Five steps forward for England (Part five…of five)

July 9th, 2010 | by: Ethan Dean-Richards |

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How can we get success like this?

Tradition dictates that all value judgements made before an England World Cup exit be immediately reformed in the weeks and days that elapse following it. The regularity of the clamber has undoubtedly dampened its effect over the years and, as such, scepticism about the extent to which anything England will change after the latest knockout is justifiable: therefore for suggestions to be anything but fantastical they’re going to have to be minimal. Here are five that fit the bill (over the course of five posts):

5.) Don’t change everything – especially not the pressing high up the pitch

Germany dramatically exposed the weaknesses of Capello’s England and the FA’s planning in Bloemfontein last Sunday, but Die Mannschaft are an excellent side – ask Argentina. Enough things were right with English football for the national team to reach the last sixteen of a World Cup – further than France and Italy. Indiscriminate chastising leads only to poor decisions. Causes and symptoms must be separated: Individual error must not be confused with managerial mistakes.

Capello’s commitment to pressing high up the pitch, for example, was made to look foolish last week as it simply allowed the Germans to find space in behind the England midfield quickly and easily. However, it was the implementation, and not the idea, that was wrong.

John Terry’s self-indulgent runs up the pitch were not a part of the plan. It is a misconception that pressing involves positional indiscipline and a symptom of the confusion that arises when defeats force re-assessment to happen too quickly.

High pressure approaches work – see Barcelona 2008–10 for details. The problem in South Africa was not with the system, but with the individuals within it. The ageing squad, Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry in particular, were not able to sustain pressure on the ball alongside tracking back, thus the vulnerability to German counter attacks.

Luckily, this lack of compatibility will soon disappear under its own terms. With more time to practise and younger players to implement the high-pressure approach it can and will work next time.

So many things are wrong, but not every little thing.

*Please try the links – they take ages to find and usually (except for the odd self-indulgent one) enhance the ideas put forward

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Seif

Yes but we should have the adequate midfielders to do so.
http://twitter.com/chriscorrigan Chris Corrigan

Excellent comment. The high pressing game can and will work. England were atrocious in the back four, especially against Germany, and you need that solid line to hold a high pressing game. Against Spain, Germany were being held by the Spanish defense at the centre line for parts of the match. THAT tactic could have worked for England, but you need discipline, as you say, and some really good box to box midfielders. In that game Pedro ran out of his skin. England's midfield, not so much. I wish Lennon had been better at this tourney. And that Milner had been consistent owning the wing. But alas…

Still, you are right…the lesson is about execution.
Fares

you will never build a team like that; capello will never be a great manager with england.
while you were laughing at not having any english club competing for the later stagers of champions league ( english players would have more rest) you see now all the consequences; there is no english player with quality in this wc ; look at bayern and inter players and you will see all the difference. sorry but all i could say now is that you are miles miles behind the greatest nations in football and i will not be surprised if you do a wc or ec as poor as the french or italians did this year in the near future. sorry again but i cannot see england winning a wc before 20 or 30 years …
Fares

“The future

It is frightening to see where we are going as an international force. Please God we will continue to find individuals like Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Rio Ferdinand, but that's not enough. You can't have only one or two top-class players in your team.

A brilliant technical player is only as good as the weakest link in the chain. I wonder what would happen if you took a player like Lionel Messi and put him into League Two? You would be surprised how few touches he would get.

The game would pass him by, because the ball would spend a lot of time in the air. Get it to his feet and he would still slip past defenders, but who would get it to him in the first place?

My point is that you need quality players to get the best out of a supremely gifted player. We cannot keep developing the odd player here and there. It's not enough and it's not good enough.”

FROM DAILYMAIL GLEEN HODDLE SPEAKING : the future of england is frightening.

THAT IS THE REALITY AND NOT YOU RIDICULOUS FIVE STEPS!!
Seif

Stay focused, fares!! We all know that will have to change more than one player and bring in more than one new player, but we are talking about all the other steps to change England's game!
https://england.worldcupblog.org Ethan

Did you read the steps? In what way do they contradict what you and your pal, Glenn Hoddle, had to say?

You provided a problem: The England team doesn't have enough good players. And I provided some possible answers.
Fares

you will never build a team like that; capello will never be a great manager with england.
while you were laughing at not having any english club competing for the later stagers of champions league ( english players would have more rest) you see now all the consequences; there is no english player with quality in this wc ; look at bayern and inter players and you will see all the difference. sorry but all i could say now is that you are miles miles behind the greatest nations in football and i will not be surprised if you do a wc or ec as poor as the french or italians did this year in the near future. sorry again but i cannot see england winning a wc before 20 or 30 years …
Taylors3

oh my the heartache,
things are never that bad, the road to a better furture is rapid blooding of young players bolstered by a few FIT old heads.
We do need a bold approach now as we forget the debarcle and plan for the euro's
We see a ggodly group of possible replacments and it just needs a strong manager to say goodbye to some players !