drew
Drew
So, I note that the powerhouse of Germany, touted as the example to follow, have just followed our example in the U21 Tournament and are coming home early.
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Onwards and Upwards - The German football powerhouse
- Thread starter drew
- Start date
Jimmy Grimble
Well-known member
What's your point? Or am I missing the context here?
Black Rod
Well-known member
- Jan 19, 2013
- 945
Doesn't really matter does it - the majority of their first choice XI are the side that won the thing in 2009 so are going to be around for a good few years yet. The current crop, with the exception of probably Lewis Holtby, won't get a look in or indeed need too.
Ninja Elephant
Doctor Elephant
- Feb 16, 2009
- 18,855
Look at the Spain team. How many of them are under 21? I thought it was a bit off, just going by names (I watch La Liga), and I was right. I think only two or three who started were 21 or under. Most were 22. Irrelevant? Yes. But a thing, nevertheless.
Bladders
Twats everywhere
Thats tournament football for you....
brakespear
Doctor Worm
And also I wonder if the FA will learn the difference in importance of a couple of empty friendlies and a genuine 'someone's gonna win this' tournament.
drew
Drew
- Thread starter
- #8
Yes, it is totally irrelevant. Think you will find that you have to be under 21 at the start of the tournament, ie qualifying.
Sorry, the point was merely that everyone keeps banging on about how superior german football is. Their full team might be good but then they generally are at tournaments and Bayern won the champions league but it was only 24 months ago that Spain were the bees knees along with Barcelona. Yes we need to improve and the training of coaches at St Georges is going to help that, but in the end power will be cyclical.
I understand the team they fielded was very weak as most of the regular youngsters were with the senior squad playing friendlies; the senior squad carried no Bayern, Dortmund or Stuttgart players. I would not read too much into this tournament or the German friendlies against USA and Ecudor. Their two squads were all over the place.
Why is this a valid excuse for Germany, but not for England?
I must admit I have not followed the England u21 squad closely but I understand they only lost 3-4 players to the senior squad? I understand Germany's U21 team was pretty much a full second string, or very young players with little experience, as they rested so many senior players due to the Champions League, the German cup final which was last weekend and the fact the senior matches were only friendlies and were in the US (I think)
Like Herr, this whole Tournament has passed me by.
What would be the current value of both squads/starting 11's?
(Naturally knowing Zaha is £15m, it's a loaded question)
Seems unlike Germany not to take a tournament seriously?
cloud
Well-known member
How often is Germany's success in tournaments down to penalties though, rather than excellent displays of football. Skilled at hanging onto a draw.
No neither have I, I just mean that when a second string England fail to beat a mediocre national team in a friendly it's always the end of the world, and it shouldn't matter that it was only the second string, we should be beating teams luke that, but when the Germans do it seems a valid excuse.
I am just relaying my understanding. I do not know their reasons or their objective for this particular tournament or why the choose the squad they did; I can only guess. I am sure the players took it seriously though...but were clearly not up to it.
drew
Drew
- Thread starter
- #19
To be fair, I couldn't give too much of a monkeys about the German U21s but the players we were missing were Oxlade Chamberlain, Welbeck, Rodwell and Jones. They have experience of playing for England but not in a tournament. Assuming we get to Brazil and that they are in the squad, surely the experience of playing in Israel would have been a more productive experience than the Brazil friendly! Stuart Pearce was right when he suggested we make it hard for ourselves.
I don't know. Arguably the Germans have gone the other way and feel that playing their young players in senior friendlies is preferable. I trust the DFB to have more of a clue than the FA though.