The "i'm not interested" international friendlies thread

[No Fixed Abode]

granted he didn't actually make too many meaningful contributions to goal scoring opportunities - and that's the reason behind the love in.

On another night, with a bit more luck, Strerling could've had two goals and an assit. That's not a bad return.

Bloody hell!

[Maguire]

I think he'll surprise you, and while this is undoubtedly a place for uncaveated and extreme opinions, it's also a place for mockery when they turn out to be horseshit

m8 I'm more than happy to eat humble pie come the summer if he turns in a couple of top performances for the national side, believe you me

[sandman]

When exactly do your younger players get the experience and knowledge from, the back of a crisp packet? Like it or not Lampard is 35 and during the World Cup he will be 36, he's very unlikely to go to another tournament and is certainly not going to another World Cup after this. You're not going to win the WC with or without Lampard but what you can do is give young players experience playing in Tournaments and being away from home for long periods of time something which a lot of the youngsters should have done last summer but didn't because England don't take youth tournaments seriously enough.

[No Fixed Abode]

When exactly do your younger players get the experience and knowledge from, the back of a crisp packet? Like it or not Lampard is 35 and during the World Cup he will be 36, he's very unlikely to go to another tournament and is certainly not going to another World Cup after this. You're not going to win the WC with or without Lampard but what you can do is give young players experience playing in Tournaments and being away from home for long periods of time something which a lot of the youngsters should have done last summer but didn't because England don't take youth tournaments seriously enough.

I think Lampard has earned his place from the qualifiers. 2nd highest scorer behind Rooney.

[Dave the rave]

I can't believe the negativity about last nights performance and what people really expect.

We're building towards a tournament being played in high heat and humidity where controlling the ball and not playing at 100mph will be a signifciant factor. We'll also be up against Italy who quite often play 3 or 5 at the back, so being able to play 3 upfront to stop them playing might well be a way forward and is exactly the kind of thing people have been calling for instead of a typical English 4-4-2.

We do all the above pretty well, get some promising performances from young and old players, and create enough chances to win the game by 3 or 4 goals yet pretty much all we hear is negative comments on the tempo and Rooney not scoring a hatrick.

I really don't know what the media and dickhead joe public want.

Don't you come on here with your common sense.

For my tuppence worth I think England are in a bit of a quandary.
They want to play like Spain. We have some good players capable of the slow passing/possession game.
We're not so good at speeding that game up and creating dangerous chances though.

In the quest to play like Spain we are forgetting how to play like England.

I've always said I prefer the cut and thrust of an 'old' England performance than the pass me my revolver matron style of the Spanish.

It may never win another world cup but nor will we trying the tippy tappy stuff. I'd much rather go out a la Italia '90 playing with our balls on the line than limping out in an inept attempt at trying to emulate the boring Spanish.

[Sanguine]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/sportv ... endly.html

This is great, little kid invades the pitch at the end of Brazil's friendly in South Africa - as security usher him off, Neymar grabs him and he spends a few minutes having photos with the players. Grin on his face is priceless.

[No Fixed Abode]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/sportvideo/10672635/Today-on-YouTube-Neymar-makes-young-South-African-pitch-invaders-day-as-Brazil-romp-to-victory-in-friendly.html

This is great, little kid invades the pitch at the end of Brazil's friendly in South Africa - as security usher him off, Neymar grabs him and he spends a few minutes having photos with the players. Grin on his face is priceless.

Nice to see those horrible Chelsea players, Luiz, Oscar and Willian joining in.

[winchester_royal]

granted he didn't actually make too many meaningful contributions to goal scoring opportunities - and that's the reason behind the love in.

On another night, with a bit more luck, Strerling could've had two goals and an assit. That's not a bad return.

I'd still rank him behind Oxlaid-Chamberlain and Townsend as well if Hodgson can get a similar impact out of him as he did in the qualifiers, but there's no doubt hes' coming on leaps and bounds at the moment and he's probably nailed on for the 23 now that Walcott is out.

I'd still like to see Adam Johnson in there but it seems he's out of favour.

I'd put him ahead of Townsend at the moment tbh, who hasn't got close to the kind of form he showed earlier in the season since his injury. I'd also probably put him ahead of Ox, who's gravitating towards a more central role for both club and country. We're not blessed with fantastic wingers in this country right now, even Sterling shows a tendency to drift inside and play between the lines, and atm Raheem is probably the best of them, certainly in terms of club form.

[wally bassoon]

I can't believe the negativity about last nights performance and what people really expect.

We're building towards a tournament being played in high heat and humidity where controlling the ball and not playing at 100mph will be a signifciant factor. We'll also be up against Italy who quite often play 3 or 5 at the back, so being able to play 3 upfront to stop them playing might well be a way forward and is exactly the kind of thing people have been calling for instead of a typical English 4-4-2.

We do all the above pretty well, get some promising performances from young and old players, and create enough chances to win the game by 3 or 4 goals yet pretty much all we hear is negative comments on the tempo and Rooney not scoring a hatrick.

I really don't know what the media and dickhead joe public want.

Don't you come on here with your common sense.

For my tuppence worth I think England are in a bit of a quandary.
They want to play like Spain. We have some good players capable of the slow passing/possession game.
We're not so good at speeding that game up and creating dangerous chances though.

In the quest to play like Spain we are forgetting how to play like England.

I've always said I prefer the cut and thrust of an 'old' England performance than the pass me my revolver matron style of the Spanish.

It may never win another world cup but nor will we trying the tippy tappy stuff. I'd much rather go out a la Italia '90 playing with our balls on the line than limping out in an inept attempt at trying to emulate the boring Spanish.

Agree with this a bit. The problem with England is that we are always chasing other successful teams style.

"Play like the Italians,"
"No play it must be total football like the Dutch."
"No, Forget that, Build a Clairefontaine and play like that French."
"$hit no, it must be Tippy Tappy."

And we are always a couple of years behind the curve. There is something to be said for playing the English way.

[6ft Kerplunk]

Agree with this a bit. The problem with England is that we are always chasing other successful teams style.

"Play like the Italians,"
"No play it must be total football like the Dutch."
"No, Forget that, Build a Clairefontaine and play like that French."
"$hit no, it must be Tippy Tappy."

And we are always a couple of years behind the curve. There is something to be said for playing the English way.

Not convinced that waiting for the English way to become fashionable is the right thing to do either. The one thing that all of the above systems had in common was that the players could control and pass a ball properly. That seems to be the bit we struggle with or decide to coach out of players when they get past U16 level.

[wally bassoon]

Agree with this a bit. The problem with England is that we are always chasing other successful teams style.

"Play like the Italians,"
"No play it must be total football like the Dutch."
"No, Forget that, Build a Clairefontaine and play like that French."
"$hit no, it must be Tippy Tappy."

And we are always a couple of years behind the curve. There is something to be said for playing the English way.

Not convinced that waiting for the English way to become fashionable is the right thing to do either. The one thing that all of the above systems had in common was that the players could control and pass a ball properly. That seems to be the bit we struggle with or decide to coach out of players when they get past U16 level.

Agree, apart from the French maybe.
But our style could work for a one off cup competion at some point, As it nearly did in 1990.

I for one would take a cup win every 20 or 30 years.

[Terminal Boardom]

From the comfort of my sofa last night, England visibly improved as soon as Rooney went off.

Hart - Solid performance and did what he had to do
Johnson - Nothing to get excited about and did his job efficiently
Cole - Was more than good enough in the first half
Cahill and Smalling - Didn't work as a pairing though. Work needed in this area
Gerrard - Did ok and pushed forward more as the game wore on
Henderson - Disappointed with him as he didn't seem to have any impact on the game
Wilshere - Not particularly impressed. Flattered to deceive
Sterling - Runs like a girl. Thought he did ok and didn't let himself down
Rooney - Dog shit poor. I struggle to remember when he last had a really good performance in an England shirt
Sturridge - Took his goal well and looked much better when playing through the middle

Subs
Shaw - A promising debut and did not let himself down either
Lallana - Great impact when he came on but why the creaming of pants because he is two footed?
Welbeck - Did ok
Oxlade-Chamberlain and Townsend - Little time to make any great impact

Wasn't the worst friendly I have seen and England actually kept possession quite well. Sloppy at times at the back which allowed the Danes to come close on a couple of occasions. England improved considerably once Rooney went off and created a reasonable number of chances.

[No Fixed Abode]

From the comfort of my sofa last night, England visibly improved as soon as Rooney went off.

Hart - Solid performance and did what he had to do
Johnson - Nothing to get excited about and did his job efficiently
Cole - Was more than good enough in the first half
Cahill and Smalling - Didn't work as a pairing though. Work needed in this area
Gerrard - Did ok and pushed forward more as the game wore on
Henderson - Disappointed with him as he didn't seem to have any impact on the game
Wilshere - Not particularly impressed. Flattered to deceive
Sterling - Runs like a girl. Thought he did ok and didn't let himself down
Rooney - Dog shit poor. I struggle to remember when he last had a really good performance in an England shirt
Sturridge - Took his goal well and looked much better when playing through the middle

Subs
Shaw - A promising debut and did not let himself down either
Lallana - Great impact when he came on but why the creaming of pants because he is two footed?
Welbeck - Did ok
Oxlade-Chamberlain and Townsend - Little time to make any great impact

Wasn't the worst friendly I have seen and England actually kept possession quite well. Sloppy at times at the back which allowed the Danes to come close on a couple of occasions. England improved considerably once Rooney went off and created a reasonable number of chances.

Rooney was shit last night but lets not forget he was the highest scorer in the qualifiers.

[Mr Angry]

If there is a choice between a promising younger player or an older player for a squad place, I hope Hodgson takes the younger player; I think we will be fortunate to even get out of our Group at the WC and we should use this tournament to blood the new generation in preparation for the 2016 Euros and the 2018 WC.

[Terminal Boardom]

From the comfort of my sofa last night, England visibly improved as soon as Rooney went off.

Hart - Solid performance and did what he had to do
Johnson - Nothing to get excited about and did his job efficiently
Cole - Was more than good enough in the first half
Cahill and Smalling - Didn't work as a pairing though. Work needed in this area
Gerrard - Did ok and pushed forward more as the game wore on
Henderson - Disappointed with him as he didn't seem to have any impact on the game
Wilshere - Not particularly impressed. Flattered to deceive
Sterling - Runs like a girl. Thought he did ok and didn't let himself down
Rooney - Dog shit poor. I struggle to remember when he last had a really good performance in an England shirt
Sturridge - Took his goal well and looked much better when playing through the middle

Subs
Shaw - A promising debut and did not let himself down either
Lallana - Great impact when he came on but why the creaming of pants because he is two footed?
Welbeck - Did ok
Oxlade-Chamberlain and Townsend - Little time to make any great impact

Wasn't the worst friendly I have seen and England actually kept possession quite well. Sloppy at times at the back which allowed the Danes to come close on a couple of occasions. England improved considerably once Rooney went off and created a reasonable number of chances.

Rooney was shit last night but lets not forget he was the highest scorer in the qualifiers.

Tha may well be the case but just what is Rooney's record in finals? Euro 2012 he played a very minor role. WC2010 he, along with so many other players, was garbage. The only finals where he figured prominently was Euro 2004 where he scored a brilliant hat-trick. The way he played on Wednesday gave me the impression that he couldn't give a oxf*rd and that he knew his place in the final 23 was assured. What would the outcry have been had it been someone with ten caps or fewer? A disinterested Rooney does no-one any good. What Hodgson should have done is not bother playing him from the start - if at all. Use friendlies to see what else is on offer.

[stealthpapes]

Agree with this a bit. The problem with England is that we are always chasing other successful teams style.

"Play like the Italians,"
"No play it must be total football like the Dutch."
"No, Forget that, Build a Clairefontaine and play like that French."
"$hit no, it must be Tippy Tappy."

And we are always a couple of years behind the curve. There is something to be said for playing the English way.

Not convinced that waiting for the English way to become fashionable is the right thing to do either. The one thing that all of the above systems had in common was that the players could control and pass a ball properly. That seems to be the bit we struggle with or decide to coach out of players when they get past U16 level.

It is almost there with the Clairfontaine thing but then its all about 'playing like .... ' . I can't help but think that's missing the point in a way that helps no-one.

I can't find it right now but I read a superb article of how Germany developed their current system and two things stood out. One was that it was a process, rather than focussing on any one particular output. Two that any changes seemed to be aimed at improving the process, focussed much earlier on, and intended to produce players that could play any style and coaches that had their own identity. If a different manager comes in with a different style, the players are brought up to be adaptable. He probably precedes the majority of the changes slightly but take a look at Phillip Lahm - from right back to the sort of central midfielder I cannot remember England producing.

Increasing, I think the 'key' stats is always going to be based around the following depressing figures:

Number of UEFA A, B and Pro licenses

"UEFA data shows that there are only 2,769 English coaches holding Uefa's B, A and Pro badges, its top qualifications. Spain has produced 23,995, Italy 29,420, Germany 34,970 and France 17,588." [From 2010 so slightly out of date]

Number of UEFA A licenses

"In essence, and these numbers are slightly disputed, England has 1,161 coaches at Uefa ‘A’ level compared with 12,720 in Spain and 5,500 in Germany. " [2013]

Number of Pro Licenses

"At pro licence level, England has 203 coaches, Spain 2,140 and Germany more than 1,000."

[Royalclapper]

Those coaching figures are depressingly revealing in terms of where England are currently at, and also when you consider the amount of money floating about in English football.

To me it kind of hints at those comparative European Countries and how much more 'professionalised' their set-ups appear to be. Both Spain and Germany have great products in terms of National Teams and a significant amount of home players playing for the club sides in their respective Leagues.

You get the impression that changes in process, coaching or whatever is required still gets done out on the golf course and then back in the clubhouse afterwards by our own OBE/Honour seeking FA hierarchy. It's way too much to expect Tournament wins every other time, however, it doesn't seem too much to ask that we have a National Team that reflects our strength and interest as a major football nation and one that fulfills at least some of the huge potential we have in England. Unfortunately now that Spain have won everything for a few years, England are without doubt the greatest underachievers in International football.

[Hoop Blah]

To be fair to the FA they put on a lot of courses and are trying to get people on them, and are making clubs have the right qualifications to get charter status etc, but they can't force people onto courses if they don't want to do them. I don't think the cost is prohibitive or any greater than elsewhere, but I might be wrong.

It's an improving situation from what I can see, but I think the biggest issue we have is turning good youngsters into good adult players with the freedom and ability to make the most of their talents.

[Hoop Blah]

...It's way too much to expect Tournament wins every other time, however, it doesn't seem too much to ask that we have a National Team that reflects our strength and interest as a major football nation and one that fulfills at least some of the huge potential we have in England. Unfortunately now that Spain have won everything for a few years, England are without doubt the greatest underachievers in International football.

I agree we're one of the biggest underachievers, but considering we're consistently one of the top 8-12 countries in the world don't you think that reflects our strength and interest in football?

I'd obviously love us to be more successful, but apart from winning another couple of tournaments (and I think we've come or looked close 3 or 4 times in my memory - so since '82 really) I'm not sure we could hope for much more.

[Royalclapper]

...It's way too much to expect Tournament wins every other time, however, it doesn't seem too much to ask that we have a National Team that reflects our strength and interest as a major football nation and one that fulfills at least some of the huge potential we have in England. Unfortunately now that Spain have won everything for a few years, England are without doubt the greatest underachievers in International football.

I agree we're one of the biggest underachievers, but considering we're consistently one of the top 8-12 countries in the world don't you think that reflects our strength and interest in football?

I'd obviously love us to be more successful, but apart from winning another couple of tournaments (and I think we've come or looked close 3 or 4 times in my memory - so since '82 really) I'm not sure we could hope for much more.

........and it all started so promisingly against France!

We are of course one of the 8-12 top National sides and yet we're closer to the next 30 countries below us than we are close to the top half a dozen. For instance, It's been nigh on 20 years since Germany last won a tournament and yet there is still quite some gulf in class between us and them.

From a personal perspective, a lot of the bewilderment at our apparent lack of truly International class players is founded in sheer frustration that comparable Countries just consistently seem to churn them out. I'll never forget sitting behind the goal in Eindhoven when Luis Figo fired that shot into the top corner watching that epic England 2-3 Portugal game during Euro 2000, even at 2-0 up England were being absolutely mullered in terms of the play and it was only a matter of time before the inevitable happened.

I was thinking 'this is my fcuking proud footballing country getting completely belittled by a smarter and more stylish team' - quite a humbling experience even by the measure of some shockers I've seen England play in. Hard to believe now that England and Germany finished bottom 2 of the group behind Portugal and Romania, with the Germans only winning 1 point

Just look what's happened since, in reality if England go out in the group stages in Brazil then it will be disappointing but not a shock, knock-out stage would be a credible effort and QF or more is Brucie Bonus time.

Not sure what the definitive answer is really, a friend of mine is currently working towards his UEFA coaching badges at Rochdale who are doing a stellar job for such a modest outfit so there is indeed some good work being done.