Sven has left but has the same approach remained ?

By statto_the_yid
July 3 2006

England played badly all the way through the World Cup with the exception of the Portugal game. Yet again it was the right tactic gone wrong with the departure of Rooney and the shape being lost in the final 3rd of the game.

So what will change with the personnel selection and formation with Mclaren is something which confuses me greatly.

Playing Rooney upfront and alone because you don’t have the players to play along side him is crazy, SGE left too many quality players who hit form this season back in England. Rooney got frustrated with having to come deep to get the ball, and England only started to get penetration ironically when Beckham left the pitch to make way for Lennon, by which time it was all too late.

It does ring true that the star player of the England side lets us down at least once, Beckham and even Gazza who got a yellow card and the tears that followed what a shame that would have been had we made the final. So what’s so different with Rooney ? Not much but I think the pressure on Rooney was too much, not self inflicted but by the media and SGE himself who whist he had the courage to take him didn’t have anyone to share the responsibility of scoring goals. Lennon is the one player who benefited with no pressure at all seeing that all eyes were on the non starting Walcott on the bench. Lennon will come away from this WC both lifted and all guns blazing for another season of progress but on his own career but in a far better Spurs side than the one from the last campaign. The downside being some of Europe’s big sides would have taken note of his performances.

So will Mclaren change any of this to make the three loins roar back to life and make an even better impression than SGE, well that may not be the case. Some of the selection would have been taken in consultation with Mclaren and he would of been given some licence to experience the helm during this World Cup. I think the 4-5-1 formation can work but we look far better playing 4-3-3 and its formation I think should be worked with. 4-3-3 takes pressure off Rooney and gives him the ability to drop a little deeper like he does for club, and something he is so good at.

Only time will tell now and we must move forward from the time Sven has been with England. Lets hope a different approach is used or at least the FA have the conviction to sack a manager who clearly is doing a poor job.