I know we don't usually give a thought to English football but Steven Gerrard announcing his retirement from the international game it raised some thoughts:

[*]I am getting old! Dude you are only 34!

[*]Does England take the opportunity now to do a complete overhaul of its top team?

[*]Give the guy credit; 114 caps and never was his inclusion questioned. There is now a Gaping Hole in England's midfield.

 

Just my 2 cents' worth...

I know we don't usually give a thought to English football but Steven Gerrard announcing his retirement from the international game it raised some thoughts:

[*]I am getting old! Dude you are only 34!

[*]Does England take the opportunity now to do a complete overhaul of its top team?

[*]Give the guy credit; 114 caps and never was his inclusion questioned. There is now a Gaping Hole in England's midfield.

 

Just my 2 cents' worth...

 

Not sure about that.  Scholes should have started in the centre ahead of him and Lampard every single day of the week, but Eriksson bottled it and shifted Scholes to left mid. I'd have said Stevie MB£'s inclusion would have been questioned then.

 

I'm not criticising the player, just the manager. Gerard was/is a very good player on his day; I'm not convinced he's as good as some think but again, that's not his fault.

 

I'd also say that as England have failed again at a tournament that an overhaul was demanded and that should have been nothing to do with their captain retiring. If he was still there it was still required, but what can they do anyway? Their players just aren't that good these days. 

 

Look at England through the last 30/35 years.  For my money, their most gifted players were Scholes, Hoddle and Beardsley - I'm not getting into Gascoigne as he was a crackpot.  Can anyone really say Hoddle, Beardsley and Scholes were used to their potential for England?  All won a lot of caps, but England never used them properly.  Their managers weren't clever/advanced enough to get the most out of them, their other players never on the same wavelength to utilise their talents to the max.

 

If England want to achieve the things they think they should be achieving, they need to address those attitudes and embrace new ideas.  They're about the only big nation in Europe without a bonafide midfield playmaker - why? They have no one who can control the pace of a game, no one who can continually keep possession in front of their own defence but then turn it into an attack in a split second.  My opinion is that they still see the English game as one of power and pace - not realising that everyone else has moved on and they're left looking rather stupid when they think Carlton Palmer can do just as good a job as Robert Prosinecki because he runs about more, for example. That's still their attitude. 

 

Apologies, turned into a lengthy piece, but their problems aren't solved or brought about by Gerard staying or going. Their issues are way beyond that.

^^^ Agree almost 100% with this.

 

Possible England might improve if some other "guaranteed" picks with shitloads of caps "stepped back" if not retire, at least not play friendlies, or the "easy" qualifiers?

As good as Scholes was I think Gerrard was every bit as good. He could score from anywhere in the final third, he'd get assists and he was probably more of an athlete than Scholes and definitely better then him defensively when required. Having said that I would have dropped Lampard and kept Gerrard and Scholes in the middle.

 

Obviously Stevie's game has changed in the last couple of years due to him slowing down a little and it's fair to say he's adapted really well. But I still have reservations about this new contract extension that he's been offered. I'd have waited until towards the end of the new season before offering an extension. Having said that he should benefit from the rest during international breaks.