England v Iceland 20:00 27 June 2016

Hahahahahahah....Absolutely feckin shocking........Couldn't even get the basics of passing right most of the time.....

Watching the match the other evening, I realised that absolutely nothing has changed in the past 20 years, in fact we have regressed abysmally, and I put this down to the appointment of two foreign managers who were obsessed with formations and systems. During the tenures of Terry Venables and Glenn Hoddle, there was no mention of diamonds, Christmas trees and all that kind of nonsense. They simply selected their strongest teams and put them out in a 4-4-2 formation, which by some margin suited the English style of game. What a shame it was that Venables became embroiled in all that legal distraction, without which we could have enjoyed years of success under his management. In my opinion, it cannot be denied that not one player in the 2016 squad would have been good enough for the 1996 team, which was, in case anyone has forgotten:

Seaman; Neville, Adams, Southgate, Pearce; Anderton, Ince or Platt, Gascoigne, McManaman; Shearer, Sheringham.

As for the next manager, some ridiculous names have been put forward. For me, the choice is obvious: Glenn Hoddle. It is clear from his co-commentator contributions that he knows the game inside-out, still has relative youth, energy and passion on his side, and should be forgiven for his naive comments about disabled people many years ago.

The performances of the Italian team at this tournament have been a breath of fresh air, and I really hope that they go on and win it. Yes, they do play to a pre-determined system and formation, but it comes naturally to them through their domestic game and temperament. The three at the back all play at the same club, know their roles to perfection and are brilliantly entertaining in the way they interact. The two forwards have great pace and understanding and are a joy to watch.

Their manager, however, is a nauseating presence as far as I am concerned. He spends the whole game right on the touchline, jumping up and down, screaming and pointing, attempting to get his players to move into positions dictated by him. His antics are a ridiculous distraction and are one reason why I believe that technical areas should be abolished. I hope that Premier League referees next season will have the guts to tell him to shut up and sit down in the dugout, or else be sent to the stand.

midlandstufc

If you think it's always Londoners coming up with the innovative tactical thinking, then there are TUFC Forums to cater for that viewpoint .

It's the case that when it comes to inventive and pioneering thinking in the world of football, Torquay United defenders have always been ahead of their time.
Just take the incredible Nico at the moment and the multitude of fresh ideas he's brought to us. His pre-season plans will be on a different level to the outmoded routines of Knill and Cox.

And so it was with the Christmas Tree !!   Forget El Dagenham Tel, and credit a man who played 225 times in The Gulls defence. Nice work Bert.


 link: Bert's Christmas Gift To Football


And some really interesting points made by Stewart, even if I don't fully agree with absolutely all of them.