all is forgiven…well nearly.
Watching the shambles last night against a poor Germany, along with every other game he’s been in charge off it looks like McClown was the problem during Sven’s reign.
Sven takes a hands off approach to managing, his coaches are the hands on in contact with the players bit and with the F.A. lumping him with the grinning ginger twat he is the common factor to the life being sucked out of teams, England under the Swede, Middlesbrough and this England side. Never trust a man whose mouth turns down when he smiles – see Jack Nicholson as the Joker and Channel 4 racing “pundit” Derek Thompson.
Ok I really don’t want Svennis back, even if his City are top of the Prem, I just want rid of the McClown and last night really enforced that, thank god I’d plenty of liquid refreshment to dull the pain. As the game went on you knew exactly what numbers he was going to play it by.
You knew that the better option of bringing on Taylor of Newcastle instead of Brown was never going to happen. You knew that when Wes Brown came on he was going to play…well stink it up at right back with Micah Richards moving to the centre, so that our best player going forward would end up as the furthest player back, you know that when Neville is fit he’ll go straight back in at rightback even though Richards is by far the better player.
You knew that Beckham would play the full 90 minutes dulling up the right, when everyone was screaming for a Richards, Wright-Phillips combo down that side. And you certainly knew the crap he’d come out with at the end to justify it all. You knew Dyer was going to come on to show he’s so well named.
You also knew all the stick that Robinson would get for the first German goal, at least Sven would have stuck up for the player by saying he would be first choice come the next game injury permitting but he didn’t get that backing from the McClown. Nah he got snivelling words from the snivelling wretch, along with the usual crap from the pundits who have never liked Robinson because he replaced one of their special ones.
Straight in to complain about Robinson’s position for the cross that led to the goal they never really question that it should never have got that far. Everyone knows what Thomas Hitzlsperger does, he’d done it previously in the game and nearly every week for Villa. He smacks pile driver shots at goal from outside the box, did they central pair close him down? Did they buggery. Same thing they didn’t learn for the second German goal as well as Ferdinand especially backed off Pander and then ponced out of blocking the shot – I really do hate that now, lazy sods like Ferdinand jumping away and turning his back pretending to block a shot but are really chickening out.
Shorey followed up Robinson’s initial save with a weak clearance, so Robinson took up a position for the cross (how painful is it having a Bernt Schneider?), which was immediately criticised without asking why he took it. Over the last few years England central defenders have struggled to clear crosses or corners, what John Terry does week in week out for Chelsea he can’t do for England. Robinson has no confidence that they will clear the ball so he has to gamble to get there first, so he was further out for an out swinging cross that became a mishit inswinger. Ah but that would mean having to have a go at Terry and Ferdinand and they’re not going to to that at the expense of a player they don’t like in the first place.
After all we were told by Alan “let me just repeat what I’ve been asked” Shearer that “Calamity” James was the best ‘keeper behind Cech last year. Err no, he played behind a defence that had a good year in a team that did well and he did OK, Ben Foster and Scott Carson played for poor teams who were relegated but would have gone down sooner without them and were excellent all season. Both better than James and Carson should have been the number two last night ahead of James who was another step back by McClown when Green from West Ham should have been third choice with Foster being out. But James once played for ‘Pool so no matter how much he cost them over the years he’s still their favourite, so Robinson’s flap at a cross is repeated and slagged while a similar flap from James is glossed over.
What more should we have expected from Shearer, when it was highlighted once again that Lampard and Gerrard don’t work in the midfield by the fact that Lampard and Carrick a looked balanced pairing, he kept insisting that two great players can play together. Well one point being where are these two great players you talk off?
It needs to be one from Lamaprd / Gerrard and one from Carrick / Hargreaves. The latter picked on the opposition, better opponents the more defensive Hargreaves otherwise the more attacking Carrick. The former has to be Lampard, yeah I’ve given Lumpalard a bit of stick since they qualified for the last World Cup, because he’s been useless since then and bleated about what he deserves but and it’s a big but he has performed for them which is something Gerrard has never done, I am discounting games against Iberian pub sides, in his 50 odd caps, over hit Hollywood balls can be left to Beckham and diving to others.
Of course this goes over Shearer’s head who asked when did the “holding midfielder” become so fashionable, claiming no one had used one before Mourinho arrived on these shores. Now Alan I realise it’s probably easy to forget David Batty behind you in that role during the years you spent playing together for Blackburn, Newcastle and England but haven’t you at least heard of Nobby Stiles?
Beckham showed again why he shouldn’t be in the side, repeatedly missing in action from the right, badly hit passes, having to stop the ball and place it to (mis)hit crosses, one decent set piece from double figure opportunities this may be alright for the MLS but it doesn’t cut it at international level.
Pluses – of course Richards, who will learn but currently has his pace to get him out of trouble, now if only Leeds had spotted their local talent he could have been snapped up by Spurs for next to nowt by now. Wright-Phillips, has some confidence now because he’s getting games but is wasted on the left with that bum on the right. Gareth Barry had some good touches when he came on, he at least can use his right foot something Shorey struggles with.
I’m in full agreement with Brian Glanville, McClown is the nadir of England football managers. Two steps forward – dropping Jenas and picking Richards – one hundred steps back.