27/03/2007, 10:56 PM
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| مشرف سابق بمنتدى الرياضة العالمية | | تاريخ التسجيل: 01/04/2004 المكان: ANFEILD ROAD
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دايم اتابع مقال هالادمي
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With no Premiership action for the Reds much of this week's focus has been taken up with the problems the England international side are currently going through. But the two Reds stars were among the best performers in an otherwise ordinary team performance.
Watching the game I couldn't help thinking how poor Israel were. If England are as good as they profess to be then Israel should have been brushed aside without any problems, instead it showed England up for what they are – over rated.
On top of that the manager Steve McClaren fell into the old trap of putting square pegs in round holes and then tried in his after match press conference to defend his selections. Like most people I agree the team looks unbalanced and the midfield particularly comes under focus.
Though there were varied opinions of what went wrong I don't agree that Gerrard should come under fire. For me he was the most effective English performer, even though he would admit he wasn't at his best. Without his driving efforts the English performance would have been even more insipid.
Starting in the wide right position it wasn't long before he felt his energy was more needed inside but despite that he still managed to return to the wide position to provide the only worthwhile crosses of the night.
McClaren has fallen into the trap of playing to players' egos and after making that dramatic decision last summer to leave out David Beckham he now looks incapable of following up that bravery and maintaining the stance of being his own man.
Saturday's team was a safety first selection and showed no signs of a man prepared to go for it. Instead he was prepared to escape the visit to Tel Aviv without losing and he clearly betrayed the style English fans want to see.
The use of substitutes tells a lot about the true bravery of a manager and with his three late substitution decisions he showed his true colours. Last year with McClaren at the helm Middlesbrough enjoyed dramatic European successes with his bold approach but like some of his current players in the international scene he freezes under the spotlight.
Sending on a substitute to replace a like for like player for me amounts to the fact the manager has made a mistake in his initial selection and with his three changes on Saturday McClaren just highlighted his current lack of bravery and indecision.
However, in the players defence, if a manager continues to ask players to do things foreign to them the chances of success are seriously threatened. The art of getting the best results in the international arena relies on getting the players to replicate their club form in an international shirt.
Because international managers have little time with the selected group of players leading up to any game, to expect them to adapt to a different system is asking for trouble and the chances of forging a club ethos in a short space of time can't happen.
Most players are chosen for their international sides because they do what they do for their clubs – why ask them to do something different? Half of England's team in Israel were asked to play in a different role they fulfil in the Premiership week after week.
I remember showing up for the England B team under Bobby Robson, with just three days to prepare for a game against Germany the team was selected early in the week and the only work we really concentrated on was involving free kicks and corners. I remember being asked to just concentrate on my strengths and both Robson and Don Howe continually asked me to attack the far post when play was on the other side of the pitch and I got my reward when I got on the end of an Alan Kennedy cross to head the winning goal at the far post. Football is a simple game continually made difficult.
The most successful English manager in modern times was and still remains Sir Alf Ramsey, though Robson almost came close. As England managers they both stuck to the simple philosophy of picking the best performing club player in every position at the time they selected squads for every international fixture.
Under Ramsey there was no complacency and no player was guaranteed a place game after game, except perhaps the late great Bobby Moore. One story typified how Ramsey kept players on their guard; after one Wembley international leaving the stadium Gordon Banks said to the manager 'see you next game Alf,' only to hear the manager's sharp reply 'Will you ?'.
Gordon took the message on board and told me he never took anything for granted again. I get the impression life is still very cosy for many of the current England group who feel under virtually no threat.
With only one more game left for the international players before they return to club duty most will be relieved to get out of the firing line of the critics. Luckily for the Reds both Gerrard and Carragher should return in good spirits having been among the better performers, but for those who suffer widespread criticism they might return to their club a little bit worse for wear.
The Reds could hardly have a tougher game when they return to Premiership action this Saturday against a side who have already knocked 12 goals in against us this season.
This is one the Reds have to win if we are to claim the third position. Hopefully all the internationals will return without any problems and looking forward to putting any other issues behind them. We certainly need to turn the tables on the Gunners and restore the feeling of trepidation for anyone visiting Anfield.
The Gunners have already won twice here this season and though we enjoyed our moments in both defeats, the smooth athletic style of the Londoners made us look more vulnerable defensively than other visitors to Anfield this year.
After two weeks away from the domestic scene hopefully the Reds come back with a fresh desire to address one or two problems we've been having in front of goal and issue a sign we're ready to finish the season on a high before we go in chase of more Champions League success.
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