White Isle Calling -
:x
8)
I can use them too you know action man.
2 years is not enough to build anything without waving a cheque book about. There are no cheque books in international football. If you get a club manager and they spend 100m on players then you expect them to be challenging but international management and football is different. Compensation for Hodgson is peanuts to wait is being out for Capello and Sven as previously stated which could have been spent on grass root football.
Look at Spain, how long did they have to wait before getting to the stage where they are? Look back at France too when they won they had to build prior to that over time. Hodgson. Hodgson does not have much time to build for this tournament but the country and media expects him to still be there or thereabouts and if they fail well it will all be his fault. With the players available I would expect to qualify from the group where possibly Spain or Italy await. Tough one that do you agree but in a one off match who knows. Our group is by no means a certainty either.
You say the squad is not old and quote Gerrard and Lamps. You forget Ferdinand, Terry, Cole, Parker, Barry, plus the likes of Crouch, Defoe, Lescott, Jagielka are in or not far off theirs 30s. We have plenty young players but are they international class? Only time will tell. Some of our current squad I do not think are international class but you work with the tools you have.
Do you see many world class or potentially world class players in the squad for the future? Hart yes maybe. Sturridge yes maybe? Kyle Walker yes maybe, Baines (decent enough)Walcott - nope, not for me, Welbeck? Smalling? Andy Carroll? Frazier Campbell? Ashley Young? Cahill? Adam Johnson (decent player), Can you see any of these setting 2014 world cup alight in Brazil?
This is probably the last tournament of the so called 'golden generation' so there could be a few changes building up to the next tournament. As I said I do not think their is any expectancy (from the FA) to win this or the next tournament but by 2016 (4 years) I would say the current crop of youngsters should be hiting their prime (Rooney will only 30 too) so I think that is aim of the FA hence the four year contract to be ready for them with a view to mounting a serious challenge.
As we both said Hodgson is the best Englishman for the job. Has a wealth of experience from around the world at both club and international level so given time may be able to set some sort of foundations for future generations for English football. Shame the media and rent a quote like Merse and Le Tiss have to spout their bollocks about it rather than getting behind him. Mind you who takes any notice of Merson?
Ok, so what if...
We are knocked out of the Euros at the group stage without registering a single goal, get thrashed by the French, the squad is full of in-fighting and he loses control, then we fail to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, oh, and he selects Paul Konchesky -
(hypothetical, I'm fully aware, but let just say that happens)...
are you honestly telling me
you would continue to support him as manager and willing to give him another major tournament????
If the answer is yes, then congratulations, you are a better, more forgiving, more optimistic man than me.
I am not saying we should axe him after 2 years... and yes, if we do poorly at the Euros, and struggle in the WC qualifiers but still progress, so long as there are signs of promise I'd be all for sticking with him, but anything more than 2 years is just plain crazy. By all means, if he shows promise then extend his deal, let's not presume he will do any better than Sven, McClaren, Capello.
The
'Golden Generation' is a myth of epic proportions, created by our media. The best player our country produced in this so-called golden generation was Paul Scholes by a country mile, and look at how he was shat on by a succession of managers - played out of position on the left, while the under-performing Gerrard & Lampard took centre stage. No wonder he quit international football so early, it was a disgrace how he was treated.
I did actually mention Ferdinand & Terry (from the previous post the excessive
emoticons were used as you clearly hadn't read my last post properly!!!) I believe there is a high possibility that neither will make the plane to Ukraine, I may even argue that they definitely shouldn't. Ferdinand on fitness & performance, does not deserve to go. Terry on attitude and public image does not deserve to go.
At the same time, I can also think of countless arguments as to why you must take at least one, if not both. Both great leaders. Ferdinand will rouse the dressing room, support the younger player. Terry is great on-field leader and will come good in the big games. But if they can't co-exist the squad could potentially be torn in two, so including them both is tantamount to suicide. Then again, who do you leave behind? Choices, choices. Roy has a hard job on his hands just in terms of selection, and he won't please everybody.
All those players you list - all of them are international level... just very few of them are world class. But we just have to accept this. It's about time we realised we are just not as good as we would like to think we are. I predict Hart & Welbeck will definitely be as good as Seaman & Owen for England, will that be enough - I doubt it. Of the others you mention, pfft, they need to show a lot of improvement.
And I agree, Walcott is shoite, and Capello was right to exclude him from South Africa.
