Football and England

Oh dear another disappointment for our English football team but even though we lost on penalties it was clear to any football fan that we were second best. We could not hold the ball, we could not at times pass the ball and if our match against Italy had been a boxing match it would have been stopped long before the end.


We are light years behind the best of the world in terms of technique and intelligence. Our footballers are athletic and strong but they are not footballers! They are celebrities without a cause. Tonight they were exposed as a high earning fraternity who could not compete with footballers who think about the game.


Tonight our players were bullied out of the game. They were intimidated and jostled and they could not compete. Not until Andy Carroll arrived did we have a physical presence. Our players did not have the ability to think quickly enough and their ball control was very often suspect.


If our football is to compete with the best we must change our thinking. We must recruit purists who regard skill above athleticism.  We must forget speed and strength and look for born footballers. Look at David Silva or Luka Modric because they are both small and dominant.


Oh well onwards and upwards. I think that Roy Hodgson did the best that he could with those at his disposal. He has shown enough to make us believe that he is organised and efficient. Until we produce skilful, intelligent players we will never win anything. I believe that our education system is so poor that many of our top players cannot think their way out of adversity. 


Sorry but many of our kids know that they will earn vast sums of money without fulfilling their potential. The prime example is Wayne Rooney who frankly looked so ordinary this evening. He is apparently being paid a fortune but on the world stage he is a bit part player. We must seriously disregard the press and the footballing fraternity and use our eyes. Germany, Spain, Italy, Argentina, Brazil have dozens of players better than the players that our press have built up as being impressive.


We allow our national sport to be dominated by ex pros. They have nothing else to offer but so many cannot manage to save their lives. They could play but management is all about man management and motivation. We have prime examples in Brian Clough, Martin O'Neill and Harry Redknapp. They have always improved their teams given an even playing field but the powers that be are always scared of them. 


Tonight we all saw the difference between men and boys. The Italians were light years better than us and only the heroics of our defenders saved us. Those guys disguised our ineptitude and until we address this skill problem then we will never again qualify for the quarter finals of the Europa Cup... never mind win it!