Part 1 of my reflections on why England did so badly at this World Cup
Especially after England’s second-half performance, knives are out for the players. Unprofessional Foul highlights the England captain as chief culprit:
Germany played like a team while England’s glory-hounding main offender, Steven Gerrard, continued with his ‘one man band’ World Cup.
Gerrard was a disgrace yesterday and summed up this “golden generation,” a stupid name as the only thing golden about this bunch is the overpriced jewelry they don as they count their millions and scratch their heads, wondering why referees hate them so much.
Gerrard wasted many chances yesterday by shooting from 30 yards instead of capitalizing on England’s build-up play and passing a few yards to a teammate. He did it time and time again, handing the ball back to the Germans who said ‘thanks’ before breaking.
And indeed the stats bear this out - from The Independent, Gerrard…
- Struck 10 shots from outside the penalty area, none of which went in
- Only three of 16 crosses from Gerrard found another player in a red shirt
- Gerrard’s pass completion rate was the lowest amongst England’s midfielders
The existing consensus goes something like this: Gerrard is only the most salient of a number of players in the England squad who are used to being the hotshot at their club, yet unable to take a more workmanlike role in a team of equals, let alone be dictated by a more disciplinarian manager than at their club.
But there must be more to it than that. England are not the only team with a lot of primadonnas and self-styled superstars, and some of the players who played badly against Germany - e.g. Barry, Johnson - do not fall into this category. The problem wasn’t just that England’s “golden generation” were too individualistic, although this is undoubtedly one factor.
