England - A Postmortem
This isn't the first time we screwed up a qualifying and thankfully last time we bounced back pretty well. For once I have trouble seeing the bright side. We are supposed to be the Lions, The Might of England. Tonight, for the most part, we played like lost schoolboys.
I am starting to believe idea that we need less imports in our (league) game. We are the big money league now and we are relying on imports too much. Wait, is that the English premiership or the US economy? We should be concentrating on rebuilding our style as a nation, not building our style as a club game. The FA, like the Premiership, has become a business, not a national service as it should be.
It was like watching the Wizard of Oz, with 9 tin men, cowardly lions and scarecrows.
The first goal was a soft goal from a keeper who shouldn't have been out there in the first place. I can't decide if he was Toto or a tin man.
We lacked leadership without Terry, and Sol Campbell sucked as only Sol can suck on a bad day. He was supposed to shore the defence, not flounder like the old man he is turning into. Tonight he was a tin man AND a cowardly lion.
I have to say Olic played a great game against a shoddy, shoddy defence and that Beckham and Lampard stepped up to show that they are still two of the best midfield players in our game. In the second half they showed maturity, poise and heart, something the rest of the team seem to have left behind with their courage and brains. Lampard needs to start EVERY game how he started the second half, then he will truly elevate himself to the top tier in the game.
Now that McClaren is gone, I think we need to go where we should have gone last time - Martin O'Neill. He is a footballer's manager, not a corporate suit. The English players have show (time and time again) they need a strong manager to deliver reality in a world that is semingly make-believe. We still think we are a football super-power. Alas, we are not.
English football needs to expose the FA for what it is, the man behind the curtain, and move on. We need to build a game around originality, reality and pride - the game we so often praise ourseves for presenting - a game of heart, brains and courage.
I grew up with the England of semi-finals and crushing defeats at the hands of the football giants. I want to go home now, I want to remember those days. I just wish it were as easy as clicking my cleats three times...
I am starting to believe idea that we need less imports in our (league) game. We are the big money league now and we are relying on imports too much. Wait, is that the English premiership or the US economy? We should be concentrating on rebuilding our style as a nation, not building our style as a club game. The FA, like the Premiership, has become a business, not a national service as it should be.
It was like watching the Wizard of Oz, with 9 tin men, cowardly lions and scarecrows.
The first goal was a soft goal from a keeper who shouldn't have been out there in the first place. I can't decide if he was Toto or a tin man.
We lacked leadership without Terry, and Sol Campbell sucked as only Sol can suck on a bad day. He was supposed to shore the defence, not flounder like the old man he is turning into. Tonight he was a tin man AND a cowardly lion.
I have to say Olic played a great game against a shoddy, shoddy defence and that Beckham and Lampard stepped up to show that they are still two of the best midfield players in our game. In the second half they showed maturity, poise and heart, something the rest of the team seem to have left behind with their courage and brains. Lampard needs to start EVERY game how he started the second half, then he will truly elevate himself to the top tier in the game.
Now that McClaren is gone, I think we need to go where we should have gone last time - Martin O'Neill. He is a footballer's manager, not a corporate suit. The English players have show (time and time again) they need a strong manager to deliver reality in a world that is semingly make-believe. We still think we are a football super-power. Alas, we are not.
English football needs to expose the FA for what it is, the man behind the curtain, and move on. We need to build a game around originality, reality and pride - the game we so often praise ourseves for presenting - a game of heart, brains and courage.
I grew up with the England of semi-finals and crushing defeats at the hands of the football giants. I want to go home now, I want to remember those days. I just wish it were as easy as clicking my cleats three times...