With Wayne Rooney on the outs, England's much-maligned 'Golden Generation' is finally on the verge of extinction, but according to Liverpool legend John Barnes, the new generation isn't much cop, either.
Analysing the tedious 0-0 draw with Slovenia this week, Barnes delivered the following withering assessment of England's key players:
"We do not have as good players [now] as When we had Gerrard, Lampard, Ferdinand. Alli, Stones, Dier and Kane have been around for one year and done nothing. We have potential, that we have to be careful with, i.e. not praise too much before they've done anything".
This is a point I constantly make on the site: gross overpraise of players who've achieved *nothing* is counter-productive, and just leads to inflated egos, subconscious complacency, and dulled competitive edge.
Alli, Dier, and Kane^ have all underperformed for England, yet they're continually eulogised as if they're proven world-class players with a history of winning trophies. That's very far from the reality, and as Barnes states: they've done 'nothing' so far to warrant the superlatives.
Barnes also drew a comparison with his time as England player:
“English football back then was about effort and commitment, not skill...and it was always difficult to be appreciated".
Absolutely nothing has changed! English football is still defined by stamina, effort, tackling, and 'commitment' (a euphemism for huff and puff football), and the team is still populated with tall, strong athletes who can run al day but lack nuance, guile, and genuine game intelligence.
* Alli: £30m-rated. Kane: £40m-rated. Dier: Cost £4m.
Analysing the tedious 0-0 draw with Slovenia this week, Barnes delivered the following withering assessment of England's key players:
"We do not have as good players [now] as When we had Gerrard, Lampard, Ferdinand. Alli, Stones, Dier and Kane have been around for one year and done nothing. We have potential, that we have to be careful with, i.e. not praise too much before they've done anything".
This is a point I constantly make on the site: gross overpraise of players who've achieved *nothing* is counter-productive, and just leads to inflated egos, subconscious complacency, and dulled competitive edge.
Alli, Dier, and Kane^ have all underperformed for England, yet they're continually eulogised as if they're proven world-class players with a history of winning trophies. That's very far from the reality, and as Barnes states: they've done 'nothing' so far to warrant the superlatives.
Barnes also drew a comparison with his time as England player:
“English football back then was about effort and commitment, not skill...and it was always difficult to be appreciated".
Absolutely nothing has changed! English football is still defined by stamina, effort, tackling, and 'commitment' (a euphemism for huff and puff football), and the team is still populated with tall, strong athletes who can run al day but lack nuance, guile, and genuine game intelligence.
* Alli: £30m-rated. Kane: £40m-rated. Dier: Cost £4m.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment