Who should be next England manager?

[Bentley Bullet]

I would like to see an English manager appointed. The obvious choice for me is Harry Redknapp, with Allardyce or even Beckham as his assistant.

[River Don]

Fabio Capello.

[Lytham Rover]

River Don wrote:

Fabio Capello.

ditto

[Lytham Rover]

its not the front door we need to change its the whole bloody house!

[jonrover]

Another vote for Capello.

As much as I hate to agree with the smug teutonic t**t, Beckenbauer is right, the entire structure of our system needs ripping up and reforming. What we saw out there were players who were physically knackered and looking like they'd rather be on a beach somewhere. We need to have an 18 team Premier league. The League cup should be one that teams can opt out of, if not scrapped altogether for the Premier League because most of the premier league don't take it seriously anyway. And the bottom two divisions and the blue Square premier should be regionalised to increase the cash flow in the lower reaches of the game.

[CusworthRovers]

Roy Hodgson and Becks.


Both of a vast knowledge of the English way and both vastly experienced in what the jolly foreigner does.

No probs in Sven and Fabio, but it clearly evidences that we can have a half decent home grown manager and 2 of the so called best managers in the world who happen to be foreign, yet the results are exactly the same. For me this shows it's not merely the manager, but more deep rooted player issues and our national football set up.

I also think and agree, we need a complete overhaul of our game. There needs to be yet another inquest after this shambles.

Short term, I feel we should play to our strengths, it may not be pretty, but a little up and at em mixd with a bit of footy approach might work with the current breed. It's how the premiership is played, and to be fair we have done well in the last 10yrs in Europe on this. We should play to our strengths and our strength is a sophisticated no nonsense ROI type game. Just because we are not comfy with space, does not mean we should allow Germany et al acres of it on the pitch. With what we have available we should have gone with Defoe or Rooney/Crouch, 2 wingers in Lennon and Walcott. Huddlestone and another in the middle.

We do not have 11 players who can create space, control the pace of a game etc, but I believe we have 11 players who can run their hearts out and cause problems for an opposition team.

[Adam]

An Englishman. There should be a FIFA rule on this.

[RobTheRover]

But the FA want the best manager.

[DearneValleyRover]

It does not matter who the manager is if they pick individuals rather than a team. England pick players on reputation rather than form or ability to play a certain system. Gerard and Lampard they are so good they should be able to play in the same team and adapt, well we are still waiting, any other country would have tried something else that works. Time to pick a team not based on who their club side is but on the round peg for round hole analogy.

[dijit8]

We supposedly have the best manager available.

He did make some mistakes in team selection and substitutions but the facts show the players aren't good enough. Most of them have played under Sven, McLaren and Cappello and they have dissapointed us under all three managers.

These players couldn't pass to each other during the last half dozen games England have played, defenders were launching long balls to no-one as nobody showed for the ball. No-one looked comfortable with the ball and we can't retain possesion.

Someone needs to look at the whole coaching system in England and give more young players a chance to establish themselves in the team.
To quote own own manager players need to take responsibility on the pitch and play with freedom.

We might as well let Capello try to do this and earn the vast amount of money he is paid, rather than pay him off and give somebody else massive wages to lead to Euro / World cup failure.

Sean could do a good job but will never get the opportunity.

[DMnumber4]

Mike Bassett and his brother Bertie as his assistant.

[bobjimwilly]

jonrover wrote:

The League cup should be one that teams can opt out of, if not scrapped altogether for the Premier League because most of the premier league don't take it seriously anyway.

What a nonsense - I hope this never happens.

[grayx]

River Don wrote:

Fabio Capello.

Joke right? The man is an idiot.Its got to be Redknapp. Foreign manager in charge of England doesn't work. The clown at the F.A. who decided to extend Crapellos contract BEFORE our world cup shambles should also walk.

[The L J Monk]

Stolen from somewhere else....but I totally agree:

It's a simple equation of who to blame really. Is it:

a) A manager with a proven record of success. Albeit not at International level yet, but a record of 9 league titles in 16 attempts (including Juventus of course) should speak for itself. It is obvious that at he knows what he's doing. They can't all be flukes.

or

b) A bunch of players with a proven track record of underperforming in International tournaments?

[Woodhead Passer]

We could do with Mike Bassett and his quality team talks at half time. I can remember he also used to play for us    

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylftUmF-GSw&feature=youtube_gdata[/video]

[jonrover]

bobjimwilly wrote:

jonrover wrote:

The League cup should be one that teams can opt out of, if not scrapped altogether for the Premier League because most of the premier league don't take it seriously anyway.

What a nonsense - I hope this never happens.

What's nonsense about it? How many of the other European nations mess about with 2 national cup competitions?

[Jonathan]

I would not be in a hurry to single out Capello as the scapegoat and get rid of him.

His insistence on a rigid and inflexible 4-4-2 concerns me, but his record stands before him as a top manager and there can be a hope that he has learned things from this tournament (he has suggested as much in todays press conference).

I'm at a loss to say exactly how we can rectify our shortcomings. How can you say that clubs should be forced to field homegrown players when football is a business and clubs are chasing instant success? The problem is that the Premiership and the Champions League are pulling in opposite directions to the national game.

It's blatanly obvious that we need to produce more quality young players with a greater emphasis on awareness and technique, and that they need to be integrated into top level football and used to competing on the big stage, but how do we ensure that happens?

[Jonathan]

There is hope in this article from the Guardian a week or so ago:

Only 3,990 witnessed the win in a ground in Liechtenstein but they may have seen the end of English football's isolation years. Sir Trevor Brooking, the Football Association's head of development, calls the colts who won the European U-17 Championship \"the best group we've had in six or seven years\", but warns of a hiatus between the underachieving Steven Gerrard-Frank Lampard generation and the emergence of Josh McEachran, Connor Wickham and Nathaniel Chalobah: three stand-outs in the side who beat Spain in last month's final.

While England's all-time oldest World Cup squad play Sisyphus again in South Africa, Brooking is convinced his reforms are finally taking root.

After the dismal 0-0 draw with Algeria in Cape Town the country's barren spell could yet be extended as the U-19s and U-21s supply only the odd international class player.

Brooking spoke before Friday night's game at the Green Point stadium and so cannot be accused of spinning. \"We came out with a philosophy on the Future of the Game with technical guidelines which has been very well received,\" he said. \"All the academies have supported it. The beauty was we identified the 17s as the best passing group we've had. You could put them in any shirt and you wouldn't know which European country they were from.

\"The 17s had enough players on the same wavelength. They weighted the ball, played it wide, were comfortable to keep it in tight areas. It all starts at the back. They went 11 matches unbeaten. Connor Wickham [Ipswich Town] got two really good goals in the semi against France as a central striker. He's a very big strong lad, good technically, very aware. He will get his chance in their first team. Other clubs are already looking at him.

\"The two Chelsea lads are good. Josh McEachran, a left-sided lad, can play just off the front striker and is probably the most creative midfielder we've had. The Chelsea lad at the back, Nathaniel Chalobah, is a year younger. His use of the ball from the back was excellent.

\"Nine clubs contributed to the 17s, so it's not just Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea producing players. Middlesbrough always had a good record, Everton, and there's Connor from Ipswich. At Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool, where would they get their first-team opportunities? Every place in the league is worth £750,000, so even at the end of season you don't get a chance to try out youngsters because you might lose three places and cost yourself £2m in the transfer budget.

\"Usually in an age group there are one or two who can come through but there are more in this 17 group. Our biggest challenge is where are they going to play their first-team football in the next few years. If they go on loan to a club in the Championship, it has to be the right club and we want them to play the same way.\"

A classic anomaly of the English system is that the FA have to plead with clubs to release their best youngsters for tournaments. \"We are sending letters out now. We have three or four at clubs who want to take them on pre-season trips,\" Brooking says. \"We have a European Championship where experience will be fantastic. Last year, we lost three players to pre-season tours. Other federations have a blanket rule where they can take a player at any point.\"

Of Capello's faltering side Brooking said: \"I heard [Franz] Beckenbauer [say England are a kick-and-rush team] but I've watched the England seniors for two-and-a-half years with every training session and Fabio pressurises them to keep the ball, possession, on the ball – but of course there will be an occasion when you whack the ball to get it away from the danger area. In the current squad you have to be able to pass the ball to feet.\"

This was Friday morning. By midnight he might have said it with less conviction.

The worry is that these players have to get game time. It would be a travesty if the Chelsea lad is left to rot while they go out and sign someone like Ozil to further enhance the German team at the expense of our own, but they do it because they cannot afford to take the time to bed players in. The manager would be sacked and the owners would probably pull out.

[RobTheRover]

I agree, but the German mentality is that the next young star needs the experience and opportunity to develop, so thats what they give tham and they reap the rewards.  Ours is that we'd rather not take the risk and stick with 30 year old club players who make millions every year but cant quite step up at international level.

[CusworthRovers]

That's a good read from Trev. It seems our 17's and 19's are right where they should be to challenge Internationally.

The Wickham analogy is a good one, but it go's without saying that a Prem club will snap him up cos he can play footy and he's big and athletic. It's then that the focus will be on big and athletic and the footy will be pushed aside.

If any up and coming player wants to play footy ie pass/move, space awareness, comfy on the ball etc etc, then it stands to reason he needs at least 6-9 players around him to think and do the same otherwise it will not work. Clearly at 17 and 19 there are that number of players within the English game away from their clubs, however once in the Prem, there are fewer clubs who do that, and those that do are made up of 10 jolly foreigners.

For one of these youngsters to make it into a Prem team he has to be worth 10m, cos that is the value of most positions in the top half of the Prem. In short, it's never going to happen.

Where is our Kaka, Ozil, Sneidjer, Inniesta, Xavi?

The likes of Gerrard/Lampard/Rooney are fantastic Prem players, there is no doubt, however in their teams they are surrounded by a world 11 consisting of £20m plus players. These World 11 players are not there when they represent their countries.


I mean, look at the likes of the Brazilian defenders, add on Ramos and Pique, they have as much technique as our better technical players. They can all join in attack play pass and move link midfield to the forwards, stride out with a ball, beat players etc etc I would suggest this is very much coached out of our defenders in the UK. Even Guitarez (sp) who we all saw last season, who can only play in the English CCC is so assured with the ball, I think is problem at Newcastle was not having the quality around him................


Jeez I could go and on

[Alan Southstand]

Enter Mr Sean O'Driscoll.

Someone out to be on to the phone to Mr Brooking, post haste. We are getting a name for being one of the best footballing sides in the CCC, so why shouldn't we be looked upon as being a 'feeder club' for these young lads. A short list of likely clubs could be drawn up, if you like, but we should be on that list and it would improve the national situation.

There aren't many like it in the game (e.g. Dario Gradi was famous for bringing on young talent) but we have an excellent pair in SOD and ROK. It will benefit the club, but most importantly, it has to be good for England. Start the campaign.

[DRFC MYERS]

Harry Redknapp but definatley becks for the future

[CusworthRovers]

Alternatively, why not form a new club with no affiliations to a town/city, a bit like The Barbarians in RU.

Paid for and funded by the FA and coached by a footballing coach. All these lads must play in this team until they reach 20yrs old. I would suggest this team of English FOOTBALLERS would do very well in England. Transfers to the big clubs would generate more cash etc etc. I think this would be frowned upon by the big boys though.

Another problem, I have picked up on is Sir David Richards. Now this could be good or bad but he's the lead on Prem footy, FA footy and also has a steer on Euro footy.

The good might be that he can sway an argument across many footballing bodies.
The bad may be, he is a Prem puppy who will not let anything effect the Prem set up and all the money it generates ie is main interest is the Premiership and it's well being

[Alan Southstand]

But maybe too big a step all in one go, Cussie. The problem with the U17's situation, as I see it, they, sooner or later, get exposed to Stuart Pearce and his incapabalities. IF the U17's have done so well, we should be promoting that coach up the ladder and get rid of the unsuitable/inflexible ones.

Drip feeding these good young 'uns out to management teams who will build on the player's current performance level and understanding can only be for the greater good of English football.

[CusworthRovers]

I think it's unfair to expose Pearce as the villian. I goddam love the guy and all that he was about. That pen in Euro 96 and the reaction will go down in history. However, he may have shortcomings in coaching, I don't know, but you have to look at what he and subsequently Fabio have to deal with.

I think the problem may sit more with the Premier League itself. I would suggest players around 17-19yrs as an example of where we are doing well, do not play much in the Prem League or at best have 2,3,4-5 games a season in non entity games ie The Carling Cup or an easy FA Cup tie, or in other words they are still fresh faced footballers un-exposed to the failings of the Prem League (this maybe a coincidence or a telling factor in why we seem to be doing well with the younger age groups). As the players get older and approach 21yrs they have been more exposed to the demands and failings of Premier League footy either on the training pitch with the first team squad or actually playing. Those failings are not at club level, but quite clearly internationally.