carlyluvsunited
16-11-2007, 10:24 AM
Sir Bobby Charlton Identifies Weak Spot
England's failure to take smaller football nations seriously is the main reason they
are likely to miss out on qualification for Euro 2008, according to Sir Bobby
Charlton.
Steve McClaren's side drew blanks against both Macedonia and Israel - as well as
losing to Croatia away from home - and must now rely on the Israelis to deliver a
similar result against Russia.
The former World Cup winner believes that England's place in the competition
next summer would already be assured but for slip-ups against smaller nations.
Charlton, speaking at the National Football Museum Hall of Fame awards
ceremony at Old Trafford, said: "It's a problem that we have brought on
ourselves unfortunately. We need some of our pals to help us.When we play
against lesser teams a long way before the event we don't seem to take it
seriously."
Hans Krankl, by a distance the most famous footballer Austria has produced and
the man who was in charge when England drew 2-2 in a World Cup qualifier in
Vienna, said last night that he was struggling to understand the selection of
David Beckham.
"He was a great footballer but his life and his career changed when he married
Victoria," Krankl said. "He became caught up in showbusiness and he is no longer
a footballer but a marketing tool."
Having come to Austria, where the temperatures are likely to drop to minus six
tonight, from playing celebrity football in California, Beckham is perhaps the only
member of McClaren's squad who will have to raise his game this evening.
Nevertheless - and perhaps with one eye on the gate receipts - Austria manager
Josef Hickersperger welcomed Beckham's inclusion.
"He will be the one footballer out there every man in the street will recognise and
that doesn't happen much to players in this country. The fact remains that he
was one of the best footballers in Europe," he said.
The decision to give Aston Villa goalkeeper Scott Carson his debut for England
delighted his club manager, Martin O'Neill, who hailed the player's "work ethic
and will to succeed".
Carson has impressed the Villa manager since joining the club on loan for this
season from Barclays Premier League rivals Liverpool, with a view to the signing
eventually becoming permanent.
O'Neill said: "He is capable of doing very well. He wants to keep improving and
those are aspects of this game that I admire most."www.telegraph.co.uk
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England's failure to take smaller football nations seriously is the main reason they
are likely to miss out on qualification for Euro 2008, according to Sir Bobby
Charlton.
Steve McClaren's side drew blanks against both Macedonia and Israel - as well as
losing to Croatia away from home - and must now rely on the Israelis to deliver a
similar result against Russia.
The former World Cup winner believes that England's place in the competition
next summer would already be assured but for slip-ups against smaller nations.
Charlton, speaking at the National Football Museum Hall of Fame awards
ceremony at Old Trafford, said: "It's a problem that we have brought on
ourselves unfortunately. We need some of our pals to help us.When we play
against lesser teams a long way before the event we don't seem to take it
seriously."
Hans Krankl, by a distance the most famous footballer Austria has produced and
the man who was in charge when England drew 2-2 in a World Cup qualifier in
Vienna, said last night that he was struggling to understand the selection of
David Beckham.
"He was a great footballer but his life and his career changed when he married
Victoria," Krankl said. "He became caught up in showbusiness and he is no longer
a footballer but a marketing tool."
Having come to Austria, where the temperatures are likely to drop to minus six
tonight, from playing celebrity football in California, Beckham is perhaps the only
member of McClaren's squad who will have to raise his game this evening.
Nevertheless - and perhaps with one eye on the gate receipts - Austria manager
Josef Hickersperger welcomed Beckham's inclusion.
"He will be the one footballer out there every man in the street will recognise and
that doesn't happen much to players in this country. The fact remains that he
was one of the best footballers in Europe," he said.
The decision to give Aston Villa goalkeeper Scott Carson his debut for England
delighted his club manager, Martin O'Neill, who hailed the player's "work ethic
and will to succeed".
Carson has impressed the Villa manager since joining the club on loan for this
season from Barclays Premier League rivals Liverpool, with a view to the signing
eventually becoming permanent.
O'Neill said: "He is capable of doing very well. He wants to keep improving and
those are aspects of this game that I admire most."www.telegraph.co.uk
Click below to join manutdtalk.com and read all
breaking news on all things United !!!
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