The dream is dead!
Oh what a night! The drama! The tension! The knowledge of what’s at stake! Its nights like these that make me fall in love with sports all over again. I’m referring of course, to the Euro 2008 qualifier played last night between England and Croatia. Stunned into silence when Croatia took a 2-0 lead. Then celebrating wildly at 2:45 AM as England drew level. Only to drop back into silence as Croatia scored their third with thirteen minutes left in the game to make sure that England wouldn’t be a part of Euro 2008. What a game!
Before the game began, it was all clear - simple, really. At the imposing Wembley stadium in London, all England had to do was draw against Croatia and they would be through to the Euro 2008 finals. Heck, if England won by a big enough margin, they’d even finish top of the group! At the end of a long qualifying campaign full of so many ups and downs, this was a fitting finale.
The first half was bad, real bad from England’s point of view. They were pathetic. Their strategy was all wrong. ‘Macca’ takes the fault for that one. And putting Carson in goal was a gamble that shouldn’t have been taken for such an important game. But Macca decided to be bold, and it cost him dear. The Croat’s’ first goal should have never gone in. Carson just looked lost out there the whole game. To not get his body behind his hands and to let that goal go in was a shock that England never recovered from. And to their full credit, the Croats never let them. They struck less than ten minutes after their first with another goal, again exposing the timidity in Carson’s approach. He was a spectator as the Croatian player rounded him and put the ball into the back of the net.
Not all the blame should be placed on Carson. Football is, after all, a team sport. So, let’s look at the rest of this England team. The defense – the less said the better. Sol Campbell was slow, Lescott always seemed to be on the wrong side of the Croatian players, Micah Richards was not his usual imposing self, and Wayne Bridge had an assist in one goal and struck the bar with a shot; of course, the fact that his assist was to keep the Croatian’s second goal scorer onside and that the crossbar he struck was his own sums up his miserable night. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I actually missed Ashley Cole – he wouldn’t have played that bad. But then again, even I could’ve played better than Bridge did last night!
Coming to the midfield and forward, well, it was just all wrong. The formation. Wright-Philips instead of Beckham. Lampard and Gerrard. Barry instead of Hargreaves. I wonder if Gerrard will ever impose himself while wearing an England jersey. Or Lampard for that matter. I admit I’m not a Lampard fan. I think he’s one of the most highly overrated footballers in the world. And hearing him being booed in previous matches brought many a vindicated smile to my lips. However, the way that he stepped up to take the penalty in the 55th minute of yesterday’s game was momentous. The score was 2-0 in favor of Croatia. If England was able to convert the penalty, they would be right back in the game. With all of Wembley holding its breath, for Lampard to step up the way he did and put the ball into the back of the net – however unconvincingly it was – says a lot of the man. Maybe Lampard the player hasn’t played well for England, but the courage and determination he displayed yesterday was inspiring. Take a bow Mr. Lampard! Let’s not get too carried away though – except for that one moment, the man was mostly invisible on the pitch; which brings me to the most visible England footballer on the pitch, Mr. David Beckham.
Beckham’s introduction at half-time in place of Wright-Phillips charged up the crowd and seemed to rattle Croatia. England also replaced Barry with Dafoe at the break and moved to the preferred 4-4-2 formation. It took a few minutes after the break, but England started to fall into rhythm. Their passes were crisper, people were shutting down open areas, loose balls were being run down, passes were being broken up all over the pitch and they started to look menacing. Dafoe darting around made Crouch’s life easier. There were a couple of corners, some free kicks. Watching the game, I just had the feeling that England would draw level. And my, how they did! Beckham wasn’t at his peak fitness, but his pinpoint accuracy helped him pick out Crouch in the box who chested the ball down superbly and slotted past the goalkeeper. Wembley erupted! Their talisman was back! All they had to do was hold on for another 25 minutes and they would be in Austria and Switzerland.
But wait, why play for the draw? The way the team was playing, a win wasn’t out of the question (especially with Beckham in the line-up), was it? In England’s case, it was! Fate intervened, in the form of Macca. The cameras focused on Macca and the commentators read his lips as he yelled at Dafoe from the touchline to fall back behind Crouch. England went from a very successful 4-4-2 to a rather ordinary 4-4-1-1. The English players became confused. Roles and responsibilities suddenly became unclear. England lost their shape, creating open spaces on the pitch. Defenders were caught out of position. Urgency was lost. Tackles were not made. The Croats were given room to maneuver and they made England pay by scoring a third goal, one that Carson should have stopped. But he didn’t. He hadn’t recovered form the first-half shock. Apparently, neither had England.
It was sad to watch England lose. I’m sure the players are devastated. And they ought to be. They’ve let down a nation…Euro 2008….without England. It still hasn’t sunk in yet. The repercussions will be huge. Macca should be fired, and replaced with someone who can inspire the players and add some flair to the English game. Certain players need to be dropped. Bench strength needs to be developed. Inject some pace. The post mortem has begun. Hopefully, three years down the road, we will see a different England team out there in South Africa. One that’s aggressive, full of flair, and with a real chance of winning the World Cup. Of course….there’s only one problem…..qualification!
Before the game began, it was all clear - simple, really. At the imposing Wembley stadium in London, all England had to do was draw against Croatia and they would be through to the Euro 2008 finals. Heck, if England won by a big enough margin, they’d even finish top of the group! At the end of a long qualifying campaign full of so many ups and downs, this was a fitting finale.
The first half was bad, real bad from England’s point of view. They were pathetic. Their strategy was all wrong. ‘Macca’ takes the fault for that one. And putting Carson in goal was a gamble that shouldn’t have been taken for such an important game. But Macca decided to be bold, and it cost him dear. The Croat’s’ first goal should have never gone in. Carson just looked lost out there the whole game. To not get his body behind his hands and to let that goal go in was a shock that England never recovered from. And to their full credit, the Croats never let them. They struck less than ten minutes after their first with another goal, again exposing the timidity in Carson’s approach. He was a spectator as the Croatian player rounded him and put the ball into the back of the net.
Not all the blame should be placed on Carson. Football is, after all, a team sport. So, let’s look at the rest of this England team. The defense – the less said the better. Sol Campbell was slow, Lescott always seemed to be on the wrong side of the Croatian players, Micah Richards was not his usual imposing self, and Wayne Bridge had an assist in one goal and struck the bar with a shot; of course, the fact that his assist was to keep the Croatian’s second goal scorer onside and that the crossbar he struck was his own sums up his miserable night. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I actually missed Ashley Cole – he wouldn’t have played that bad. But then again, even I could’ve played better than Bridge did last night!
Coming to the midfield and forward, well, it was just all wrong. The formation. Wright-Philips instead of Beckham. Lampard and Gerrard. Barry instead of Hargreaves. I wonder if Gerrard will ever impose himself while wearing an England jersey. Or Lampard for that matter. I admit I’m not a Lampard fan. I think he’s one of the most highly overrated footballers in the world. And hearing him being booed in previous matches brought many a vindicated smile to my lips. However, the way that he stepped up to take the penalty in the 55th minute of yesterday’s game was momentous. The score was 2-0 in favor of Croatia. If England was able to convert the penalty, they would be right back in the game. With all of Wembley holding its breath, for Lampard to step up the way he did and put the ball into the back of the net – however unconvincingly it was – says a lot of the man. Maybe Lampard the player hasn’t played well for England, but the courage and determination he displayed yesterday was inspiring. Take a bow Mr. Lampard! Let’s not get too carried away though – except for that one moment, the man was mostly invisible on the pitch; which brings me to the most visible England footballer on the pitch, Mr. David Beckham.
Beckham’s introduction at half-time in place of Wright-Phillips charged up the crowd and seemed to rattle Croatia. England also replaced Barry with Dafoe at the break and moved to the preferred 4-4-2 formation. It took a few minutes after the break, but England started to fall into rhythm. Their passes were crisper, people were shutting down open areas, loose balls were being run down, passes were being broken up all over the pitch and they started to look menacing. Dafoe darting around made Crouch’s life easier. There were a couple of corners, some free kicks. Watching the game, I just had the feeling that England would draw level. And my, how they did! Beckham wasn’t at his peak fitness, but his pinpoint accuracy helped him pick out Crouch in the box who chested the ball down superbly and slotted past the goalkeeper. Wembley erupted! Their talisman was back! All they had to do was hold on for another 25 minutes and they would be in Austria and Switzerland.
But wait, why play for the draw? The way the team was playing, a win wasn’t out of the question (especially with Beckham in the line-up), was it? In England’s case, it was! Fate intervened, in the form of Macca. The cameras focused on Macca and the commentators read his lips as he yelled at Dafoe from the touchline to fall back behind Crouch. England went from a very successful 4-4-2 to a rather ordinary 4-4-1-1. The English players became confused. Roles and responsibilities suddenly became unclear. England lost their shape, creating open spaces on the pitch. Defenders were caught out of position. Urgency was lost. Tackles were not made. The Croats were given room to maneuver and they made England pay by scoring a third goal, one that Carson should have stopped. But he didn’t. He hadn’t recovered form the first-half shock. Apparently, neither had England.
It was sad to watch England lose. I’m sure the players are devastated. And they ought to be. They’ve let down a nation…Euro 2008….without England. It still hasn’t sunk in yet. The repercussions will be huge. Macca should be fired, and replaced with someone who can inspire the players and add some flair to the English game. Certain players need to be dropped. Bench strength needs to be developed. Inject some pace. The post mortem has begun. Hopefully, three years down the road, we will see a different England team out there in South Africa. One that’s aggressive, full of flair, and with a real chance of winning the World Cup. Of course….there’s only one problem…..qualification!
posted by Sandeep at 2:27 PM
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