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warspite1 -> RE: OT World Cup 2010 South Africa (6/19/2010 11:31:29 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: castor troy
With the very well doing English clubs more or less ruling European football over the last ten years, itīs just the old story IMO. People think their national team would be doing good because their clubs do too. But when you then get to hear that Arsenal at times is playing without any English on the lawn then the national teamīs performance isnīt that surprising anymore. Not saying Lampard, Gerrard, Rooney and Co would be bad players, but the national team is overrated IMO compared to Premier League clubs like, Manchester, Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool. And then donīt forget that the English seem to have a problem with tournaments, just like the Dutch which is depressing for me as my mother is Dutch and football isnīt existing in Austria.[:(]
Warspite1
What you say has some merit - although on the other hand, you could argue that if English players are good enough for the top four English teams, then they must be pretty decent players. Lampard, Cole A, Cole J and Terry would not have lasted under Mourinho, Hiddinck etc if they were no good. But what that means is that while we can be certain we have some decent players, what we do not have is strength in depth. People may well criticise the picking of Ledley King, but how many English defenders with pace are there as alternatives? This is where not limiting foreigners in domestic leagues becomes a problem. Name an English right back if Johnson gets injured?.....exactly, thats why Carragher is in South Africa!
But the argument is not as simple as that. In the late 70's/early 80's English football ruled Europe: Liverpool, Nott'm Forest, Aston Villa made the European Cup pretty much an English affair - and the players were mostly English. What was the English national team doing at that time?
World Cup 78 - DNQ
Euro 80 - Out in group stages
World Cup 82 - admittedly unlucky to go out without losing any of our five games - but could not score in the 2nd round against Spain and Germany
Euro 84 - DNQ
One decent tournament out of four......
Its a complicated business, and I do not pretend to understand why English players get to big tournaments and simply forget what they do for their clubs. Why did Lennon decide not to run at the Algerian defence like he did against Croatia when we took them apart at Wmbley? Why do we think its a good idea to do a few passes in our own half - maybe sneak into the opposing half and then hoof the ball upfield instead of passing our way to the opponents penalty box? Why is our movement in the final third so non-existent? Why did Glen Johnson suddenly look so slow? The list of questions goes on and on....its so depressing!!
Anyway thats enough about England [:(]. Good luck to Holland (I'm still upset about 1974 and 1978!) and the Kiwis this weekend [:)]
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