Shearer says: “That was the worst performance ever from an England team”
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Everything went wrong from start to finish last night, we were simply abysmal. Iceland out-fought us, they out-smarted us and they were stronger than us in every position. To be honest, we got exactly what we deserved. It just looked like Roy was trying to make it up as he went along. I had said previously that I didn’t think Roy knew his best XI and formation and that was clear yesterday. To come into a tournament and four games in, still not know, something was clearly drastically wrong.
Although we got the early goal from Wayne Rooney’s penalty, we never looked dangerous in the game. It was just terrible defending to concede two goals so quickly in the first-half. We must have known that one of Iceland’s greatest strengths is their long throws. I know it is OK saying it and another thing trying to defend them, but our defending for the first and second goals was pretty dire. Joe Hart has held his hands up and taken some of the blame. He should have done better for the second goal. He has been one of many players who have been nowhere near good enough in the tournament.
Once again last night there was no creativity in midfield and we had nothing to offer up front. It was just horrible to watch. We do have to say well done to Iceland though. They were miles better than us on the night and they are now playing France in the quarter-final of Euro 2016 and we are on our way home.
I honestly think it was the worst performance ever from an England team. In the second-half I saw the ball roll under people’s feet, balls were smashed over the crossbar from good positions and we caved. We simply did not have an answer. Not only did we cave on the pitch, we caved on the touchline.
If the FA have put their system in place, which I believe they have, then Gareth Southgate should be the next England manager. I would go along with Southgate who should have Glenn Hoddle as his assistant. I’ve worked with Glenn at England before and he was fantastic. He is still young enough and is an excellent coach.
People say England should not be going out of major tournaments at this stage, but why shouldn’t we? We weren’t good enough. Our Premier League is over-hyped. What right have we got to be in the next round if we perform like we did against Iceland and in this tournament?
Let’s face it, we had Russia in the opening game, we could not beat them. Against Wales, we nicked the win in the last minute. We were unable to score and beat Slovakia and then we crumbled to Iceland. People were telling me as this tournament progressed that we were passing the ball well and there were plenty of positives to take from our performances. The truth is, we have not been good enough from day one and that is why we have exited the competition at this stage.
