I still won't understand what is so special about international football that makes people care. Qualification spread so far apart, with teams that rarely train together, its just not good football, neither should you expect it to be nor be disappointed when its not.
Its a marketing exercise at this point, people blame all the managers, yet Sven, the Clown, Capello and Hodgson keep picking the same teams, the same failing players, and people feign surprise. The players are picked based on the clubs they represent by and large, with a few players on rotation and a few on who the public randomly choose to believe are great that year.
Johnson and Walker are inept, try Baines or Cole at right back, contrary to popular belief, its a position with the same duties, we've seen countless fullbacks "fill in" and do a great job on the opposite side to normal at club level, but its deemed impossible at international level, despite moving other positions around whenever they want. Baines/Cole are so far ahead of Johnson/Walker defensively its embarrassing.
Carrick utterly utterly worthless player, meh going forwards, utterly inept defensively, no pace, no presense, nothing to his game. Cleverley in that midfield, is pointless, and Gerrard does much of nothing in most of his games for the past 2-3 years and has always been "meh" for England. Young got into the England team on club form ages ago, and has been Englands most consistent scorer/assister outside of missing games injured, since he started playing for England, him starting should be a given. Milner has been utterly woeful since he's been starting for England, he was woeful before then, he'll always be woeful, he's 100% the opposite of a player that could win a title, a team full of Milners would never get anywhere. Barry, same deal, useless clogger, no skill, no talent, just runs a lot, thats it.
Defoe SHOULD have started, ignore the goals, and his supposed selfishness(something everyone decided Sturridge was, then he joined Liverpool and was proclaimed the solution and brilliant for a month, and now is called a bit crap again.... English football fans fickle.... never), Defoe's movement is fantastic, he'll spend every second of a game pulling CB's out of position and working the defence, even when he's not scoring he's making space for others ALL the time.
Welbeck is utter, utter crap, just crap, completely crap, how he's a professional footballer I do not know.
The team is picked on how valuable tickets/adverts and marketing crap for the England team will be, that means a few Utd players, no matter if they deserve it, a few Liverpool players, a few Chelsea players a few City players a few Arsenal players, a few Spurs players, and then 3-4 guys they rotate but don't rely on to make it seem like the FA aren't pretending the bottom 14 teams don't exist.
Scotland... same thing, Caldwell gets picked because he's the most high profile scottish CB in the premier league, thats it, he's god damned horrendous. Collins has been terrible for 3 seasons yet still gets games and was dreadful for Wales yesterday.
This is international football, the stupid/funny thing is, as per usual these are by and large the teams 99% of fans would pick, then complain about when they don't perform.
The average England fan says Milner is good and Johnson is great and both should start, then complains 4 minutes after we drop points because those two are crap. Very few international teams pick the "best" squad that can be made, nor start the best 11 players to form the best team possible, they pick who is popular, then they play who is popular, and 90% of the football is crap, and its exactly what the fans want until they lose, when they beg for something different, and then they complain when their favourite/most popular/players in top 6 teams aren't being picked.
England regularly pick Barry(less these days), Carrick, Walcott, Welbeck, Johnson, Walker, and then wonder why they play cack football. Gerrard is better than he appears, but doesn't work in the England side AT ALL, and never has, he shouldn't be picked based on whats best for the team, not on individual talent.
Hodgson will leave, fans will blame him, we'll get a new manager, everyone will love the changes he makes(despite fielding almost an identical team, but pretending its some magic formation by giving it a new name), they'll thrash Moldova 24-0 and the fans will proclaim this is our time, then we'll lose to someone cack, and people will notice the team hasn't changed at all, but they'll still blame the manager, and still demand their favourite players get picked, and still moan if the manager tries something new like dropping their favourite players.
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