Not being a huge football fan, but looking at the English World Cup shambles as if it were a business.
First define what you'd call success..........Is it;
Winning the World Cup? Well that hasn't happened since 1966..!!!
Or is it;
Having a team who are proud to represent their Country, play their hearts out and totally have a go at the opposition...??? As I say not much of a fan, so can't say if we've had a team who have done this in the last 44 years.
But clearly the 2010 team and manager, were NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE.
In any business after trying the same business model for 44 years and having no, or only slight success, you'd say "Change the business plan"
So here's my idea. Declare the present system obsolete !!
Then send out a call to all members of the Armed Forces (who are eligible to play for England) including reserve forces, who would be interested in representing their Country at football.
Spend the next year selecting those with footballing talent say 100 of them. Then spend the year after that training them with top class coaches, (they are still paid and hold the rank of their services). The year after that having whittled it down to say 50 players, start this team playing minor league teams in friendlies and work up to friendlies against other Countries.
The Manager??? I'd put out a call to patriotic ex-footballers such as Alan Sheerer or David Beckham and say "will you manage this team, for the same pay as say an Army Captain" Hopefully one would respond.
The big advantages they would have are, playing together all the time, not worried about playing for clubs who pay their wages, don't get worn out by playing so many games.
Maybe this is all wishful thinking, but two facts stand out.
1, the fans really would have a team of heroes, who would give 100% as the armed forces always do.
2, they couldn't do any worse that the team of 2010.
John
Quite agree that the next England manager should be an Englishman.
Plim
The next England manager should be able to pick a team who know what the big round thingy is for
I have never understood why a football managers CV has to include having played football at a professional level.
Well, I think it's a good thing to have an English manager. From what I understand about football (which is, I admit, a rather miniscule amount) a manager can be instrumental in making a winning team. In my view, a squad of English players with a foreign manager is not an English team, it's a mixed nationality team. If I'm wrong, and the manager can make no difference whatsoever to how the team plays, then I don't see why a foreigner can't be manager. Then, when England next loses, we can blame the bloody foreigner!
