UEFA EURO U21 Championships

Henderson ruins a very good counter opportunity.

Still a bit raw Jones. The potential is clear though.

0-0 FT

England have to beat the Czechs now, who (likely) need just a draw to advance.

englawul

theres a long way to go, and there is no hope in near future, when players believe fat frank and gerrad would get into the barca eleven

Smalling and Jones the potential to become first choice cb s for united and England for many years.

Sturridge was decent. The rest were poor.

Still, the Danny Rose I saw playing for Spurs was a composed, gifted player, up against better quality than Ukraines under 21's. The one tonight was clueless. Pierre will disagree with me for apparently making excuses, but the impression is clear that there is a psychology here amongst some of these players that has become traditionally English- a fear of making mistakes, playing percentages, applying too much aggression and not enough composure. It's evident in that through qualifying this team looked rather decent. But in a tournament environment there is a distinct change in mentality, where instead of rising above the criticism they become progressively more affected by it. Ukraine should have posed no problem today, they were poor.

Will see what happens in the future, but it's a major issue that needs resolving. Wider than just technique.

I'm now consigned to becoming results driven and hoping We get as far as possible despite playing ugly.

blutgraetsche wrote:Mancienne isn't exactly setting the world alight. Looks relatively comfortable on the ball, but that's about it.

Not that it really bothers me what our arch rivals spend their money on, mind...

Mancienne is a centre or right back. You ll have to ask Pearce who he's playing him in midfield.

This England midfield has been horrible so far.

And I got slain for complaining when Wilshere pulled out. What a difference a point of reference in the centre would make, to provide a link to the decent work done by the centre backs and Sturridge.

Kroos wrote:englawul

theres a long way to go, and there is no hope in near future, when players believe fat frank and gerrad would get into the barca eleven

Well the crumb of comfort is that there is already a more successful batch behind this one- the u17 euro champs with the likes of Wickham and Mceachran. This team looks set to provide some quality defenders/ fullbacks and a striker in Sturridge, the next one we will be hoping can provide some midfielders . Mceachran is already very highly rated, similar fleet of foot to Wilshere. We won't see a flow of talent though until the new regulations are put into place- burton (the number 1 problem is the coaching and this is where it needs to change) etc- and even then it needs the prem league to play ball and blood more young players. Still miles off, but there are some decent talents about.

agree, mceachran has a great touch, ball control, and he looks like a great passer


but englands problems cant be solved from 2 kids, they have deeper problems, when every side they play in senior or in this u21 side look like the better side, far more comfortable on the ball, know how to attack and pass

england really cant do anything right now, not create a game, and not counter attack, so whats left!

just trying and wait for an mistake from the opponent, an freekick or some individuals (and in this range england is not really blessed)

in england i dont see a single situation where i thought, oh that was a great combination or a great pass that found his aim, i only see hollywood like passes or player running down the line expecting a pass or they run down the line (bale like) and wanna cross

also the english player run to much with the ball, let the ball do the work

typical england, qualify for such a tournament is "easy", when you play really small nations in the qualifying group, but then in the tournament, there are only good teams left, you see that england cant competete, i know what you wanna say, what about germany (well germanys u21 was or is in a transition, new coach, new players)

i read some interviews from players, they said they wanna do the same thing what germany did in 2009, winning this tournament and then wanna make the same impact in the senior level later, here you realize in which illusion english players live, also the comment about the barca starting line up is hilarious

Kroos wrote:agree, mceachran has a great touch, ball control, and he looks like a great passer


but englands problems cant be solved from 2 kids, they have deeper problems, when every side they play in senior or in this u21 side look like the better side, far more comfortable on the ball, know how to attack and pass

england really cant do anything right now, not create a game, and not counter attack, so whats left!

just trying and wait for an mistake from the opponent, an freekick or some individuals (and in this range england is not really blessed)

in england i dont see a single situation where i thought, oh that was a great combination or a great pass that found his aim, i only see hollywood like passes or player running down the line expecting a pass or they run down the line (bale like) and wanna cross

also the english player run to much with the ball, let the ball do the work

typical england, qualify for such a tournament is "easy", when you play really small nations in the qualifying group, but then in the tournament, there are only good teams left, you see that england cant competete, i know what you wanna say, what about germany (well germanys u21 was or is in a transition, new coach, new players)

i read some interviews from players, they said they wanna do the same thing what germany did in 2009, winning this tournament and then wanna make the same impact in the senior level later, here you realize in which illusion english players live, also the comment about the barca starting line up is hilarious

Are you talking about England national team or English football in general now? Because you need to distinguish the difference - if you can't appreciate some of the football in the Premier League then that's your own bias, to try and highlight an example that might jog your memory: I saw plenty of good combination play from Manchester United when they played Schalke (a game you predicted United would lose I believe!)

Right now, the England National team isn't impressing anyone. That is a more than fair criticism. One which has been discussed to death - we all know coaching (technique) and tournament mentality (employing tactics, teamwork) needs to change within English teams.

In the meantime, we're still in this competition, we've got 2 of the best CB's in this competition I'd wager, and as there is no other football on, I'm sure many of us will continue to watch and hope we progress despite having so far failed to impress attacking wise.

Kroos old pal, that's football for you - no matter how shit the team is we support, we can fall in and out of love for it, but ultimately we carry on supporting it even when it can be excruciating. You must know what I mean - think 1998, 2000, 2004 - you never stopped believing did you?

What are the current odds on England to win this competition? Reckon that could be a good bet

Allez les rouges wrote:What are the current odds on England to win this competition? Reckon that could be a good bet

Wouldn't bother trying any of the UK bookies - the odds are always shorter than they should be for home based teams.

Paddy power have them at 13/2 to win the competition.

Spain 8/11

Denmark at 11/1 look like a decent wager - home team, and unlike England they've recalled eligible players established in the senior team, in particular Christian Eriksen. Lost their openig match to Switzerland, but back on track after beating Belarus, only need to beat Iceland and will be in the semis. Reckon they will continue to improve

Problem with England is that they stick to a rigid 4-4-2 at youth levels with Wingers asked to 'put the ball in the box'. And Defenders at slightest pressure is asked to boot it out to stands. GKs asked to always put the goal kick to the tallest player in opponent's box & try to gather on percentage play. Shooting & Set-pieces are also decided by percentages, not technique. When the ball is with the defenders, they could not find the midfielders with a forward pass & cut it back to GK, who could only clear it with pressure from oppo. forwards.

It's a nice theory, but did you watch the game last night - played 4-3-3.

Also, Smalling and Jones were actually more creative than our midfield as they were willing to take the ball out of defence which caused problems for Ukraine.

There's not lots of talent out there. But from this team, i;d wager that Jones and Smalling will make the grade and Sturridge and Walker could make the grade for the NT. Which is ok. Just (big ask) got to hope now that the changes in style solve a problem in the midfield, and we are finally able to play good football. Something similar to our superior German cousins.

Maybe the larger sides have already realised this, as Wilshere and Mcreachan look like these types of players. But only time will tell if this is the norm rather than an exception.

Fenomeno wrote:Problem with England is that they stick to a rigid 4-4-2 at youth levels with Wingers asked to 'put the ball in the box'. And Defenders at slightest pressure is asked to boot it out to stands. GKs asked to always put the goal kick to the tallest player in opponent's box & try to gather on percentage play. Shooting & Set-pieces are also decided by percentages, not technique. When the ball is with the defenders, they could not find the midfielders with a forward pass & cut it back to GK, who could only clear it with pressure from oppo. forwards.

Actually, this isn't true - the England U21's and U17's have regularly toyed with the 4-3-3 formation

(for example away to greece - see here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/england/6158498/Greece-U21-1-England-U21-1-match-report.html)

The U17's last year won the Euros playing a 4-3-3 with wingers further up the pitch to support a long striker, and noted as a similar style to the other finalists Spain http://www.uefa.com/under17/news/newsid=1493587.html

They also started the Ukraine game in a 4-3-3. Spaim, Pearce reverted to a 4-4-2, but let's not forget, that this u21's team had Wilshere playing for the majority of last season and he is/was imperative for the 4-3-3 work (Just like Capello now sees him as the lynchpin to adopt a 4-3-3 with the seniors)/

Without a genuine replacement, it's been startlingly obvious how important he is to play that formation. What we've seen in this tournament is the 3 in the middle are nowhere near creative enough (Rodwell / Mancienne / Henderson) and reverted back to a 4-4-2 percentage game.

The flaw is clear - England don't have enough genuine creative midfielders able to take the ball in tight spaces in the middle and play in the front 3. It's imperative to pull off a 4-3-3, and when Wilshere is unavailable England are fucked.

Noah und der Bale wrote:

Allez les rouges wrote:What are the current odds on England to win this competition? Reckon that could be a good bet

Wouldn't bother trying any of the UK bookies - the odds are always shorter than they should be for home based teams.

Paddy power have them at 13/2 to win the competition.

Spain 8/11

Denmark at 11/1 look like a decent wager - home team, and unlike England they've recalled eligible players established in the senior team, in particular Christian Eriksen. Lost their openig match to Switzerland, but back on track after beating Belarus, only need to beat Iceland and will be in the semis. Reckon they will continue to improve

Well if you want to have a bet with better odds than Spain, Switzerland is indeed the team to put your money on. They're already in the semifinals, I'd fancy them to beat England or Czech Republic, and anything can happen in the final (if it's against Spain as we all assume).

Hlebagone wrote:It's a nice theory, but did you watch the game last night - played 4-3-3.

Also, Smalling and Jones were actually more creative than our midfield as they were willing to take the ball out of defence which caused problems for Ukraine.

There's not lots of talent out there. But from this team, i;d wager that Jones and Smalling will make the grade and Sturridge and Walker could make the grade for the NT. Which is ok. Just (big ask) got to hope now that the changes in style solve a problem in the midfield, and we are finally able to play good football. Something similar to our superior German cousins.

Maybe the larger sides have already realised this, as Wilshere and Mcreachan look like these types of players. But only time will tell if this is the norm rather than an exception.

Will hinge on 3 core things if you ask me

1) The success of Burton / St George's Park opening next year = more coaches, all teaching the same philosophy technique, touches of the ball, tactical work, indoors smaller pitches etc:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_George%27s_Park_National_Football_Centre

2) Losing the 10km restriction rule this year will help teams like Arsenal, Man United, Chelsea etc find and train English talent as opposed to having to poach from abroad. The academies themselves aren't the problem, it's the restrictions on the talent pool they can access nationally. Premier League clubs in general need to become more altruistic. There is a benefit for clubs to have English "stars" from a marketing perspective, but also for generating a club identity.

3) Finally, a change in attitude/mentality (which can only come from the coaching) - you can often see English players going into matches like it's a war, adrenalin coarsing through their veins, when infact some calm and composure would actually be more helpful. A little bit of aggression is okay, but you can almost see some of these guys shaking such is the intensity, especially at Tournaments. The example of Rose I made earlier: playing for Spurs he has a touch of calm and composure there. Playing for England, he looks so pumped up and overly keen he almost looks a different player.

Using Wilshere as an example of what can be achieved - he's still got a touch of aggression but not forfeiting the ability to make calm decisions on the pitch, to play with his head. This is why I argue it's not simply technical: you can have relatively average technical skills but still make the right decision and play with a calm head. Jones and Smalling showed this in abundance last night. The midfield didn't, and I'd wager they're more naturally gifted technically when comparing the two on the training pitch. Rodwell is clearly a better technical footballer than Smalling, but you wouldn't have seen that watching last night's game as he was charging around like an angry headless chicken

Agree, even Lansbury, who really can't be a better player than Henderson or Rodwell, as those two are established premiership players whereas Lansbury was on the bench for Norwich a lot of last season, understood what balls needed to be played when. Was the first English player to try a first touch pass for example.

It isn't a low level, so i remain unconvinced that Rodwell or Henderson have the technical prowess to do what is asked of them in a 4-3-3 at this level, but they could have at least tried.

Just coz they played that formation doesn't invalidate the flawed mindset with which they're brought up from grass root. Likes of Trevor Brooking had said as much.

One example:
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/trevor-brooking-youngsters-are-just-not-skilful-enough-445713.html

Yeah, we all know that. Just specifically pointing out the flaws in that post.

And it's my opinion that some of the current players could be even better if grass root & youth levels are improved. Where are the Hoddles & Waddles types that you must be producing regularly? Not just England mind! Northern Ireland couldn't muster another Georgy Best or even pale imitation of him? Where are the next-McGrath or next-Brady from Ireland? Why Welsh take different generations to produce a Giggs or a Ramsey?

Fenomeno wrote:Just coz they played that formation doesn't invalidate the flawed mindset with which they're brought up from grass root. Likes of Trevor Brooking had said as much.

One example:
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/trevor-brooking-youngsters-are-just-not-skilful-enough-445713.html

That falls into the point I was making about mentality, which comes from the coaching first and foremost. The facts don't lie - in England there are something like 1/5th of the number of accredited football coaches in comparison with Spain. That's the fundamental reason behind the National Academy opening next year - coaches to teach coaches, and not the "old traditional way" but the new, flexible, technical model that Spain have been doing for years.

That article is dated 2007, so since then the English team has utilised the 4-3-3 formation to varying effectiveness. But like anything, it takes time to change a long held tradition.

However, it is wrong to say that changes ain't afoot, or that it will ultimately fail.

One only has to look at English Cricket as an obvious example. 10 years ago nobody would have believed the English could not only catch but usurp the Aussies, but it happened. It happened in Rugby aswell. And the Olympics.

The reasons why is can happen - aside from the interest and number of kids playing the sport, the UK has the second highest ranked accreditation in the World for Sports Science behind only the US, and the money is there. It just needs the teachers.

Mentalities can change, and quickly. Ask any Arsenal fan who witnessed the days of George Graham's dour defensive "hoof it!" club mentality to one where fans now turn up expecting to see Wenger's team play the beautiful game and become irate when they don't.

Fenomeno wrote: Where are the Hoddles & Waddles types that you must be producing regularly? Not just England mind! Northern Ireland couldn't muster another Georgy Best or even pale imitation of him? Where are the next-McGrath or next-Brady from Ireland? Why Welsh take different generations to produce a Giggs or a Ramsey?

This is an observation that actually resonates amongst most countries. Where are the Cruyffs, the Stoichkovs, the Hagis, the Baggios, the Platinis.

Comes back to coaching. The requirement nowadays is obviously, as we all know, for more athletically strong, fit players. Even Lionel Messi is an outlandish mix of technical ability + explosive acceleration, stamina, pace and body strength (far stronger than his small frame suggests). In the UK, the balance has been overpromoting physical qualities. Obvious to see that.

I'll say this - it's sounds fairly trivial, but Burton is going to have "state of the art" (no idea what this means) indoor mini grass pitches to allow for smaller games to be played minus the effects of the weather. Imagine kids being identified early, taken to this academy and brought up playing on those as opposed to 11 a-side outdoor muddy pitches in blowing wind and rain - seems a no brainer that technically they are going to be a whole lot better.

Keep to pedigree nations, Italy, France, Holland, Spain & Germany keep producing whole bunch of quality footballers for each generation.

Take Holland - they have a generation of Rijkaard, MVB, Gullit, Koeman & co. followed immediately by Bergkamp, Cocu, Davids, De Boer, Kluivert & co. which is followed by Sneijder, Van Persie, VDV, Robben & Affelay..

Noah und der Bale wrote:

Hlebagone wrote:It's a nice theory, but did you watch the game last night - played 4-3-3.

Also, Smalling and Jones were actually more creative than our midfield as they were willing to take the ball out of defence which caused problems for Ukraine.

There's not lots of talent out there. But from this team, i;d wager that Jones and Smalling will make the grade and Sturridge and Walker could make the grade for the NT. Which is ok. Just (big ask) got to hope now that the changes in style solve a problem in the midfield, and we are finally able to play good football. Something similar to our superior German cousins.

Maybe the larger sides have already realised this, as Wilshere and Mcreachan look like these types of players. But only time will tell if this is the norm rather than an exception.

Will hinge on 3 core things if you ask me

1) The success of Burton / St George's Park opening next year = more coaches, all teaching the same philosophy technique, touches of the ball, tactical work, indoors smaller pitches etc:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_George%27s_Park_National_Football_Centre

2) Losing the 10km restriction rule this year will help teams like Arsenal, Man United, Chelsea etc find and train English talent as opposed to having to poach from abroad. The academies themselves aren't the problem, it's the restrictions on the talent pool they can access nationally. Premier League clubs in general need to become more altruistic. There is a benefit for clubs to have English "stars" from a marketing perspective, but also for generating a club identity.

3) Finally, a change in attitude/mentality (which can only come from the coaching) - you can often see English players going into matches like it's a war, adrenalin coarsing through their veins, when infact some calm and composure would actually be more helpful. A little bit of aggression is okay, but you can almost see some of these guys shaking such is the intensity, especially at Tournaments. The example of Rose I made earlier: playing for Spurs he has a touch of calm and composure there. Playing for England, he looks so pumped up and overly keen he almost looks a different player.

Using Wilshere as an example of what can be achieved - he's still got a touch of aggression but not forfeiting the ability to make calm decisions on the pitch, to play with his head. This is why I argue it's not simply technical: you can have relatively average technical skills but still make the right decision and play with a calm head. Jones and Smalling showed this in abundance last night. The midfield didn't, and I'd wager they're more naturally gifted technically when comparing the two on the training pitch. Rodwell is clearly a better technical footballer than Smalling, but you wouldn't have seen that watching last night's game as he was charging around like an angry headless chicken

The only thing that will change is that Walcotts and Moses will be signed at the age of 12 or 13 rather than 16 or 17. Just like it happens now in Spain (eg. Barça signing Pedro from a local club in the Canary Islands when he was 13, or Iniesta from his regional club when he was 12).

fcb wrote:

Noah und der Bale wrote:

Hlebagone wrote:It's a nice theory, but did you watch the game last night - played 4-3-3.

Also, Smalling and Jones were actually more creative than our midfield as they were willing to take the ball out of defence which caused problems for Ukraine.

There's not lots of talent out there. But from this team, i;d wager that Jones and Smalling will make the grade and Sturridge and Walker could make the grade for the NT. Which is ok. Just (big ask) got to hope now that the changes in style solve a problem in the midfield, and we are finally able to play good football. Something similar to our superior German cousins.

Maybe the larger sides have already realised this, as Wilshere and Mcreachan look like these types of players. But only time will tell if this is the norm rather than an exception.

Will hinge on 3 core things if you ask me

1) The success of Burton / St George's Park opening next year = more coaches, all teaching the same philosophy technique, touches of the ball, tactical work, indoors smaller pitches etc:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_George%27s_Park_National_Football_Centre

2) Losing the 10km restriction rule this year will help teams like Arsenal, Man United, Chelsea etc find and train English talent as opposed to having to poach from abroad. The academies themselves aren't the problem, it's the restrictions on the talent pool they can access nationally. Premier League clubs in general need to become more altruistic. There is a benefit for clubs to have English "stars" from a marketing perspective, but also for generating a club identity.

3) Finally, a change in attitude/mentality (which can only come from the coaching) - you can often see English players going into matches like it's a war, adrenalin coarsing through their veins, when infact some calm and composure would actually be more helpful. A little bit of aggression is okay, but you can almost see some of these guys shaking such is the intensity, especially at Tournaments. The example of Rose I made earlier: playing for Spurs he has a touch of calm and composure there. Playing for England, he looks so pumped up and overly keen he almost looks a different player.

Using Wilshere as an example of what can be achieved - he's still got a touch of aggression but not forfeiting the ability to make calm decisions on the pitch, to play with his head. This is why I argue it's not simply technical: you can have relatively average technical skills but still make the right decision and play with a calm head. Jones and Smalling showed this in abundance last night. The midfield didn't, and I'd wager they're more naturally gifted technically when comparing the two on the training pitch. Rodwell is clearly a better technical footballer than Smalling, but you wouldn't have seen that watching last night's game as he was charging around like an angry headless chicken

The only thing that will change is that Walcotts and Moses will be signed at the age of 12 or 13 rather than 16 or 17. Just like it happens now in Spain (eg. Barça signing Pedro from a local club in the Canary Islands when he was 13, or Iniesta from his regional club when he was 12).

FALSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pedrito didn't go to Barcelona until he was 17. Stop pretending like he is "yours".

Fenomeno wrote:Keep to pedigree nations, Italy, France, Holland, Spain & Germany keep producing whole bunch of quality footballers for each generation.

Take Holland - they have a generation of Rijkaard, MVB, Gullit, Koeman & co. followed immediately by Bergkamp, Cocu, Davids, De Boer, Kluivert & co. which is followed by Sneijder, Van Persie, VDV, Robben & Affelay..

True.

But has Englandfailed to produce decent footballers in the last few generations?

Waddle, Gascoigne, Lineker, Beardsley, Barnes, Shilton

to

Le Tissier, Shearer, Mcmanaman, Ince, Sheringham, Adams

to

Scholes, Beckham, Gerrard, Ferdinand, Rooney, Cole (the apparent Golden generation..()

I'm not arguing we've produced as many as the countries you've mentioned, but sometimes I get the impression - almost always after an England game that has been heaqvily criticised - that these players, who have excelled in competitions away from the Internationa arena such as the CL, become easily maligned.

fcb wrote:

Noah und der Bale wrote:

Hlebagone wrote:It's a nice theory, but did you watch the game last night - played 4-3-3.

Also, Smalling and Jones were actually more creative than our midfield as they were willing to take the ball out of defence which caused problems for Ukraine.

There's not lots of talent out there. But from this team, i;d wager that Jones and Smalling will make the grade and Sturridge and Walker could make the grade for the NT. Which is ok. Just (big ask) got to hope now that the changes in style solve a problem in the midfield, and we are finally able to play good football. Something similar to our superior German cousins.

Maybe the larger sides have already realised this, as Wilshere and Mcreachan look like these types of players. But only time will tell if this is the norm rather than an exception.

Will hinge on 3 core things if you ask me

1) The success of Burton / St George's Park opening next year = more coaches, all teaching the same philosophy technique, touches of the ball, tactical work, indoors smaller pitches etc:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_George%27s_Park_National_Football_Centre

2) Losing the 10km restriction rule this year will help teams like Arsenal, Man United, Chelsea etc find and train English talent as opposed to having to poach from abroad. The academies themselves aren't the problem, it's the restrictions on the talent pool they can access nationally. Premier League clubs in general need to become more altruistic. There is a benefit for clubs to have English "stars" from a marketing perspective, but also for generating a club identity.

3) Finally, a change in attitude/mentality (which can only come from the coaching) - you can often see English players going into matches like it's a war, adrenalin coarsing through their veins, when infact some calm and composure would actually be more helpful. A little bit of aggression is okay, but you can almost see some of these guys shaking such is the intensity, especially at Tournaments. The example of Rose I made earlier: playing for Spurs he has a touch of calm and composure there. Playing for England, he looks so pumped up and overly keen he almost looks a different player.

Using Wilshere as an example of what can be achieved - he's still got a touch of aggression but not forfeiting the ability to make calm decisions on the pitch, to play with his head. This is why I argue it's not simply technical: you can have relatively average technical skills but still make the right decision and play with a calm head. Jones and Smalling showed this in abundance last night. The midfield didn't, and I'd wager they're more naturally gifted technically when comparing the two on the training pitch. Rodwell is clearly a better technical footballer than Smalling, but you wouldn't have seen that watching last night's game as he was charging around like an angry headless chicken

The only thing that will change is that Walcotts and Moses will be signed at the age of 12 or 13 rather than 16 or 17. Just like it happens now in Spain (eg. Barça signing Pedro from a local club in the Canary Islands when he was 13, or Iniesta from his regional club when he was 12).

So in other words, these players will recieve an additional 4 or 5 years top level coaching at the best academies in the country in their most formative years.

I'd say that is a pretty big change

That's all fine and dany and may improve the situation in the long run indeed. However, it's not like this is a new problem. If we're perfectly honest, England's football has been outdated since the early 1970s, e.g. the landmark Wembley match against Germany in 1972. You could even argue that it has been outdated since 1953 match against Hungary, despite the 1966 WC win.

'Cultural' aspects can change indeed, but that not only takes a lot of time, you have to consider the reactionary elements, too. Just look how pathetically otto is clinging to an idea of German football that became popular in the 1980s, that was nothing more than a (in the long term destructive) trend for various reasons. Before that, the very idea of how the game should be played was entirely different, and only in recent times the majority of people have woken up to this. What Fenomeno is trying to say is that those 'reactionary elements' are pretty strong in England.

Bernd,
English players began to look good in CL with high influx of Foreign talent.

Germany for example though was able to change fairly quickly. 2000 - 2010. Look at the difference! I guess there is less reactionary elements in Germany, but really, aside from the desire to play at a higher tempo than the latin countries, there's no real disdain for technical abilities. Apart from Stoke. The top tear of English clubs are technically equal to their counterparts (excluding Barcelona of course) and this has been welcomed by the fans.