What is Wrong with the English National Team?

It is a fact. The country that has never been a major factor in soccer: Russia defeated England by winning 2-1 in Moscow. The consequences of this defeat are many and they are all bad. Firstly the chances that England would make it to the Euro 2008 are close to none. This would be the first time in a long time a world soccer power like England doesn't make it to the European finals.

The English team isn't playing good soccer for years and there are many reasons for that. Lets start with the fact that England has never have a great goal keeper. In the past Seaman used to be the problem for the English national team. There are tons of games that England lost because of Seaman. It is not a secret to anyone that Seaman failed a great team in the 90`s. Because of his skills as a goalkeeper England lost from Brazil in the 1/4 finals at the World Cup. There are many other cases that proved that Seaman isn't the right person for the job. So along came James, who until now has no idea what he is doing. He is still an average keeper for all those years, he hasn't changed a bit. Finally we got to Robinson who is probably the worse goalkeeper in the history of England. He was average when he played for Leeds, but after he moved to Spurs he has been playing below average. Just mentioning the game against Aston Villa where they scored 4 goals on him for 20 minutes. The game against Russia wasn't different. He was simply terrible and he should be blamed for the second goal of the Russians.

However the goalkeepers aren't the only problem for the English squad. Another problem is the fact that Lampard, Cole, Terry, and Gerrard aren't playing the same soccer as they play in their clubs. The biggest mistake which someone can make is to call Crouch in the national team. He is probably the worst player that has ever played for England. His inability to play soccer is becoming more than evident and I don't know what has to happen in order for him to leave this profession. The other guys at the team aren't even interesting to talk about. The only bright lights in the squad are Rooney and Owen. However they have proven that they cannot play together and they are struggling. Alan Smith is a good player however he doesn't get any chances to prove it. He had many injuries and that is probably the reason why he isn't playing often. All in all the squad needs to be completely refurbished and reconstructed.

Here we are getting to the main problem and that's the coach. The coach of England is the worse choice that the English Soccer Federation could've chosen. He has no idea what is going on and this reflects the results which England has "achieved" during his rule. He has to be removed as soon as possible and on his place has to come a coach who knows what English football is all about. I think that Manchester United and Arsenal have great coaches that will bring the English national team to the place where it is supposed to be: On top!

In conclusion, we can say that Euro 2008 has lost one of the biggest teams, and the European cup wouldn't be the same without England. There is a World Cup in 2010 and hopefully by then England would have some radical changes, which can bring the team back to glory.