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England and International Football: A Lesson from History
Published: October 16, 2010
The ball has changed colour, and no longer becomes so heavy with water that it strikes with the force of a cannonball. Gravity has apparently become stronger, causing players to fall to the ground much more often. Players no longer wear stout boots, but promenade in ballet slippers giving no foot protection whatsoever.
The change of which I write today, however, is that England's football standing has fallen most markedly.
Now, I am well aware that no universal law makes England a special nation, automatically deserving of international football success. Other countries are equally desirous of tournament triumphs, as they periodically remind us. Even so, it's been an awfully long time since we added to our trophy cabinet.
Why is that?
It seems unlikely that there is just one reason, and that squashing a single flaw in our endeavours would ensure our emergence as a global football super-power. Football is more complicated than that, everything is more complicated than that.
But there is one matter I would like to draw attention to, and that is team selection. You may think I am merely stating the obvious, but please stick with me while I develop the theme.
In 1966 England's manager was Alf Ramsey. You know that, even if you were born long after that date. What you may not know is that in that long-lost era, and prior to the triumph over West Germany at Wembley, Ramsey was derided by the 'experts' in the media, and England were judged to have no chance of winning the world cup.
Ramsey was, believe it or not, the first England manager to be given total control of team selection. He adopted the principle of picking players on how they performed in an England shirt, ignoring their club form. This often meant not picking the obvious choices for team positions, and thus gave sports journalists a line o...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football
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