England Thread

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This thread is to now direct all discussion of the England national team into one, concentrated place that can therefore be organised and also a hub for team news, events and possible issues that may arise for the England players, coaching staff, Football Association, fans (etc). Please refrain from argument as this thread will be used ahead of the UEFA European Championships during the summer of 2012, and for future usage, such as the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 UEFA European Championships to be staged in France.

Thank you.​


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Nice OP... like to start off by saying that Fans should really temper down expectations ahead of Euro 2012. Our best player is suspended for two games. A new coach has just come in. We dont have a captain and oh yes... our best midfielder has not kicked a ball this season.

Personally speaking, I would be happy to get out of the group stages. Anything more would be a bonus
 
Alcaraz said:
Nice OP... like to start off by saying that Fans should really temper down expectations ahead of Euro 2012. Our best player is suspended for two games. A new coach has just come in. We dont have a captain and oh yes... our best midfielder has not kicked a ball this season.

Personally speaking, I would be happy to get out of the group stages. Anything more would be a bonus
Click to expand...

Whaaaaat? Carrick has played 37 games this season. :)
 
Anything past the group stages will be a bonus.

Although no doubt people will be 'expecting' us to reach the semi-finals or final or something stupid, it probably won't happen, and this should be all about stepping-stones for WC2014.
 
Good idea for a thread.

Slightly optimistic about the upcoming Euro's. Not really the insane amount of pressure of WC2006 or 2010, see no reason why QF/SF are impossible.
 
Giggles said:
Anything past the group stages will be a bonus.

Although no doubt people will be 'expecting' us to reach the semi-finals or final or something stupid, it probably won't happen, and this should be all about stepping-stones for WC2014.
Click to expand...

To be fair, most people I've talked to have been muted about our chances of success. This can only be a good thing.
 
I've been an england fan since the 90 wc, and maybe this time without expectation on them they might surprise everyone and do something special like winning it, no pressure, no wags, no over hypeing just lots of luck and a bit of skill, who knows ????
 
I don't understand why the national team is taking so seriously, why don't we just think of it as being a bit of fun watching the best English players playing together against the best French players for example and if we win we win and if we lose we lose
 
Probably something to do with the amount of money they **** away in the process of this pursuit of a bit of fun.
 
Paul Scholes is open to offer of England return from Roy Hodgson

• Paul Scholes prepared to speak to England manager
• Roy Hodgson names Euro 2012 squad on Wednesday

Paul-Scholes-008.jpg

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Paul Scholes will be 38 this year but has not ruled out the notion of returning to the England squad. Photograph: Jon Super/AP

Paul Scholes is receptive to the idea of speaking to Roy Hodgson about the possibility of ending his eight-year exile from the England team. The Manchester United midfielder is not closed off to the notion of rejoining the squad and would speak to Hodgson with an open mind if the new manager wanted to investigate bringing him into his Euro 2012 plans.
Scholes quit the national team in 2004 after becoming disillusioned with the way Sven-Goran Eriksson was playing him out of position and the amount of time it meant being away from his family. Steve McClaren subsequently failed to persuade him he could still play a significant part in the England set-up, and Fabio Capello's last-minute attempt to bring him back for the 2010 World Cup was also unsuccessful.

However, Scholes rejected the chance to be involved in South Africa only partly for football reasons. Then, like now, the midfielder was open to the idea but Capello did not do enough to convince him. More than anything, Scholes was unimpressed that Capello did not contact him personally, instead using his assistant Franco Baldini to put in the call.
The late nature of that call, just before the England squad was finalised, did not help either, making Scholes believe England's then manager was not totally set on the idea.

Whether Hodgson has any interest in trying to revive Scholes's international career, currently stuck on 66 caps, remains to be seen. The England manager names his squad on Wednesday and has an extensive list of other issues to deal with, such as establishing the fitness of Scott Parker and Darren Bent and trying to pick a way through the John Terry-Rio Ferdinand issue. Both centre-halves can expect a call now the season is finished and Hodgson, as suspected, will quickly learn that their relationship is beyond repair as far as Ferdinand is concerned.

Scholes will be 38 later this year and officially retired last summer, saying at the time he could not keep up with the pace of the game. However, he has slipped seamlessly back into the Manchester United side after informing Sir Alex Ferguson he was ready for a comeback in January.

Even if Hodgson did contact him, there are other issues at play. United want Scholes to continue playing for another year and at this stage of his career he would have to establish whether a month-long summer tournament might affect him at club level. Ferguson would almost certainly want his player to have a less demanding summer but, equally, Scholes has shown before that he is his own man.

This is a no brainer for me. The only english midfielder who has been better than Carrick this season is Scholes in terms of passing. If he wants in, you take him and you pair him with a ball winning player with legs (Parker).
 
I'm not entirely sure how long Roy's known that the England job was his, but surely he'll have already spoken to Scholes? I'd love to see him in an England shirt again...
 
I've always said that with there being no expectation on England this summer, no hype about 1 individual lighting up the tournament or England winning it, I generally believe that without the weight on the shoulders of the players, they will play with the freedom they want and not how everyone wants them to play.

Every 4 years we go into the tournament with expectation on delivering for the nation and this plays a big part on the players, they haven't been able to cope with the pressure.

I want to see a young England side at the Euro's, take some Inspiration from Germany from what they have achieved and use the younger players as a baseline to help develop our younger players for WC'14. There's no doubt we have some talented young players and we should take them to help their development. I'm not expecting England to go far, the group is very, very tough and if we get past that, then I would think anything past that is a bonus.

Lets not get too excited and about England this summer, let's have the media back off and not hype them up and lets see the players do what they do week in, week out in the PL without the expectation of the world on their shoulders. We have a bright future with the younger generation in the game, and we can use this tournament as a development curve for the future.

Good luck England, I will follow as always and anything past the group, I will be happy with.
 
I don't agree with this 'no pressure' scenario. There is always a pressure when playing for your country, more so from the players themselves than anyone else. These players play for top clubs and are under pressure for every game they play each season, the pressure isn't the biggest issue.

The main problems are a lack of time together, to train and work with each other as they do for their clubs.
The divisions and split loyalties within the squad, something that Scholes highlightes not long ago.
The lack of tactical continuity and difficulty in making a transition between club and country footballing ethics.
The difficulty adapting to a completely different style of football, international football and our native, natural style are so disimilar.

It doesn't help that our best technical, ball retention specialists are frequently ignored. Michael Carrick has just 22 England caps and has been the mainstay of a side that has won four league titles and a champions league trophy in the last six years.
 
The possibility of seeing Scholes & Gerrard in CM together, gets me hard, if I'm honest. In my opinion, the 2 best CM's of the past 10 years, if not ever in the Premier League.

If Ginger was in the team, I'd probably go as far as saying we could win it. Even with Woy as manager.
 
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