The England thread

[Colly]

It sure has distracted people from the fact that England sort of stumbled their way to a 1-0 win over Estonia. Roy Hodgson has a remarkable skill for being a sub-par manager and getting away with it.

At least we won, unlike Spain, Germany and Holland.

Three in three, including a good away win in Switzerland. Stop being so shit Roy!

[Gazz]

Those countries will now follow the "England Model" to get back to where they rightfully belong.

In the Diamond we trust.

Despite the fact it will get brutally exposed against the top teams for it's lack of width and being undermanned defensively if the ball is lost before it reaches the opposition's final third.

[Nerf]

Those countries will now follow the "England Model" to get back to where they rightfully belong.

In the Diamond we trust.

Despite the fact it will get brutally exposed against the top teams for it's lack of width and being undermanned defensively if the ball is lost before it reaches the opposition's final third.

The diamond that is only in vogue because of Rodgers last season? Top, top coach is Hodgepodge.

[Gazz]

England should play a 4-6-0

Usual back four, Wilshere, Henderson, Delph in the middle. Rooney in the number 10 role and 2 of Sterling/Welbeck/Sturridge cutting in from wide.

[Lineker]

England vs. Croatia is about to start on BT Sport 1. We have the lead from the first leg; winners qualify for the Euros.

[brenchill]

Hodgson is the perfect England manager for The FA. He's inoffensive, talks well in press conferences and is never going to do anything controversial. He's going nowhere.

[Matt]

Guys, guys, guys... arguing over whether Hodgson is good enough to be England manager is like arguing over if he's a good enough driver to drive a car with no wheels.

[brenchill]

We have wheels but sadly that's it.

[Hobo]

Hodgson is the perfect England manager for The FA. He's inoffensive, talks well in press conferences and is never going to do anything controversial. He's going nowhere.

Except when telling the press Wayne Rooney's accent will make it hard for him to lecture people and generally tying to piss off Brendan Rodgers.

[Colly]

You say that as if there's never ever been conflict between the England manager and club bosses.

[Hobo]

Well, maybe I should rephrase as 'creating a media storm around a 19 year old player through an incredibly poor choice of words and going on to question his clubs fitness program after dismissing the same clubs criticism of his poor management of one of their key players which led to that player getting injured'.

If anything defines Hodgson it's his arrogance and his coaching antiquity. He knows that he's not well liked in Liverpool and he keeps stoking the fire because he thinks he can get away with it.

[Colly]

What were his words, 'Sterling said he was tired'? If the media want to make a storm of that it's up to them, but I fail to see what he's meant to do, cover it up with a fake injury?

Hodgson's old, but he's certainly not a dinosaur, and he has every right to question a 'my player gets extra days off' coaching policy given his 40 odd years of experience.

[britneyspearsisgod]

Roy had no reason to mention it. Managers up and down the country rest players without flat out saying "oh, they didn't want to play because they were tired". It offers no benefit for him to slate one of his players again. Just like he did with Glen Johnson at Liverpool, he's deflecting attention onto the player because he cannot be seen to be wrong. For a man with his experience, you'd think he would have learnt the basics of PR by now. Better yet, you'd think the FA would have too. Who knows if Raheem will be galvanized by this and become a better player? Maybe. Or maybe he and the rest of the team will just think "Oh god, Roy's a dick and I hate playing for him".

Roy works well with certain players due to his elder figure, calm but wise manner that he portrays, but when it gets to a bigger breed of animal he is lost. Thus, his experiences at top-level teams and environments doesn't match his successes.

And experience should tell him something about evolution and adaptation. I have experience in my job to know that the way I do things today won't necessarily mean that's the way to do it tomorrow. What worked 40 years ago doesn't necessarily work today. Liverpool have invested shit loads of money into their fitness and medical teams and it shows today with better young players. Michael Owen suffered similar circumstances back in his younger days and curtailed a good period of his career because of it. Liverpool have evolved and adapted from those days. Roy has not entirely done that.

Medical science has moved on so that we understand some players need resting and others don't. Whilst at Real Madrid, it was regularly accepted that Ronaldo (as in Fat Ronaldo) didn't partake in training every day depending on his mood and desire. But when it came to crunch time, he delivered. Some players are like that. You work with all different variables with each player.

In wrestling context, just because Vince McMahon functions on 4 hours sleep does that mean everyone else has to? No. We are all different. When I trained for wrestling, how I trained was different to how my friends trained because we are all built different. If Roy hasn't grasped that concept yet then I worry for him.

Not to say Brendan Rodgers isn't culpable of any mistakes. By all means, Brendan has to accept some blame for any tiredness Raheem Sterling is undergoing right now. He could certainly afford to rest the kid. Did he need to play him for the entirety of the match against Middlesborough? Close match decided by penalties aside, maybe the team and Sterling would have benefited from him not playing and another younger star getting their chance? Maybe the match could have happily been written off to focus on League and European exploits? These are questions that Brendan needs to answer.

But ultimately, Roy has one again shown why he is not the manager England needs, but the manager the FA wants. Why progress? Progress means change and change ultimately is too much for some people to accept.

[The Lusophone]

Roy works well with certain players due to his elder figure, calm but wise manner that he portrays, but when it gets to a bigger breed of animal he is lost. Thus, his experiences at top-level teams and environments doesn't match his successes.

It's almost 20 years ago now but he did take a bottom of the table Inter Milan to a 7th placed finish, then a 3rd place finish, along with two Coppa Italia semi-finals and a UEFA Cup final, in two seasons at the club.

Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti even credits Hodgson with 'saving' the club.

[Colly]

Roy had no reason to mention it. Managers up and down the country rest players without flat out saying "oh, they didn't want to play because they were tired". It offers no benefit for him to slate one of his players again. Just like he did with Glen Johnson at Liverpool, he's deflecting attention onto the player because he cannot be seen to be wrong. For a man with his experience, you'd think he would have learnt the basics of PR by now. Better yet, you'd think the FA would have too. Who knows if Raheem will be galvanized by this and become a better player? Maybe. Or maybe he and the rest of the team will just think "Oh god, Roy's a dick and I hate playing for him".

Roy works well with certain players due to his elder figure, calm but wise manner that he portrays, but when it gets to a bigger breed of animal he is lost. Thus, his experiences at top-level teams and environments doesn't match his successes.

And experience should tell him something about evolution and adaptation. I have experience in my job to know that the way I do things today won't necessarily mean that's the way to do it tomorrow. What worked 40 years ago doesn't necessarily work today. Liverpool have invested shit loads of money into their fitness and medical teams and it shows today with better young players. Michael Owen suffered similar circumstances back in his younger days and curtailed a good period of his career because of it. Liverpool have evolved and adapted from those days. Roy has not entirely done that.

Medical science has moved on so that we understand some players need resting and others don't. Whilst at Real Madrid, it was regularly accepted that Ronaldo (as in Fat Ronaldo) didn't partake in training every day depending on his mood and desire. But when it came to crunch time, he delivered. Some players are like that. You work with all different variables with each player.

In wrestling context, just because Vince McMahon functions on 4 hours sleep does that mean everyone else has to? No. We are all different. When I trained for wrestling, how I trained was different to how my friends trained because we are all built different. If Roy hasn't grasped that concept yet then I worry for him.

Not to say Brendan Rodgers isn't culpable of any mistakes. By all means, Brendan has to accept some blame for any tiredness Raheem Sterling is undergoing right now. He could certainly afford to rest the kid. Did he need to play him for the entirety of the match against Middlesborough? Close match decided by penalties aside, maybe the team and Sterling would have benefited from him not playing and another younger star getting their chance? Maybe the match could have happily been written off to focus on League and European exploits? These are questions that Brendan needs to answer.

But ultimately, Roy has one again shown why he is not the manager England needs, but the manager the FA wants. Why progress? Progress means change and change ultimately is too much for some people to accept.

Again I ask what did he actually say? He was asked why Sterling didn't start, and he answered honestly. Most if us don't care that Sterling was rested, so why would he need to lie?

As for the rest, he's not throwing medicine balls at players, he's got a state of the art training facility with some of the countries top coaches. This idea he's applying techniques from 40 years ago is ludicrous.

[Nerf]

Roy had no reason to mention it. Managers up and down the country rest players without flat out saying "oh, they didn't want to play because they were tired". It offers no benefit for him to slate one of his players again. Just like he did with Glen Johnson at Liverpool, he's deflecting attention onto the player because he cannot be seen to be wrong. For a man with his experience, you'd think he would have learnt the basics of PR by now. Better yet, you'd think the FA would have too. Who knows if Raheem will be galvanized by this and become a better player? Maybe. Or maybe he and the rest of the team will just think "Oh god, Roy's a dick and I hate playing for him".

Roy works well with certain players due to his elder figure, calm but wise manner that he portrays, but when it gets to a bigger breed of animal he is lost. Thus, his experiences at top-level teams and environments doesn't match his successes.

And experience should tell him something about evolution and adaptation. I have experience in my job to know that the way I do things today won't necessarily mean that's the way to do it tomorrow. What worked 40 years ago doesn't necessarily work today. Liverpool have invested shit loads of money into their fitness and medical teams and it shows today with better young players. Michael Owen suffered similar circumstances back in his younger days and curtailed a good period of his career because of it. Liverpool have evolved and adapted from those days. Roy has not entirely done that.

Medical science has moved on so that we understand some players need resting and others don't. Whilst at Real Madrid, it was regularly accepted that Ronaldo (as in Fat Ronaldo) didn't partake in training every day depending on his mood and desire. But when it came to crunch time, he delivered. Some players are like that. You work with all different variables with each player.

In wrestling context, just because Vince McMahon functions on 4 hours sleep does that mean everyone else has to? No. We are all different. When I trained for wrestling, how I trained was different to how my friends trained because we are all built different. If Roy hasn't grasped that concept yet then I worry for him.

Not to say Brendan Rodgers isn't culpable of any mistakes. By all means, Brendan has to accept some blame for any tiredness Raheem Sterling is undergoing right now. He could certainly afford to rest the kid. Did he need to play him for the entirety of the match against Middlesborough? Close match decided by penalties aside, maybe the team and Sterling would have benefited from him not playing and another younger star getting their chance? Maybe the match could have happily been written off to focus on League and European exploits? These are questions that Brendan needs to answer.

But ultimately, Roy has one again shown why he is not the manager England needs, but the manager the FA wants. Why progress? Progress means change and change ultimately is too much for some people to accept.

Again I ask what did he actually say? He was asked why Sterling didn't start, and he answered honestly. Most if us don't care that Sterling was rested, so why would he need to lie?

As for the rest, he's not throwing medicine balls at players, he's got a state of the art training facility with some of the countries top coaches. This idea he's applying techniques from 40 years ago is ludicrous.

I feel like I just need to point out that Hodgson himself has admitted that he hasn't changed his methods in his 40 years of coaching.

Also, BSIG, Rodgers is absolutely culpable for overplaying Sterling, but to his credit, he did rest him against Villa and look what happened there.

And Colly, a lot of people seemingly do care that Sterling wanted a rest. Fact is, Hodgson hung him out to dry to watch his own back, which is not how a manager at any level should operate. He continues to display nothing but incompetence and yet somehow gets a free pass because he's the perfect yes-man for the FA. He wouldn't grant Sturridge the extra rest his body needs, ignored warnings that he'd be risking injury, and what happened? Sturridge got injured. This time, he could've easily came out and said something "Adam Lallana did well when he came on last time, so we're starting him." Instead, he was looking out for his own interests, as he always has, in case that impressive 1-0 win over Estonia backfired.

[The Lusophone]

Hodgson answered a question honestly. That's not incompetence.

This largely seems to be a case of 'Liverpool supporters don't like Roy Hodgson', again, and as a result we're getting yet another storm in a teacup in the seemingly never ending feud between Liverpool and Hodgson.

And idiots like Raymond Verheijen (who ironically praises Rogers for 'travelling the world' despite never having had a job in football outside of the British Isles and dismisses Hodgson who has had much success abroad) who have achieved the grand total of fuck all in their careers really shouldn't be getting involved as well, but then again, this is the same guy who uses the memory of Gary Speed to criticise the Welsh FA. He's like a particularly scummy Joey Barton.

[Nerf]

Hodgson answered a question honestly. That's not incompetence.

This largely seems to be a case of 'Liverpool supporters don't like Roy Hodgson', again, and as a result we're getting yet another storm in a teacup in the seemingly never ending feud between Liverpool and Hodgson.

And idiots like Raymond Verheijen (who ironically praises Rogers for 'travelling the world' despite never having had a job in football outside of the British Isles and dismisses Hodgson who has had much success abroad) who have achieved the grand total of fuck all in their careers really shouldn't be getting involved as well, but then again, this is the same guy who uses the memory of Gary Speed to criticise the Welsh FA. He's like a particularly scummy Joey Barton.

Assuming he's referring to when del Bosque invited him to to exchange ideas.

[Baddar]

So what's this over? I've evidently missed something. I'm gathering that Sterling said he was tired so wanted to sit out the Estonia game, the press questioned Roy on leaving him out, and he told the truth?

I don't think there's much wrong with that. If my team had just stumbled to victory over Estonia, and people were slating me for not starting a player who asked to sit out, I'd be tempted to say something too.

[Hobo]

It may be the truth but it has resulted in Raheem Sterling being the talk of the week for daring to be tired. A manager still has to protect his players, especially young ones, from undue attention.

This isn't a good message to send to players. What it says is "risk injury by playing when you're tired or else ex-players and the media will spend the entire week talking about how they've never heard of a player being tired before or they'd never have done that". Therefore the next time a player feels like he's not mentally up for starting a game he may just say say nothing and get injured.