Flair - like Frank Worthington - needed for England

[oxford blue]

Interesting article in the Independent:

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/kevin-garside-oh-for-some-flair-like-franks-to-fire-up-dull-england-8219952.html

basically suggesting England need flair players (and not players like milner) to achieve anything. Two particular bits remind me some glorious 70's games:

"A bit like Worthington. Fabulous Frank played with his socks around his ankles, an affectation that was an act of separation. He wanted us to know that he was different, not your ordinary footballer. He fancied himself as a bit of a lad.

Worthington, a footballing artiste, symbolised the anti-lump-it movement. He liked the ball at his feet. He embellished the afternoon with moustachioed feints and flicks. In throwing him an England shirt Mercer was making a huge and important statement about how the game should be played, about the role of football in the community. The message was hammered home with the selection of Leicester's flying No 7 Keith Weller, who under Mercer belatedly gained the only four caps of his career"

An argument for Oxlade-Chamberlain to start regularly. I think England have missed Wilshere, who has flair and I think has the talent and application to be the best of his generation

[Dan]

England definitely lack FLAIR, I'd say we lack it more than any other side in Europe (bar the obvious like San Marino).

But you'll never get it with our mentality, they often get overlooked especially under Hodgson who is more about organisation, he's more cautious than Pearson ever was.

Wholeheartedly agree with it. We're an absolutely dour side and to watch and I genuinely enjoy watching Germany to us and that is a disastrous thing for an Englishman to say, but it's true.

[lcfcsnow]

Victor Moses is the closest we had and we even lost him to Nigeria, says it all.

[Ashley]

The Ox will be something special. Mark my words.

[Dan]

He'd be better if he wasn't English on the International stage where he'll most likely be overlooked/

Hodgson was a decent short-term fix but that Poland display alone has seriously scarred me, we went defensive against a side we should go for all 3 against and looked absolutely hopeless to boot.

I do like AOC a lot though, very talented player and although he's gone a bit off the boil, he strikes me as a genuinely likeable lad who has the desire to succeed at a top level.

[Corky]

He'd be better if he wasn't English on the International stage where he'll most likely be overlooked/

Hodgson was a decent short-term fix but that Poland display alone has seriously scarred me, we went defensive against a side we should go for all 3 against and looked absolutely hopeless to boot.

I do like AOC a lot though, very talented player and although he's gone a bit off the boil, he strikes me as a genuinely likeable lad who has the desire to succeed at a top level.

Hodgson has already given him 9 caps before he's 20.

[eye666]

The Ox will be something special. Mark my words.

Is it just me who thinks AOC is another that flatters to deceive and hasn't got a great end-product...? Obviously he's young and has time on his side to develop his game, but at the moment I don't think he's all that.

[Charl91]

But more importantly....

He was on Come Dine With Me!

[Nick]

To be honest, I think flair is needed all round - I have very little appetite myself to watch the England team play of late and that's often because of the quality of the performance and the tactics, the personnel seem further stifled of flair because of this.

[Mark 'expert' Lawrenson]

How do you suddenly start to play with flair when its largely coached out of players at a young age, its all about running and being industrious. The pool of players is now so small, I used to like Joe Cole but he has disappeared from the England set up. Hodgson has so little to chose from especially up front, so he has to work with what he has and until we somehow increase the 30odd% English qualified players playing in the Prem then things will not change. If we can get Joe Cole back playing plus Wilshire and Parker things will improve a little but we will still be so short of quality up front. Is it worth getting Crouch back in the team? I cannot think of other strikers we could pick we even gave chances to Jay Bothroyd and Kevin Davies that unfortunately is where we are at now.

[Dan]

Hodgson has already given him 9 caps before he's 20.

True but I still think Hodgson's style of play won't suit players like him in the slightest.

[Mark 'expert' Lawrenson]

Regarding Frank Worthington I never had the pleasure of seeing him play in a City shirt but back in the 1980's and 90's I remember every team seemed to have an English playmaker spraying the ball around from the center circle (rose tinted glasses), there was flair and not all about huff and puff. Our own Gary Parker springs to mind what a great passer of the ball he was!