Well I’m getting tired of saying it, but that was a disappointment, the performance of the England under 21 team in Denmark was just a little short of a disgrace and they will know it. I thought Pearce got his tactics all wrong, the fact that we set out to emulate Spain and not play to our strengths says it all. The need for us to continually pass the ball back to Frankie Fielding was a mystery. There was no movement from the players and our best attacker was Phil Jones.
Surprisingly Jones looked very good going forward and I wonder whether playing him in a centre defensive midfield position would have suited him better. I was also quite surprised that Jack Rodwell didn’t get more of an opportunity, fair enough, he didn’t have the greatest of seasons at Goodison but his appearance in the Ukraine game showed that he was performing better than Muamba and Mancienne. 
I just think that some of these players will never be good enough to make the move into the first team, they just didn’t show enough quality or desire and just didn’t look like they were vaguely interested in playing together.
One final point I’d like to pick up on was Pearce’s tactic to play two holding central midfielders in all 3 matches, especially in the final match where we had to win in order to progress. The combination of Mancienne and Henderson showed no ambition and created a gulf between the midfield and the strikers, meaning Welbeck was isolated and Sturridge had to keep coming deep to receive the ball.
To be honest with you the future looks bleak for England, but don’t let me bring you down, just watch them for yourself.
Twitter: @andyelement
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