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 They played outdated tactics with a one dimensional manager because that's all they were capable of.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.

Kenny's Gone

Well the review of the Premiership season will have to wait after the news today that Kenny Dalglish's second spell as Liverpool manager is at an end. I have to confess I'm extremely disappointed with the news. This season was remarkably odd and the league campaign was undeniably a disappointment with a quite dreadful second half, but I can't see how a manager who has won a cup and reached the final of another deserves to go and isn't onto something good. Kenny's king status is not even that relevant for me, I honestly think to sack a manager with that record over a season is harsh in the extreme.

Then we come to those mitigating factors in the league. Over 38 games, if you finish 8th you have to say you deserve to finish 8th. But the amount of times we hit the woodwork was truly astronomical, way way above the nearest side (the title winners) and the amount of missed penalties was also in double figures. I also think there were a great many games, particularly in the first half of the season, where Liverpool totally dominated and unlike in many of Benitez's games they created a lot of clear chances. I'm not making excuses, you have to take your chances, I'm just saying it wasn't a total right off in terms of performance.

So what did go wrong? Three words spring to mind - Henderson, Downing and Carroll. £75 million on those players was quite simply a joke. Henderson appears utterly incapable of being a top class player and was an outrageous gamble for someone who had, at best, shown some promise in half a season for Sunderland. Downing has proved what surely everybody always knew, he just hasn't got that extra quality to make him a top player and in his late twenties does not even have youth on side. As for Carroll, I've been his biggest critic all season and I remain unconvinced he will really come good in the long run but to give him his due, he was superb in two recent games against Chelsea to the point where I wondered for a second. But £35 million was truly bizarre for such an unproven player.

And one has to say the amount of goals scored, chances squandered and home wins was simply not good enough. There was no question the league campaign was disappointing and dreadful in the second half of the season and one could argue that Kenny signed the bulk of the players and bar Suarez, Enrique and Bellamy most were disappointments. I remain dubious that Kenny was the sole reason for the signings and suspect Comolli played his part, particularly in terms of the huge fees for which he has something of a track record from his time at Spurs.

But he has gone, so who replaces him? Martinez has been mentioned as have Lambert and Rodgers. I worry that they would have a similar problem to Hodgson and not be so suited to a big, high pressure role but I guess you don't know til you try and to be fair to all three, the football played their sides this season has been an asset to the league. But for today, let's just pay tribute to King Kenny. The man was arguably the club's greatest ever player, a wonderful manager first time around and you know what the second time around he won us a trophy and rescued a season from real utter disaster. I don't think that's too bad a record. King Kenny, farewell. You're welcome anytime and of course you'll never walk alone.

Chelsea games

First things first let's review the FA Cup final and the league game against Chelsea. I will be writing a big review of the whole Premier League season in the next couple of days.

FA Cup Final: Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool

A disappointing day for Liverpool, with Pepe Reina's rare mistake (although he has a mediocre season by his high standards) allowing Ramires to score and a team performance that was lifeless until, of all people, Andy Carroll sparked the team into life. If they'd started like they finished Chelsea wouldn't have had a prayer. What I want to know is where the hell has that Andy Carroll been all season?! He was magnificent, sparking the team into life with a superb goal and an awesome performance. I thought Kenny got the team selection very wrong - Suarez has never been a lone striker and was left far too isolated while Spearing and Henderson were far too inexperienced a pair to be anchoring the midfield. The former was overwhelmed on the big day, looking out of his depth while the latter is just not all that good I'm afraid. It seemed daft to start with Bellamy then not play him up front with Suarez. Downing capped a hugely disappointing campaign with another anonymous display while perhaps more sadly, Gerrard just couldn't find his magic touch and while he certainly didn't have a bad game, did perhaps prove that the days of hoping he'll come up with a virtuoso game winning performance have to be over. As for Chelsea, overall they deserved it and bloody Drogba yet again was the winner curse him! An awesome talent though, whatever you may think of him.

Ratings:

Reina - 5
Poor for him, bad mistake on first goal
Johnson - 6
Please god teach him to defend
Enrique - 5
A strange deterioration in form this season was capped with a poor display
Agger - 6
Solid-ish
Skrtel - 7
Good, almost scored late on
Gerrard - 7
Lively but lacking his old drive
Henderson - 5
Got to go and be written off as a costly mistake, good riddance Comolli
Spearing - 5
Sadly, as I love this guy, not a good performance and looked a little out of his depth
Downing - 5
Yawn...
Bellamy - 6
Worked hard as ever, but contributed relatively little
Suarez - 7
Excellent once Carroll had come on, isolated before that

Subs:
Carroll - 9
Far and away without a shadow of doubt, his best performance in a Liverpool shirt. I've been so critical of him but more of this kind of performance and he might just convert who knows?
Kuyt - 7
Should have been on from the start like he always should.

Cech - 7
Ivanovic - 7
Cole - 7
Bosingwa - 7
Terry - 6
Ramires - 8
Lampard - 7
Mikel - 6
Mata - 8
Drogba - 8
Kalou - 6

Subs:

Meireles - 6
Malouda - 6

Liverpool 4-1 Chelsea

In stark contrast, this was a great performance and Carroll built on his impressive cup final cameo and was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet. Chelsea were beyond atrocious to be fair, but a good result nonetheless.

Ratings:

Reina - 6
Little to do but did it fine
Johnson - 7
Good going forward and wasn't needed to defend too much thankfully
Agger - 8
Good goal and great performance
Carragher - 7
God bless him, a good display
Skrtel - 8
Superb as he has been this season
Maxi - 7
For him, quite effective
Henderson - 6
He scored, but he's still shite
Shelvey - 7
Well taken goal
Downing - 6
What a pile of crap and who thought he should take a penalty?!
Suarez - 8
Lively
Carroll - 8
Again, excellent. Who'd have thought it?

Subs:

Kuyt - 7
Hope to god he doesn't leave
Sterling - 7
A lively prospect and a lively performance