England – Giants in Slumberland

For a nation that produces the Cream of the Crop in genuine footballing talent , it is seriously a wonder why such massive quality has not translated to much success on the Big Stage save a 1966 World Cup Final extra-time 4-2 win against Mighty West Germany and a semi final 1-0 loss to Yugoslavia in the 1968 European Championship Finals.

Players of exceptional standard like Alan Shearer, Bobby Charlton, George Best, Gary Lineker, Kenny Dalglish, Kevin Keegan, Paul Gascoigne, Bobby Robson, Terry Venables ,Paul Ince, Glenn Hoddle, Teddy Sheringham, Ian Wright,  Gordon Banks, Gary Paliister, Bobby Moore, Gareth Southgate , Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Gary Neville, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch, Andy Carroll, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Ashley Young and the list continues.

Are the expectations of touching the pinnacle of success and the faint hopes of the millions of fans and supporters all over the world always going to end with a bitter pill of disappointment.

Most often, the players are always at the receiving end of harsh criticism and flak for choking where it matters most and not delivering the much coveted success expected of them. Are they the real problem? Is it true that they are just some prima donnas that have no sense of pride in representing their nation and achieving fame on a Global Level? These players do not seem to have a problem expressing themselves and performing beyond expectations where their respective clubs are concerned be it the English Premier League, The Spanish League, The Italian League, The German League or any other League.

Lets look at the real culprits in question,  beyond the façade of the players not performing well. I managed to narrow them down to two possibilities.

The first one seems to be the amount of time the players spend together to develop and train as a team and to gel as a unit. The most successful football clubs have always done well largely due to the fact that the players have spent a great deal of time training together and familiarizing themselves with one another over many years. So just spending a few weeks training together before each game will not bring about any sense of cohesion or familiarity among the players. This in turn will badly affect their game and horrendous performances will follow after.

The second reason in my opinion, is tactics. Be it a (4-4-2), a (4-5-1), a (4-3-3) , a (3-4-3), a (3-5-2),        a (5-4-1), a (5-3-2), a (6-3-1) or any other gung-ho or ultra defensive tactics or formation, they need to change accordingly to counter the opposition. If every match is going to be played with a (4-3-3) or      (4-4-2), it is never going to translate into anything fruitful on the pitch. The greatest players will most certainly be willing to adapt to any formation or tactics for the benefit of  going forward as a footballing superpower. Likewise, the greatest coaches  must be willing to exploit the opposition shrewdly in order to achieve great success.

If the above shortcomings can be addressed and tackled tactfully, accolades, superlatives and trophies aplenty will be the order of the day in no time.  Euro 2012 and WC 2014 are not very far away and the dreams and hopes of the starry eyed millions of fans, of landing these much awaited trophies will hopefully not fade into oblivion.

Will the Giants in Slumberland finally wake up and smash their opponents to smithereens?

Suresh Menon

Comments

[Veronica]

Another gem of an article after the one you wrote for BOM. Am becoming a fan. Well done.

[E.Hamid Reza]

Realistic and to the point.Liked the part about the tactics especially. So very true. Kudos Suresh Menon. Keep going. Congratz

[Matchpoint Trading]

Artistic and articulate. Just curious through, thought I read an article recently from this same writer for The Blue of Manchester City. Is this the same person?

[Alan Tan]

Cool article. Honest and truthful facts seamlessly written into a beautiful article. Cheerios.

[W.Jeanette]

This is fabulously ravishing. Had a jolly good time reading it. FF has unearthed a Diamond. Keep up the great work.

[Anonymous]

You should go and coach England mate. Then the Giants in Slumberland might finally wake up and smash their opponents to smithereens. Wicked stuff. Good job.

[Die Hard England Fan]

Mr Capello , I seriously hope that you read this and WAKE UP. Otherwise you better let this Suresh guy coach England. He seems to be a better choice than you just based on what he has written. Two Thumbs Up Mr Suresh.

[Sathi]

Yet another master piece! Bravo! :)

[Suresh Menon ( S M )]

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all my well wishers. I appreciate it very much.

Suresh Menon ( S M )

[Kristen J.G]

Where did you guys find this writer? He sounds like a coach or master tactician who knows the modern game inside out. Excellent read. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Good luck.

[AJ Erika]

Hard hitting and realistic. Very nice. Good work and looking forward to more

[Spain Fan]

For the sake of England's future I hope this article reaches the intended audience. Come on England, when you gonna challenge us seriously. You cant even dispose of the minnows and crap teams. Its time to step up the game. Inspiring and neat article. Keep it up.

[Jessica Tan]

I am impressed. Seriously where do you get the inspiration to write like this? Wonderful follow up to the one you wrote abt Mancehster City FC. Great great great job.

[Shini]

Very nice and interesting throughout. Really enjoyed it a lot and wonderful job to Suresh Menon.

[Caleb]

Joyful ride of an article. Great work