By statto_the_yid
September 3 2005

After the disaster in Copenhagen, Sven had been talking to the rest of the England side on how to improve things and they have come to an ‘agreement’ to play the 4-5-1 system for the next game against the Welsh this afternoon. I’m the only one who finds that deeply worrying ? As a national coach you should be leading by example and having a clear idea how YOU want to play, not asking David Beckham if he thinks that the midfield was playing well enough or David James if the back four were organised enough for him.

I would not expect this from a manager being paid £1m+ a season to manage the national side. Players are players and managers are managers simple really – why does he need to confuse the two before a critical WC qualifier game is beyond me. During the last 12 months of so since the European Championships I have lost a little faith in Sven, he kept things simple in Euro 2004 and we played well in most of our games. The last few games have been a different story all together. If Sven is running out of ideas which he so clearly is he needs to step down, and had the mantle over to someone who does have ideas and knowledge of how to prepare players for matches, clear tactics players understand also selecting players because of their skill and form rather than past glories.

Which brings me nicely onto Defoe, he will be warming the bench for sure against the Welsh today and this can ONLY be a huge motivator to become a better player which will bring goals for us as Spurs fans first and foremost. He has already bagged a few goals this season and was sharp and ready pre-season which is a far cry for the tired player we saw at the end of last season who had been over worked in my opinion.

Lets look at Wayne Rooney this season :

Name Wayne Rooney
Team Manchester United

Total Appearances 2
Starts 2
Substituted 1
Total Minutes Played 168
Avg Minutes Played Per Start 84
Goals 1
Avg Goal Mins When Starting
23.0
Avg Mins Played/Goal Scored 168
Goals Scored As Sub 0
Number of Bookings 1
Total Booking Minutes 42
Avg Bookings Per Start 0.5
Number of Red Cards 0
Total Red Card Minutes 0
Avg Red Cards Per Start 0
Avg Booking Minutes When Starting
21.0


Now Jermain Defoe

Name Jermain Defoe
Team Tottenham Hotspur

Total Appearances 4
Starts 3
Substituted 1
Total Minutes Played 265
Avg Minutes Played Per Start 88.33
Goals 2
Avg Goal Mins When Starting
37.7
Avg Mins Played/Goal Scored 133
Goals Scored As Sub 0
Number of Bookings 1
Total Booking Minutes 50
Avg Bookings Per Start 0.33
Number of Red Cards 0
Total Red Card Minutes 0
Avg Red Cards Per Start 0
Avg Booking Minutes When Starting
16.7


As you can see the form guide speaks for itself, Rooney has only managed 2 starts this season and for me isn’t match fit yet for a game like this to be relied on, yet we have seen a hungry Defoe rattle in a few goals already with a willingness to play but Sven knows best and has made him a nice cup of tea to drink on the bench.

So Defoe doesn’t have long to wait according to the form book this season, but can only prove to motivate the player into scoring goals and reaching that single striker slot. However this 4-5-1 formation speaks volumes about the faith in the back four and midfielder’s ability. Most the midfielders are international standard that’s for sure but the need to start playing that way. I’m fed up of watching Lampard Gerrard and co playing their socks off for club but not country, brings back nasty memories of John Barnes in a shirt with the three lions on. The same can be said for the defence Ferdinand and Cole played so bad against the Danes they would have had trouble getting into an average Championship side such as Palace, yet again the egos far exceeding their salaries and true worth.

Sven wise up – we have the players to go forward and win things but how they play is up to you and not them.

Come On England.