The Premier League is a natural stomping ground for the world’s elite, the players that dazzle and delight before picking up a colossal pay packet at the end of the week.
But what about those individuals that are simply there to ‘do a job’?
You know the ones, the defenders who will launch the ball into the stands at the first sign of danger, or the strikers who are only useful when placed inside the 6-yard box. The manager’s favourites, the cult heroes in the heart of the supporters and those who give us all hope that we could still make it as a professional.
With this in mind, I have decided to collate the top 15 ‘limited’ performers still grazing on the grass of the Premier League.
Click on Shola Ameobi to see the full list
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Manchester United are the latest club to have been linked with a move for young Crystal Palace starlet Wilfried Zaha recently, but given the team’s obvious deficiencies elsewhere, would Sir Alex Ferguson be best served prioritising where he spends his money, if the club does any business at all in January?
The 3-2 win in the Manchester derby away at the Etihad Stadium was just about the deserved result for United at the weekend, having made all of the running in the first half before being pegged back in the second. Nevertheless, it just served to highlight the lack of control that the team has in the middle of the park, especially when put under pressure by top class opposition, and their team average of 88% pass accuracy which has seen them achieve 55% possession from their 16 matches so far dropped noticeably to an extremely poor 73% accuracy and just 47% of possession against their local rivals. It’s clear that the battle for progress is not being lost out wide.
Ferguson lined up his side in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Wayne Rooney supporting Robin van Persie through the middle along with Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young on the left and right, leaving Tom Cleverley and Michael Carrick in midfield, where they were routinely outnumbered and played around. Carrick, like his team’s average, made just 73% of his 60 attempted passes during the match and it’s clear that they’ve forsaken any form of a possession-based game over the past year or so in favour of strengthening where the team does do well already; on the wings and up front.
The 20-year-old Crystal Palace winger has been in exceptional form for high-flying Palace this season, having made his full England debut last month and his direct approach, pace and versatility would seem to make him tailor-made for Old Trafford, but in every other sense, the move doesn’t quite add up.
It seems that the only reason that United have been linked with a move for Zaha is because Arsenal have in the past and Wenger refused to rule out a move for him in January (also refusing to rule him in, it’s worth noting), and this all fits in rather neatly with the newspaper narrative of a ‘bidding war’, something which seems to have been completely fabricated. Chelsea will be the next club to be ‘chasing his signature’, then Liverpool will get another go, then possibly Tottenham. That’s just how it works, particularly with young English players who ply their trade in the Championship and play in a forward position.
It’s hardly as if Ferguson isn’t blessed with options up top and out wide as it is and he’s struggling to find a system which allows him to balance out his top-heavy squad. Nani has been linked with the exit door recently, with the somewhat laughable explanation behind this being that he was left off the club’s official calendar for next year, the same as Anderson, Darren Fletcher and Rio Ferdinand, but nobody is talking about them moving because of it and the club rarely lets players leave in January, especially one so useful.
That’s not to mention first-choice winger Valencia, who was rushed back from injury for the derby game and England international Young, who while a divisive figure amongst the club’s fans, is capable of playing in a number of roles and appears to be a firm Ferguson favourite just as he hits a rich vein of form. Whenever Kagawa returns from his spell on the sidelines too, he’ll most certainly be made room for, whether that means pushing him or Rooney out wide as a result remains unclear, but that’s one less space for a winger yet again, with van Persie tantamount to undroppable now.
The idea behind the move is that the two clubs apparently ‘enjoy good relations’ simply because United were interested in former Palace product and now Southampton right-back Nathaniel Clyne for a bit last season. There’s no real substance to the move at all, even by flimsy rumour mill standards.
The story has concocted this unlikely scenario whereby United will purchase Zaha for roughly £15m then immediately loan him back to Palace to aid their promotion push. Aside from deals like this rarely ever being struck, much like the famed ‘swap deals’ that practically never happen but are a weekly occurrence according to the press, just why would Palace agree to such a raw deal in the first place? They have no real pressing need to sell and they could fetch a higher price should they go up in the summer, if they want to sell at all in the summer.
No, it’s at centre-midfield and perhaps even at centre-back where Ferguson could do with a bit of tweaking and for all intents and purposes, a team that has scored 40 goals in 16 league games this season does not need yet another attacker to try and integrate.
Any central midfielder that has enjoyed a spell of good form across Europe in the past three or four years has been hailed as ‘the solution to the team’s problems’, like the proverbial missing link, which just goes to show you how clear the weakness in the side is and how continually baffled everyone else is that Ferguson hasn’t bothered to try and patch it up. This partly explains the shifting of emphasis on to a new figure every other month, with PSV’s Kevin Strootman the latest answer to an ever-evolving question.
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Shipping 23 goals in those same 16 league games and going behind in 14 fixtures this term across all competitions points to three things – a soft underbelly, a porous defence and a fantastic forward line that’s covered up the main issue plenty of times.
The weaknesses of this United side are clear, and they remain a deeply flawed side, however, given the relative lack of depth and talent in terms of the competitiveness of the league this term, that might just be enough to see them over the line.
The club haven’t been afraid to dip into the transfer market in January to good effect in the past with both Evra and Vidic shining examples that you can do smart, sensible, long-term business during the window, but with concerns to Zaha, while in some ways he looks a good fit for their style of play, the club simply has far more pressing issues to address elsewhere first.
Stoke City striker Michael Owen is the main January transfer target of Spanish club Espanyol, according to the Metro.
The former England striker has made just one league appearance since his summer move to the Potteries and despite now being fully fit; he cannot get into the overachieving side.
Spanish newspaper Marca claim that the former Real Madrid striker could be tempted with a move to the Catalan club as he massively enjoyed his previous experience in La Liga before a failed move to Newcastle United.
The centre forward has admitted on one of his many football related television appearances that he may not have too many years left in him and so a nice retirement home in Barcelona could be an option.
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Stoke may be happy to let Owen go as his high wages will be better off spent somewhere else but it is yet to be seen if the player is interested.
We all talk of the West Ham way. It’s mostly used in the context of the way the game is played. On the floor, rarely in the air and exciting. That has recently been challenged by Big Sam’s tactics and the West Ham way is under threat. But don’t worry, there’s still one thing about the West Ham way we can all rely on. Injuries.
Loads of them, all at once. Again. Luckily we’ve been cursed by the injury virus so close to the January transfer window. However, the luck runs out quickly when the subject of funding comes in to play.
After promotion and during the summer, Big Sam made some shrewd signings and claimed his business was pretty much done for the season. He felt we had a squad big enough and good enough to compete again in the Premier League and, at first, he was spot on.
But long term injuries to Ricardo Vaz Te, Andy Carroll, Mohamed Diame and Alou Diarra have hit us hard, as well as the short term losses of George McCartney and Yossi Benayoun.
Suddenly our squad is thin to the bone, so much so that Sam Allardyce was forced to name just six substitutes in the 0-0 draw away to West Brom last weekend, four of which were young, unexperienced academy graduates.
One thing that will hinder us, as mentioned earlier, is funding. As a club still in £80 million debt, we’re not in a position to start throwing money around, which has both its pros and cons depending on what way you look at it.
We can be safe in the knowledge that we won’t see pointless, injury prone signings like in the past, especially under Gold, Sullivan and Allardyce. New arrivals will be well thought out and only to strengthen the squad and not just for the sake of just bringing in a new player.
A striker, a midfielder and a defender are all top priority, while it has been rumoured that Allardyce is looking at bringing in a replacement for Jussi Jaaskelainen. It is, of course, common knowledge that money must be spent in order to remain in the Premier League. But with our finances still in a precarious position, we must rule out spending big money on a player who is only going to use us a stepping stone for a bigger, better club.
There are many deals to be had out there this January, most notably Celtic’s Gary Hooper who could be available for a mere £2.5 million. While we should be looking to take a leaf out of Swansea’s book when looking abroad. There must be plenty more gems across Europe who are on par with Michu and available for peanuts.
In defence, a right-back and a central defender to act as cover for James Tomkins, James Collins and Winston Reid are needed. The fear is that, if one of those were to get injured, we’d be pretty weak at the back. Ideally, a player who can play both right and left-back as cover would be welcome, although those players are becoming increasingly rare in today’s market.
However, aside from some new arrivals to add strength in depth at Upton Park, Allardyce needs to ensure some of the club’s current top performers are tied down on improved contracts. Rumours are surfacing that Winston Reid is on the verge of signing a new deal, which is hugely encouraging because he has to be one of the most improved players at West Ham over the last year.
Mohamed Diame is another player who must be made to sign a new deal with that ridiculous £3.5 million release clause removed. Clubs must stop agreeing to those terms in order to protect themselves and West Ham are in huge danger of losing one of the best midfielders they’ve had at the club for years.
Apart from Frederic Piquionne, there aren’t any players who should be allowed to leave the club in January because they all have a part to play in the second half of this season, and have been so impressive in the Hammers’ impressive start to the season.
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It’s either going to be an exciting transfer window for West Ham or a hugely disappointing one. If the right players are signed and Allardyce gets his targets we can look forward to a similar second half of the season as the first. The most encouraging thing, though, is quality of players that are set to return from injury in new year.
That will, no doubt, be playing on Allardyce’s mind when he goes shopping in January.
What do you think? Should Sam Allardyce take a careful approach to the transfer market, or should he try and spend as much as he can in order to add strength in depth at West Ham?
For those amongst the Premier League elite looking to recruit another goalkeeper this summer, there aren’t too many candidates around likely to boast a résumé that can hold a candle to that of Barcelona’s Victor Valdes.
Following Valdes’ recent announcement to not renew his contract at the Camp Nou past 2014, it’s thought that the Catalan club are happy to listen to offers for a keeper who has won just about everything there is to win within European football.
Since breaking into the first team back in 2003, the 31-year-old has gone on to win a staggering five La Liga titles, three Champions League trophies and victory in two Fifa Club World Cups – not to mention five Zamora trophies, the award handed out to the keeper with the lowest goals-to-games ratio in the Spanish top flight.
And considering the current dearth of goalkeeping quality that seems to exist within the Premier League, you get the impression that Valdes might not have anything in the way of a lack of suitors, should he wish to face a fresh challenge within the realms of English football.
With a host of the league’s top clubs experiencing more than a touch of difficulty between the sticks this term, Valdes couldn’t have picked a better time to seek a ‘new challenge,’ in the near future.
Indeed, while Valdes has publicly gone on record as fancying a change of scenery after winning everything there is to win in Spain, there is a school of thought suggesting the one-time Tenerife trainee is unhappy at his failure to be offered contractual parity with his fellow top-earning countrymen at the club. Such financial issues shouldn’t be much of a problem should he move to one of the Premier League’s big hitters.
With the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United having to deal with their fair share of inconsistency in the goalkeeping department, you would have thought they’d be jumping through hoops to try and attain a goalkeeper with the sort of trophy haul that Valdes has attained.
Yet despite being a mainstay in a team widely regarded as one of the greatest club sides of their generation, Valdes’ individual standing within European football sits in stark contrast to that of his trophy haul. In fact, his talents seem to be viewed with such suspicion within some quarters of English football, attaining Valdes’ signature has even been described as something of a relative gamble.
It’s fair to say that Valdes’ stock within Spanish football has always been devalued somewhat, often unfairly, by the remarkable achievements of his great El Clasico rival and Spanish national captain, Iker Casillas. Valdes isn’t without his faults as a goalkeeper, but having to spend the bulk of his career being compared to one of the greats of his generation, is a comparison that would bathe most goalkeepers in a negative light.
Likewise, there’s an argument to be made that the unparalleled success of the very team that in which he’s played a part of for near on a decade, has in fact unfairly harmed his own reputation.
Bar the likes of a Casillas or a Gianluigi Buffon, there are very few goalkeepers around that could boast something approaching the equivalent talent – if that is indeed possible – of the sort of outfield talent on show at the Camp Nou.
When supporters see the sort of unworldly talent Barcelona usually exhibit in the final third, even though that sort of expectation can’t be realistically applied to a goalkeeper, eyebrows have often been raised at some of the cheap goals that Valdes has conceded over the years. When things have gone awry for the Blaugrana, fairly or unfairly, Valdes has been the easy scapegoat for both supporters and the media alike to turn to.
But for all the often-unfair stereotypes that are thrown Valdes’ way regarding flakiness, his reptutation as something of a weak-link within this Barcelona team isn’t without foundation.
Because should a Premier League team or anyone else in Europe for that matter, fancy trying to tempt Barcelona’s hand, had he left in January he’d have departed La Liga as statistically one of the poorest keepers of the league so far.
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Statistics may only tell half of any story, but with a 1.7 saves per goals conceded ratio, only Deportivo’s Daniel Aranzubia can claim to have a worse ratio within La Liga. Again, while Valdes may have less shots to deal with than your average stopper, a save percentage of just under 65% is one bettered by another 17 goalkeepers in the Spanish top flight.
For all his outstanding ability in the one-on-one and gifted set of reflexes, too often Valdes’ concentration has gone astray and while it’s not easy for a goalkeeper to have to deal with such long period of inactivity as he has to at Barcelona, too often we’ve seen him cost his side valuable points. Certainly last season, Valdes did more than most to cost his side success in both domestic and European competitions.
A move to the Premier League may ultimately prove to be a real roll of the dice for both Victor Valdes and any club that potentially decides to put their faith in the 31-year-old.
For those looking to address a shaky presence within their rearguard, signing Valdes could well prove to only maintain their current status quo between the sticks. For the player, leaving one of the safest goalkeeping spots in European football for a far more physical and volatile league could be a very risky move indeed. Those who dare may ultimately win, but for all the medals that Valdes has attained, he still remains a gamble.
Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez is set to be one of the most desired signings this summer, as Napoli join Liverpool among the list of clubs interested in the Chilean international.
The 24 year-old is not enjoying as many opportunities as last season at the Camp Nou and might have been advised to find a new club, calling the attention of Premier League and Serie A’s top sides, claims Talksport.
Sanchez has struggled to maintain the level shown last season with Barcelona and, playing in many occasion a substitute role, has only managed to net 4 goals in 31 appearances with the Catalans so far this year.
Brendan Rodgers is keen on the Chilean striker and rumours about a loan attempt from Liverpool circled during the last January window. The Reds would be now interested in acquiring the players, although two main obstacles could step on their way.
The first one could be the price, as Sanchez joined Barcelona during summer 2011 in a £23 million deal and Barca might expect to recover a substantial part of the investment. Whether Liverpool will have the funds for a substantial outlay remains to be seen, given their recent financial figures for the year.
Secondly, the Reds would find strong competitors in clubs in Napoli or Juventus, as the Chilean is still highly valued in the Italian league where he impressed everyone during his time at Udinese.
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Nevertheless, Barcelona will have the last word as other factors such as Villa departure or new signings might have an impact in a hypothetical summer departure.
With a large squad and a lot of talented youngsters, it is important that Manchester United send players out on loan to continue their progress and gain valuable first team experience. Below is a list of several players who have been sent out on loan by United and how they are getting on.
Manchester United’s Chilean forward Angelo Henriquez was sent out on loan to Wigan Athletic at the start of the January transfer window. Roberto Martinez brought Henriquez to the DW Stadium as back up to Arouna Kone and for cover when Kone went to the African Cup of Nations. Henriquez has only made two appearances for Wigan, one was a half time substitute in the FA Cup against Bournemouth, the other was against Sunderland. Henriquez scored in the 3-2 defeat to Sunderland, and his involvement in Wigan’s first team will help the 18-year-old’s development.
Fabio Da Silva, Rafael’s twin brother is on loan at Premier League side Queens Park Rangers. With first team appearances hard to come by with Patrice Evra and Alexander Buttner in the squad, Sir Alex Ferguson believed a loan spell would help Fabio. During his time at Loftus Road, Fabio has made 20 appearances for the relegation-threatened club and scored in their 4-2 FA Cup defeat to MK Dons. But his time with QPR has been slightly overshadowed by injuries.
Federico Macheda, famed for his last minute winner against Aston Villa in 2009, has struggled to force himself into United’s first team. Towards the end of January, Macheda was sent out on loan for the rest of the season to VFB Stuttgart. Macheda has made nine appearances for the German side and is yet to register a goal. Stuttgart’s sporting director Fredi Bobic claimed that Manchester United had promised the German side the option to buy the striker at the end of the season, but Macheda has made it clear that he will return to Old Trafford.
United’s Portuguese star Bebe is currently out on loan at Rio Ave in Portugal. After returning from injury after damaging his cruciate ligament, Bebe was sent on loan to the Portuguese side to continue to develop. Sir Alex Ferguson signed Bebe even though he had never seen him play and he has not featured much at Old Trafford. During his loan spell, Bebe scored on his debut in a 1-0 win over Maritimo. He has added another goal in his other seven outings for the side.
Michael Keane has been on loan at Leicester City since early November. The young centre back has featured heavily for the Foxes since he arrived on loan and has been impressing with strong displays and even earned a call up to Stuart Pearce’s England under-21 squad. Keane has appeared for Leicester 20 times and chipped in with a few goals. Most importantly, Keane scored a last minute equaliser against United’s bitter rivals Leeds.
Sam Johnstone is currently on loan at League One side Walsall. The young goalkeeper was England’s under-17 goalkeeper when they won the European Championship in 2010. During his time at Walsall he kept a clean sheet in his first three games, only to concede in Walsall’s last game against Sheffield United.
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Young Italian playmaker Davide Petrucci is on loan at Peterborough United. The young midfielder has been hampered with injuries through his early days as a Manchester United player, but now this seems to be behind him. The Italian has incredible talent and is eager to impress while playing for Darren Ferguson. Petrucci has made three appearances for the Posh and he scored a screamer as they came from behind to beat Leicester 2-1.
Sir Alex Ferguson believes “refereeing decisions went against” Manchester United in Sunday’s loss to Chelsea at Old Trafford.
United suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea at Old Trafford on Sunday but Ferguson was far from happy with the performance of referee Howard Webb.
Rafael was shown a red card in the closing stages of the contest for kicking out at David Luiz, but Ferguson feels the Chelsea defender made the most of the incident in order to get his compatriot sent off.
He said: “He (Luiz) rolled about. You see that a lot with foreign players. He did roll about and made it look worse.
“To be honest, I don’t think the referee has seen it. He has been convinced by Luiz’s reaction.”
Ferguson admits that his side didn’t deserve to win the game, but believes a number of decisions went against United over the course of the 90 minutes.
He told Sky Sports: “The team took their foot off the pedal. There was no edge to the game all day. I think Chelsea deserved to win.
“Unfortunately it was controversial, it always is when we play Chelsea, but we can’t complain because we didn’t play well enough.
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“It was a bit of a lucky goal, it has deflected off Phil Jones. I can’t make any excuses in terms of the performance. Certainly refereeing decisions went against us. They surrounded the referee all day, four or five players all the time.”
Dave Whelan plans to speak to Roberto Martinez this week about his future, as the Spaniard appears the front-runner for the Everton job
Wigan’s eight-year stay in the Premier League ended on Tuesday, when their drop down to the Championship was confirmed with defeat at Arsenal.
Speculation is now rife that boss Martinez will move on and he remains the favourite to take over at Everton, who need a replacement for the Manchester United-bound David Moyes.
However, Whelan is hopeful that the Spanish coach will still stay on at the DW Stadium and is expecting an honest conversation with him about his future soon.
“At the end of the season what we always do is get together and have a talk,” Whelan told BBC Radio 5 live. “Roberto is so honest and I’m honest with him. We put our cards on the table and whatever Roberto says we will accept and we will honour.
“We’d all love him to stay.”
Whelan acknowledges there are some “big and wealthy” English clubs interested in his manager, with Everton said to be among them.
“He’s being chased regularly by some very, very big and wealthy clubs around England,” he added. “We’ll have talks to persuade him; if we need to persuade him because he is a dedicated man.
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“He goes by his word. He’s so honest and we respect him enormously. Everybody in Wigan hopes that Roberto stays with us.”
We could start with some cliché about England never learning when it comes to international tournaments, but then there really is no other way to begin.
It was embarrassing that Steven Caulker felt the need to talk up the U21 squad’s prospects for the final and that he would like to see “us up against Spain.” I’m sure he would. It would also have been a good final, or at least a good way to mark a significant step by beating any of the following: Germany, Italy or The Netherlands. But England don’t think like that, choosing not to acknowledge all the possibilities for failure along the way.
Three defeats from three, so what’s the best course of action? Well Stuart Pearce needs to be brought up in discussion. Whose fault is it? Are English youth players just not good enough? Surely even a half decent coach could bring about a little more fight from a group of youngsters, many of whom are attached to Premier League clubs. But Pearce was quick to downplay the quality of his squad, rather than identifying the complete absence of anything worthwhile keeping him in the dugout.
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Three losses and one goal scored – and largely in an abject manner. All the while Spain have cruised through the group stages in a way that can almost be described as a waltz, effortlessly charming yet as devastating as ever.
Wilfried Zaha was the first out of the door to confess his shock at the result of the whole tournament for England. Wilfried Zaha, a player who has been hyped to the hill and back. Oh he’s been fantastic for Crystal Palace, apparently. Palace, a team who were competing in the second tier of English football. In Comparison, Italy were focused around the often exquisite Marco Verratti; The Netherlands were able to call upon Kevin Strootman and Adam Maher; and as for Spain, Thiago, captaining his nation, was outstanding, David De Gea continued on from his fine form of last season, but Isco in particular has been beyond magnificent.
Nations like Spain are reaping the rewards of these tournaments at senior level, and they will do for many, many more years to come. What happens when Xavi and Xabi Alonso decide to hang up their boots from international football? Simple, Javi Martinez will step in – a player who regularly competed with the Spanish youth teams – and, of course, players like Thiago are showing why they’re not only capable of making the step up, but also that they’re good enough to dictate the game for some of the biggest clubs in Europe.
England are forever too quick to talk up their prospects of victory instead of focusing on the long-term effects that tournaments like these have. No one needed England to win, but the FA and Roy Hodgson, I’m sure, would have been keen to see some progression in the way of good football and the integration of players who may make the step up permanently to the senior side in the near future.
Arsenal have often been at war with England in the past, with Arsene Wenger battling to keep Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere away from international duty following a demanding domestic campaign. But why wasn’t Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain involved? Like Isco and Thiago, the Arsenal youngster has Champions League experience, he’s played for the senior team, and above all is good enough to make a difference.
There is so much evidence to suggest England have no idea what they’re doing. In the past, and in order to feed his own ego with the hopes of success and glory, Pearce has looked to bring in young players who have turned out for the senior side. Was that to make his life a little easier? Why, when Zaha was clearly one of his better players this time around, didn’t Pearce properly coach his team and star players to play the game to their own strengths? Again, it shouldn’t matter about winning the competition, the emphasis of these tournaments is on development. Spain are hardly going to parade the European U21 trophy around as if to try and grab some gratification. Their victory parades come following World Cups and European Championships; it’s all about building for the bigger picture and yet you don’t sense that England quite understand that. For Pearce especially, it just looks to be another opportunity to enhance his own CV.
The intelligence of the Spanish and Germans should be greatly admired. Of Course, it helps when academies all over their respective nations are excelling at bringing through youngsters, but it’s completely backwards in England, starting at the very top.
Both the senior team and the U21s are coached in a manner that isn’t befitting of modern football. Hodgson’s team rely on a ‘traditional’ 4-4-2 with no real playmaker when Jack Wilshere isn’t available. The U21s are coached by a man who seems to relentlessly fight against the ropes that are pulling surrounding nations into the modern era. It’s the back-to-basics long ball football that rises to the fore when the teams struggle. Instead of persisting with what is deemed to be right and what will bring results in the future, the coaches revert to what they know best, all the while hampering the technical development of future senior team regulars.
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It’s embarrassing that a country like England is so poor on the international front, an issue which stems from the inability to properly educate young footballers. But the misery is compounded when such ridiculous statements are put forth. Where is the evidence that England can indeed navigate through the groups and rounds of the U21 tournament and emerge in the final against Spain? It’s this false hope and feeling of dejection that drags over into the senior team and prolongs failure.
Are England on the wrong path to developing its youngsters?