At 15 and 16 years old, bodies haven't gotten to the point where they can make off-ball runs, constant getting yourself into space, etc, for a full 90 minutes. Especially in the midfield.BigOscar said:I think it's the lack of interplay that annoys me. When the defenders have the ball, the midfielders just stand still, no one moves at all then they hit a long diagonal (usually succesfully, as the attackers are physically dominant).Cheadle_hulmeBlue said:BigOscar said:Feel free to call me negative, but I'm not at all impressed by the english team. It's not so much their ability, it's the fact that we are teaching even the youngest players to sit back and defend, try and hit the opposition on the break or with set pieces. They've pressed well from the front, but they are packing the defence and giving the ball away so cheaply, I just find it enfuriating that this is the style we apparently teach.
The Dutch have struggled to break us down (as you would expect of kids playing against a packed defence), but they at least are willing to move the ball around, keeping possession and trying to find a pass through. They are hugely struggling to cope with the physicality of the english defence and the sheer amount of players they have to try and get past, but I'd far rather our kids played like that and lost than played the way they are and won. They are never going to learn how to be comfortable on the ball, or how to recycle possession or play in tight spaces if you don't encourage it at youth level. Setting up an U17 team with the main aim of being "hard to break down" just depresses me
thats a fair opinion, but i personally dont think we have played that bad, from watching the games this tournament i think there has been more of a focus on passing and I think we have played some really good technical football. i dont think there has been much hoof ball tbh. some of our players do seem a lot bigger, but then there are the like of roberts who are very small agile player who you probably wouldn't have seen under say stuart pearce if he was the coach
There is just so much physicality on display, compared to smart movement or even a willingness to play the short pass. Yes, if you have the physical advantage then using it will get you results, but you end up missing out on the development that will actually be helpful when physicality stops playing such an important role.
That excuse would only hold weight if the other teams didn't do it! Obviously their movement won't be as good or as sharp as at our level, but the only way our players got to the level they are at is by constantly working on it at youth levelunlikelyfan19 said:At 15 and 16 years old, bodies haven't gotten to the point where they can make off-ball runs, constant getting yourself into space, etc, for a full 90 minutes. Especially in the midfield.BigOscar said:I think it's the lack of interplay that annoys me. When the defenders have the ball, the midfielders just stand still, no one moves at all then they hit a long diagonal (usually succesfully, as the attackers are physically dominant).Cheadle_hulmeBlue said:thats a fair opinion, but i personally dont think we have played that bad, from watching the games this tournament i think there has been more of a focus on passing and I think we have played some really good technical football. i dont think there has been much hoof ball tbh. some of our players do seem a lot bigger, but then there are the like of roberts who are very small agile player who you probably wouldn't have seen under say stuart pearce if he was the coach
There is just so much physicality on display, compared to smart movement or even a willingness to play the short pass. Yes, if you have the physical advantage then using it will get you results, but you end up missing out on the development that will actually be helpful when physicality stops playing such an important role.
edit* At least to the point that we are used to seeing.
sam-caddick said:Get in lads.
The two central defenders look very good and I thought Onomah looked excellent at times with his driving runs.
FantasyIreland said:sam-caddick said:Get in lads.
The two central defenders look very good and I thought Onomah looked excellent at times with his driving runs.
Was one of them Gomez?
Yup. Physically he is excellent, pace, power and height. Hard to say how good a defender he actually is though because he is able to bully attackers with his physicality. The Dutch could of won it when the striker got on to a flick on and was clear through near the end, but he caught him up fairly easily.FantasyIreland said:sam-caddick said:Get in lads.
The two central defenders look very good and I thought Onomah looked excellent at times with his driving runs.
Was one of them Gomez?
I couldn't agree more. In fact, this game played out very much like our performance against Everton in the U-18 Championship, where Everton were all physical and playing behind the ball and se were stymied trying to break them down.BigOscar said:Feel free to call me negative, but I'm not at all impressed by the english team. It's not so much their ability, it's the fact that we are teaching even the youngest players to sit back and defend, try and hit the opposition on the break or with set pieces. They've pressed well from the front, but they are packing the defence and giving the ball away so cheaply, I just find it enfuriating that this is the style we apparently teach.
The Dutch have struggled to break us down (as you would expect of kids playing against a packed defence), but they at least are willing to move the ball around, keeping possession and trying to find a pass through. They are hugely struggling to cope with the physicality of the english defence and the sheer amount of players they have to try and get past, but I'd far rather our kids played like that and lost than played the way they are and won. They are never going to learn how to be comfortable on the ball, or how to recycle possession or play in tight spaces if you don't encourage it at youth level. Setting up an U17 team with the main aim of being "hard to break down" just depresses me