Brian Micklethwait's Blog
In which I continue to seek part time employment as the ruler of the world.
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Most recent entries
- Brian Micklethwait’s New Blog starts now
- Now you see it now you don’t – then you do again
- Quimper Cathedral photos from a year ago
- Another symptom of getting old
- Quota photo of a signpost
- Three professional Japanese footballers play against one hundred children
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- Meeting Oscar again
- A musical metaphor is developed
- Mobile phone photoing in 2004
- France is big
- Pink windscreen
- Just kidding
- Capitalism and socialism in tweets
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Incoming from Antoine Clarke, who is one of those annoying Englishmen who supports a different team to England in the Six Nations. I remember how, at my Surrey prep school (the kind David Cameron went to - we played sports matches against Heatherdown), there were plum-voiced little twats who used to support Scotland. Antoine at least has French ancestors and can speak French, but I still don’t approve.
Anyway, he just sent this in:
The below was going to be a comment on your blog, but I thought grief is better in private.
I note the category “Sport” and the date, but I see no reference to events in Cardiff yesterday or Rome and Twickenham today.
I added those links.
England’s defeat should not be considered a shock. The only match in the Six Nations 2010 not to go to world ranking form so far was in Rome today. A year ago, I thought the French coach, Lièvremont, was all over the shop with constant squad changing. Since then, he appears to have some coherent goals and the players seem to understand them most of the time.
I’ll be generous and suggest that there is time for Martin Johnson to get it all right. But I don’t think it will be. The robots weren’t malevolent this time, more like fluffy Daleks. Like Johnson, Lièvremont is not a respected coach who came through the ranks of club rugby, but he did coach the French youth team for a while so he knows the core of his squad (Parra and Trihn-Duc for example). Johnson looks like he wants to run onto the pitch and knock heads together, reminding me of a big tough version of Kevin Keegan (screaming “BELIEVE” to his team at Wembley while Germany calmly won 1-0).
I suspect that overcoaching is going on in the England camp. Either that or the players are too thick or scared of taking responsibility to use their initiative. I don’t think either of these is going to go away without some change of strategy or personnel.
If England let one in five tackles go like today (about 7 missed and 28 made) when they visit Paris, I shall be very, very happy.
Well we wouldn’t want to waste all those bon mots, would we?
Actually, England were so bad against Italy and before that so lucky against Wales that I had no great hopes of them doing that well today. And I agree that Johnson is probably not a proper England coach, although I don’t really know, the way Antoine always thinks he does.
The comparison with Keegan is interesting, and I vividly remember that particular England Germany game, because that day I had lunch with vividly memorable Kristine Lowe, who said: so, presumably Brian, you are about to be a maniac, desperate for England to win, right? Interestingly, no, I said. I want England to lose, so that the England manager, who I consider to be wrong for the job, gets the sack. Which they did and which he did. Well, he sacked himself, for which I have always respected him. Keegan’s strength was and remains motivating average teams to do well in rather dispiriting circumstances, where the other fellows are often rather unmotivated and dispirited also. International teams aren’t average and don’t need any more motivating. They are already well up for it, as are their opponents. What they need is wise selection and clever preparation and good tactical guidance. And let’s just say that there’s no reason to think that Johnson is in any way special at this.
The great coaching genius of England rugby in recent years has been Sir Clive Woodward, who did sports boffinry at Loughborough (actually delaying his international career to do this), then played for England with distinction, but then coached several clubs of varying size and grandeur before he got the England coaching job. Not only did England win the 2003 World Cup under him. They came amazingly close to winning the next one, because of the team ethic he left behind him.
But now, I agree with Antoine about Johnson, which means that I may support Scotland, if them beating England is what it takes to make Johnson jack it in. Or be jacked in.
Time for a foreigner, perhaps?
I don’t have a problem with a half-French guy supporting the country in which he grew up, Brian. (Although I expect you are just winding Antoine up). As a native of Suffolk who has lived in London for 16 years, I still feel more of a sporting affinity with Ipswich FC, rather than say, Chelsea or Spurs. It is the team you support in your youth that tends to count.
I agree with Brian Moore in the Telegraph today. England’s backs were poor. Wilko cannot be expected to run the show on his own. Players like Tait and Flutey were not not involved enough.
That said, the Irish defence was superb.
I described the England performance against Italy as robotic because it seemed like players were repeating actions they had been programmed to perform, rather than using any initiative. Kicking the ball to Italy all afternoon was obviously not working, but there was no “let’s try something else.” France did this against Wales when they were 20 points ahead, and it nearly cost them. (At least France can try something different, so can Wales.)
I reckon the players are out of their depth (playing safe, obeying orders) or the coaching is over-prescriptive. Given that micromanagement tends to be something an insecure boss does, my suspicion tends be directed at the coaching. We’ve heard this accusation made against English cricket, which is one reason I suspect the same problem is happening here. In cricket, one consequence has been the disproportionate number of England players who learned how to play anywhere but in England.
Put it this way, I don’t see any soccer team that wins the Premier League displaying the robotic behaviour of English rugby players, certainly not Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal. When the next youngster steps onto the pitch for his debut at Old Trafford or the Emirates stadium, I expect (sadly, as a Liverpool fan) that the newbie will be told to “go out there and show us what you can do.” I strongly suspect that this is almost the exact opposite of how England coaching works.
I also think it’s a travesty that next game he captains, Steve Borthwick will equal Bill Beaumont’s number games as England captain. To say that the current holder of the office is not up Beaumont’s virtues is putting very mildly indeed. There is no leadership on the pitch it seems to me: it could be that Soviet conformism is to blame, or it could be there is no one around at the moment.
On a positive note, acting like robots has at least reduced the yellow card count compared with last season. I guess the shackles of obeying detailed instructions leaves no room for losing one’s cool and doing something silly.
Agree with Antoine. I think it was after playing against Australia that Borthwick was asked what was going on in the scrum, where England had come off a poor second-best. He replied he wasn’t sure and would have to have a good look at the video. This level of reactiveness is a little too slow unless they can persuade opposing teams to replay matches the day after. This England team is incapable of playing what’s in front of them.
I want England to lose, so that the England manager, who I consider to be wrong for the job, gets the sack.
I just want the England soccer team to lose, personally.