Ok we are out, Sven's time is up so, what can we do to go forward?
my 10 pence says,
1)If anyone is playing below form then they should be dropped.
I think the greatest weakness of Sven's management was that player's had the security of knowing if they could play then they would make the 1st 11. Beckham, Rooney, Lampard, Owen all made it into squads when they were either unfit, lacked match practice or out of form. The best football we played against Portugal was when Beckham was replaced and Crouch was our lone man up front. Any player should face more competition for their spot in their national team than their club. Also if a player is underperforming then the manager should let them know about it. How many England players would have received the 'hair dryer' treatment from Alex Fergerson in the last six years? How much better is Joe Cole since Mourinho laid into him?
2)Pick players to fit your tactics not a system to get everyone on the pitch.
Lampard and Gerrard are class players but we only need one of them on the pitch. Lennon caused more damage by running at defenders than Beckham does by long balls. If you are playing a lone striker then you need someone who isn't going to get wound up and can hold the ball up.
3)It doesn't matter how we win as long as we win.
Great teams can get results when they play badly. Did Greece produce any world class performances when they won Euro 2004? It would be wonderful England performed as well as we did against Germany when we won 5-1 or when we beat Holland in '96, it just isnt going to happen every game. I felt the criticisms we received after our games up to the Portugal match were a little harsh.
4)We are out so are Brazil, Argentina, Holland and Spain. Some commentators were willing to hand Argentina the trophy after they crushed Serbia 6-0. We can claim to be one of the top eight teams in the world surely that counts for something?
I wish Steve Maclaren all the best, he has some awesome talents to work with and I hope he has learnt from Svens mistakes and sucesses.
