Being right never felt so wrong

In one blog I questioned whether Remains project fear was toxic enough to turn people to brexit and in this one I structured concerns about 433 and Raheem Sterling. What a bitter sweet week.

Hodgson has finally gone, probably learning nothing along the way, but will England finally accept reality? Our players aren’t individually good enough and our managers tactically inept.

Watching Giaccherini play his part in a team focussed Italy reminded me why I’ve struggled to enjoy England games. We don’t care for winning tournaments.
That’s not to say the players don’t want to win it, I’m sure they do, but their application is consistently limited by the FA and their horrific choice of managers.

Despite a sturdy Euro 2016, Italians recognise there are few players coming through and the quality of Italian football has stumbled. They have as many world beaters as we do.
We also share another troubling problem, strong central players limiting our capability out wide.
Italy found a solution; they employed a manager who rated his players accurately and didn’t need a Neymar or Griezmann.

For England, the problems are obvious. Sterling is not yet good enough, either on or off the ball. Sturridge can’t play in an isolated position. Taking one defensive midfielder limited us tactically. And we had no idea how to use width, either in 433 or by playing narrow with full backs.
Defensively, and pointed out by Lee Dixon against Iceland, the detailing/application was inefficient.
Hodgson really is to blame for this one. And Conte should be admired.

Initially happy enough with the England team I hoped Roy would play narrow and put to bed the myth that selfish central players play wide naturally. But no, our obsession with 433 resulted in a flat approach in attack with a hugely inefficient formation.
Italy’s second goal against Spain is a shining example of what England need. We may want great players doing great things but those times are at the moment behind us. There are no Scholes, Beckham’s, Shearer’s, Gazza’s etc who make a good team stronger. Therefore first and foremost we need a team.

Individually, England aren’t good enough and neither are Italy. But why is Giaccherini in a quarter final, whereas Townsend and title winning Albrighton, Drinkwater stuck at home?
The answer is management, from both the FA and Hodgson.
Would Marc Albrighton get a friendly if he was worth £20million+ with 1.3 million twitter followers? What about Noble?

Why are we still shunning tactics for favourites? I think it’s time we accepted the fans vision of success is very different from the FA’s.

The next England manager must be someone who considers Albrighton an option, who recognises the value of Drinkwater next to Dier and who isn’t concerned about dropping a player without the mental capacity for his tactic. Sometimes the star isn’t a star performer.

They don’t need to be English; they just need to know how to win and why their tactic works.
And we England fans deserve it.

Roy, just play the best players

I was happy enough with England's performance against Russia but I only thought we looked right after Dier scored the opener. I finally saw a use for Sterling.

Lallana did exactly what a forward should do in 433. Pass early, keep the ball moving at your feet unless there's an overlap, draw defenders to create space, try one two's and make sure the pace of play is purposeful. He may not be a star but he played his part and allowed Walker and Kane to stick to useful positions.

Sterling however slowed the play, allowed defenders to settle, waited for tackles, and caused players to recheck runs/come for the pass. I'll keep the head shaking to a minimum.

When I compare other nations players I'm absolutely baffled why someone like Townsend or Albrighton were not embraced as tactical weapons. Euro 2016 will be won and lost though concentration. Either a defender giving himself a moment to rest or an attacker who doesn't take a chance. You need aware players who create chances, good or bad.

However there's no opportunity for change, and I'm not all that disappointed. Though Roy can gain balance, even if it's only playing to the teams natural abilities. 

Therefore I don't think 433 is a tactic England can rely upon. We must play narrow and use our full-backs. We may lack some natural technicians but we have intelligent energetic team players, which frustratingly need some time to bed.
Kane next to Sterling and Lallana forced a false 9 approach, but England need a striker up at all times because Rooney doesn't score from distance any more. Similarly Walker and Rose need two strikers to aim at because they're not precision crosser's.

The balance is still wrong and it will require the best players to play. Milner for example had to start against Russia because Kane would've spent more time on the front foot.
With two tough games to go and the Welsh only needing a draw we need to pray that Sterling's other use is making a Championship player feel inadequate.