England out

Well another tournament over for England and yet again they were exposed as what they are: a thoroughly average side leagues below the best. I say the best, Italy were not exactly amazing but they dominated possession and chances to a frankly embarrassing level. I've said it before and I'll say it again, this will happen every time until grassroots training changes and that will take time. Germany fell apart towards the end of the 90's with a dramatic world cup exit to Croatia, an awful euro 2000 and of course a certain 5-1 humbling to England a year later. They sorted it out and over time they've developed into arguably the tournament favourites.

England deserve some credit for their graft in the tournament. They worked hard and battled for their lives and fair play to them it's the first time that's been obvious in years. But the truth is, as I said in my last blog, the expectation just because they didn't do quite as badly in an average group as expected was just daft. England cannot keep the ball and haven't been able to for years. Technically and tactically they are hopeless. I would never have chosen Roy Hodgson - England played like Roy Hodgson they were dull and hopelessly limited if hard working and well organised. To be fair, I don't know that a better manager would have done better. England are so poor that a Hodgson approach was probably the only option.

Hope for the future? I'm sorry I can't see where from. Gerrard was England's best player and he's 32 and has probably had his last competition. The fact is they battled their way through to a quarter final not looking convincing and were murdered by a superior team. They played outdated tactics with a one dimensional manager because that's all they were capable of. I don't think Hodgson got all his picks right - Crouch, Richards and Adam Johnson should definitely have been in and there was no need for the frankly risible Stewart Downing or a need to persist with Ashley Young who deserved his place in the squad on the back of his club form but was atrocious in the euros. And Wayne Rooney. Why is it he has to be picked? He had a good tournament in euro 2004. Not a lot since and England looked far better balanced with Carroll and Wellbeck up front. But these are just nit picks - the truth is England would have gone out at this stage no matter what because they're just not very good.

Ratings v Italy:

Hart - 8
Did very well against an onslaught.
Johnson - 7
Battled hard and almost found a way through.
Cole - 6
A truly awful penalty in the shootout but didn't do too badly in the game.
Terry - 7
Worked hard against an onslaught.
Lescott - 6
Like Terry.
Milner - 6
Grafts hard but offers little in creativity terms.
Young - 5
A terrible performance in an awful tournament.
Parker - 7
As ever plenty of hard work.
Gerrard - 6
His quietest game of the tournament, in the shadow of Pirlo.
Welbeck - 5
Isolated and not yet up to this standard, but a decent euros.
Rooney - 5
Frankly terrible.

Subs:

Carroll - 6
Offered more than the other strikers but not a lot.
Walcott - 6
Unable to get into the game.
Henderson - 6
Did nothing wrong but under the cosh.

Sweden and Ukraine games

Apologies for the delay to this blog entry, I had issues with logging in which have now been resolved.

Well everyone's getting very excited about England's performances. I would ask for a bit of perspective - the draw against France as I blogged was commendable, but beating Sweden and Ukraine is hardly the work of world beaters. Still, there's no question that Roy Hodgson's teams are usually boring as hell and hard to beat and so it proved in the mind numbing dullness that was the Ukraine game. The Sweden game was exciting and the fact that England came from behind was encouraging but there should be concerns about the sloppiness of the Swedish goals from a defensive point of view, unusual for a Hodgson team. Encourgaingly Terry seems to have rediscovered his old form and stayed out of trouble thus far, Walcott turned in an unlikely match winning cameo and Steven Gerrard has been superb finally free from the shackles of playing with Lampard in every tournament, and whatever Lampard's merits as a player, we all know they never worked together. Parker has been an excellent all action defensive midfielder allowing Gerrard the freedom to do his creative stuff. The other question is Rooney - I'd love to see a manager brave enough to leave him out. There's no denying his talent but Carroll and Wellbeck both scored and worked well in Hodgson's not very attractive football. Do England need Rooney? I felt they gelled far less well against Ukraine but who knows?

Anyway here's what I made of it v Sweden:

Hart - 6
Not as convincing as normal but solid for the most part.
Johnson - 6
Sloppy defensively (makes a change...) but good going forward.
Cole - 7
Good.
Terry - 7
Poor on the goals but otherwise solid
Lescott - 7
As with Terry.
Milner - 7
Hard work as ever.
Young - 6
Rather anonymous in the tournament so far and this was more of the same.
Parker - 8
Endless graft as ever.
Gerrard - 8
His best displays in an England shirt this tournament.
Wellbeck - 8
Very classy goal and tireless.
Carroll - 7
Great header for the goal and worked hard, especially for him.

Subs:
Walcott - 9
Never been his greatest fan but that was a match winning cameo.
Oxlade - 6
No time.

v Ukraine

Hart - 7
Played well.
Johnson - 7
Good going forward...you know the rest.
Cole - 7
Love him or loathe him, he's a good player.
Terry - 7
Solid enough.
Lescott - 6
Solid.
Milner - 6
Offered little in terms of creativity.
Young - 5
Again virtually anonymous.
Parker - 7
All action hard work.
Gerrard - 8
Excellent again.
Wellbeck - 6
Saw little of the ball.
Rooney - 6
Scored but did little else.

Subs:
Walcott - 6
Not much this time round.
Carroll - 6
Not much time.
Oxlade - 6
No time.

England 1-1 France

Finally, a performance by England that showed heart and graft. Was it exciting? No, not very. But as I have said many times England are not a great side and I felt it was a good result against a very good side that was well worked for. It doesn't alter the fact that England are going to seriously struggle to ever win a tournament and I strongly suspect that similar performances against Sweden and Ukraine are not going to go down well because they are not top sides. But that's what you get with Roy Hodgson, it's not going to be pretty and he ALWAYS plays the same way but that is undeniably quite effective against superior sides but underwhelming against worse. Anyway this blog is about this game and I salute a hard working performance. On the debit side, besides Milner's golden chance there was little in the way of goalmouth activity and the goal came from a set piece.

Ratings:

Hart - 7
Unusual error for the goal but overall a typically commanding display.
Johnson - 6
Full of running and defensively not as bad as normal but if anything lacked a bit of his usual creativity going forward.
Cole - 8
Great performance.
Lescott - 8
Terrific header for the goal and defended well.
Terry - 7
Looked solid.
Milner - 7
Tireless but missed a good chance and created relatively little.
Oxlade-Chamberlain - 6
Worked hard and handled well but looked a little short of ideas at times.
Parker - 8
Typically combative and hard working.
Gerrard - 7
Again worked very hard and did what was asked to do.
Welbeck - 7
A lot of running in a hard role.
Young - 5
I thought poor and anonymous.

Subs:
Defoe - 6
Looked lively.
Henderson - 6
Really?
Walcott - 6
Too late for any impact.

Rodgers for Liverpool

So just when we all thought it would be Martinez...it's not. As you know, Kenny going would not have been my choice but what do I think of our new appointment? It's a gamble, no doubt about that. Firstly, I have to say I thought Swansea were an absolute joy to watch and an asset to the Premiership last season. Their football was wonderful and hardly with a crop of great players either. I think a bit of a myth is developing that positive football = good manager. That's not the case, and it's difficult to tell whether Rodgers can handle a higher expectation club because he's never managed one. Therein lies the gamble. Like Dalglish, he believes in positive play and it's encouraging that he achieved that from relatively modest players. He also seems like a man with discipline and could well be a shrewd choice. Time will tell.

England Squad

It's not exactly the squad I would go for. To be fair to Hodgson though, it's very easy to go well the squad's a bit thin in central midfield or up front (which it is) but then you try and think who should be in instead and the options are so limited it's tough to say. I was pleased to see Oxlade-Chamberlain in I think he could give the team a real drive and energy and creativity, far more in fact than the limited Theo Walcott and the even more limited Stewart Downing. The latter would not have made my squad, I'd have definitely gone for Adam Johnson whose only fault at club level is his attitude but has far more to offer on the pitch. Courtesy of Glen Johnson's defensive liability I feel very sorry for the mysteriously overlooked Micah Richards as well.

Anyway here's what I reckon player by player:

Goalkeepers

Joe Hart
The only choice between the sticks. If he's injured we really are screwed.

Rob Green
One example of why we're screwed if Hart's out.

Jack Butland
Who?

Defenders

Leighton Baines
An excellent and solid left back and good backup to Cole.

Gary Cahill
Growing in stature, would make my starting eleven but has an error or two in him.

Ashley Cole
We all hate him but we all know he is one of very few truly world class English players. A no brainer, in more ways than one...

Glen Johnson
Defensively a nightmare but does offer a lot going forward.

Phil Jones
An outstanding prospect and may find himself in midfield. Would be in my squad.

Joleon Lescott
Never been quite the same since leaving Everton but amongst limited options would probably make my squad as well.

John Terry
Out of form, over the hill...and a cock. Wouldn't have picked him.

Phil Jagielka
Solid and unspectacular but plays it safe. A good choice.

Midfielders

Stewart Downing
A lousy choice. A poor season where he was exposed as not Liverpool class let alone international class.

Steven Gerrard
Not his old self but used well and finally away from Lampard, he might just excel and give us something to remember.

Jordan Henderson
A poor season and a poor choice for the squad.

James Milner
Industrious but hardly a world beater. I would have picked him because you'll always get 200%.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Glad to see him in. Could come on and give a bit of unexpected pace and creativity.

Scott Parker
An awesome season but doubts remain over his fitness. Hope to god he's ok.

Theo Walcott
Never been a fan. Undeniably quick but not a lot else.

Ashley Young
On current form, a must pick.

Strikers

Andy Carroll
A surprising burst of form towards the end of the season meant he scraped a place, but I'm not expecting a lot.

Danny Welbeck
Ok but I remain unconvinced of his ability to reach the top level.

Jermain Defoe
A decent finish on him and I would have picked him but again I'm not expecting much.

Wayne Rooney
No doubt he'll get sent off when he does finally play.