bit of an 'oops' moment i feel. oh dear! when did it all go wrong!? infact, when did it all go so right that we thought 'yeah, we're fucking awesome at this'
FIFA RANKINGS (previous position in brackets):
1. (4) Spain
2. (3) Italy
3. (5) Germany
4. (2) Brazil
5. (10) Netherlands
6. (1) Argentina
7. (15) Croatia
8. (6) Czech Republic
9. (11) Portugal
10. (7) France
11. (24) Russia
12. (12) Romania
13. (13) Cameroon
14. (20) Turkey
15. (9) England
16. (17) Scotland
17. (18) Bulgaria
18. (8) Greece
19. (14) Mexico
20. (16) Ghana
It's probably the whole not qualifying for Euro 2008 thing.
I think it started to go wrong when the premier league was formed.
stupid response
"started to go wrong"
^ stupid response.
eh?
when was it ever going right?
also, i believe that you can't blame everything on the emergance of the premiership. we don't exactly have a great history in tournaments, it's actually been better in recent times.
It's not too much of a shock though
given we've not played competitively and most of the teams that went above us due to Euro '08.
Where we are after the first few qualifiers'll be far more significant.
yeah
you just need to look at argentina as well. theyve gone from being the best to the 6th best team in the world.
its all down to euro 08
also fifa rankings
are a load of bollocks anyway
well
thats very true.
but still, made me laugh a bit.
Agree
To be honest though, after what we saw in the Euros I think most sides there showed more class than England have in the last however many years. Remember how bad the French were and yet just a few months back they completely outclassed us in Paris...
Indeed
yet I think people put too much emphasis on this point - France themselves looked a much worse side last month than against us in the friendly - it wasn't *just* a case of the opposition being poorer. I'd suggest that the two nations at the moment are going in different directions... France backwards rapidly, while we're making tenative steps forwards.
15 place isn't unreasonable given the fact that we failed to qualify for the Euros.
I'm inclined to agree.
And, although it's early, I'm starting to fear Capello isn't going to revolutionise English football in the way we all hope. There were maybe signs in the last couple of games we're a bit more in control of the midfield than we have been but our performances aren't significnalty different to under McClaren and the truth is I'm skeptical as to what extent we have the players in depth to for Capello to really turn things round in any case...
Given the time that
Capello's had so far, you can't expect much to have changed yet - it takes time to really change things properly, and he's had what about three games and about 12 days with his players? The fact that the players are being told to pass the ball around rather than lump it up the pitch is a significant improvement (not to mention that they seem to be starting to listen) and over the last three games I'd say we've gone from looking pretty awful to average - again, pretty important.
I can't see England being World Cup winners in 2010 or anything, but *if* the early signs come to fruition we should be in the last 8 on merit rather than through luck and set-pieces.
Meant to say
I do agree on the players that we've not got too much depth, but that's actually the case with a lot of countries in various areas on the pitch. If the side plays as a team rather than a set of individuals out to make a name for themselves it doesn't matter quite so much anyway (see Gerrard/Lampard next to each other in the side).
I'd agree with that.
And think you're right in all you say.
But I do think people are expecting Capello to turn us into world beaters and obviously there's only so much he can do and I'd question whether we have the personnel to achieve what many might hope...
Can he can get us playing better? Sure.
Can he rectify the fact that,for example, bar a permamently-unfit Owen, we don't have a decent out-and-out striker? Not so easily...
I think the players
are beginning to learn the benefit of keeping the ball at international level now. The best sides at Euro 2008 all knew how to keep possession in tight areas. Our players ought to be capable of that, it's getting that mentality into them.
Capello also made an interesting point about having to not only educate the players but also the fans to appreciate a different style of football to the blood and thunder style they're used to.
We could start
with a cull of the tabloid media and all the crap they print every England match. It does nothing but to build up expectations to a completely OTT level. Anyone who used the phrase "golden generation" first please.
That does involve gagging the players too though.
They're every bit as guilty of talking up their chances to insane levels as the press are.
No bad thing really.
Again, in all seriousness, if anyone's got the ability to sort out the players heads and stop them blindly believing and preaching about the hype (while still believing they have the potential that they do) it's Capello. In particular the younger players are particularly prone to being led by the media into making audacious statements.
It's really unfair
to say the performances haven't improved after four games. He's basically having to completely change our attitude to football. Which is nigh-on impossible. If it happens, it will take at least two years. There is no better man in the world to sort English football out. Fact.
But that's my point.
Not that Capello's not the right man for the job but the job he's being employed to do is "nigh on impossible".
That's nothing to fear, though
He'll get us closer to being a world force than anyone else could in my opinion. There's talent in the side, there's just a serious lack of ability in certain areas - areas that are becoming more and more important in the international game. I think in the end it comes down to the players. In the end, I have faith that Capello is smart enough to make it work. Whether the players are going to show the commitment to really change their games and radically improve as modern footballers I don't know. I have a feeling a good number of them think they're untouchable and don't need to work on anything.
In the end, in the end
Jesus christ, this is the worst day in my writing life. Every post has been horrible. I'm sorry.
I agree with your last point
and think in some cases Capello may eventually need to drop some of the big names and get in players who are perhaps less talented but more capable and willing to play the game how Capello wants them too.
The problem comes when you
look around and find most of the squad players are very similar in style to the first team. Which is why I wish some of them would go and improve themselves abroad for a bit of a pay cut. Never going to happen, though.
I agree wholeheartedly.
I was and am delighted he took the job and am backing him all the way. Early signs are encouraging and the France game showed how far we still have to go. I only hope that the press and fans realise how big the job he's trying to do is and cut him some slack if we're beaten in Croatia in September.
You'd think now people might have spotted Croatia are a decent team.
They won't though, obviously.
Yea
but we're Ingerland innit and we're better than all those poncy european teams coz we've got JT and Stevie G and Rooooooney! [/End England Fan]
No, I agree. A lot of European teams've been underrated in England (Britain as a whole?) for a while and we tend not to give them the respect they deserve. Joe public keep being told that we're world beaters though and until the mass media (as opposed to specialist media) tells them otherwise, we're gonna be stuck with that.
You only have to
see the Premiership centric nature of comments by a number of so called experts at Euro 2008 to see how clueless the press are about European or World football as a whole. I don't think Shearer passed comment before a game about a player who didn't play in England.
As I've said before though I think that's to be expected.
I mean Shearer, Lawrenson etc. are employed to be experts on the English Premiership so it's not surprising they have a Premiership-centric view of things.
It is silly, however, that they employ people with a Premiership-centric view of things to do the punditry at international games too rather than people with a better Europe-wide knowledge.
Yes, I suppose
that's more the problem. That's also probably why I found Martin O'Neill and Marcel Desailly refreshing - they didn't just pick out Torres, Ronaldo or Ballack as 'key' men.
They're actually willing
to voice their own opinions too - they don't just say exactly what you expect from the English media about things. If O'Neill was doing an England game and we were well beaten, it'd be about the other side being good as much as England "not performing to their full ability" or whatever other euphamisms the rest of the bunch would use.
They've dropped
partially because of Euro 2008 and also as it counts results over the last four years and Euro 2004 is now no longer counted - hence why Greece have also dropped like a stone.
Incidentally, Scotland might go above England if England don't beat the Czech Republic in a friendly in August or something...
FIFA World rankings are stupid anyway, it's impossible to rank international sides like that really.
i wouldn't fancy England to beat any of the top 11 teams there.
Scotland just one below England eh???
When they overtake it will be GOOD TIMES
The world may turn inside out
I think the last time this happened was in the age of steam!
England...
are one place ahead of Scotland in the FIFA world rankings.
Oh. My. God. I didn't realise how crap WE are.
Jack, Scotland fan
*Joke stolen shamelessly from the Football365 mailbox
these rankings are a joke
when Italy won the world cup in '06 i'm sure we didn't get the #1 position, yet Spain win the Euro Championships and go top ?, also why have we risen to 2nd we were shit, and Germany better than Brazil & Argentina LOL
Spain have been on a pretty incredible run for well over a year, though
In real terms, I think Argentina are significantly better than Brazil at the moment. Germany probably are better than Brazil as things stand.
Brazil are 4th in
the South American WC qualifiers and really don't look that good a side at all. A team of individuals.
Unlike Paraguay
Who is a team of one individual.
And wins.
Well, more than the others.
And please don't challenge that
As I really don't believe it. Like, at all.
They're top at the moment
aren't they? I was impressed with them at the Copa America last year. I haven't seen any of their qualifiers yet.
Yes
They beat Uruguay, Chile, Ecuador & Brazil only allowing one goal. And with, I think, 11 for.
Don't forget
it's based performance on the last 4 (or however many) years and weighted based on the strength of the sides you play against. Germany've done pretty well in that time against all expectations. The South American teams struggle bcause they never play particularly strong teams in qualifying tournaments. Not to mention underperformance on the world stage.
Having looked at this again
and despite knowing that Fifa rankings are bollocks.....I still think they kind of work. They may be made up by the Fifa canteen staff at tea break time but the point made above about England (or any team) having a hard time beating those above them sorta holds true.
England
are still too high.
Have Argentina been doing rubbish in the WC qualifiers recently?
They started off well enough
But then they had an easy run of games initially. Still second, one point ahead of Chile and Colombia with a decent GD though.
yeah whos your daddy now
or something.
Sven's at 19!
England team should be
Almunia
Richards, Woodgate, Ferdinand, Cole A.
Hargreaves
Wright-Phillips, Cole J.
Walcott, Owen, Rooney
Cheers Ossie.
how the fuck are
bulgaria 18th?
how on earth
are Italy second? they were awful at the Euro's but have managed to go up a place.
They beat France (beating high-ranked sides wins points)
and they are still world champions.
how are
scotland one place behind england?
Almost qualifying for Euro 2008?
Beating good sides on the way too