How did this team not win anything

[fergies coat]

I've just seen this on twitter. It was the team the played Switzerland in euro 2004. How did we not win anything?

It was probably our best tournament under Sven, and maybe we could of won it if Rooney didn't get injured against Portugal.

Look at that formation. Players just shoehorned into a 442. What was Sven thinking? Could you imagine what Pep, Klopp or Sir Alex could of done with this lot.

 

[The Mitcher]

I've just seen this on twitter. It was the team the played Switzerland in euro 2004. How did we not win anything?

It was probably our best tournament under Sven, and maybe we could of won it if Rooney didn't get injured against Portugal.

Look at that formation. Players just shoehorned into a 442. What was Sven thinking? Could you imagine what Pep, Klopp or Sir Alex could of done with this lot.

You answered your own question there.

Also, playing Scholes out of position, playing Lampard and Gerrard together when they did not fit as a pair, and also James was an awful goalkeeper.

 

[Solius]

Rooney getting injured fecked us over. He started that tournament in amazing form.

 

[Vidyoyo]

Am I right in thinking Owen was a worse player by 2004? That was the year he went to Real and he did okay but he only lasted a season before returning to Newcastle.

Edit: Actually he'd finished strongly that year for Pool so perhaps not.

 

[IrishRedDevil]

Who’s on the bench?

 

[VidaRed]

Scandalous.

 

[diarm]

How did this team not win anything?

 

[VidaRed]

Axe lampard and play gerrard and schole in the middle. Throw in a defensive midfielder like fred behind them and rooney infront.

 

[Deery]

You answered your own question there.

Also, playing Scholes out of position, playing Lampard and Gerrard together when they did not fit as a pair, and also James was an awful goalkeeper.

This

 

[Champ]

Scholes shoved out on the wing, lack of balance, lack of pace at the back, lack of out ball at the top.
This team is full of individuals but never a team.
English fans love to harp on about the golden generation when the reality is there never was one.

 

[Apokalips]

Axe lampard and play gerrard and schole in the middle. Throw in a defensive midfielder like fred behind them and rooney infront.

You could have mentioned anyone in history and you chose Fred? Joker

 

[Mb194dc]

How:


When I wonder why I have so little hope or faith in England... Just need go watch last 20 years of tournaments. Would have had Greece in second round if topped the group. Maybe would have been different...

 

[432JuanMata]

A lack of of a DM screwed that team as well. The midfield was just picked of the best players instead of finding the right balance. Also only 1 country can win things

 

[Eternitiy]

Axe lampard and play gerrard and schole in the middle. Throw in a defensive midfielder like fred behind them and rooney infront.

Fred? Seriously?

 

[Renegade]

Hargreaves and even P Neville on the bench could have been a DM option. I remember SAF playing Neville in midfield more frequently around that timeframe. Butt was in the squad too but think he was slowing down around that time.

I think the narrative around this time was that Gerrard was this complete CM that could cover for Lampard defensively. Persisting with the Lampard/Gerrard formula was unforgivable in 2006 though.

 

[Withnail]

I've just seen this on twitter. It was the team the played Switzerland in euro 2004. How did we not win anything?

It was probably our best tournament under Sven, and maybe we could of won it if Rooney didn't get injured against Portugal.

Look at that formation. Players just shoehorned into a 442. What was Sven thinking? Could you imagine what Pep, Klopp or Sir Alex could of done with this lot.

It's just ridiculous. Even swapping Scholes and Gerrard would have been a massive improvement.

Lampard/Gerrard isn't even half a midfield. Either of them could have been an integral part of the team but not as CMs.

 

[GlasgowCeltic]

The midfield issues are mentioned often but I think Sven also had the team sitting camped behind the ball too often

 

[fergies coat]

Who’s on the bench?

The bench wasn't great to be fair.
Carragher
Hargreaves
Vassell
Dyer
Joe Cole
Heskey

Plus a few more. Rio was missing because of the missed drugs test wasn't he?

 

[UnrelatedPsuedo]

Axe lampard and play gerrard and schole in the middle. Throw in a defensive midfielder like fred behind them and rooney infront.

Fred was only 11 in 2004. Also Brazilian so couldn’t have played even if old enough.

 

[ReddBalls]

The bench was great to be fair.

Vassell

 

[OleBoiii]

I've seen that picture(or similar ones) so many times now.

You could whine about injuries and Scholes being out of position all you want, but the truth is that most teams only last 3-4 years. That only gives the team in question 1 or 2 chances to win something. And cups are volatile by nature.

 

[Ekeke]

Overrated and a lack of balance in midfield

 

[Oranges038]

Wrong manager, wrong formation, no balance to the team, he played players out of position because tried to fit all his best players into the starting 11.

 

[FootballHQ]

Axe lampard and play gerrard and schole in the middle. Throw in a defensive midfielder like fred behind them and rooney infront.

Hargreaves was in squad in 2004 but played more wide in those times before having a good world cup in 2006.

By 2006 England were playing some terrible football.

Actually thought the best chance of the three was 2002. 1 up by Brazil and team froze. Win that and path would've been Turkey in SF and Germany in final with the 5-1 happening less than a year before so would've been a better opportunity than what presented itself in 2018.

 

[Irwin99]

Bit of a galactico policy of 'let's just throw superstars in there and let them get on with it' instead of a balanced team. In fairness it still could have won in 2004.

Lack of a pacy, direct winger and a midfield that could control games are the biggest issues beside the goalkeeper. Scholes didn't actually perform that deeper role at that point (we still had Keane doing that for United) and I can't think of another player other than Hargreaves maybe that might have done the job at that point.

A pretty unlikable team too. Think even Scholes said at the time it was a pretty divided squad and some of the players didn't get on.

 

[Withnail]

Main issue was Sven.

He was not a good manager and square-peg-round-holed it for no apparent reason. If he had Scholes/Hargreaves with Gerrard and Rooney ahead of them and the option to bring Lampard and Owen off the bench towards the end other teams would be sh*tting themselves.

 

[Eli Zee]

Scholes shoved out on the wing, lack of balance, lack of pace at the back, lack of out ball at the top.
This team is full of individuals but never a team.
English fans love to harp on about the golden generation when the reality is there never was one.

Golden generation, just mismanaged? Can't deny the talent of this generation

 

[VidaRed]

Fred was only 11 in 2004. Also Brazilian so couldn’t have played even if old enough.

You could have mentioned anyone in history and you chose Fred? Joker

I said someone like fred to cleanup and pass the ball to scholes or gerrard.

Such a role could be filled then by hargreaves, butt or phil neville

 

[Champ]

Golden generation, just mismanaged? Can't deny the talent of this generation

Campbell, Cole, Lampard, Terry...all massively overrated.
Mismanaged undoubtedly, but over hyped even still.

 

[led_scholes]

Spoiler

 

[UnofficialDevil]

I think Rio said once that they all hated each other from club rivalry and there was no chemistry as a team? Or maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Pscholes18]

I've just seen this on twitter. It was the team the played Switzerland in euro 2004. How did we not win anything?

It was probably our best tournament under Sven, and maybe we could of won it if Rooney didn't get injured against Portugal.

Look at that formation. Players just shoehorned into a 442. What was Sven thinking? Could you imagine what Pep, Klopp or Sir Alex could of done with this lot.

Because you have two cnuts playing inth middle that shouldn't of been playing together forcing Scholes on the wing.

 

[Bastian]

Pretty much.

 

[Deery]

Campbell, Cole, Lampard, Terry...all massively overrated.
Mismanaged undoubtedly, but over hyped even still.

I’d disagree Cole, Lampard and Terry were class. Ashley probably the best left back in the world.

 

[Renegade]

Campbell, Cole, Lampard, Terry...all massively overrated.
Mismanaged undoubtedly, but over hyped even still.

The none United players were all overrated?

 

[Wayne's World]

I remember 2004, I was only young at the time but that England team were very impressive with a young Wayne Rooney bursting onto the scene but at that time from what I recall, England has this obsession of playing 4-4-2 and wouldn't change it so left it with Lampard and Gerrard in the middle when both weren't suited to it.

Football changed so much since then that managers would definitely accommodate that now to get the best of them but back then, it was 4-4-2 and that was it and wasn't going to be changed to get the best out of players

 

[UnofficialDevil]

Campbell, Cole, Lampard, Terry...all massively overrated.
Mismanaged undoubtedly, but over hyped even still.

Ashley Cole, Lampard and that idiot Terry, were all world-class players.

 

[duffer]

fecking Fred. I've seen it all now, never change Redcafe.

 

[padr81]

That team had no wingers and was over stacked with CMS.

Needed to bench Stevie and Owen. Play Scholes and Lampard ahead of Barry and a real winger on the left which they didn't have.

 

[paulscholes18]

Every man and his dog could see Lampard and Gerrard couldn’t work together in a two, and to top it of Scholes got shoved to LW.
Had the midfield and forward line been
Beckham Hargreaves Scholes Cole
Lampard/ Gerrard
Owen/ Rooney

Then maybe 2004 would have been different.