Why all this fuss abahrt McClaren.

First rule of football management, be Lucky. I think he's doing a reasonable job saying the press and the fans are always stabbing him in the back. He has so few players to choose from that the team virtually picks it self. You can't blame McClaran for the lack of players in Engand who simple arn't good enough for International football.
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IMHO since England got lucky in 1966 we have had a succession of poor teams and not very lucky managers. 1970 excepted.</p>

Well some managers like the peoples chioce Keegan, Taylor and Revie were just *****. The fans knock the FA for it's choice of manager and when they did as the fans wanted we got Keegan. Great choice that was and we still call the FA.
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The decline set in after 1970 when the team we sent to Mexico lost to Germany. Our 1970 side was marginally better than the Glory Boys of 66.</p>

What has happened since then. Well football isn't played by kids every spare minute like it was in the 50s and 60s. Me and my mates would go miles just to have a kick about with kids from other estates. 30 a side jerseys for goals . At School we played at play time , dinner time and after School until it got dark. A lot of kids don't get out of the garden now. Kids have problems now finding a bit o grass to practice their skills on. A kid in Africa or South America won't be sat on their arse playing with their play station. They will be out there getting the hours in. I have never heard any top player who became World Class saying they only played footy for a few hours each week.
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The experts tell us it takes 10000 hours of the right kind of practice for anyone to reach the highest levels in sport. If a lad or a lass played 3 hours a week it would take over 60 years to get that much practice time in. Kids have too much money today and too many none sporting distractions. Parents should be encouraging kids to play sport as much as possible. We are all to blame indirectly for the state of the game. Kids need Balls not computers.</p>

Rant over.</p>

(casualty) </p>

 

I don't blame McClaren as much as I would blame the players.

When the players step onto the pitch, it is up to them to perform to the highest standards possible,

They haven't performed, it's as simple as that.
Believed their own hype? - Yes I think so.
Let us all down? - Most definitely.

 

I'll give you that one JC.

If you look at where players come from nowadays then they are polarised to certain areas. Poverty is the only way out for English soccer!</p>

P.S. It's to practise not to practice.</p>

 

The players are a product of our National Game. For too long we have thought as the founding Fathers that we are the best in the World. </p>

We are not. Until we get more poverty in this Country we will never get a World beating team. Too much money lets kids do other things. </p>

Ban the teaching of geography, RE, English Lit, and History in Schools. Teach English, Mathematics, and Science in the mornings and let the rest of the School Day be taken up with sport. I bet kids would want to go to School then. The academic non-sporting kids could then be left to learn the subjects they will never use in there life.</p>

(casualty) </p>

 

RE: I'll give you that one JC.

I wouldn't want kids to be as poor as we were in the 1950s but we must find a way to get kids spending more time doing in sport.</p>

A kid with a full belly will not have the same motivation as a kid in a shanty town in Brazil will to play the game.
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That's right

We need to be poverty stricken - like, er, Italy?

The rest of your comments make you a perfect philistine.

 

RE: That's right

All the Italian team are street urchins from the South!

 

It's about attitude. Unfortunately we are living in a I want it now society. Look at the clamour from kids who couldn't hold a tune in a bucket who want to be popstars. It's programmes like X Factor and Big Brother which have said to people that fame is the be all and end all. This is why we produce so few premiership players in this country because it takes hard work and the ethos today is I want it now.

All this talk about quotas for foreign players is a smokescreen to hide the fact that many mediocre players have been pinching a very good living simply because they are English and a lot are quickly moving down the divisions.

I think we are still suffering from the Graham Taylor/Howard Wilkinson school of coaching from the 80/90's where the emphasis on skill was taken out of English coaching.

 

RE: That's right

No they are not.

 

Here here! down with the playstation generation!!

(raiseaglass)

 

Don't forget Germany

Utter poverty there!

 

That post really started to unravel at the 'lack of players in England who simply aren't good enough for international football' part. Because Croatia is clearly filled with international talent isn't it?

Slaven Bilic really hit the nail full on the head in his interview yesterday morning on football focus. The Premiership industry is too valuable now to prioritise international football in this country. There is a billion pound industry hyping top flight football. Too many people have too many significant investments to clear enough time in the domestic calendar to allow the international side to train together regularly enough, keep the players free of injuries, and allow the national team to play enough friendly games against other international sides. I don't like Steve McClaren, but he really is being asked for the impossible - he needs at least twice as much time to bring the team together as a unit, he needs to be able to rely on the fact that his key players will be available for him at the important times, and he needs to cut his teeth on games which don't matter - then we'll be ready to qualify for a major tournament and maybe win one.

It has nothing to do with with playstations or domestic poverty and anyone who wants to put the blame on that really is clutching at straws.

 

I know what you are saying is correct - but..

..isn't it the same for all international managers? International football is destined to be increasingly less important than football in the major leagues.

 

It is not a case of him being lucky

- it's the case that Russia weren't good enough to beat Israel simple as that.

 

A couple of things I heard last week regards England and Scotland.

A reduction in TV money to the Scottish league has meant a reduction in the number of foreign players into the league, just a few years ago hardly any of the Scottish national side were playing for Celtic or Rangers, now there are more in those 2 clubs which means they are benefitting from regular Champions League football...this has helped the national team.

The top 2 nations last season by number of players in the Champions League.....and this surprised me - Brazil and Argentina!
England were down in about 12th or 13th in the list. So it may well be that our clubs do well in Europe but that is, by and large, without home grown players.

 

RE: I know what you are saying is correct - but..

...it's not really the same for all international managers - particularly those of smaller nations who don't have well developed domestic leagues (ironically). The managers of the smaller nations get the backing of their F.A.s to focus on their national game, and they are happy to disregard their domestic calendar. I would agree that, technically, the managers of countries with well developed domestic leagues (us, Italy, Spain, Germany etc) will have the same pressures - but we really do promote the Premier League and our domestic calendar more than those other leagues F.A.s do. We have more domestic cup competitions, more European participation, and longer league seasons than most but more than that we play far fewer friendlies with our national side. Every single side appearing at the last world cup played more friendly matches than us in preparation for the season prior to the tournament. We just turned up, injuries and all, and just hoped for the best.

If we want to do something as an international side we need to withdraw all premier league sides or England squad members from the league cup, F.A. Cup, Champions League, and UEFA Cup, and spend that time working in camp with the England coaches, playing friendlies and focusing on the objective of winning the world cup. Not going to happen though, because the cost of doing this would be millions of pounds to various clubs.