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Erikkson leaves solid
foundations for England to progress - by Andrew Rogers, STM European Correspondent England's
quest in Germany will undoubtedly bring excruciating highs and lows; the nation
that introduced to the world the beautiful game needs, no, prays the footballing
gods will smile on them once again this year.
- 6th March 2006 - Andrew Rogers July
2, 2006 - Okay so England’s prayers weren’t answered and were again unceremoniously
booted out of a major tournament in a penalty shootout, but beneath the emotional
and personally driven conjecture where do England currently stand and what will
Erikkson’s legacy be? The
most obvious observation is that the team has improved since the era of Hoddle
and Keegan. Both struggled with qualification, team performance, and respect in
the dressing room. Furthermore in the major tournaments they were emphatically
underwhelming.
Since Erikkson has inherited the mantle of “The second most important job in England.”
Qualification has been regarded as an non issue, defensively the side has been
fundamentally sound, we have beaten some of the top teams when it mattered, and
the nations expectation has credibly risen to expecting a last four position.
England have always been expectant but in reality staggered through qualification
since 97, were hopelessly underwhelming in France 98 and who can forget the horror
show of Euro 2000.
Erikkson must be commended for his ability to get England out of World Cup group
stages. Progress was assured and fortunately lacking in the drama of previous
incumbents. It is also worth noting that he is the only England manger in the
modern era to get out of the opening rounds in the European Championship on foreign
soil. The confidence
of the team also improved. England have seldom approached penalties as confidently
as they did at Gelsenkirchen. England are usually petrified by the possibilities
of the shoot out. To alter this mentality is huge progress. The
players’ appeared far more confident than on previous occasions, and didn’t emit
the nervousness highlighted by the likes of Southgate, Ince and Vassell. Furthermore
with Ricardo making three saves we did witness World Cup history. Player
for player the nation is also confident that it is as good as anyone in the world.
This would have been difficult to argue under previous regimes due to inconsistent
selection and lack of strategy. Six of the players’ who played in Erikkson’s first
competitive game versus’ Finland featured in Germany.
A further development is nature of the selection debate. Until the Germany squad
was announced the argument over the years had moved on from who should be selected
to patterns of play and what system should be used. Again this is the result of
sound management. Erikkson
can also take credit for improving our record against the top sides when it mattered.
Many forget not too long ago we took out Germany 5-1 in Munich, Argentina in Japan,
and Switzerland and Croatia in 2004. It’s
difficult to imagine Keegan, Hoddle or Wilkinson producing the first two results
or the manner in which they were achieved, and as for Euro 2000, were the tactics
really “come on lads foreigners don’t like it up ‘em?” Erikkson
also developed a habit getting the team to win when playing badly and making England
hard to break down. This is the mark of a good side and something Germany and
Italy thrive on. One
genuine criticism that can be leveled at the former England manager is his selection
of strikers for Germany. It is something of a mystery as to why he could not find
space for an extra striker. Surely it would have made sense to have found room
for one of Defoe, Bent or Johnson?
But then again it probably reflects his mental state at the time. He had reached
a point in his tenure as England manager where he could not trust his employers,
acquaintances, business contacts or even his long term girlfriend. In this light
it’s probably easier to see why he made such decisions.
Another problem he failed to address was England’s inability to keep possession.
However, it is unlikely that it was for want of trying given his previous clubs.
Consequently, rather than come out and say, “English players are maybe over rated.
They aren’t exactly in abundance in the top four clubs”, like any good coach he
has to reinforce the positives and hope for the best which is exactly what happened.
Erikkson legacy
has been to set precedents in organisation, effective qualifying, consistent selection
and calm cognitive coaching. He has taken a side from being played off the park
by Finland to standing toe to toe with the best and now facing up to penalties
with a degree of confidence. The
next step will be to win in the shoots outs, and maintain a stronger hold of the
ball. McClaren is capable of doing this but will have to learn to cope with fans
who refuse to recognize England’s place in the football world and a vindictive
media that appears to wantonly undermine the cause while they struggle to deal
with the fact that they are glorified Monday morning head coaches. Football
Fever. If
England’s support could be converted into the national team it would the safe
to assume the nation would have 9-10 World Cups under its belt. Oh yeah I’m claiming
that. Over 100,000 fans went to Germany just to watch on the big screens. When
it comes to crowd noise South Korea have the most dominant fans in the international
arena, the likes of so called soccer nations such as France struggle to get above
the din of a Long Island summer soccer camp. This
weekend the BBC 10 O’clock news lead with England Captain David Beckham’s resignation
this is fantastic news for the sport. However, it was followed by news that two
British soldiers had been killed by rocket attack in Afghanistan. Make of it what
you will. | 
