Hi all,
It's time to comment on the team Singaporeans love to watch and bash at the same
time - England.
Tomorrow, they face Israel away. Next Wednesday, they fly to Andorra.
With England lying third in Group E behind Croatia and Russia, these two games will be crucial for Steve McClaren and his men. They need at least second spot to qualify for Euro 2008.
Of course, it looked plain sailing for McClaren after he took over from Sven-Goran
Eriksson following the World Cup quarter-final exit.
But a 2-0 loss away in Croatia and a 0-0 draw at home to Macedonia have hindered
England's qualification plans.
Naturally, logic has it that England will walk over a side like Israel. But then again, England are notorious for underperforming against less reputable sides,
and shining against big guns when you least expect them to.
That's the irony of their famed bulldog spirit.
But back to McClaren. He initially seemed to send a strong signal that he didn't want to be associated with Eriksson's regime style of depending on big-name players
(regardless of form).
That saw him drop David Beckham.
But in his own way, he has still yet to solve England's greater problem in the core of its midfield. That is, how to play Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard together, or to drop one of them.
So far, he's shifted Gerrard out right, and we've seen the resistance at club level at Liverpool, for that argument.
The Postman's Question of the Week: Do you think Steve McClaren has the guts to drop
one of them, for the sake of the team, or will his patience eventually see a world-class adaptation from both players?
This is your last chance to win an ESPN STAR Sports prize package, and also the exclusive 2006 England World Cup jersey autographed by its star players
last year in Germany.
Reply by 3pm on Monday, in not more than 200 words, please (click link right for auto word counter).
Post your views here by clicking on "comments" below my sign-off here, or e-mail to The New Paper's sports desk under the title "Dear Postman" (by clicking the link on the right).
At your service,
Ernest Luis
The Postman
The New Paper
N.B. The Letter of the Week will win an ESPN STAR Sports package of products (which The Postman's assistant Lim Say Heng is posing with in the picture at the top)
The Writer of the Month will win an autographed 2006 World Cup England jersey framed with a certificate of authenticity, signed by all their star players like Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, David Beckham, and even former manager Sven-Goran Eriksson (which I'm holding).
(PS. E-mailers and bloggers, you all should e-mail us your full name, age, occupation, contact numbers and favourite teams, as we need the information if you are selected as prize winners or have your letters published.)
49 comments:
Blessed with a plethora of world-class talents, the current generation was expected to bring glory for a nation with only the 1966 World Cup triumph to show for. As one of the traditional big teams, the English has flattered to deceive and it’s simply unacceptable.
Appointing McClaren was a mistake. As part of the old regime that promised much yet failed to deliver in major competitions, he has not moved England forward as the team is still stuck with the same old problems. McClaren doesn’t know what his best team is and rather than go for balance, is trying to fit his star-players ala Eriksson.
Playing star players does not guarantee success. It’s already been proven Gerrard and Lampard do not complement each other in any formation so why continue? Though Gerrard can do a job wide right, his best position is in the middle. With Hargreaves providing the graft in midfield, either Lampard or Gerrard need to be sacrificed.
As the manager, his moral obligation is to do what’s best for the team, not to keep players happy. However, given the influence players wield nowadays and McClaren’s lack of international pedigree, we should expect England’s stagnant progress to continue.
'And it's no sacrifice
Just a simple word
It's two hearts living
In two separate worlds'
If I were Steve McClaren, I would sacrifice Steven Gerrard. Frank Lampard has the flair to play in the middle of the park more and he can partner Owen Hargreaves or Michael Carrick. Hargreaves and Carrick can play the 'Makelele' role for Frank.
I would let Frank Lampard have a rest and put in Steven Gerrard to the first XI provided...
* The opponent seems easy like Andorra or even some Asian team in an exibition match
* Frank Lampard having an off-day and HAS to be replaced somewhere in the second-half
* Frank Lampard is injured
Steve McClaren needs to have the guts to sacrifice Lampard or Gerrard. Better still, bring back David Beckham on the right midfield. David Beckham is STILL needed for his pin-point crosses and deadly free-kicks.
Name : Qyaerus-Syahrein
Age : 25
Occupation : Future Temasek Polytechnic Student taking a course in Diploma In Mobile And Wireless Computing
Favourite Team : Chelsea
Since the first day in charge of England,McClaren has shown he is not afraid making some eye-catching chops and changes in his team either in formation or the teamlist with Beckham being the main victim.So I won't be surprised if he decided to drop one of the duo between Lampard and Gerrard to accomodate real wingers on the flank rather than seeing Gerrard hogging the right flank.
It is pretty obvious that Lampard and Gerrard can't play together in the middle of the field as they are too similar in their style of play,both doing damages by making strong runs down the middle and threading passes or taking their trademark long range blasters at goal.At club level,Lampard have Makelele and Essien covering his back while he do his job,same goes to Gerrard with his sidekicks Sissoko and Xabi Alonso.However in England where McClaren plays 4-4-2,if Lampard and Gerrard play together in the center midfield role,one has to curb their attack instinct or both have to take turns in their attacking and defensive duties,either way they are just neutralising each other poison to their opponents.
Since thats the case,why not sacrifice one and allow Lennon to move to back to the right and drift in Downing on the left.Sometimes sacrifices have to be made in order to get the right mix and results,if McClaren don't get that any sooner,his England stint could well end much earlier than his ex-boss,some certain Mr Eriksson.
Lampard-Gerrard dilemma is similar to the Lampard-Ballack problem. If Chelsea can solve it, England can do it too. It's a matter of getting the right permutation. Their attacking prowess should not sacrifice for defense. Afterall the best form of defense is attack. McClaren should take a gamble and unleash them playing a high tempo game, taking the game to the opponents. England should play to their strengths and not try to emulate tried and tested tactics of other nations. Since he got the guts to drop Beckhams, he should have the guts to take a risker approach!
To me, the root of England's problem is actually its weak front-line. It is too one dimensional and opposing teams are able to deal with attacking threats quite comfortably. England do not have a Drogba or Eto who is capable of holding the front-line on his own and the current crop of English strikers are often too wasteful in front of goal. Until England unearth a central forward capable of doing that, be prepare to suffer from more heartaches if you're an English fan. To highlight the in-capabilities of England, they have even resorted to calling up a nugget(Nugent). Fries for you?
McClaren needs players who can provide many goal assists or score goals themselves if strikers can't deliever.
Enter Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.
Former has speed and accurate with his crosses plus ability to score decently from direct-kicks.Latter's
excellent timing his runs result in scoring goals.Moreover his ability to get behind defenders and good at scoring goals through direct free-kicks are his other attributes.
McClaren needs Twin Terrors Tag Team to win matches for him and Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard fits nicely as the Dynamic Duo.
From: Chester Low
I think McClaren should call up Craig Linfield from Liverpool Reserve. This boy has been scoring goals...
Maybe Robbie Fowler can be an alternative. He general have a good goal to mins record in Liverpool although he has not played much...
Last option: Bring John Terry to hold the forward line. Big Strong and passionate. I think he will inspire more from the front. He can score goals too! Then Carragher can play in his favorite position at the centre back.
I really can't understand what McClaren is playing at. Right-footed players on the left, two attacking midfielders getting in each others way. It's crazy football.
Israel can smell blood, they'll really fancy their chances on Saturday.
The summer of 2008 will be very dull if we have to sit at home and watch everyone else in the European Championships.
Giving the England job to McClaren was the worst decison since Sir Paul McCartney decided to go and flirt with Heather Mills
With vital points at stake, its not the time to experiment by dropping one of them. The English team has gotten used to playing with both of them for so long that dropping either could have serious repurcussions on the team. Needing precious points, England will need all the firepower that they can muster. Already without players like Crouch and Owen, two of the big scoring midfielders could be crucial to them scoring. These two players are peerless in terms of scoring from midfield. England's predicament could be attributed to Hargreaves's influence who glues the defence and midfield together. With his return, we should see a more fluid display of the Three Lions. You can't really blame McClaren for sticking by both Gerrard and Lampard because if you examine the possible replacements, you can't really find one who is dynamic and controls the game the way these two do with the exception of say, Scholes.
I say, its not a matter of guts on whether to drop them with crucial qualifying points at stake but more of a matter of keeping with the tried and tested. In keeping with the big name players, he will have a greater chance of success. Leave the experimenting to the friendlies.
If there were to be any changes, play Lennon from the start and leave out Downing who is still relatively raw at international level.
Cheers,
kel
Thanks Mr.Iain Macintosh for claiming I was 'barking mad' and 'in need of professional help'.
I got 'professional help' and if you think making over 10 student female nurses fell for me was a profitable plot, I DID!
Watching Albirex Vs Sengkang Punggol (my team) on Channel 5. Half-time Albirex 0 Sengkang 1.
i won't really say that McClaren is a lousy manager because he has actually made some improvements to the team, with one of his major decisons which was to axe beckham. when he did that, i felt that it was just, because seriously, how much have beckham contributed to england's cause? furthermore, there are better players to fill in his role. i also thought that maybe mcClaren was going to make use of more wing play in his games, but i don't see that materialising.
the trouble with the central midfield is that both lampard and gerrard excel in it, but cant seem to complement each other's style of play. both of them are too attack-minded. unless lampard curbs his attacking instinct and let gerrard carry out the attack in midfield, i think it's better if one of them is dropped. in this case for me, it will have to be lampard. why not gerrard? the liverpool hard-man seems to be able to exercise more control over the midfield as he always showcases during his club games. he can act as the leader in midfield, especially if he works in the middle. he is able to do his midfield duties and join in the attack as much as possible without leaving a huge gap in the midfield.
mcClaren must decide how he wants his team to play like. he has to remember that he is the boss and he shouldn't take any egoistic pressure and rubbish from his players. he used to be Sir Alex Ferguson's assistant at Old Trafford. maybe now is the time to pick up some lessons from his mentor on how to be his own manager. the first step? drop a player from his starting slot if he becomes too big-headed. a flying boot in the head won't hurt, either.
Maybe Steve McDonald can start playing Hamburglar and Grimace in the middle of the park. One steals hamburgers, the other eats hamburgers. They complinent each other.
OR...Leonardo, Raphael, Michaelangelo and Donatello can play in a diamond-shaped midfield of England. Oh, I forgot, they come from the sewers of USA.
I woke up early again. :|
how much have beckham contributed to england's cause?
Oh please, Becks was just one of the scapegoats for England's demise at the World Cup and a pawn for McClaren to step out of Eriksson's shadow. If you analyse the goals at the World Cup that England scored, three of them were attributed to the setpiece scored by Becks. In short, while you could argue that he is getting old but i would say, pace was never his greatest asset. With thatright foot of his, he never needed to get past his marker on the right flank. Even Capello admitted his mistake in dropping him after a series of virtuso performances for Real. Haha, as fate would have it, he got injured. If not the real issue testing McClaren's guts would be whether he dared to go the path of Capello by recalling Becks (At least he always maintained the door was open)
unless lampard curbs his attacking instinct and let gerrard carry out the attack in midfield
Why do we need Lamps to curb his attacking instinct when England has Hargreaves back? The main problem is not who to do the attacking and who to do the defending. It is how to fit two central midfielders along with another (Hargreaves. As Benitez has long pointed out that Gerrard does not do that badly on the right flank, he is still a better option than most of England's players there. But if i were McClaren, i would stick Gerrard on the left of England's three midfielders infront of Hargreaves and Lennon on the right with Lamps in the centre, simply because Lennon is more inexperienced and should be given his best position. Gerrard should be able to read the game better and drift in from time to time when he will cause havoc.
Cheers,
kel
Why is kelvin kwek using cfcfan's method to 'discipline' a little girl's words?
I don't think McClaren's problem is in lacking guts, but rather, I think his problem is just that he doesn't have a clue!
But to be fair to him, the England job was always one of the toughest managerial jobs around. Getting all the star names over the country to play together as an efficient team may sound easy, but when every move you make is open to media scrutiny and public criticism, the pressure can be overwhelming.
Take for example, there'll always be criticism whether or not Becks is picked. Similarly, everyone has his or her own idea on what is England’s ideal starting XI and formation.
But as much as I sympathise with McClaren, because he'll never be able to please everyone, I feel that one major flaw of his is that he doesn’t seem to have a clear idea of his own. He strikes me as someone who listens too much to what everyone else is saying, hence we've seen him experimenting with all kinds of formations and players in all sorts of positions. Even when he played Gerrard on the right, I bet he was just copying Benitez the tactical genius, and blindly hoping it’ll work!
England has lots of world class players in midfield.lampard and gerrard are prime examples. they can walk into any world class starting XI.
However, it seems that McClaren does not really know how to use them properly. I think the only way 2 fit them into a team and with both playing in centre midfield would mean playin with a lon striker. But England appears to only be able to play 4-4-2.
if McClaren is unable to decide to field which 1 in the attacking midfieder role, drop both of them and pesuade scholes to come back from retirement.
With both of them playing in the same XI England qualifying chances are lower.
It is also happening in chelsea where lampard n ballack actually favours similar position.
Maybe McCalaren can ask for some tips from Jose Mourinho or even try to hire him as his assistant. !!
1 important thing is that every player should be played inis best position in order to maximise his contribution to his team's cause.
Terence Teo
MUFC fan
England's pathetic draw with Israel sums up McClaren's England managerial reign. It would not surprise me if he is being replaced during the qualifying rounds.
Johnson is really not of international pedigree. I wonder why was Defoe only given a 10min run. Gerrard was also pathetic and often strayed into an already congested central midfield. Too little questions were asked of Israel left flank. P.Neville did make some pretty good runs there. I was kinda surprise when he was replaced by a novice -Micah Richards who was poor in his positioning sense. As predicted, the English front line lacked the cutting edge.
Super disappointed with the overall performance of the team. With 3 points at stake, England lacked ideas, passion and commitment. At this rate, the English players might have a long summer break in 2008, playing PS3, gambling, drinking and watching Euro on Tv. McClaren needs to come out with solutions fast and not be part of the problem. Can the real England please stand up, talk less and show more passion, ideas and commitment on the pitch!
>>Why is kelvin kwek using cfcfan's method to 'discipline' a little girl's words?
Little girls wouldn't know that quoting what others are saying to argue effectively is the basics of forum discussion techniques. And it is easier to get to the point and it is much more polite in the sense that the quoted won't get confused at where he was referred to.
Another dreadful England performance. I think McClaren doesn't know what to do, judging of his selection of a Championship player?! He is just putting players in there and expect something good to come out of it. A bit like my inexperienced self playing Football Manager.
They just lack the creativity and drive to play properly. I'd suggest to drop either Lampard or Gerrard. They're both top quality players, and Lampard is a better player than Gerrard, but Gerrard just seem to perform better in Internationals (bar Euro 2004 when Lampard was exceptional). But then again, what do I know, I'm just a clueless FM player!
So its another dismal performance from England.Mc Claren should be sacked and there are plenty of choices to replace hi.Marcelo Lippi would be the best choice,available after winning the world cup with Italy.
Also,Frank Lampard should be dropped fow a quartest of J.Cole(Dyer when he's still out injured),Gerrad,Hargreaves and Lennon.Lampard shoots so much as if he's a striker and the worst thing is he misses them!Just look at the WC quater final against Portugal,how many chances he squandered?So McClaren & Lampard out or goodbye to England's hopes.
Johnson is really not of international pedigree. I wonder why was Defoe only given a 10min run.To be fair to Jonhnson, the service just wasn't there. With his form in the EPL, it is understandable why he was picked. It is easy to say after a match that he should not be picked, he is not international class etc. But his record season in,season out has just been superb. A little of A.Cole you would feel. But i agreet that Defoe should have entered the fray earlier with Johnson making little headway. Defoe showed good awareness and eye for goal when he came on and was more of a danger than Jonhnson that I feel he deserves to start the next game.
Lennon was good at getting down the left but he needed to cut back to use his right to cross. As a result, crosses weren't effective. I do not know why McClaren persisted with him on the left when M.Jol had once already conducted a failed experiment with him on the left.
With Gerrard already drifting in field, that was perhaps why McClaren sent in the more powerful Richards, hoping that he will make more headways into the Israeli backline.
Questions, questions and more questions. With critics already sharpened their knives, the next few nights till the Andorra game will see McClaren sleepless trying to pick the best side for the Andorra game where nothing less than a convincing result will suffice. Even that, i suspect people will attribute it to Andorra being well, just Andorra.
Cheers,
kel
McClaren should take the brunt of criticisms for England's gutless displays, culminating with the dour draw against Israel.While he continues to blame his players for not producing the results, he has to take a good look at himself on how he manages the resources he has at his disposal.
He is not using the right players to suit the playing systems he employs. Putting right-sided players wide left and persisting with 2 similar central mid-fielders and forcing one of them out right, just to accommodate both, sums up McClaren's reign as England manager.
When things are not working, England lack a plan B. If England is not able to break down a side like Israel, they should have no business being in Euro 08. With the players that England have, they should be dominating the group, instead of languishing at where they are now. Undoubtedly, it falls back on McClaren's management skills.
In a nutshell, McClaren lacks the pedigree, experience and character to bring England forward. The FA should spare the English fans more heartbreak by relieving McClaren of his duties, unless they want to spend the summer of 2008 watching Euro 08 in front of the TV.
Spain 2 Denmark 1
Scorers for Spain : David Villa and Fernado Morientes.Both strikers play for Valencia
Czech Republic 1 Germany 2
Goalkeeper for Czech Republic : Petr Cech who plays for Chelsea
Israel 0 England 0
Frank Lampard of England who plays for Chelsea misses 2 easy chances.
Therefore 1st leg Quarter-Finals of Champions League result is :
Chelsea 0 Valencia 3.
From : Chester Low
When Ballack was bought, people argued that Lampard and Ballack could not play together. Chelsea hasn't done too badly when both of them are playing have they?
Its not a matter of whether Gerrard plays on the right. As Benitez has said before, when Liverpool went on a 10game winning streak, no one squeaked a word. Only when the results suffered, did people pinpoint this area. Its so easy to blame people when things go wrong. Carra did not do too badly on the left and so did Lennon to be fair to both. With A.Cole and Bridge out, you will want your most experienced defenders to keep the game tight. With Carra in the form that he is and taking into account that he has played leftback for Pool before, it was a good move by McClaren. You can't just experiment with the raw Baines at this stage. Friendlies are for experiments. Qualifiers are the real thing.
Actually England players are overrated. We think they are superior because we watch them every weekend. But at the international stage, at home, where Israel hasn't done too badly in recent times, it would be foolhardy to expect England to thrash their opponents. Yes a draw is hard to swallow after how they dominated. But England should regroup and focus on the remaining matches. Stick with the strengths (such as the performances of Lennon/Carra) and work out the weaknesses. Instead of sacking McClaren, they should persist with him because the players have gotten used to him. Having a new manager now could throw all preparations into a disarray. By then, it could be too late for any revival. (remember Charlton and West Ham)
Cheers,
kel
pujangga malam, put on your Adidas t-shirt, your Adidas underwear, your Adidas shorts, your Adidas socks and your Adidas shoes. Get out of your Batcave now 'pal' because q-s is visiting your street soccer court right about...now.
Steve McClaren is good coach,Gerrad and Lampard are wonderful players,both have a good passing range can shoot and much more.I say drop one of them and England would not qualify for Euro 2008.McClaren could drop them only if they are not playing well.They are playing well for thier respective clubs and you cant put all of the blame on the both of them.What about in defence?Both Lampard and Gerrad are experienced and if they cant co-operate,move Gerrad to the right mid-field role where he has been shining in at Liverpool.McClaren knows when to drop players but he must leave that to the last resort if he could rotate them.
Present England gaffer Steve McClaren must have felt that he has the toughest job in the world after being lambasted for yet another disappointing showing against Israel in Tel Aviv.
The proud Three Lions are in jeopardy of missing out on Euro 2008 altogether if they do not pull up their socks in time. Coupled with a particularly demanding group including the likes of Croatia, Russia and the Israelis who were unbeaten in the World Cup 2006 qualifying campaign, England cannot afford to falter any more.
The midfield conundrum of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard is clearly one of the pressing issues that McClaren must address in order to appease the long-suffering fans. 41 years and counting of pain are threatening to boil over as England’s dour and lacklustre performances are nothing what you would expect of a world-class international side with the quality at its disposal.
Since Sven Goran-Eriksson’s reign, this ineffective pairing in the engine room has never truly reaped dividends and truth be told, the dynamic force of Gerrard is being suppressed in order to allow Lampard free reins to roam further up front.
Choosing to place the Liverpool captain on the right flank will always be a waste of his immense talents and McClaren must quickly come to a decision to either drop either of them or make radical formation changes to further accommodate the duo built in similar moulds.
Quite clearly England team is still packed with star players but can they jell as a team? Lampard and Gerrard are really in the same mold. As a result, Lampard moved more frequently into attack. McClaren symbolically removed David Beckham as a sign of departure from Sven Eriksson reign but he has not change in substance at all. He still relies on star players.
Enlgand team was hardly able to impose their technical superiority over Israel as there is no a coherent strategy by McClaren against a defence minded Israel. In comparison, Phil Scolari has turned Portugal into a flowing attacking team with 2 gifted wingers, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ricardo Quaresmo. In contrast, Aaron Lennon is works in progress and he is hardly on the level of Ronaldo. In the game against Belgium, Ronaldo and Quaresmo switched from right to left at will and caused Belgium a lot of grief. Infact 3 goals were scored by the wingers with the 4th goal also supplied by Ronaldo. Owen Hargreaves sent many balls astray. Yet McClaren did stop the rot. After a scoreless first half, it is a foregone conclusion that the game will end with a scoreless draw.
Samuel Ng, 51
Finance manager
Liverpool fan
sorry, once sentence is wrong" Yet McClaren did not stop the rot. "
>>Therefore 1st leg Quarter-Finals of Champions League result is :
Chelsea 0 Valencia 3.
Or it could be Chelsea 3 Valencia 0. You wouldn't know, would you? Maybe the fact that we have not lost in at Stamford Bridge for more than a year is an important stat to consider. How many games has it been since Man Utd lost at home? Ooh, not too long ago. I can count them with my fingers. And maybe toes.
Failing to win in Israel have all guns zeroing on McClaren and axes sharpened ready to chop his giggy head and served on a silver plate.
Even when his team struggled to get that precious goal last night, he still persisted with Gerrard on the right and only sending in Downing for Lennon late in the match. Lampard's form for Chelsea for past few seasons have been nothing short of consistency and extrodinary with his goals and assists but when he wears that famous 3 lions jersey,the same could not be said as he tend to fail to deliver when the team needed him. When that happened,McClaren still leaves him on hoping he could find that Chelsea's form in a moment of magic.Changes should be made earlier like shifting Gerrard back in,Lennon on right and Downing on left.Disappointingly he didn't.
Next,the problems are not only revolved around Gerrard and Lampard.McClaren should also play players in their usual positions but he opt to field players like Carragher and P.Neville as fullbacks.Everyone knows their main bowl and rice is in center defence and the dirty midfield role even though they are widely known utility players.He could have play Barry and Micah even though they are unknown in international football but if he think they are not good enough,he shouldn't call them up in the first place.Disappointing call by him again.
Disappointing is the word to sum it all for England.
I met pujangga malam in real life. We played in the same team. He scored some, I scored some, we won.
England played a complex 4-4-2.
4 defenders - Carragher, Terry, Ferdinand, P.Neville. I feel Carragher has not been playing in left-back for a long time but then again maybe P.Neville should play left and Carragher right.
4 midfielders - Lennon, Lampard, Hargreaves, Gerrard. Steven Gerrard CANNOT play in right-midfield. That's why I say bring back the majestic David Beckham.
2 strikers - Rooney and Johnson. Both of them have no understanding. Believe me, pujangga malam and q-s had better understanding last Sunday afternoon.
Back to my street soccer court near Hougang Point tomorrow. Take bus number 112 two stops after Hougang Point if you dare. Look right :)
With the critics sharpening their knives before these 2 qualifiers, I felt that Becks would have gotten a recall such was his form for Real. Alas, as fate would have it, he got injured. Yes, i guess only Lennon/Becks should replace Gerrard on the right. Simply because there's no others. Maybe Dyer could be an alternative in the future if he keeps himself fit.
Cheers,
kel
England's gutless performances mirrors its gutless manager.
I think sacking an International manager shouldn't be a problem, considering the fixture of games are months in between. It gives the FA and the new manager time to regroup and resolve what needs to be done to make England a team that it should be.
It's clear the players are not responding under McClaren's direction so something has to give. While Andorra shouldn't be a problem for England, it's against the more technical teams that England constantly gets unstuck.
To put one over such opponents, England need a big manager with great pedigree and loads of experience. McClaren, however, has neither.
McClaren seems to be uncannily adopting Eriksson's coaching style. Sure, he dropped Beckham when his reign began, but since then, he's gotten soft, just like Eriksson, who never dropped underperforming stars. McClaren tries to be nice to his "galacticos", rather than benching them - perhaps to gain their co-operation and avoid a backlash with the "galacticos" (and also with the ever-critical media).
McClaren won't have the guts to further drop star players. In fact, he doesn't even know how to bring about the best potential in his players. During England's match against Israel, Lampard and Gerrard both played, but they seemed to be getting into each other's way. As a result, England had few chances to score, because few crosses from the wings were coming in.
I think McClaren should bench Lampard, using Gerrard as the midfield-general. The Liverpool club captain is far more influential in this role and will play better than on the wings. Deploying Gerrard as a winger is more like putting a square peg into a round hole. And since Gerrard has a similar playing style, but more influential than Lampard, the Chelsea man, should go, but McClaren just doesn’t have the guts to drop Lampard.
I think it is time for McClaren to drop either Lampard or Gerrard. From the looks of things from the Israel game, Lampard should be the one dropped.
At club level, there is no denying the fact that he is a world-class player, having already past the 20-goal mark this season, as a midfielder. However, he has been underperforming on the international stage. He had the most shots at last year’s World Cup, and amazing failed to even register a goal. He had decent chances in the game against Israel but wasted them all.
McClaren has already shown that he is not afraid to drop the big names, the dropping of former team captain Beckham is proof of that. McClaren may want more time to figure out how to accommodate both Lampard and Gerrard, but I am afraid there is not much time left for him to experience. They may be just 3 points behind Russia but from their recent performances so far, you won’t bet the house on them winning all their remaining games.
The game against Andorra provides the best chance for him to bring Gerrard back to the middle, and Lampard on the bench.
-Raymond Ng, 19. Student, Man U fan
To be fair to McClaren, he was never the first choice. The transition from a club manager to a national team manager is definitely a big step forward. It's never easy being the England manager with the media was ready to pounce on any poor results. At Middlesbrough, he had little managerial success to boost about and is consider a novice tactically. The last England manager who was in similar predicament was Kevin Keegan and we all knew what happened to him - he resigned and apologized to the fans, acknowledging that he was not good enough internationally.
In his first few matches as the England manager, the players made the McClaren looked good. But when the going gets tough, the same 'blank Eriksson look' could be found on his face. He simply do not know how to respond and only made changes in the last 10-15min. That is simply not enough at international level.
The English fans are one of the most unforgiving bunch around. If the qualifying campaign do not take a 180degrees turn, we might even have a new England manager sooner than perceived. A draw or worse still, a loss to Andorra might be the cue to end McClaren's reign. Any managers interested in taking over?
Another possible solution is to put Joe Cole on the right midfield. He is good with crosses and has excellent playmaking abilities. I think he will be the better solution to Beckham.
cfcfan, I'm a big fan of Joe Cole, dude. Problem is, he's out for the rest of the season last I heard.
If Steve McClaren still wants to put the BBR (boy-boy relationship) of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard in the middle of the pitch, maybe he should put Shaun Wright-Phillips on the right. SWP is still a decent winger.
kelvin kwek mentioned about Kieron Dyer being on the right-midfield. Given a choice between Kieron Dyer and Shaun Wright-Phillips, which you prefer? Tomato Sauce or Chilli Sauce. James Bond : 'Do I look like I care?'
KC (chimera92@hotmail.com)
I recon Mclaren will be sacked soon if he doesn't produce results soon thus he would have to take drastic measures such as getting his midfield combination right and starting with strikers who actually put the ball at the back of the net. The pairing of gerrard and lampard does not work and strikers like rooney, defoe, AJ, crouch are not scoring. I hope beckham is recalled into the squad as his free kicks and crosses often results in goals. Owen heagreaves in as a defensive mid, gerrard in the centre, beckham on the right and joe cole on the left, england strikers are not scoring too and rooney should be dropped should he not score as we all know that english youngsters tend to have too much hype and little justified performance. Rooney maybe the cause of england's failure such as raul is to spain. Great players in their day but not consistent enough to produce the form on the international stage
Sure steve McClaren as the manager of the England squad has both the authority and guts to drops either or both of them. but is whether he wants to a not.If he can drop Beckham,with my upmost approval, he can drop anyone.It takes enough guts to be England's manager and the decisions that he make for the team would prove for better or worse.
However i feel that he would use the wait and see tatic. Maneovuring gerrad and Lampard , both top class players would adapt to each other as both can read their games well and made much contributions to earn the tittle and respect of being captains.
BUT, if McClaren would have no choice but to drop one, it would be natural for him to drop Gerrad.
As Lampard shows more maturity in handling stressful situations.
still not all is lost for Gerrad,if the can prove himself in upcoming matches as quoted from McClaren he goes with the skill and credit that the player gives the team ,anyway that's the reaspn the droppped beckham.
Yeah..games are spaced out and the team can regroup. But will a good manager given his reputation be willing to step in to save this sinking ship? In addition with little or no friendlies to experiment? I doubt so. If a new manager comes in, the time getting to know the players again will make a difference. Plus there will not be many games to test which would be his first XI. True his stock will rise if he manages to negotiate his way out. But to risk his CV being smudged of not leading a team to the Euros, i think this is indeed a big risk. The media and fans only remember the result, and not who was in charge earlier.
Anyway, even if McClaren gets sacked, they will probably put in Venables who's acting as advisor so what difference would it make.
McClaren dropped Beckham only to send a clear signal that he is in charge (& will be in nobody’s shadow). Other than that, he got no guts to remove any of his star players.
One factor (that McClaren or even Sven) why both of them is still playing together is because there isn’t a clear indication who’s better even though they don’t gel together. For the World Cup ‘06, both underperformed. Lampard, with his incredulous number of goal attempts, didn’t managed to score any. Gerrard, on the other hand, was not confident & it showed through his facial expression just before he took the penalty in the shootout with the Portuguese (which he missed in the end).
McClaren has to drop one of them. A Dutch coach (I forgot who) once had many talented strikers (Ruud, Makaay,Kluivert,etc) at his disposal. However, he still went for a 4-5-1 formation, opting to play one striker only. That’s the decisiveness that is lacking from English coaches. They are afraid to axe the underperforming or to give sufficient opportunities to the untested.
I agree. Let's drop Rooney then. He has been atrocious in international matches. Utterly useless, I've not seen a striker worse than him in internationals. Play Crouch.
When Joe Cole gets back, play him in right midfield. Gerrard was good at RB position. Lampard gets the AM role. I think everyone should stop harping on his World Cup performance. Everyone in the England team bar A.Cole, Hargreaves and Joe Cole was horrible and shameful. Also, Lampard was top scorer for England's qualifying rounds, that should count for something.
Also, an interesting note, Jose didn't think Gerrard and Lampard in the midfield could not work. Why would he try to buy Gerrard twice??
John Terry. Ashley Cole. Wayne Bridge. Frank Lampard. Joe Cole. Shaun Wright-Phillips. 6 of the Chelsea England Internationals.
My perfect quartet of England Internationals will be Joe Cole on the left. Frank Lampard and Michael Carrick in the middle and David Beckham on the right.
Ashley Cole deserves to get the left-back role.
John Terry is the captain of England for the Queen's sake.
Wayne Bridge is the perfect substitute for Ashley Cole club or country.
And Shaun Wright-Phillips must play in right-mid if Steve McClaren has no GUTS in recalling David Beckham.
As for Liverpool's Steven Gerrard, when all plans go awry, he can play as a substitute anywhere in midfield as last throw of the dice.
Why don't change the formation to 4-1-2-2-1 here it is:
Robinson
Neville Terry Ferdinand A.Cole
Hargreaves
Lennon Gearrad J.Cole
Lampard
Owen/Rooney
As you can see this formation is rather attacking than defending as Gerrard and Lampard will bomb forward to help the strikers hope McClaren read this.=]
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