By some hideous mistake of chance I was listening to the Radio 5 Football Crypt Lock-In thing they had on last night whilst merrily washing up.

Steve Claridge is a fucking twat, isn't he?

They discussed Capello's rabble rousing "We're can compete technically with the Spanish!" comments (possibly the "...but we'd look shit in comparision" segue was lost in translation) and two of the four pundits (the others being Claridge and Brian Barwick, who's hardly likely to disagree) were expressing their possible reservations about this. Claridge was flatly refusing to consider that we may, possibly have a problem technically, ignoring all the evidence to the contrary.

They then discussed Distin's booking in the Commmunity Shield for being a mouthy pillock (Barwick was pleased about the grass roots initiative) and the other two thought it was a good thing. Not our Steve, banging on about "pressure situations excusing this sort of thing" (ever tried heart surgery, Steve?) and "refs have to be 100% right" and other shit that's trotted out to excuse players screaming obscenities in the faces of officials.

I mean, I can understand a player currently involved in the game publicly backing his fellow pros against criticism but Claridge hardly qualifies these days, does he? Have some fucking objectivity, you fool! (No doubt he'll surface at yet another lower division club in the coming months)

I thought distin was a bit unlucky to be honest. he didn't get that mouthy, and it was a terrible decision to give the corner to man utd.

A couple of seasons ago chelsea beat a hopelesly weakened man city team 2-0 (willo flood and steven Ireland were the central midfield) and didier drogba blatantly controlled the ball with his hand for the first goal, only the referee and the linesman didn't see it.

Distin got sent off at half time for not immediately giving the ref the ball while he complained to him about the decision.

But Distin was French so he was probably sent off for smelling too strongly of Garlic.

I have always thought that Claridge was an idiot but some on here liked him due to his matey persona.

According to Claridge all that's wrong with England is the players lack belief. I nearly came off the road last night laughing at his 'I refuse to accept anything's wrong' stance. He reminded me of that Iraqi General. Great stuff, proper entertainment on the beeb.

The successful sides at Euro 2008 (maybe aside from Germany) moved the ball very quickly in midfield with the minimum of touches - and importantly played to feet. The midfield players were also quick to support the striker/s.

Contrast that with England who by comparison almost always look lethargic and cumbersome. And leave Rooney isolated fifty yards from the nearest supporting player.

Unfortunately they often confuse playing at a higher tempo with booting the ball 75 yards.

After watching Euro 2008 I underwent a bit of a u-turn. I was watching Holland and seeing the likes of Engelaar, Van Bronckorst, De Jong and Kuyt looking comfortable in possession, playing pretty triangles, making space, and it dawned on me. They are no better than English players and none of them have, or would, stand out in the Premier League.

However, they are better footballers because they understand the game. The difference is tactical. They make a pass and they instinctively know where to go to receive it. Their teammate is in possession and they know what angles to make to provide an outlet.

It’s basic stuff, but in this country I get the impression that the players don’t receive this coaching at a young age. By the time they do, they’re too old to learn new tricks and the damage has been done. As a result, they are incapable of seeing the bigger picture and frequently make the wrong decisions. It is this tactical defficiency, rather than a lack of technical ability, which undermines English players.

Contrast that with England who by comparison almost always look lethargic and cumbersome. And leave Rooney isolated fifty yards from the nearest supporting player.

don't forget that they also play like they've never seen each other before.

I would assume Claridge is being put into that role, if not actually scripted. He always seems to take up such positions in debates.

Lodzubelieveit wrote:

QUOTE:
I would assume Claridge is being put into that role, if not actually scripted. He always seems to take up such positions in debates.

I get the distinct impression Claridge says what he likes and likes what he bloody well says.

They may have hired him because he's an argumentative one, and won't back down no matter how much his analysis is discredited but I fear the rest is his own work.

It's been mentioned before, but his co-commentary is pretty eye-watering. The reason being he always seems to sound like he's a kid about to burst into tears.