The FA Premier League: England Football's Blessing and Curse
July 2, 2006 7:36 PM
The Premier League has it all: loadsamoney; loadsagoals ; and some of the world's greatest players. Young English players are able to learn from the very best in the game. Despite warnings years ago that English football would be worse off to cheap imports of foreign players, both the fortunes of the game at a club level, and the learning of English born players have benefited from the influx or talent.
But has the quality of team play in football advanced in this country beyond the rough and tumble of the 1980s?
I promised myself one posting on this website about the World Cup and one day on from England's defeat to Portugal, so thanks for indulging me by reading this far.
I can't say I'm surprised by the level of finger pointing at individuals that our defeat has brought. Sven has borne the brunt of most attacks, and as the man directly in charge of the team and its tactics, that is perhaps understandable.
But is it too easy to lay the blame at the door of one man - particularly one who we already know is leaving?
England did not perform as we had expected. Is that the fault of the team, or the fault of our own high expectations?
The majority of players in the team wow us on a weekly basis in the Premier League. A 90 minute match between two top English club teams has as much excitement as an entire football highlights programme for leagues in some other European countries. It is only natural to hope for such excitement from our team at an international level.
But is it realistic?
Let's be honest, British football does not specialise in short passing, careful build up play. Even our most successful teams have a tendency to want to get the ball to the star individual playing up front - often at the earliest opportunity, rather than at the best opportunity.
We expect flashes of individual brilliance from our highly paid star strikers at club level - often we see it. It's the individual talent that provides both the entertainment, and the goals so loved by football supporters.
Seemingly the rest of the world appreciates that the quality of performance as a team of eleven is more important than relying on the chances of brilliance from a handful of individuals within the team.
Our players play on the basis I've described in the Premier League week in, week out. With around 10 international matches a year, our very highly paid players have few opportunities to adjust to a more international approach to football.
The sad fact is, with the possible exception of Rooney, England do not have the players who can be relied upon to produce enough flashed of brilliance in the course of one match to create the opportunities to score goals. Without a number of highly creative players who can be relied on to show their brilliance, England will have to learn to adjust to put the team above the individual.
This is going to be incredibly difficult without a cultural change of how football is played in the Premier League. Which even if it occurred, will lead perhaps to the loss of many of those things that English football supporters love about football.
It will take more than the loss of an internationally respected coach to turn England into a World Cup winning team. Poor Steve McLaren...
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