Sorry England Go Home

It turns out I was right all along.

I didn't want to be right. In fact, in a moment of madness I went out on a limb and predicted a semifinal finish on this very website before the tournament. But we could all see this in the making months ago. There was simply no way that England was going to make it past the quarterfinals at World Cup 2006.

It wasn't going to happen with two injured forwards.

It wasn't going to happen with a horribly unbalanced midfield.

And it certainly could never happen with Sven Goran Eriksson in charge.

The sad part is that England could be so much more. This generation has legitimate talent and real stars. The defense is absolutely world class. There are international stars who have done it on the big stage like Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard.

But when The FA decided to keep Sven on as a lame duck in the aftermath of the fake sheikh affair, England's World Cup fate was signed, sealed, and delivered.

We knew after Euro 2004 the Sven wasn't the man to get England over the hump. Now, don't get me wrong, Sven should be credited for rebuilding England into a credible team in the aftermath of the Hoddle and Keegan disasters. But, Sven's last big win was over four years ago against Argentina. His only other noteworthy win was the historic 5-1 drubbing of Germany in 2001.

Since then, he has lost or tied every major competitive match in a big tournament. He couldn't beat Sweden in 2002 or 2006. England looked a class below Brazil in its quarterfinal loss in 2002. He blew a game that was won against France at Euro 2004. And most notably, he's been knocked out of the last two major tournaments by a less talented, but better coached Portugal team.

It's not just the results, but how Sven's decisions played a key role in England being unable to compete with the world's elite.

Sven has absolutely no clue how to balance a midfield to save his life. Cole, Lampard, Gerrard, and Beckham are all very good players. But they do not make a midfield, particularly on the international level. Beckham adds nothing down the right. He has no speed, no skill on the ball, and can't beat opponents. He can do little else than deliver a good ball on set pieces. Lampard and Gerrard, for all their greatness, can't play together because they are far too similar. Both are good passers and decent scorers, but neither is a ball winner, a defensive stopper, or a true playmaker. Oddly, it's the most recent addition, Joe Cole, who most belongs in this midfield. I've been making this point about the midfield until I've turned blue in the face. But I knew it was a worthless fight because Sven wouldn't change.

Sven's answer this tournament was to switch to a 4-5-1 in the knockout rounds. This was lunacy, and I said as much. You lost too much by having only one forward. And Wayne Rooney was horribly wasted as a lone striker, particularly when you consider that he was not 100% fit. If anything, his red card against Portugal was the result of him trying to do too much due to the frustration of not getting the ball for the better part of three matches. Owen Hargreaves, who Sven brought on in midfield as a holding player, was superb and his play against Portugal justified a starting spot. But the answer would have been to play him in favor of Beckham or Lampard, not Peter Crouch.

England did not score a single goal from open play while in the 4-5-1 formation, which was a very predictable outcome. In making the formation switch, Sven added nothing to make England more dynamic. In fact, he made his team more defensive, more pensive, and less likely to score. England's entire approach to goalscoring was getting lucky on set pieces. You aren't going to win tournaments doing that.

England, of course, had a puncher's chance at beating Portugal when the game went to penalties. But if you look at the players England had on the pitch at the end of 120 minutes, you couldn't feel good about the Three Lions' chances. Beckham was out with an injury, which was probably a blessing. But also out were Rooney, of course, due to his dismissal, and Owen, who was injured earlier in the tournament. That left Lampard and Gerrard as the only reliable penalty takers - and both missed! But why was there not another scorer on the pitch? Sven took off Joe Cole earlier in the match. Also off was Aaron Lennon, who came on as a sub and inexplicably was taken off in favor of Jamie Carragher in extra time. Theo Walcott, the 17 year old prodigy Sven surprisingly picked in the squad, was unused all tournament. Other options like Darren Bent and Jermaine Defoe were left home.

If this sounds familiar, it's because Sven also made a mess of his squad and substitutions during the Euro 2004 penalty loss to Portugal. At least in that shootout England gave the impression that it might actually try to win it. This time around, after Lampard missed the first kick, England was done. You could see it on the faces of the players.

But the truth of the matter is that England was done before the World Cup even began. England was a shambles this entire tournament. They played horribly against Paraguay and won due to an own goal. They were fortunate to beat Trinidad and Tobago late in the game after 80 terrible minutes. England blew a late lead and once again couldn't beat Sweden. It took a fortunate free kick goal to beat Ecuador. And England never came close to scoring against a weakened Portuguese team.

So, where does England go from here? That's a great question. Step one is balancing the midfield and reverting to a 4-4-2. It's time to have a holding midfielder and a speedy, skilled winger down the right. If you look at the last four at the World Cup, all four teams have a balanced midfield.
But it might be a moot point. Remember, new manager Steve McLaren has been Sven's right-hand man the last five seasons. Why should we think that things will be any different with McClaren in charge? As long as we see our pal Posh in the stands and her man Becks on the pitch, England are going nowhere fast.

Photos courtesy yahoo.com. Where does England go from here? Let us know at bookableoffense@gmail.com.