England squad announced for friendlies against Spain and Sweden.

Jamie. said:
That's what I don't like about it, bless Rooney for wanting the ball to make an impact but he runs left/right/everywhere making it a bit tight and he constantly has to switch a 40 yard pass to the space he creates. I understand he's a good played but he can't really play a 4-3-3 unless he plays a false 9 and unless that's the England direction going forward I just can't fit it in.

The reason I prefer 4-3-3 is it does allow England to retain the ball better in the midfield and I'd prefer Parker DM with Lampard or Gerrard and Wilshere CM's rather than Wilshere DM with Parker DM in 4-2-3-1.

But going forward with Rooney and Carroll I suppose 4-2-3-1 is the only real viable option other than a 4-2-2-2 which is as out of fashion as fur.

I do prefer England 4-3-3 though, Euro's should be a great opportunity for Wilshere to shine at CM rather than DM and I'm happy with him/Parker/Lampard or Gerrard as a 3 man midfield with Rodwell waiting in the wings.

Problem for the Euro's is striker wise, ideally I'd go with an in form Carroll with Walcott and Young wide.

But it is a purely personal thing, I feel the same thing when I saw RVDV calling for it all the time at Spurs last season I think it's a little too selfish and most of the time RVDV made a bad call and a man in space got overlooked.
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The key here is to make the triangle lopsided, with Wilshere just ahead of Parker so he is floating up and around the CM spot.
 
Mike. said:
The key here is to make the triangle lopsided, with Wilshere just ahead of Parker so he is floating up and around the CM spot.
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Basically I was thinking the Spurs system but for England, so Modric's role will be taken up by Wilshere with Parker playing Parker's role and Rooney in a free VDV-like false 9 off of a striker.

A fluid 4-4-1-1 or 4-2-3-1 depending on opposition, that's the kind of thing I think Redknapp could bring to the table over Capello. Can not see Capello having the flexibility tactically to create a lop sided 4-2-3-1, I think he will limit Wilshere in a DM role rather than do what 'Arry would do and fit the system around the players not players around the system.
 
CJACKO11 said:
But Spain also bought on new players with new ideas and fully fresh including Torres, Mata, Carzola and Fabregas. Although im not getting ahead of myself this is Mr Negative at its best.
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Spain brought them on to give them minutes, England brought players on because the players they where replacing where gased. Imo most of the Spanish lads are considerably fitter and didnt have to rely on being fit as much as they have the ball whilst England run after it.
 
Guys stop debating 'Arry Redknapp's tactics for England
 
Shay Given said:
Spain brought them on to give them minutes, England brought players on because the players they where replacing where gased. Imo most of the Spanish lads are considerably fitter and didnt have to rely on being fit as much as they have the ball whilst England run after it.
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But Spain will do that to any team, they will wear them down with their passing. They did it to Switzerland but they got the goal and their discapline gets poor when things arnt going their way. England had a game plan and it worked, you cant say the only reason they bought on them players was to give them minutes. They are all world class players and England shut them out simple as that.
 
Shay Given said:
Spain brought them on to give them minutes, England brought players on because the players they where replacing where gased. Imo most of the Spanish lads are considerably fitter and didnt have to rely on being fit as much as they have the ball whilst England run after it.
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On the contrary the england players are fitter due to the tempo. Pressing without the ball is MUCH harder than have possession with it, the fact the England pressed so well all game is testament to their fitness. And the only player really out on his feet was Parker. Ramos was lucky to still be on the pitch. England changed players to also give them minutes so that argument doesnt quite hold weight.

Rather than if and buts, lets concentrate on what actually occured
 
CJACKO11 said:
But Spain will do that to any team, they will wear them down with their passing. They did it to Switzerland but they got the goal and their discapline gets poor when things arnt going their way. England had a game plan and it worked, you cant say the only reason they bought on them players was to give them minutes. They are all world class players and England shut them out simple as that.
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For once CJACKO says 'simple as that' and it actually is as simple as that. ;)
 
Mike. said:
On the contrary the england players are fitter due to the tempo. Pressing without the ball is MUCH harder than have possession with it, the fact the England pressed so well all game is testament to their fitness. And the only player really out on his feet was Parker. Ramos was lucky to still be on the pitch. England changed players to also give them minutes so that argument doesnt quite hold weight
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Don't know how that guy does it. Gave a 150% on pitch, and on top of that took a few wacks. Why we never used him ages ago is beyond me
 
Mike. said:
On the contrary the england players are fitter due to the tempo. Pressing without the ball is MUCH harder than have possession with it, the fact the England pressed so well all game is testament to their fitness. And the only player really out on his feet was Parker. Ramos was lucky to still be on the pitch. England changed players to also give them minutes so that argument doesnt quite hold weight.

Rather than if and buts, lets concentrate on what actually occured
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Exactly. When Spain bring on the likes of Torres, Reina, Fabregas, Cazorla, Puyol and Mata (296 caps between them) and England bring on Downing, Rodwell, Johnson, Walker, Welbeck and Barry (93 caps between them) the whole 'oh Spain were just giving them minutes' theory is rather turned on its head.
 
ajt09 said:
Don't know how that guy does it. Gave a 150% on pitch, and on top of that took a few wacks. Why we never used him ages ago is beyond me
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He should have 50 caps by now
 
Capello did what he does best; organising the team to defend like a true Italian. A fantastic win for us, I am particularly impressed with the defensive (including DMs) effort and pressing because they pulled it off fantastically. Of course, they had defensive lapses, but even the best do. Jags and Lescott developed a fantastic pairing (maybe re-ignited from their Everton days) and with the defensive Jones and Parker in front of them, they didn't do much wrong.

However, my only worry after this game is that England didn't prove their ability to counter-attack or keep possession and their goal was a fairly lucky one (although it obviously still counts). Walcott proved to be quite a threat with his pace, but he is only one man out of eleven (and Spain easily committed fouls to stop him in his tracks). Without a bit of luck and some brilliant defending, England would have been dead as they hardly looked like scoring compared to Spain who always looked dangerous.

Do England play better without Rooney? I don't think so, Bent is no doubt a top striker and poacher, but he doesn't come deep and doesn't really cause problems unless someone pings an accurate ball over the top for him to chase (not many in the squad can pass over long distances accurately). I think a Rooney and Bent partnership would be worth trying out for Capello, especially as he can't really lose anything from it.

But the tactical and physical side was spot on today, full credit to the players/staff for neutralising the dangerous Spanish threat and playing to our strengths (which is not possession football). But against another team, on another day, it all could have been a different story so we need to iron out our flaws and make sure we don't get distracted by this near-meaningless win.
 
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