely an area we are struggling in. We're quite adept at sitting off and defending areas, but not so good at decision making when it comes to getting a foot in on the ball or standing the defender up. I don't really get why we can't do it... it's quite simple - you only try to get something on the ball if you know 100% you can. Yes it's a game played at a quick pace but if in doubt, stand the man up and don't allow them to turn you or make an easy pass.
 
Because we've got a load of donkeys running English football. They think - look how well Spain and Germany keep the ball - that's how you win tournaments. Let's get England keeping the ball as well. So they've slowed it all down, made sure that we focus on keeping the ball rather than playing a risky through ball and it's all static and slow because it's not natural. England have rarely been good at keeping the ball, even with Scholes, Gerrard and Lampard in the side. Even then the MO was get the ball forward quickly, it was generally a case of option a) ball over the top to Owen or b) ball into big man like Heskey, runners playing off him. Then it was a case of sitting back, being compact, defending deep and counter attacking again.

Yes we did keep the ball for spells but that's been the English way. Frantic, quick, powerful attacking football. The continental style is fine. It works. Barca and Bayern have implemented it well. But the likes of Real have had success through a very English style of fast attacking play. It's for the next few generations to develop the ability to keep the ball and create chances. We can keep the ball okay, we just can't do anything productive with it at the u21 or senior level.

When you employ people like Southgate and Hodgson to run your teams what do you expect. Pearce was a bad manager but he never got relegated with anyone, but Southgate did and was truly awful at Boro.

We have to move on as a nation and I'd sooner see a young lad hungry for success like the guy at Milton Keyes running the 21's rather than another yes man halfwit like Southgate again.
 
Typical English players overrated overpayed and overpriced when will everyone start to believe we as a nation will win fuck all in any major tournament, saying that I would the the women getting to a final now that would be brilliant, it's about time the press and the media stopped building these players up, we won nowt with the golden generation and this lot are 10 times worse.

Yet Dyke and the rest will sit back and convince themselves all is well as every single one of those over rated players from this tournament are touted as the next big thing and get valued for ridiculous money because of the ridiculous home grown rule in place.

All it does is give those players an unrealistic opinion of themselves, and they just cant be arsed in games like this, safe in the knowledge the beach awaits and a big fat contract at a club.

The answer of course is build them a golf course!!!

These points i completely agree with.

I can count the amount of top class English players in the last 25 years on 1 hand.

This alludes to the question marks i raised over Sterlings cost & so called proven talent.

I was villified by some on the Sterling thread for this! Nice to see some blues have the same opinion about English players :)
 
Spot on. We seem to be banging on to our players about how hard work is X% of success etc.
How about we produce players that can stop,control and pass a ball, because from what i've seen,
we are fucking awful at the basics. We seem to still think that athleticism will get us by.


Whilst there are still promising players at this level, the likes of Shaw, Wilshere, Oxlade and Barkley weren't involved despite being eligible. Sterling too of course. That transforms England and I think an England side with those players could have gone on to win the tournament. The fact that those players (when fit) are involved in the full England set up is testimony to the fact that young players are coming through.

The issue isn't so much about the lack of talent at younger age groups, it's that between the likes of Terry, Ferdinand, Cole, Lampard, Gerrard, Rooney there has been very little in the way of decent quality backing those players up. There's now a gulf of strength in depth. We've a lot of okay players, and some potentially brilliant ones but gone are the days where you had talent in abundance and it was tough to fit players into the side. We had numerous attacking options and quality through defence and midfield.

Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard and Cole were class acts on their day but the reason they've been/were able to win so many caps is that they've not seriously been challenged.

There are promising signs, but I think the age group of English players between 16-19 can really flourish if those players get game time. We haven't been able to nurture young talent like Spain and Germany because we haven't had a good enough senior squad. As soon as a young player has a good few months, they're in the senior squad and getting games there.

I'm 100% certain that England wouldn't have won the tournament event with those players. Saying that England didn't do well because they didn't take their best players is nothing but a lame excuse. Denmark are missing the likes of Okore, Eriksen & Boilesen. Germany could have players like Götze, Draxler, Rudiger, Erik Durm & Mustafi with them. Italy could have Sharaawy, Verratti & De Sciglio.
 
I'm 100% certain that England wouldn't have won the tournament event with those players. Saying that England didn't do well because they didn't take their best players is nothing but a lame excuse. Denmark are missing the likes of Okore, Eriksen & Boilesen. Germany could have players like Götze, Draxler, Rudiger, Erik Durm & Mustafi with them. Italy could have Sharaawy, Verratti & De Sciglio.

I said England COULD have won with those players. Key word.
 

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