Could talk all week about that
In short though the England team is so rigid and has been for so long that any creative players get suffocated, preferring the physical game. The fans expect players to represent their team like warriors, so all players are big and the day of the tricky wingers are gone.
John Barnes for me was the most gifted wingers of my generation (in an England shirt) but even he looked shit, coming from a team that played high pressing football, a team that were experts in drawing out opposition players before laying off a 1 - 2 and providing an extra yard or 2 of space to exploit. Barnes was dumped in an England team that demanded a solid shape, players would sit back chained to their positions and invite pressure then 'bully' them off the ball and trying to build up play, Barnes had nowhere to run but that never stopped fans expecting him to dribble through players all day and it's been the same throughout the years. England managers always dump players in the England shape (usually a rigid 4-4-2 with a flat back). Remember the Gerrard and Lampard midfield ?. "How do we play them both", fucking don't, use Gareth Barry as the holding mid you dumb fuck. How the fucking hell England didn't manage to make 4231 work with that crop of players is beyond me.
[color=red] . : [/color][size=85] You knows you knows [/size]