Gutted: a failure of management, not of bottle...
- 1 Jul 06, 07:05 PM
There is a serious moral to England's defeat that makes it no less bitter: the whole campaign was marked by failures of management.
Sven picked too few strikers: incontrovertible. He never found a workable formation - never mind that: there was no philosopy, let alone style - other than the one they found after the 62nd minute, which is the default style Sven encouraged: Italian football circa 1990. He transmitted hesitancy to the entire team, and you could feel that right to the end - I have a hunch that Sven ordered them to put all penalties on the floor, so as not to risk being off target: I saw him for the first time ordering them to do something before the penalties and I bet that is what comes out.
Click here to watch my Newsnight report on Sven
But these were just tactical failures of management. Sven's failure on the bigger picture was threefold...
1) He does not seem to have deployed the leading edge performance techniques. Most of the coaching staff seem to be duffers from the "old English" football game - Klinsman meanwhile has brought US sport science methods to the team. I don't know enough about what's gone on in the England camp to comment further but I bet this is one thing that comes out from the instant memoirs: take away Sven and the rest of the England camp look and sound like Mike Bassett.
2) He never found a way of managing at that crucial level between strategy and tactics: operations. In footy terms this is what Scolari is doing when he is shouting at players - he is reading the game in a way you cannot read it on the pitch and adding that insight to the team's performance on the pitch.
3) Sven is a poor project manager: winning the world cup is like project management - it's a defineable and limited endeavour that has one outcome. Those who've been telling me that Sven was really keeping in reserve the real energy and strategy of the team are now proved wrong. Sadly that clearly included some of the players, who looked shocked not just to lose but to realise they have lost without ever playing a decent game.
As for the players I would not make the generalised assumption that their rich lifestyle makes them lack hunger: I would however say that is true for some of them. Beckam never exhibited hunger - add that to underperformance and it is clear Sven should have taken my advice five minutes earlier than he did, and sub him at half time. Ferdinand played well throughout; Rooney was misused but showed raw hunger (as one messager put it - we may have over-vibed his foot!). Most of the rest were either played out of position: Gerrard hampered by Lampard; Lampard showing his true form when stripped of his surrounding Galacticos at Chelsea. Aaron Lennon showed true hunger - and, despite his lack of skill, so did Crouch.
Ultimately what I have noticed during this campaign is that there was no link between the series of national myths in the minds of the fans and the emotional commitment of the team: unlike England's WC winning Rugby Union team they never really believed in themselves. Ultimately, that is the job of the manager - just ask any of the high-performance world-class "teams" that the UK has produced, from the crack regiments of the British Army to the world-class project teams, international rescue teams, leading edge scientific research.
It is always a mixture of technique, belief, inspiration, teamwork and creativity: Sven systematically removed these from the England team ethos - just look at the commitment on the faces of Platt, Gazza, Lineker and co in the archive footage of Italia 90.
As the recrimnations begin, I hope they are as transparent and revelatory as possible: this will go down in football management books and possibly even management theory as a prime example of how a bad manager can ruin a decent team.
One final point: the English FA had the chance to ditch Sven but bottled it; then they botched his replacement. The managerial failure goes right to the top, if you think about it.
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The England VS Portugal Game [as well as the Brazil VS France Game] was a disgrace.
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Paul - crock of s**t. You're players aren't good enough, and they never were - and it's only English arrogance that made you believe they were. Last 8 is a cracking display from an average side. Bravo to them (though they had a lot of luck).
It's not a failure of management - it's a lack of perspective and unrealistic objectives.
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Here's a list of England failures :
- England were never allowed to play their strength. England should carry out more destructive play ( ie. man to man marking, not allow opposition time to hold the ball these are English player's strength ). You don't have indivial ball holding skill like most other top footalling nation. So, to destroy your opposition from doing it, you can allow yourself to focus on fast hard pressing game ( which is English player's strength -- Just like a typical premier league match ) and made you opponent to play your type of game.
- Wrong formation. Not able to get the best out of the players. ( how can you expect Rooney to do anything if he's keep getting long ball throwing at him at his back and constantly having two defenders closing him down at the same time - he's best at balls knocked down in front on him and allow him to go at defenders )
- When Rooney's off with a red card, you are confined to play a counter attacking game. Why wouldn't you put on Walcott to cut through opposition's offside track with speed. Just like Owen did against Argentina and Brazil.
- When you are about to go on to penalties, why don't we get David James on ? We know James' strength is more atheletic and quicker on reponses. Also, he will certainly have a more fearce look than Robinson ( this is a critical psychological advantage to have -- Hans Leman is a good example of that ). You can criticize James for not being realiable enough keeper during a football match, but he is certainly a better keeper on penalties.
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I would like to add that I heard Beckham's resignation on 主播大秀 Five Live on my Windows Media Player.
I think his resignation could have been done with dignity. I hope that Beckham could be remembered under a more favorable lite in the future.
Maybe Beckham could retire to a private life and then make a comeback as a sports comentator or writer in ten years. Only time could tell.
My prayers and thoughts to the Beckham Family.
Before leaving, we should not blame the press [not even the 主播大秀 or Paul Mason] for the debacle. I think the 主播大秀 and its announcers and bloggers [such as Paul Mason] give life another dimension with their reports. PAUL MASON AND THE 主播大秀, MORE POWER TO YOU [AS WE SAY HERE IN AMERICA, WE SUPPORT YOU].
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I'm actually quite glad England are out of the tournament now. It would have been terible if their lack of well-thought out tactics had somehow scraped them a victory. Sven's name doesn't deserve to rank alongside that of Bobby Robson, let alone Alf Ramsey.
I think a lot of blame has to be attached to the FA.
The debate will go on about what sort of man should replace McLaren when his time runs out, along with Beckham (who's resignation as captain was much more dignified than the "I'm sorry" speech of Eriksson).
I think that Eriksson's choices have proved that international management is quite different to club coaching.
The hacks at The Sun are more in tune with what the nation wants to see from their team. Anyone with half a brain could have picked the squad. Taking Theo Walcott without any intention of playing him seems to be some sort of surreal joke in retrospect.
For failing to get the players "up" for the matches, Sven should be hounded out of the game. Like you, I don't think the huge wages of players contributed to their on field complacency (basic patriotism and pride should have ben enough), but Sven's salary seems to have turned him into a docile animal. A fat cat, as it were. Shouldn't (foreign) international managers be on performance-related pay, so we know they have an extra incentive to try harder?
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I am surprised in many of Masons previous posts about Englands world cup effort that a lot of people (like me) predicted that England were not good enough with Sven as manager & Beckham captain to get past Portugal penalties or otherwise. Those that said don't knock Beckham as captain he's going to WIN it for us are those drunk, national anthem singing big head idiots who drink too much beer & live in a sozzled state who can't even remember their own front door let alone know anything about sport! We mustn't forget, Portugal were without Deco, Figo is too old & Ronaldo was barely fit. Maybe this is a wake up call, time to make John Terry captain (Gerrard vice captain) & BEG Scolari to come back to the negotiating table whilst paying off McClaren for the BIG mistake of giving him the reigns. We see Beckham quickly retract his "I want to continue as England captain" & my sense of relief as he & Eriksson step down is a far greater feeling than any glory. I feel I am once again a true England fan & all that pent up hate for the England hierachy makes me realise what it's like to be a Scot!
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Most (as in 70%) of the reason for England's failure does lie with the overpaid and overrated Mr. Eriksson, of that there is no doubt. He reminds me of Peter Sellers character in "Being There", no one has outed him as a fraud. Any manager who is not screaming and shouting along the touchline is not passionate enough for the style of the England game.
Here are some other issues to consider:
(a) The lack of English players in the Premiership. For example next season there will be 3 Irish keepers in the Premiership - how many English keepers will there be?
(b) The "top team or nothing" approach of teenagers prospects in England. If you don't get signed by one of the top clubs, no one wants to play in the first or second divison so slow developing talent is lost to England to be replaced by foreign players, even in the lower leagues. It's all about celebrity status today rather than a genuine love for the game.
(c) What is wrong with a Jack Charlton like manager? If you remember the spirit and passion he developed in the Irish team, can you imagine that teamed up with the obvious talent at England's disposal? Jack would not be slow also to put in a few workmen in the team as well as prima donnas. Denis Irwin was not a pin up boy at Man Utd, but would you have him in your team? England need that balance. Football in these islands must play to its natural strengths, you've already lost when you try to copy someone else's style.
Play to your strengths, give a chance to honest players and most of all be passionate. So speaks an Irish supporter. Remember it was Ireland's likely dumping of France from the qualifiers that caused France to re-enlist the old guard which is now seeing them on the verge of a World Cup final. Had Ireland put away Israel on two occasions, France would not be there now!
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Hi Paul,
Great blog. A few points to ponder:
1. Domenech, Lippi don't shout at players or show emotion during the game. Scolari's the exception not the rule. Plus, is this anything other than raw emotion and personal style? I wouldn't say its bridging the gap between strategy and tactics.
2. Zidane and co are all rich - they showed hunger - finally - something got them going - fear of failure probably - but also playing Brazil, a team they've beaten. Belief.
3. France, shows teams come good at diff times. Name a WC in recent history where a team has played well/beautifully/convincingly all tournament? Football isn't a science, yes new techniques reduce the odds and can create belief. Alone its not enough.
4 Your assessment of Lampard is wide of the mark. You sound like a Liverpool fan. Why was Gerrard so average, giving ball away, even looked tired?
5. ditto Crouch. Ok he's lanky, not obvious first pick. But his touch is good - he has skill, and actually held ball up rather well (compared to Rooney).
6 One player, be it Rooney, Zidane or Ronaldinho doesn't bring home the WC. Zidane wasn't great in 98...its team game still.
7 Rather than the Manager, we should look at how we teach/play football when young. We don't have the academies or coaching systems like France, Holland, or the pure football philosophy of say Brazil.
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Some good discussion here. The part of Paul's post that sticks out for me is this:
"... there was no link between the series of national myths in the minds of the fans and the emotional commitment of the team: unlike England's WC winning Rugby Union team they never really believed in themselves".
This is where I think Sven shares the blame with the English press (More at: not least because the English sports press has been serially disaffected from every 'England manager' since Don Revie.
Picking up on some of Patrick's points, Martin O'Neill was probably the one who got away. A good footballing brain, not afraid of failing, good project manager, and a capacity to both to motivate players and connect strategy and tactics.
The best of Brian Clough without the character flaws? Though after a few months in the job, I'm sure the tabloids would drag a few skeletons out of the supboard.
Life is going to get tougher and more competitive in the Premiership, which, notwithstanding Patrick's point about a smaller pool of players to choose from, that should mean rising standards amongst English born players. For me it's a matter of whether England can create a new national Soccer myth that doesn't involve forty years of hurt!
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No one here mentions one fact that I think is the main reason for Englands failure & like every failure of the England team it is because of Eriksson mis-management. The playing of injured, unrehabilitated or below par high profile players. Owen is an immediate example, you don't have to be a great manager to see it for yourself on the pitch. His injury in the first minute (literally) of the Ecuador game is obviously a player having a lot of trouble staying on his two feet going down alone without even being tackled & being subbed early in the last two games. Beckham, the captain who was sick (& has a bad back) from dehydration BEFORE the Ecuador match & not ONE of the coaching staff knowing it, only to find out when he vomited after the goal. How ridiculous is that? A good reason to drop him as it's obvious Beckham may praise Sven but is at the same time not honest with him & will do anything for for a place. Gerrard & Rooney were also not match fit. Lampard needed a rest after playing almost every game for Chelsea season gone & Chelsea were involved in many tournaments. Lampard would have been better to be on the bench for the first round or at least a couple of matches to rest him.
There were many fit players in the squad who would could have played: Walcott for one & what good is that for his confidence to be taken to Germany & not even getting 3 of 4 minutes play, please tell me? Lennon, Downing, Carrack, Jenas. It's obvious the set-up was geared to who you are & not how you play or for that matter whether you were able to play! It was all just a load of lies, lots of cheating the fans & a very, very stupid manager.
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No one here mentions one fact that I think is the main reason for Englands failure & like every failure of the England team it is because of Eriksson mis-management. The playing of injured, unrehabilitated or below par high profile players. Owen is an immediate example, you don't have to be a great manager to see it for yourself on the pitch. His injury in the first minute (literally) of the Ecuador game is obviously a player having a lot of trouble staying on his two feet going down alone without even being tackled & being subbed early in the last two games. Beckham, the captain who was sick (& has a bad back) from dehydration BEFORE the Ecuador match & not ONE of the coaching staff knowing it, only to find out when he vomited after the goal. How ridiculous is that? A good reason to drop him as it's obvious Beckham may praise Sven but is at the same time not honest with him & will do anything for for a place. Gerrard & Rooney were also not match fit. Lampard needed a rest after playing almost every game for Chelsea season gone & Chelsea were involved in many tournaments. Lampard would have been better to be on the bench for the first round or at least a couple of matches to rest him.
There were many fit players in the squad who could have played or started: Walcott for one & what good is that for his confidence to be taken to Germany & not even getting 3 of 4 minutes play, please tell me? Lennon, Downing, Carrick, Jenas. It's obvious the set-up was geared to who you are & not how you play or for that matter whether you were able to play! It was all just a load of lies, lots of cheating the fans & a very, very stupid manager.
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I heard the English Service of China Radio International on my Short Wave Radio. They interviewed the coach of the Chinese Team [during their preparations for the Asia Cup 2006].
Their coach predicted a win for Germany because of being the host country and nationalistic issues.
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Apologies for the self indulgence here, but what about the horrible loss of the Socceroos to Italy?
Am still devastated. Can't believe Italy's now in the final. What a disgrace that umpire's decision was, to award such a rubbish penalty, and so late in the match with Australia.
Go the blues!
No way should Italy win.
PS. Any chance of a Socceroos thread on your blog Paul? We're an ex-colony of yours afterall!
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Wholeheartedly agree with Frank's comments. The amazing thing about England and the reason they never improve is that they don't face reality. Most of their so called 'golden generation' are second rate. When the team returned the fans should have been at the airport to shower them with rotten tomatoes, eggs etc. Instead you all blame Sven and continue the delusion that Rooney, lampard etc are world class...ha ha ha
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