It's no secret that the England national football side has been uninspiring for some time now. The inventors of the beautiful game have been left behind at international level since the 1990s. At least during that decade English football fans could point to a team playing passionate high tempo football at international tournaments, who were defeated by strong international sides and old enemies, Germany (1990 and 1996) and Argentina (1998). These losses happened on penalties on all three occasions. Waddle and Pearce, Southgate, and Ince and Batty the stand out misses which resonate through time. But passion was clear, blood, sweat and tears apparent, as were dubious refereeing decisions, and disallowed goals, but there was always effort to the end. Premier League sides were also filled with British players, and owned by British people. Foreigners did play, but the English league was primarily an English league rather than the international franchise that is now the Premier League.Since that period the "golden generation" promised much, but under Sven's guidance failed to produce more than a hapless quarter final defeat at the hands of Brazil. Ronaldinho's magic/fluke or Seaman's weakness has always been one for discussion - but ultimately Seaman relived Nayim from the halfway line all over again, and England went home with little more than a whimper. With Owen, Beckham, Scholes, Ferdinand, Campbell, Gerrard, Lampard and Cole fans can only be left disappointed that England did not at least grace the semi finals of a major tournament during that time. Sol Campbell will also be disappointed that in 1998 vs Argentina and 2004 vs Portugal he suffered the same fate by seeing a winning goal disallowed at an international tournament.
On paper the England team facing Brazil looks relatively strong and there are notable absentees such as Ashley Cole, John Terry, Steven Gerrard and Jack Wilshere who would arguably strengthen the starting XI. Others, like Peter Crouch and Kyle Walker may feel a little aggrieved to not feature as much as they possibly should under Hodgson's reign.
England team away to Brazil - 2nd June 2013
Rooney
Milner Walcott
Lampard Carrick Jones
Baines Jagielka Cahill Johnson
Hart
Whilst all England managers can point to key players missing at major tournaments, qualification and for friendlies - players appetite to play often seems to lack, even from the squads peripheral players or up and coming stars who should have a point to prove. We have seen club coaches such as Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger have disagreements with various England coaches and key English club players go missing from squads with mysterious injuries or illnesses. Indeed some have even retired from international football to concentrate on their club. Dreams of representing your nation must diminish once the first million is in the bank account. I can't prove that - but I'm sure enduring fans will agree. Beckham was always the exception to this perception.
To counter this, fans at least want to see passion displayed in the team, one-hundred percent effort, and negative tactics binned. Robson and Venables attacked, whilst finding a good balance to their sides, whilst Hoddle found his own system which worked well and saw an impressive World Cup qualification and unlucky loss to Argentina at World Cup 98. Sven was steady but rarely took a chance and could be accused of not having a plan B. This resulted in a few "could possibly have" moments at major tournaments.
I'd just allow Sven to escape this group, but we've seen a number of wet blankets or uninspiring figures in charge also. Graham "The Turnip" Taylor and Steve "The wally with the brolly" McClaren were maybe the wettest coaches, whilst Fabio Capello did not bring the style one would like to see in an England football side. Although effective, the Italian way has never been the most attractive football to watch. Serie A on channel 4 in the 1990s was often rather dull, and watched only to catch a glimpse of football superstars, and the English exports. Capello always seemed to have a "do not lose" ethos and would prefer a workman-like 1-0 win away to Moldova, where something like a 3-1 or 4-2 victory could have been achieved with a different approach. Sometimes you have to back yourself as being a better team but unfortunately the treading on eggshells, do not lose approach continues with Roy Hodgson. At club level, Hodgson has failed to impress whenever he has been dealing with elite players. England does still have elite players, important at top Premier League clubs competing for European silverware but Hodgson plays them in a way reflective of his time in charge of Liverpool, or how one would expect a mid-table side to set up. England has turned into Fulham.
Harry Redknapp was the peoples choice to take over as England coach. Whilst I didn't necessarily agree that Harry would save England, his teams do play a more attacking and upbeat tempo of football more likely to please fans, even when losing. Like Sven, Redknapp can be criticised for his lack of a plan B and Tottenham Hotspur fans might agree, however, Hodgson's appointment was jaw-droppingly bad for many when it was announced. It's true that previously the FA has listened to the fans and appointed the peoples choice. After Hoddle left England for non-football related reasons Kevin Keegan was appointed and failed to deal with the hype and expectation. He ultimately left the the job with a dented reputation. But that was 15 years ago, and few choices of the FA have even flirted with success since.
Watching England play in Brazil this evening, I'm looking at a formation containing two defensive midfielders and a lonely centre forward. Any support Rooney is meant to have is uninspiring or lacking conviction. I'm also thinking that Joe Hart was the standout player during the first half which points towards a negative approach. Rooney has been left alone up top far too often, whilst passes up to him have been sloppy when attempted too soon, or support is non-existent. Walcott has lacked conviction in the main when playing for England. Actually some Arsenal fans have suggested that since signing a new deal, he's lacked a lot more than just conviction. Before signing that deal he was impressive - what's changed? I'm digressing. The short of it is that under Roy Hodgson the England team will not improve. They will simply plod along, scraping qualification to major tournaments in groups containing Montenegro and other Balkan states - or being at risk to make it at all. Currently they are at risk. England performed better in the second half against Brazil, but we witnessed celebrations from the coaching set up akin to a goal in the World Cup when Rooney curled his effort in to make it 2-1. Brazil equalised with little effort shortly after. The game ended 2-2. Maybe for England a trashing at the hands of Brazil would have helped more. Instead Hodgson will plod on.
I'm not blaming Roy Hodgson, Fabio Capello or even Steve McClaren. The FA have put the wrong man in charge on several occasions now, seemingly not learning from their mistakes. A safe option, and football mediocrity seem to be preferred. Alongside this, the growth of the Premier League bringing with it the foreign invasion of both players and investors is clearly hurting the England national side. In fact it's almost like a disease. A playground for billionaires and mercenaries picking up scandalous salaries, even when warming the bench. Other nations have seen problems at international level, and have worked to counteract this. In other sports like Cricket, central contracts revolutionised the England set up and clearly focused cricket on the international game. I'm not suggesting central contracts in football, but do feel that international football should be valued as the pinnacle of the game like it is elsewhere in the world. The Premier League have sold out to the highest bidder and turned itself into a world league. England then does not fit into that plan, and the Premier League may as well invite Barcelona, PSG, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich to join.
Germany have really worked on youth over the past decade, whilst Spanish football has seen great success recently with streams of talented Spanish players filling their club teams from bottom to top of La Liga. A lot of this comes from the way they play the game, their ethos, but also the passion shown when wearing the shirt. Both are reaping the rewards and are where a football and economic power like England should strive to go beyond. In England we have seen elevation of youth recently, and notably the U21 Premier League is really taking off. I believe that we will see more British players in the starting XI of top Premier League clubs within the next 3-5 years because of this, however, with coaches like Roy Hodgson in charge of England instead of more positive options how can England ever wish to emulate and surpass Spain and Germany? Only more of a focus on the international game, and willingness to play in a more aggressive manner will see a change of fortune. Otherwise we'd best call ourselves Denmark, Sweden or even Scotland. Success will be qualifying for a major tournament. Square pegs will continue to be forced into round holes. The FA will continue to live up to the sweet FA moniker.
