The England Way

Manager Steve McClaren on adjusting England's formation for upcoming Euro-qualifiers due to injuries:

"I was very flexible at club level, playing 4-4-2, 4-5-1, 4-3-3 or 3-5-2, to adapt to any situation and to adapt the players within that...You have to have different themes on one system, or different systems on one theme...But with England we play in a certain way - the England way...There's no way we can adapt and play the Brazil way or the Argentina way, we have to play to our strengths...Our game is about tempo, keeping a high tempo, but international football, European football, is totally different and perhaps we have to adapt...We need to play with periods of intensity and to have periods of non-intensity, but we should always be in control of the game...That's something we are trying to develop, whether we are in or out of possession, we are always in control of the game." (BBC)

Well...I'm in favour of the English high tempo game as a matter of fact. I don't think England should focus on adjusting their tempo. Rather, the problem with England's football is a lack of precision. Precision in passing. Precission in moving. And precision in shooting. And this why England also has a tough time with penalties...