Israel v England

[Shaggy]

It was clearly all Crouch's fault.

[Shaggy]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A21100366

Steve McClaren's rapid-fire soundbites failed to disguise the latest damning evidence that England may just have appointed a poor man's Sven-Goran Eriksson to direct their Euro 2008 fortunes.

Indeed, McClaren's reign is threatening to make the Swede's tenure resemble the most thrilling roller-coaster ride of goals, excitement and emotion in international football history.

McClaren is right to underscore England's missed chances and squandered superiority, but this was a dreadful display and one in keeping with what he has produced since succeeding Eriksson.

The coach talked big before the qualifier in Tel Aviv. He had laid the law down to his senior stars - it was, he stated endlessly, time to deliver.

Well, if those experienced players had been cattle-prodded into action by McClaren's harsh words, they could have fooled a watching, despairing nation.

And as for delivering... well England's furious fans inside the Ramat Gan stadium let them know what they thought they had delivered at the final whistle.

Steven Gerrard was an exception, sacrificing himself in the cause of McClaren's inability to simply play him in his best position.

Is it so difficult for an England coach to simply place arguably the world's finest central midfield player in central midfield?

Apparently it is. Mystifying.

In bursts, Aaron Lennon's pace also posed a threat.

But the rest was the same uninspired, lifeless fare that has been McClaren's stock in trade since he became a compromise appointment following the FA's failed flirtation with "Big Phil" Scolari.

Defensively England were relatively untested, in midfield they remain enigmatic, and up front Wayne Rooney was dreadful.

Rooney is a massive, talent, but in Tel Aviv England got the chippy, argumentative, ineffective version that has been witnessed too often on the international stage in recent times.

Israel massed their ranks behind the ball, confident they could keep an England side whose goals have dried up at bay.

And so it proved, with Andrew Johnson working tirelessly but still failing to open his England account.

Another of McClaren's favourite buzz-words is "passion" - so once again it says little for his inspirational qualities that this was singularly absent in Tel Aviv.

McClaren's job is not in danger. It cannot be after such a short period in charge.

But an uninspired appointment is producing uninspired performances and uninspiring results. The FA is reaping what it sowed so hastily before the World Cup.

Victory against Andorra is a must, and even an England team that has forgotten how to score should have their memory jogged in Barcelona.

Anything else is unthinkable, particularly for McClaren.

England's mythical status as a so-called world-class team was ruthlessly exposed in Germany and the hangover has continued into Euro 2008.

So far, they have been abysmal in this campaign, and Russia and Croatia have not been slow to steal a march.

And, on the evidence of Tel Aviv, time is running out for McClaren to prove he is not simply an inferior continuation of the Eriksson regime.

[thesilverfoxlfc]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A21100366

Steve McClaren's rapid-fire soundbites failed to disguise the latest damning evidence that England may just have appointed a poor man's Sven-Goran Eriksson to direct their Euro 2008 fortunes.
.

He was an awful appointment first off and i think all England fans could see this. Yee have a few world class players and should be doing better.

He'll walk or be sack after the Champs

[tomasjj]

Victory against Andorra is a must,

Says it all really....

[Marky]

Frankly... Lampard needs drooping.

[The_weatherman]

Not that I care much really, but why isn´t he dropped? It is fairly obvious that for Lampard to shine England has to play to his strengths, if Mclaren won´t do that he should move Stevie in the middle with Lennon on the right FFS he is playing two players out of position to accomodate Lampard. I rekcon if the FA had hired another foreigner with some balls, this wouldn´t be a problem.

[El Diego]

I actually fell aspleep for the whole second half.

[sean_lfc]

I was more interested in cooking after 15 minutes of that utter ****e. Watched from the 60th onwards, and it was dire. The passing was the complete opposite of crisp, we had absolutely no zest whatsoever once we got to the half-way line. We just poorly hoofed the ball up to Johnson on the flanks, who did nothing but fall over hundreds of times. Such poor creative play in the attacking third, utterly poor.

McLaren is hopelessly clueless. He has absolutely no credentials to show whatsoever, he is a poor excuse of a manager and the FA are a gutless, spineless and pathetic excuse of an organisation, filled with toothless and petty, average at best warm-milk-drinkers who are continuously make every under-the-stars-possible wrong decision, unbelievable.

The downfall of England as a half-decent footballing nation. Not that I gave a toss anyway, but I did once and we have got the players to do so again.

On a good note, I won £13.20 Sterling in the Euromillions on Friday, placed £6.

[Neil Young]

I saw the second half - what a waste of time, even worse than posting my thoughts about it on the Internet. Oh hang on, maybe not... Oh well, I'm going to anyway.

What would disturb me most as a player (or a fan) is the way McLaren afterwards deliberately failed to conceal his anger and basically made it quite clear that he wasn't to blame, the players were. That may or may not be true (obviously the players were poor but is it all their fault?) but his failure to support them publicly was terribly poor man-management and, as far as I'm concerned, also backfired as media manipulation. It was naked self-interest at its most unappealing. It entirely fits with the unattractive stories I've heard about McLaren both as a man and a manager.

[Shaggy]

John Terry has revealed that Steve McClaren tore a strip off England's players following the 0-0 draw in Israel.

McClaren admitted in his post-match interview that he was deeply frustrated with England's display in Israel and Terry has revealed the former Middlesbrough boss made his feelings known to the players in the dressing room.

"When we got into the dressing room after the game the players were silent," Terry told the News of the World. "But the manager started to rant and rave at us.

"He had a point because it was a very disappointing result and performance.

"We did come expecting to win, but failed to. It's a draw but it feels like a defeat."

Terry has revealed that he too made his feelings known to the players and is targeting a response against Andorra on Wednesday.

He added: "Exactly what the manager said must stay in the dressing room but, as captain, I had my say.

"We've got to try and keep our heads up and believe we can still do it and put things right."

[Shaggy]

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand was furious after away fans booed England from the pitch at the end of last night's 0-0 draw in Israel.

Stunned John Terry and Co were booed and jeered by most of the 4,000 travelling fans inside the 41,000-capacity stadium as England produced another woeful display against a team 32 ranked places below them.

But Rio fumed: "Anyone who thinks that is talking out of their arse.

"A lot of fans are emotional about England and rightly so. They want us to do well and they're willing us on to do well.

"They pay good money and travel all over the place to watch us play so they're entitled to have their opinion and their feelings run high.

"But they've got to understand I don't just go out to take a pound note and not care about playing."

If England don't beat Andorra in their next qualifier on Wednesday, it will equal the nation's WORST ever run without a win.

Ferdinand, who earns £120,000 a week, refutes the idea England players are more interested in fame and money than success.

He also told the News of the World: "Anyone who thinks the players don't care about playing for England and would rather go and spend their money, buy a nice car, buy a house is talking out of their a***.

"You don't hear that when we are playing for our clubs. Chelsea won the title last year and Liverpool won the European Cup two years ago.

"When they're winning things, you don't hear people saying they're too rich.

"It's only when things go a bit pear-shaped that people start looking at the money and say they're pampered. It's too easy and people use that excuse too often.

"We haven't got to where we are and play on the stage we're playing on without hard work, sacrifice, discipline and wanting to do well.

"We're in a sport where we're lucky that we're paid lots of money. But, regardless whether you are on two bob or a million pounds a day, you've got to apply yourself in the same way.

"If you go out there and don't produce or don't show your all for the team, you're not going to play. It's the same for England.

"Name me a player you think who goes out and hasn't got pride and desire to do well for their country."

[Shaggy]

Graham Taylor on England

"I am at a loss to understand this performance. It lacked the passion and power we were promised.

There was a recognition that performances hadn't been right and that whatever the result that was going to be right.

We saw very little, if any, of that at all and it has been a great disappointment just watching the way England have approached this game.

It wasn't there. I am at a loss to explain it and I expect Steve McClaren is too.

At the final whistle, some of the England players walked towards their supporters because if they had not they would have been criticised. But the players quickly realised it was pointless because they were going to be met by a shower of abuse.

They turned and walked away with their heads down and you would have thought they had lost 3-0 or 4-0 the way they walked off.

The reaction from the England fans was what you would expect. It was very disappointing and I am very surprised at the way England have approached the game.

Generally speaking there has been a lack of oomph, of get-up-and-go. There has been a lack of sharpness of passing and the desire to get hold of the game by the scruff of the neck. It has just not been there.

They didn't have the pace, they didn't have the power and they didn't get hold of the game from the very first minute.

Things were obviously said at half-time and they were able to dominate more of the second half against a tiring Israeli side, but they never really opened up the Israel team and they never created sufficient chances.

The only one I would excuse is Steven Gerrard because I think he tried to make the best of the role he was given and was involved with England's best passing moments. Anything worthwhile from England, Gerrard was involved in most of it.

But the performance generally has been very poor. It's a nil-nil draw but a very, very disappointing performance."

[jonesie]

I can't believe that they are still trotting out the old Lampard and Gerrard can't play together debate.

Have they ever considered that Lampard just can't play full stop?

[cobain]

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand was furious after away fans booed England from the pitch at the end of last night's 0-0 draw in Israel.

Stunned John Terry and Co were booed and jeered by most of the 4,000 travelling fans inside the 41,000-capacity stadium as England produced another woeful display against a team 32 ranked places below them.

But Rio fumed: "Anyone who thinks that is talking out of their arse.

"A lot of fans are emotional about England and rightly so. They want us to do well and they're willing us on to do well.

"They pay good money and travel all over the place to watch us play so they're entitled to have their opinion and their feelings run high.

"But they've got to understand I don't just go out to take a pound note and not care about playing."

If England don't beat Andorra in their next qualifier on Wednesday, it will equal the nation's WORST ever run without a win.

Ferdinand, who earns £120,000 a week, refutes the idea England players are more interested in fame and money than success.

He also told the News of the World: "Anyone who thinks the players don't care about playing for England and would rather go and spend their money, buy a nice car, buy a house is talking out of their a***.

"You don't hear that when we are playing for our clubs. Chelsea won the title last year and Liverpool won the European Cup two years ago.

"When they're winning things, you don't hear people saying they're too rich.

"It's only when things go a bit pear-shaped that people start looking at the money and say they're pampered. It's too easy and people use that excuse too often.

"We haven't got to where we are and play on the stage we're playing on without hard work, sacrifice, discipline and wanting to do well.

"We're in a sport where we're lucky that we're paid lots of money. But, regardless whether you are on two bob or a million pounds a day, you've got to apply yourself in the same way.

"If you go out there and don't produce or don't show your all for the team, you're not going to play. It's the same for England.

"Name me a player you think who goes out and hasn't got pride and desire to do well for their country."

Oh, shut the fcuk up Rio! For those massive wages you collect week in week out, people expect you to play at least average. ****.

[thesilverfoxlfc]

Frankly... Lampard needs drooping.

I like what you did there