Quote Originally Posted by micklyons1hardbstd View Post
He showed his true colours, when holding Man Utd and Alex Ferguson to ransom, over a new contract....And slagging England fans, that had made the long, very expensive trip to south africa in the world cup.....Lets not pretend we're dealing with a top bloke here....He's changed his public ways, purely because he's been given the England captaincy. ..by default. ........I haven't felt a connection with England players since Euro 96, when overpaid egos didn't seem to be a problem...You saw and felt what it meant. ...International breaks now, are a pain in the ar$e to me......We will never follow the German/Spanish model...because we have fewer national players in our league....And more pertinently, we have to always crowbar the so called superstars, eg Gerrard, Lampard, Rooney etc into the side, for sponsorship rights, clubs they play for, managerial cop outs, Fan pressure etc.....Why have under 21's, if there isn't a chance in hell, they'll get promoted. ....Its a team game....And a well drilled, hungry team, should be doing far better than it is......For me...International goalscoring records, only register, at major tournaments.....Thats when you prove your worth.
Agree about his outburst in South Africa but to be fair I don't think he has ever lacked ever for England, the fact is e just hasn't been as good as our media made him out to be, he has been a good Premier League player but not world class.
International breaks are a pain in the backside, maybe that wouldn't be the case if there was any belief in England playing with fresh ideas and a different approach but it has been dull to watch for far too long.
As you say, we have far fewer players to choose from in our own leagues or indeed any top league than the likes of Spain, Germany, France and Italy and the Premier League clubs, owned by foreign businessmen and coached by foreign managers don't care about giving English youngsters a chance. I dare say our own club would be the same if we were to get promoted and you can't really blame them - Managers need proven players to help them keep their jobs and owners need success now to prevent any chance of losing their Premier League millions.
We are a long way from success with England and only real implemented rule changes to get more English players a chance to play and develop at the top level will change that.