Could this be the reason for England's failure at International level?
June 2011: England's U21s and another Euro Championship under-performance. There has to be a reason.

I watched as England's Under 21 side crashed out of the European Championships in Denmark last night and found myself again pondering on that old mystery of why England so often underperform at international tournaments. I didn't think the lads played at all badly against a good Spanish side in the first game. It's true we didn't have the ball for long periods but that was down to the skill of the Spanish, and when we did get it we looked half decent and were rewarded with a somewhat fortunate late equaliser by Danny Wellbeck, who looked comfortably offside but sensibly didn't wait for the whistle. And then we came up against Ukraine, and the train hit the buffers, again.

The performance against Ukraine requires little analysis. It was dire. Our inability to score despite having a more than capable forward line - in large part attributable to a pretty awful midfield performance - meant we had to beat the Czechs to progress, and we couldn't hold on to a 1-0 lead in the last few minutes. Worse than that we imploded, with defenders going AWOL half way up the pitch and others suddenly finding they had two left feet. Until then our defence had been our trump card.

But this isn't the point. The point is, why does it keep happening, especially at the senior level of the England footballing setup whenever players pull on the England shirt? I don't buy the theory that the players are not good enough - we know they are good at their clubs and often good enough as individuals to win games they manage to lose as a team, and look clueless doing it. The more I thought about it, the more I felt there is one overriding reason, plus a few others.

The other, lesser reasons include lack of confidence or being overawed by the occasion, and the pressure of playing in a team likely to be caned by the press for anything less than a terrific footballing masterclass. But the big reason for me is that players are often expected to change from their natural game when they enter the international setup. The coaches and manager try to mould good players to fit their idea of how the team should be, how it should play, instead of bringing players in and allowing them to play their normal, instinctive game.

Said like that it sounds very simplistic and of course it isn't. But when players are brought out of their clubs, where they are used to playing in a particular role, with particular team mates who they have had the time to gel with as a team, and are expected to play in a slightly different position, or in a different formation, or with a different personal style of play - and quite often all those things together - with players they may get to train with for a matter of days, or at best weeks but not months, there is only the slightest chance they will really come together and truly perform to their potential as individuals, let alone as a team. 

This harks us back to the other knotty subject of do you pick what would be considered the best players in the country, or a set of players that each precisely fit a particular role in the team, like a jigsaw piece. It has to be just the right one of you'll never complete the picture. Gerrard and Lampard. What was the manager's choice... to play Gerrard wide, where he doesn't play for his club, or to play Gerrard as the holding midfielder, where his wonderful skills are largely wasted. I cannot claim to know better than a very accomplished football manager on 6 million a year, but wouldn't the logic have been to sit Lampard on the bench, let Gerrard play exactly as he does for Liverpool and partner him with a player who would have been the perfect fit in midfield?

Once again it sounds simple but it isn't, because you need to analyse exactly how each player plays their natural game. What is their first instinct or reaction on receiving the ball? Do they turn and run with it. Do they look to play it short or long, to the wing or back to the defender? What is their second reaction, to hold position and take a return pass, to run in hope of collecting a through ball? You need to analyse what each player does in the heat of a tough game, what their natural instinct is when out there on the pitch against the best another club or nation can muster. And only then can you look to partnering players with others whose style of play fits the jigsaw perfectly, and those players could come from the Premiership, the Championship or even League 2 if they fit the profile perfectly and prove they can do the job.

While we continue picking an undeniably good bunch of players but expect them to change their natural footballing instincts practically overnight - that is, with very little training time compared to the time they get to bed in to their club sides - we will surely continue to underperform on the big stage. With the added pressure that comes with wearing the National shirt, it's enough to expect them to play the best they ever do in their clubs, but to expect them to have to think a different game out there in the heat of battle is surely unfair on them. I don't blame the players first, I blame the coaches, the managers, the system. After that, it is up to the players, but we have to let them play their natural, instinctive game. Or simply do what a lot of nations do and take half the team from a club side, so that the understanding comes as part of the package!
 

England 2 Switzerland 2
Euro 2012 Qualifier, June 2011

A nation famous for Cuckoo clocks, Toberlerone, big mountains and snow were unlucky not to beat a nation famous for fish & chips, bowler hats and large red buses. I think that is pretty much all that needs to be said about the game at Wembley that saw England losing 2-0 in the first half to two calamitous free-kicks that would have had anybody apart from an England supporter in stitches. Apparently put down to the lads being tired after the long club season. I have some sympathy with it being a crazy time to stage an important international fixture, but does it really explain why Jack Wilshere disappeared from the 2-man wall as if he needed the loo a bit desparately. And the commentator was blaming poor Joe Hart. He might have expected the lads in front of him to take one in the goolies instead of opening like the doors of a.... cuckoo clock.

Poor Joe was the cuckoo and he wasn't looking too chirpy after that. After Frank Lampard tricked the keeper into diving over the ball for the penalty that brought it back to 2-1, it left Swiss supporters nervously checking their superbly engineered, precision, self-winding, waterproof to 5 fathoms, titanium encased watches. Unfortunately they were still set to Central European time and after most of them - and half the Swiss team - had left to get the plane home, Ashley Young fired home the equaliser. Sometimes it pays to be behind.

Sergio Torres, an Argentine abroad, hero of Crawley
I was personally delighted for Sergio Torres of Crawley Town when I heard him strike the winner in the dying minutes of their third round FA Cup game against Derby County on a wet and windy evening on January 10th, 2011. When you enjoy non-league football as I do, it's always nice to hear of a cup win over league opposition - unless you happen to be a Derby fan - but when it was Sergio who happened to be the one to score the winner, following a great team effort it must be said, it became very special. The story of this Argentine 'lad', as I still remember him, is trotted out seemingly every time his side is on the TV or radio, usually because of a cup run. His professional career has seen him at Wycombe Wanderers, Peterborough and Lincoln City, but it was while at relatively lowly Molesey and then Basingstoke Town that he entered the English game. And it was no easy ride. Yet Sergio seemed to always have a smile on his face, always chatted with fans because he wanted to, not because it was his duty to mingle. Truly, you couldn't meet a nicer lad.

Sergio arrived in Britain with fellow Argentine Cristian Levis. Both had EU residency as they had been granted Italian passports. The then chairman of Molesey Football Club, who had big plans for the Surrey side, brought them over and it must have seemed completely alien to Sergio and Cris playing in England in front of a few dozen fans. When the chairman left, the money dried up and Sergio and Cris seemed destined for an early return flight, but the Molesey manager, a friend of then Basingstoke Town manager Ernie Howe, called Ernie to say he had two gifted players he should take a look at. Both joined Basingstoke immediately and were successes, Sergio in particular. Cris wanted to play up front but found himself mostly on the right of midfield and was never entirely happy. When he was given the chance up top, he never quite clicked. He played a good number of games for Basingstoke but eventually left to play in lower league Spanish football. But for Sergio, playing in the centre of midfield, he brought South American flair to the Conference South that fans of every team admired.

Now, looking back, it seems it was only a matter of time before success would come his way, but it wasn't an easy run. The stories of him having to work in Boots in Basingstoke to supplement his weekly wage playing for Basingstoke Town are true. More than that, he and Cris slept in the Basingstoke Town boardroom for a few nights, until Basingstoke Town fan and former press officer John Gray and wife Mimi gave them lodgings. And it wasn't easy on the pitch, either, despite his undeniable talents. Games at Conference level are often fast, furious, bruising affairs played on heavy or bobbly pitches hardly suited to the silky skills of an Argentine. But Sergio is one of those players who seems to create time on the ball. A little shimmy and drag back would send two central midfielders the wrong way and gave him a couple of seconds to pick out a pass. Pure genious, sublime to watch and alone worth every penny of the admission. As a South American used to a very different style of football, what he learned playing in the Conference South for Basingstoke undoubtedly set him up for life in the professional divisions.

Several clubs came to see him play but, for whatever reason, didn't commit. I always felt that he - and Cris for that matter, who was technically very good but found our pitches harder to play on - could do better playing at a higher level where they would be given fulltime training and a little more time on the ball in matches. Sergio's big break came when he brought himself to the notice of Wycombe Wanderers in a pre-season friendly at Basingstoke. Darren Ferguson - a manager with a keen eye for talented lower league players - later took him to Peterborough. Although it may now seem a step down to be at Crawley Town, the fact is that Crawley are building big and brought in several known names in the closed season as they push for promotion to League 2. I hope we'll be seeing a lot more of Sergio on the box, and hearing again of how this lovely lad with the broad smile made it in English football.