The Desperate State of English Football
Now coming from north of the border, this may not be the most neutral of posts, but I can't believe how happy the English seem to be about their result with Holland last night.
Looking at the two teams on show, it was set to be an entertaining spectacle, so it should be worth bearing the inane drivel the commontators spout when it comes to the English and their sport.
However, this had to be balanced with the fact that neither team had been performing to their potential of late, so you could expect a fair bit of experimentation to give them the opportunity of getting the crap out of the system.
What I saw last night though, was a poor looking Dutch side keep possession (the bulk of it in the English half of the pitch) for approaching 70% of the game.
The Dutch game was about getting the ball to Robben and Kuyt, and seeing what happened as a result.
The English tactic was about getting 11 men behind the ball and hitting the home team on the break as fast as they could.
However, having listened briefly to the commontators and match summarisers, and reading what Steve MacLaren had to say, I think I was watching a different game. The consensus seems to be that England were the better team, and were unfortunate to lose a goal in the last couple of minutes. The game showed a great deal of progress over recent performances.
I'm sorry, but are you telling me that with the talent which England have at their call, they are happy with this crap. England were awful, diabolical, and played like a team in fear of their opposition.
For England, this game was all about not losing. They had 10 subs on their bench, but it was 76 minutes before they used their first. They were leading at this point, and McLaren was desperate not to throw it away.
I shouldn't complain though, for if this is the way England are to play over the next few years, then I can be pretty confident that Scotland will give them a sound thrashing the next time they play.
Looking at the two teams on show, it was set to be an entertaining spectacle, so it should be worth bearing the inane drivel the commontators spout when it comes to the English and their sport.
However, this had to be balanced with the fact that neither team had been performing to their potential of late, so you could expect a fair bit of experimentation to give them the opportunity of getting the crap out of the system.
What I saw last night though, was a poor looking Dutch side keep possession (the bulk of it in the English half of the pitch) for approaching 70% of the game.
The Dutch game was about getting the ball to Robben and Kuyt, and seeing what happened as a result.
The English tactic was about getting 11 men behind the ball and hitting the home team on the break as fast as they could.
However, having listened briefly to the commontators and match summarisers, and reading what Steve MacLaren had to say, I think I was watching a different game. The consensus seems to be that England were the better team, and were unfortunate to lose a goal in the last couple of minutes. The game showed a great deal of progress over recent performances.
I'm sorry, but are you telling me that with the talent which England have at their call, they are happy with this crap. England were awful, diabolical, and played like a team in fear of their opposition.
For England, this game was all about not losing. They had 10 subs on their bench, but it was 76 minutes before they used their first. They were leading at this point, and McLaren was desperate not to throw it away.
I shouldn't complain though, for if this is the way England are to play over the next few years, then I can be pretty confident that Scotland will give them a sound thrashing the next time they play.
posted by pegj at 9:42 AM
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