When it first started about a decade back, the England team was set to become the most decorated and successful teams of this generation. Golden generation, they were called. Certainly, with the likes of Terry, Ferdinand, Cole, Gerrard, Lampard, Owen and Rooney, there was an expectant. But tournament after tournament, they have failed to produce the best of their club form. Is it the lack of heart while representing England or are they just not good enough. I had dissected the problems of the so called golden generation in detail just after England so embarrassingly lost in the World Cup. So let’s not dig too deep into it again, shall we? England punched above their weight in Euro 2012 and let’s discuss how.
Roy Hodgson to me is the reason why England performed respectfully in the Euros. After a tumulus time at the helm in Anfield, he had a point to prove and did so with merit at West Bromwich Albion. Pop comes the chance to manage the national team, which surprised and shocked many.
His was a logical choice with Redknapp’s personality looming large over his credentials. With 40 days to go, there isn’t so much that he could do. But he ensured he prepared a team, though boring mostly, was hard to beat. They were prepared to look ugly to get the results they wanted. But a team with a large heart and thin on creativity could only go so much which, when exposed to a master in Andrea Pirlo, succumbed in the quarters. But I will go on a record and say that, they finished as the 5th best team in Europe because, even though they were dominated by Italy, they did not lose the match tamely. The one thing that inspired me was how England played as a team rather than a bunch of individuals which had been their cause for downfall in the past.
Rooney: Brilliant for Manchester United, but under achieving for England. Photo: http://www.moviespad.com
What they lacked in the end was creativity. Of the 5 goals that they scored, the creative part of 3 of them came from Steven Gerrard and 2 from Theo Walcott. For all his inspiration and leading from the front, I think Gerrard has one big problem in his game. He thinks that he had to do almost all the work in the field and at quite a few times ends up on the wrong foot. For example, in the game against Italy, he was constantly running behind Pirlo. If he let Scott Parker do that, then he would have had the time for some creativity. Although I love Gerrard, I think he needs to start trusting his players more.
Wayne Rooney has always been the curious case. Brilliant for Manchester United and below average for England. He had the perfect set up to explode when he finally made it to the starting lineup. But instead of inspiring his mates like how he does for United, he ended up waiting for the chances than grabbing them. What England also missed was a clinical striker of pure instinct like how Michael Owen used to be in his best days. Miss his boyish charm.
For all the respect that Hodgson has gotten from his first two months in charge, he would know that the real work starts from now. Yes, his compact strategy has helped England gain some sort of respectability but if this is how they are going to play, it won’t help them in the long run.
Hodgson has a lot of work to do if he has to make England a world beater. Picture: The Sun
Hodgson has to take the positives from the tournament and look for improvement especially when the injured players come back. He has to instill in those players, the same pride that the current squad seem to have in them in representing the three lions. The likes of Gerrard, Terry, Lampard, Barry and Parker in the twilight of their careers, he would do well to make players like Martin Kelly, Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxalade Chamberlain, Theo Walcott, Andy Carroll, Danny Welback and Daniel Sturridge as regulars. Face it, for all the excitement of the EPL, the emerging English talent has been thin.
They need a comprehensive youth development program to improve their long time prospects. It is in how Hodgson takes the team forward that determines his credentials. And with wealth of experience in coaching international teams, I think he can do that. All answers lie on the 15th of August when the 3 Lions take on the same Azzuries in a friendly.
The CouchExpert 