England National Football Team

So just who is to blame for the apparent demise of English football? Are there enough young players coming through? Has the influx of foreigners been detrimental to the national side? This discussion will give my two cents on the matter....... What do we expect? Firstly, what are we looking for in a player and what do we want from them? Putting an academy system in place at a football club doesn't instantly create great players. Those who have the awesome natural ability are often there and don't need 'producing' out of a system. The ones just below this rung, the ones that need their skills honing slightly to achieve the top level are what ...

THE RANT BEGINS And so - for the first time in over a decade, England fail to quality for a major championship. Steve McClaren's epitaph has been in some quarters "worse that Graham Taylor". What a legacy; does he not like that, I am certain. As McClown (as he will be henceforth known) presided over the gradual disintegration of a half decent team previous incumbent Sven Goran Ericsson managed to get at least sporadic performances from (and a qualification record that looks positively gleaming with hindsight), we were all left to ponder: * Why can't England produce decent goalkeepers anymore? * Why couldn't Lampard and Gerrard gel ...

Once you have won the most coveted trophy in football, though it be many many moons ago, there is a sudden rise in national pride, an insurgence of belief that is hard to curtail. Since 1966 we have seldom had a chance to breathe, almost every breath is accompanied by some obnoxious prat praising the England team and living of past glories, it's time to get real. There might still be indeed some real quality players in the green and pleasant pastures of the English country side, and they may indeed be World Class , but bringing them together as a rabble of stars eager to fill their own coffers and create themselves an even greater star status isn't ...