Football

So, England’s World Cup campaign has come to an end, through the usual medium, the penalty shoot out. A few things came out of the tournament for me:

• England were nowhere near as bad as their critics have made out
• England have to play with two strikers. I don’t think they necessarily have to stick to 4–4–2 (after all, Bobby Robson was successful in 1990 with 3–5–2), but two up front is a necessity for me. Other countries who play successfully with 1 up, like France against Brazil, last night, have a midfielder with a spark of creative genius. In France’s case it is Zidane, in Portugal’s it’s Deco. With one up and no Deco, Portugal looked ordinary against England. England’s creative urge is with the strikers, currently Rooney. He needs a partner to feed to take advantage of his good work. Gerrard is a wonderful player, but he isn’t a playmaker.
• Frank Lampard really shouldn’t play for England again, unless some sort of dramatic improvement occurs. What is it that he does that Gerrard doesn’t? The two, for me, are too similar when played in the middle of the park. One option might be that if Beckham stops being a #1 choice, Gerrard could play wide right and that might give Lampard the room he might need – but the emergence of Aaron Lennon as Beckham’s replacement precludes that.
• Taking four strikers, when two are unfit and one you have no intention of playing, just isn’t enough for a major tournament
• Pinning all your hopes on an emotionally combustible 20–year old is probably not a good idea
• England are almost certainly a better side than Portugal, or at least a better side than Portugal without Deco

As for Eriksson’s reign, well, I think he did alright. People are quick to forget the total mess England were in when he took over; after a clueless defeat to Germany and a draw with Finland that was considered a good result. He deserves credit for creating a relatively settled side, and passes on a good squad to McClaren. What McClaren will hopefully bring to the job will be a little more creativity in squad selections and bravery in terms of picking the best players to fit a settled system, rather than trying to play the best XI regardless of how they fit together.

My England side for the Euro 2008 qualifiers:

Robinson
Neville, Ferdinand, Terry, Cole
Lennon, Hargreaves, Gerrard, Cole
Owen, Rooney

I think Hargreaves emerged during the Portugal game as a quality holding midfielder – he might not have Carrick’s ability to pass, but his all-action style would give Gerrard the freedom to bomb forward at will.

From the Guardian‘s perennially unreliable Rumour Mill:

And we’ll usher in the weekend with a long-awaited bit of good news for Nottingham Forest fans after more than a year of Gary route-one Megson: Nigel Clough is rumoured to be tempted by a return to the City Ground.

Hmmm. I have long said that Clough Jnr would be mad to take the job – but maybe, just maybe, he is the man to bring the club a bit of self respect back, if not the glory days like those enjoyed under his father.

MJR thinks of an explanation for the proliferation of cup upsets over the last week:

England’s football fans had the pleasure of random football scores last weekend: the FA Cup. Why is there so much expectation of upsets? I think it’s partly because the match is at an ideal time to help level things out, especially if it’s at a non-league ground:

League clubs

• usually full-time
• 4 or 5 games over the holidays
• mostly still negotiating new players
• some of their players seem to expect it to be easy
• usually play on expensive, well-kept pitches

Non-league clubs

• often part-time
• 3 games over the holidays
• often introduce new players in the cup match
• many of their players relish playing a top club
• probably have a pitch more damaged by winter

 And he is almost certainly right.

To add to it, though, I once read the autobiography of Frank Clark, an ex-Forest manager (and the last one who could genuinely be considered a success for any length of time) who now works in some capacity at the League Manager’s Association. He wrote extensively about cup upsets and how they come about, and one of the most convincing reasons he gave was simply that in terms of the standard squad player, there is little difference in ability between (say) a Conference side and a Premiership one, as long as everyone plays at the top of their game. The obvious star players, your Rooneys, Henrys and Alonsos, are clearly a cut above, but they can be taken out of the game with efficient marking.

 The difference between players in the higher divisions and the lower is usually one of attitude and mental stamina – something that can be surmounted in a one-off game.

Great result for Forest today.Link below from the Guardian. More to follow when I get back online.

Championship round-up

Championship: Sunderland went top with a win over Coventry, as Wigan could only draw against Nottingham Forest.

I really can see us staying up now. In Megson we have the best manager in the division, and now things are tightened up a the back, when we get some of the injured players back, we should be in a strong position come the run-in.