English national football, where do we go from here?

[BoyBrumby]

I think fatigue is a factor, tbh.

We generally perform a lot better in late summer/autumn at the beginning of a season than we do at the end of one. Admittedly we're only faced very limited oppostion so far, but then the same was true of the world cup until we met Jerry.

 

[Furball]

He was comfortably better than both, if we're honest. Still crap though. Jeez, it was a dire world cup for Premiership players.

That's because there's precious few top drawer players that play in the Premiership.

 

[Furball]

I think fatigue is a factor, tbh.

We generally perform a lot better in late summer/autumn at the beginning of a season than we do at the end of one. Admittedly we're only faced very limited oppostion so far, but then the same was true of the world cup until we met Jerry.

It's not fatigue, it's a complete lack of game sense.

The British way is to come flying out of the traps and try and batter the opposition into submission with a quick tempo, British game. A tempo that is all but impossible to maintain over 90 minutes at the height of summer.

Have a quick look at England's recent major tournament record; you'll be suprised at how many goals England score in the first half compared to the second half...

 

[Furball]

Spain have a winter break though. None of their players who played in La Liga went into the WC injured. Except for Torres & Fabregas who plays in the premiership. Torres looked just a messed up as any ENG player during the WC.

Mega fail here.

Xavi was carrying a calf injury that he played through for the last month of the season. Andres Iniesta was injured on and off for virtually the entire season.

Xavi couldn't rest for the World Cup because of the intensity of Barcelona's run in. Barcelona literally had to win every game they played, they couldn't afford to take their foot off the pedal for a game, and had played the entire season like that - doing that is far more fatiguing mentally than playing in an easier league like the Premiership.

 

[fredfertang]

Agree with Brumbers on this one - to a man England looked like they were suffering from a dose of Yuppie Flu in South Africa - they look like a bunch of half decent professional footballers now

 

[Uppercut]

Definitely a factor. I'd say generally poor technique, the poor form of some key players and fatigue were all more important than anything within Capello's power. Although given they were one goal away from a bye to the semis it's not a stretch to say that even a small improvement in any one of those areas could well have made a massive difference to their performance in South Africa.

 

[GIMH]

That's because there's precious few top drawer players that play in the Premiership.

Lol

 

[grecian]

Lol

x2

 

[BoyBrumby]

It's not fatigue, it's a complete lack of game sense.

The British way is to come flying out of the traps and try and batter the opposition into submission with a quick tempo, British game. A tempo that is all but impossible to maintain over 90 minutes at the height of summer.

Have a quick look at England's recent major tournament record; you'll be suprised at how many goals England score in the first half compared to the second half...

World Cup was in winter this time around, tbf.

 

[fredfertang]

I think there's a word missing in GF's post

 

[GIMH]

World Cup was in winter this time around, tbf.

Why let facts get in the way of an anti-English agenda?

 

[chalky]

They may have the winter break but they play as much if not more football than in the English Premier League..

I don't think it's a Winter break that makes the difference but the pace of the Premier League. Watching Real Madrid & Barca (who make up most of the Spanish team) play every weekend they barely get out of st gear most weeks where as even in strolls the top Premiership teams still play at such a high tempo. I think it is easy to understimate the extra physical demands this places on the players and might explain why most of the Premier League stars flopped so badly at the World Cup.

 

[GIMH]

But the Prem is easy! Who cares about how physical it is?! It's an easy league full of crap players, doesn't come close to La Lia and it's ***y footballers!

 

[Furball]

World Cup was in winter this time around, tbf.

Hottest games were still played a temperatures comparable to a decent summer (at least, in this part of the world anyway.)

 

[Furball]

I don't think it's a Winter break that makes the difference but the pace of the Premier League. Watching Real Madrid & Barca (who make up most of the Spanish team) play every weekend they barely get out of st gear most weeks where as even in strolls the top Premiership teams still play at such a high tempo. I think it is easy to understimate the extra physical demands this places on the players and might explain why most of the Premier League stars flopped so badly at the World Cup.

At the same time you're underestimating the physical demands of playing the style of football Barcelona play, as well as how mentally fatiguing having to win every game you play is.

Taking 99 and 98 points (as Barca and Real did) over the course of a 38 game season is extremely demanding. Certainly, none of the Premiership sides had such a demanding season in terms of the mental side of the game.

But the Prem is easy! Who cares about how physical it is?! It's an easy league full of crap players, doesn't come close to La Lia and it's ***y footballers!

I'm not suggesting that the Premiership is full of crap players; merely that at this point in time, the number of genuinely top drawer players isn't particularly high - in fact it's probably at it's lowest since the 1990s.

 

[GIMH]

La Liga must be really hard if two teams managed to get more points in a season than any Premier League side has ever managed to get

 

[Uppercut]

I'm not suggesting that the Premiership is full of crap players; merely that at this point in time, the number of genuinely top drawer players isn't particularly high - in fact it's probably at it's lowest since the 1990s.

Might be right there, yeah. United finished a couple of points off the top of the league last year and Rooney's their only top-drawer player.

That said, I don't really see the relevance. You'd still expect a lot more from, say, Torres.

 

[Pothas]

Might be right there, yeah. United finished a couple of points off the top of the league last year and Rooney's their only top-drawer player.

That said, I don't really see the relevance. You'd still expect a lot more from, say, Torres.

Drogba also came into the World cup injured, no disputing that he is top-drawer.

Generally we probably overhype the quality of players in the Premiership but there is no denying that there are an awful lof of good players in it.

Kevin-Prince Boateng hardly a leading star of the premiership last season had a pretty good tournament as well.

 

[sledger]

Imo it's very perculiar to suggest that one league is actually easier than another, can kind of understand people who say one is better than the other or whatever. But to suggest one is easier than the other....well, that is something that anyone here is unlikely to be able to make any sort of accurate assessment over.

 

[GIMH]

Imo it's very perculiar to suggest that one league is actually easier than another, can kind of understand people who say one is better than the other or whatever. But to suggest one is easier than the other....well, that is something that anyone here is unlikely to be able to make any sort of accurate assessment over.

Um, GF knows, he knows everything about football.