Same old story
Look I know the tournament hasn't finished, but for me the tournament finished when England somehow, I repeat somehow managed to lose against Iceland. Iceland, a country that has a population of 300,000, so basically the size of somewhere like Coventry managed to beat players who play in what is regarded as the best league in the world. Well never fear people, I will now assess the factors that ultimately led to England's downfall.
Good Old Roy
Well we had to start with the man whose inept tactics and poor management, led us to such a fantastic Euros, Roy Hodgson. In my opinion, the writing was on the wall after the last World cup that this man was not right to lead our country into battle but the FA decided to give him time, which in the current world of football can be seen as a good thing. Nevertheless he should have been removed from his job after the worst World cup noted in England's history. Throughout qualifying, we had a system in place that he used throughout to get us to the Euros and then he suddenly decides to play two or three different systems in the tournament itself. I mean, I am no managerial expert (apart from FM) but if the players are playing different systems every game in the tournament, how on earth are they going to get any tactical consistency in their play. Squad selection was always going to be a controversial subject, with the main talking point being the lack of natural wingers within the squad. Raheem Sterling was the only natural winger within the squad, when you had the likes of Antonio from West Ham who have had a great season and also Townsend who proved to be one of the shining lights in Newcastle's bad season.
Two players who should not of been there in my opinion, were Liverpool's Jordan Henderson and Arsenal's Jack Wilshere. Henderson had a poor season, where as Wilshere had been injured for most of it and only returned for the last couple of games and somehow Roy decided that they merited an inclusion in the squad. Back home, you had two midfielders in Mark Noble and Danny Drinkwater who arguably had the best season of their professional career, especially Drinkwater who ended up lifting the Premier league with Leicester.
Players not turning up
Oh we have been before haven't we, players who play well for their clubs but do not show that same sort of quality for their national side. The two biggest disappointments for the England, were Harry Kane and Dele Alli (the latter of which was awarded PFA young player of the year). Harry Kane last season proved he is no one season wonder, but somehow went missing after finishing top scorer of the Premier league. To be fair being stuck on set pieces didn't exactly help now did it Roy?.
Questions will be asked of Joe Hart after some questionable Goalkeeping in the Wales and Iceland game. Joe Hart now falls in line with past England goalkeepers who committed errors in big tournaments for England. Another player who was off form was Raheem Sterling, Sterling was bought for around £50 million ponds and to be honest he had had a an average season at best at Manchester City, mainly due to injury and at some points inconsistency. At the World Cup, you can see that he has lost that edge in a way when taking on players and sometimes his way of playing was very predictable at times. Hopefully for England and Manchester City's sake Pep Guardiola can show everyone that the 50 million pound was well spent on Raheem Sterling.
Questions will be asked of Joe Hart after some questionable Goalkeeping in the Wales and Iceland game. Joe Hart now falls in line with past England goalkeepers who committed errors in big tournaments for England. Another player who was off form was Raheem Sterling, Sterling was bought for around £50 million ponds and to be honest he had had a an average season at best at Manchester City, mainly due to injury and at some points inconsistency. At the World Cup, you can see that he has lost that edge in a way when taking on players and sometimes his way of playing was very predictable at times. Hopefully for England and Manchester City's sake Pep Guardiola can show everyone that the 50 million pound was well spent on Raheem Sterling.
What's next for England?
Well Hodgson is gone (Hooray), so England are now on the lookout for a new boss. At the minute it seems that Sam Allardyce is favourite to take the big job, with the bookies pencilling him in at 7/2 favourite as of recently. Allardyce would be a safe choice as he has managed teams in high pressure situations (Relegation battles) and he has seemed to get the best of players when it matters most. The only thing wrong with Allardyce is that he has no International pedigree, don't get me wrong he is a great manager for the premier league but he has only managed teams which are battling relegation or finishing mid table. Jurgen Klinsmann has also been linked with reports suggesting that he has held initial talks with the FA. Whoever the FA decide to appoint hopefully that person can bring something different to the national side and make the England fans happy again.
Nathan Best
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