Post by Scott on Jul 3, 2006 1:08:32 GMT
c/o RepoMan:
Expulsion by penalties was almost inevitable as the weather today in the North West of England. Whilst the majority of England and Wales baked in a heatwave, Manchester had torrential rain, causing flash floods. "Same as it ever was", as David Byrne famously wrote.
I didn't watch the penalty shoot-out or the 2nd half extra time. My eldest daughter, with her commitments to drama of another kind and her social calender prevented me from torture by television. However, it could be argued that having to listen to Alan Green, Graham Taylor and Mike Ingham on the radio was worse.
In the past, heroic failure and a hate figure sated the journalistic appetite. Now the sense of national catastrophe has swept all corners of England, with the likes of Hello magazine, taking the angle from the wives and girlfriends. When you also hear John Piennaar discussing football, you know that football boundaries have been breached beyond a normal fan's tolerance.
I took it upon myself to praise England's control of the game against Ecuador, and put myself in the frame for some flack. I stand by what I said, and England won that game without damage going into the quarter final.
However, I think everybody who watches and can understand football, knew that this game against Portugal was where the tournament really started. The other games were test of concentration rather than a test of ability, heart and desire.
It's difficult to keep flogging a dead horse, and mention the failure to name a credible alternative striker in the squad, but with Deco missing for the Portuguese, could this not have been an occasion to play two up front, and actually try to win a game that was there for the taking?
I partially accept the need to keep things suffocatingly tight at the back, but if you are going to play for penalties, make damn sure that you have at least 5 players in the team that can score them, and for that matter, a keeper that can read them.
The decision to replace Lennon for Carragher, as a penalty taker was almost Ealing comedyesque, and would have had me falling about laughing, had I been Scottish, and had it not been so tragic.
Of course, the mere exit of the team from the tournament is but a sideshow now, with the debate having moved from the general perfomance overall, which player's reputations suffered, Rooney's red card, the future of Cristiano Ronaldo and the England team.
In terms of the performance in the tournament, nobody can really mince words because virtually none of the players grasped the nettle and made names for themselves. When you think about it, only Owen Hargreaves and possibly Joe Cole enhanced their reputations. Put that into the context of what supposed quality was in this squad, the verdict is quite damning.
David Beckham today resigned as England captain, and although it took headlines away from other people, I think his press conference summed up his ability to grab publicity for himself. Did the cult of his personality stop the likes of Gerrard and Lampard taking more responsibilty? I did wonder whether he would retire from International football altogether, but I think he is vain enough to go after Bobby Charlton's and then beyond. He may have also been told by McClaren that he wouldn't be retaining the position. I think he jumped before being pushed. Some say he has made McClaren's job easier, but once he is back fit and playing, the argument whether he should have a starting berth will be a distraction that McClaren could well do without.
Frank Lampard has found out now just how difficult it is to translate his club form on to the International scene. He has issued at statement, saying that people ought to show him more respect. Well Frank, it's the old chestnut, if you think you have achieved everything by breaking into the squad in the first place, be prepared for the backlash. Promise much and many will be watching to see whether that promise is made good, or is false. Welcome to the International microscope!
I did think Steven Gerrard played marginally better than Frank though that wasn't difficult, but he is in danger of being accused of leaving his club form for special occasions. I think fans had every right to expect Steven and Frank to score their penalties.
The Wayne Rooney incident, to my mind, raises so many more questions, and points to other incidents in the history of World Cup football invloving England and its relationships with Hispanic/Portuguese speaking teams.
In my opinion, if Wayne had intended to stamp on Ricardo Carvalho's testicles, the Chelsea player would have needed major surgery. Nothing will convince me that there was ever any intent in the challenge. I also believe that the referee should have given a foul before the incident in Wayne's favour, and saved Carvalho the bother of wriggling like a maggot on a hook. Had he fallen foward and simulated a foul, the irony is that Elizondo would have given him a free kick, but by doing the "right thing" and fighting to keep possession, he was ultimately penalised. The other irony is that top players were to be protected by referees. If Wayne got protection yesterday, it was about as useful as a Gazebo in a gale. On the other hand, we have seen referees take these decisions before, and quite honestly, were any of you surprised at the red card? I wasn't.
The intervention of Cristiano Ronaldo has been questioned since the game ended, and not only by England fans. Steven Gerrard made some unhelpful comments today saying he was "bang out of order". Have an opinion Stevie, but keep it to yourself rather than fan the flames.
Coming back to the history between England and teams such as Portugal and Argentina, the culture of football remains so different, even after all these years, when Sir Alf Ramsey described Rattin's team as animals. Some have even suggested that Havelange's influence in his time at FIFA has allowed the aspects of football which the English find unacceptable, to go unpunished, and tackling of the sort which saw John Terry carded yesterday to be frowned upon by the Elizondo's and Ivanov's of the game.
Much is made of Cristiano Ronaldo's uneasy relationship with the English game, and his situation is mirrored to as similar extent by Reyes at Arsenal. Whatever you think of him as a player, or his conduct yesterday, none in Lisbon, Beunos Aires or Brasilia would have batted an eyelid. But over in England, his return to club football has already threatened to cause the mother of all rows at Old Trafford. At some point, the clash of cultures will have to meet and maske compromises, or drift further apart. Does anybody think that Gabi Heinze would have behaved any differently? Interestingly I heard an interview with an Australian fan, new to football, and obviously shattered at losing the game to a disputed penalty with the last kick of the game. He asked the interviewer whether player cynicism at the top level was prevalent. The answer, of course, that such behaviour was rife among the leading nations. "In that case", he said, "I'm not sure that we want to be part of it".
The future of the England team is unsure too, but from a more worrying angle. Much was made of the fact that these players have come from a Golden Era, but already, it could be argued that some players have been found out and that beyond those the manager put his trust in, there is an underbelly of English under 21's being taken not from Premiership teams, but from the Championship.
Ironically, The Premier League was set up to help the England team. It was proposed that they would benefit from playing fewer games and that the cream of the English game would play for the top clubs. But what happened, the clubs gorged themselves on TV money, and signed foreigner after foreigner. The FA and the Premier League forgot about the England team and wallowed in the cash and the power they got from commercialisation. Clubs, even those at Manchester United, who successfully produced English players from their academy are now turning to foreign youngsters to be their future stars.
Tomorrow, Alan Curbishley will come out of his self-imposed holiday and rant on about how poor Sven was in his job, and how probably Darren Bent should have made the 23. Don't be fooled, Bent was not good enough to go to Germany, neither was Dean Ashton. The striking and goalkeeping departments seem to be the first areas where England are struggling, and if trends continue, it will affect the whole parts of the team.
Sven has been a manager that has underachieved, but he joins a long list that have succeeded Sir Alf Ramsey. For all the criticism, he has managed the team successfully in terms of qualification, something which we had learned not to take for granted after 74, 78 and 94. However, once in the position to take the team forward, having reached three quarter finals, he has shown an inability to take the team into the latter stages. It could be argued that the players weren't as good as they thought they were, but on the evidence of what I believe has been a poor World Cup, even a 10% improvement would have seen the team into the semis, and be with teams that the squad were right not to fear.
The list of failures at International tournaments is growing, with ever more evidence that history is repeating itself. Players rather than coaches will stop the trend, but how long will England have to wait for the right opportunities again? I doubt most of us are holding our collective breath.
Expulsion by penalties was almost inevitable as the weather today in the North West of England. Whilst the majority of England and Wales baked in a heatwave, Manchester had torrential rain, causing flash floods. "Same as it ever was", as David Byrne famously wrote.
I didn't watch the penalty shoot-out or the 2nd half extra time. My eldest daughter, with her commitments to drama of another kind and her social calender prevented me from torture by television. However, it could be argued that having to listen to Alan Green, Graham Taylor and Mike Ingham on the radio was worse.
In the past, heroic failure and a hate figure sated the journalistic appetite. Now the sense of national catastrophe has swept all corners of England, with the likes of Hello magazine, taking the angle from the wives and girlfriends. When you also hear John Piennaar discussing football, you know that football boundaries have been breached beyond a normal fan's tolerance.
I took it upon myself to praise England's control of the game against Ecuador, and put myself in the frame for some flack. I stand by what I said, and England won that game without damage going into the quarter final.
However, I think everybody who watches and can understand football, knew that this game against Portugal was where the tournament really started. The other games were test of concentration rather than a test of ability, heart and desire.
It's difficult to keep flogging a dead horse, and mention the failure to name a credible alternative striker in the squad, but with Deco missing for the Portuguese, could this not have been an occasion to play two up front, and actually try to win a game that was there for the taking?
I partially accept the need to keep things suffocatingly tight at the back, but if you are going to play for penalties, make damn sure that you have at least 5 players in the team that can score them, and for that matter, a keeper that can read them.
The decision to replace Lennon for Carragher, as a penalty taker was almost Ealing comedyesque, and would have had me falling about laughing, had I been Scottish, and had it not been so tragic.
Of course, the mere exit of the team from the tournament is but a sideshow now, with the debate having moved from the general perfomance overall, which player's reputations suffered, Rooney's red card, the future of Cristiano Ronaldo and the England team.
In terms of the performance in the tournament, nobody can really mince words because virtually none of the players grasped the nettle and made names for themselves. When you think about it, only Owen Hargreaves and possibly Joe Cole enhanced their reputations. Put that into the context of what supposed quality was in this squad, the verdict is quite damning.
David Beckham today resigned as England captain, and although it took headlines away from other people, I think his press conference summed up his ability to grab publicity for himself. Did the cult of his personality stop the likes of Gerrard and Lampard taking more responsibilty? I did wonder whether he would retire from International football altogether, but I think he is vain enough to go after Bobby Charlton's and then beyond. He may have also been told by McClaren that he wouldn't be retaining the position. I think he jumped before being pushed. Some say he has made McClaren's job easier, but once he is back fit and playing, the argument whether he should have a starting berth will be a distraction that McClaren could well do without.
Frank Lampard has found out now just how difficult it is to translate his club form on to the International scene. He has issued at statement, saying that people ought to show him more respect. Well Frank, it's the old chestnut, if you think you have achieved everything by breaking into the squad in the first place, be prepared for the backlash. Promise much and many will be watching to see whether that promise is made good, or is false. Welcome to the International microscope!
I did think Steven Gerrard played marginally better than Frank though that wasn't difficult, but he is in danger of being accused of leaving his club form for special occasions. I think fans had every right to expect Steven and Frank to score their penalties.
The Wayne Rooney incident, to my mind, raises so many more questions, and points to other incidents in the history of World Cup football invloving England and its relationships with Hispanic/Portuguese speaking teams.
In my opinion, if Wayne had intended to stamp on Ricardo Carvalho's testicles, the Chelsea player would have needed major surgery. Nothing will convince me that there was ever any intent in the challenge. I also believe that the referee should have given a foul before the incident in Wayne's favour, and saved Carvalho the bother of wriggling like a maggot on a hook. Had he fallen foward and simulated a foul, the irony is that Elizondo would have given him a free kick, but by doing the "right thing" and fighting to keep possession, he was ultimately penalised. The other irony is that top players were to be protected by referees. If Wayne got protection yesterday, it was about as useful as a Gazebo in a gale. On the other hand, we have seen referees take these decisions before, and quite honestly, were any of you surprised at the red card? I wasn't.
The intervention of Cristiano Ronaldo has been questioned since the game ended, and not only by England fans. Steven Gerrard made some unhelpful comments today saying he was "bang out of order". Have an opinion Stevie, but keep it to yourself rather than fan the flames.
Coming back to the history between England and teams such as Portugal and Argentina, the culture of football remains so different, even after all these years, when Sir Alf Ramsey described Rattin's team as animals. Some have even suggested that Havelange's influence in his time at FIFA has allowed the aspects of football which the English find unacceptable, to go unpunished, and tackling of the sort which saw John Terry carded yesterday to be frowned upon by the Elizondo's and Ivanov's of the game.
Much is made of Cristiano Ronaldo's uneasy relationship with the English game, and his situation is mirrored to as similar extent by Reyes at Arsenal. Whatever you think of him as a player, or his conduct yesterday, none in Lisbon, Beunos Aires or Brasilia would have batted an eyelid. But over in England, his return to club football has already threatened to cause the mother of all rows at Old Trafford. At some point, the clash of cultures will have to meet and maske compromises, or drift further apart. Does anybody think that Gabi Heinze would have behaved any differently? Interestingly I heard an interview with an Australian fan, new to football, and obviously shattered at losing the game to a disputed penalty with the last kick of the game. He asked the interviewer whether player cynicism at the top level was prevalent. The answer, of course, that such behaviour was rife among the leading nations. "In that case", he said, "I'm not sure that we want to be part of it".
The future of the England team is unsure too, but from a more worrying angle. Much was made of the fact that these players have come from a Golden Era, but already, it could be argued that some players have been found out and that beyond those the manager put his trust in, there is an underbelly of English under 21's being taken not from Premiership teams, but from the Championship.
Ironically, The Premier League was set up to help the England team. It was proposed that they would benefit from playing fewer games and that the cream of the English game would play for the top clubs. But what happened, the clubs gorged themselves on TV money, and signed foreigner after foreigner. The FA and the Premier League forgot about the England team and wallowed in the cash and the power they got from commercialisation. Clubs, even those at Manchester United, who successfully produced English players from their academy are now turning to foreign youngsters to be their future stars.
Tomorrow, Alan Curbishley will come out of his self-imposed holiday and rant on about how poor Sven was in his job, and how probably Darren Bent should have made the 23. Don't be fooled, Bent was not good enough to go to Germany, neither was Dean Ashton. The striking and goalkeeping departments seem to be the first areas where England are struggling, and if trends continue, it will affect the whole parts of the team.
Sven has been a manager that has underachieved, but he joins a long list that have succeeded Sir Alf Ramsey. For all the criticism, he has managed the team successfully in terms of qualification, something which we had learned not to take for granted after 74, 78 and 94. However, once in the position to take the team forward, having reached three quarter finals, he has shown an inability to take the team into the latter stages. It could be argued that the players weren't as good as they thought they were, but on the evidence of what I believe has been a poor World Cup, even a 10% improvement would have seen the team into the semis, and be with teams that the squad were right not to fear.
The list of failures at International tournaments is growing, with ever more evidence that history is repeating itself. Players rather than coaches will stop the trend, but how long will England have to wait for the right opportunities again? I doubt most of us are holding our collective breath.
