#SWFC Legend Chris Waddle says it how it is

[Swiss Toni]

Even in 98 we were still too English. By that I mean I can't remember anyone in that team who played or had played for a continental side not in the PL. Hoddle was our best coach for a long time and we've not had anyone close since.

[trevdi9]

England sums up Swfc we usually do all the build up right then never get there  

 

[pussface]

Imo England’s problems:

 

Too many good players constantly injured (Owen, King, Hargreaves etc)

Too many players picked due to their name or the money their image rights generate.

Too many overhyped players

Too many up and coming players injured or not having the right attitude.

A surfeit of players in one position but a deficit in others. 

Players shoehorned into a system not the other way round. You want to fit Scholes, Rooney, Joe Cole, Gerrard and Lampard into the same first 11? No mate.

Deluded fans

Players deployed out of position instead of being dropped.

 

Out last decent team was imo 96-98 before if imploaded under Hoddle. Yet despite having an inferior team, our best chance of winning the World Cup came and went in Japan 02.

 

If the team heading to Russia avoid injuries, I think we might surprise a few people. Quarters I reckon, which would be a good result.

[shandypants]

Waddle was bang on. 

 

In my opinion, modern footballers are athletes first and footballers second - they’re so robotic at times it drives me crazy. There aren’t any Waddles, Hoddles or Gazzas anymore and there’s definitely far too few players such as Bannan and Forestieri. The 1990 and 1996 England tournament squads were the best in recent history for me as they contained flair players but played to the strengths of the English game. 

Edited May 20, 2018 by shandypants

[Groundhopping Owl]

Waddle's right - the fact that we have to point to France 98, where we were knocked out in the Last 16 as the last time we did vaguely well at a tournament is downright embarassing. We did OK in 2002 and 2004, but we've been criminally underachieving for decades now.

 

The FA's attempt to rip off German football's total rebuild job without any originality gets us nowhere, Dan Ashworth talking about some unrealistic footballing DNA gets us nowhere, trying to play slow possession football with garbage midfielders gets us nowhere. 

 

Ever since Leicester won the league I've wanted to see England replicate that style because I reckon it's the only one that will get us anywhere. Yes it would be lovely if we could pass teams off the pitch like Spain, but the blunt truth is that we're nowehere near being able to do that, so we might as well accept our limitations and do what we're good at. That means running our knackers off, counter-attacking at speed and throwing the opposition off their game by aggressively getting in their faces for 90 minutes. It's a hell of a lot more interesting to watch than the endless snooze fests we've had to endure against Paraguay, Slovenia, Algeria and God knows how many others in major tournaments over the last 20 years.

[alanharper]

On 19/05/2018 at 09:29, Junk Smuggler said:

Even in 98 we were still too English. By that I mean I can't remember anyone in that team who played or had played for a continental side not in the PL. Hoddle was our best coach for a long time and we've not had anyone close since.

 

Paul Ince, but that's it I think. Beckham, McManaman and Owen went on to play for continental sides later in their career. 

[Swiss Toni]

34 minutes ago, alanharper said:

 

Paul Ince, but that's it I think. Beckham, McManaman and Owen went on to play for continental sides later in their career. 

 

I actually checked out of curiosity. At the time of the World Cup nobody played outside of the PL in the squad.

 

 

Edited May 22, 2018 by Junk Smuggler

[alanharper]

1 hour ago, Junk Smuggler said:

 

I actually checked out of curiosity. At the time of the World Cup nobody played outside of the PL in the squad.

 

 

 

Yep, but you originally said "played or had played for a continental side". Ince had played for Inter for a couple of years before coming back to the PL the year before the World Cup.