Numeric
22-11-2007, 03:56 PM
Roy Keane has slammed England's players following their failure to qualify for Euro 2008 :laughing: he reckons that the squad is made up of too many egos, and is adamant that the players should step-up and take some of the heavy criticism...
"They certainly have the heart and the passion, but that only gets you so far," he said.
"Technically you have got to be able to handle the ball. These top countries who are constantly qualifying and winning tournaments have that.
"Having said that and if you look at some of the England players, they're ******* good players.
"But certainly if you look at some of the England players and the England set-up, and to be from the outside looking in - just my opinion - there are too many egos in there, too many big heads.
"If you get carried away with any little bit of success, then you're in trouble.
"I look at the England set-up and they don't look a happy bunch, and their body language sometimes isn't great. As good as they are players; good players don't make good teams.
"Steve McClaren lost his job because he did not qualify, and that is fair enough. But the players have got to take responsibility for their own actions.
"I don't think international football is that important to a lot of the players these days. Club football has taken over."
There is ongoing debate as to whether England's failings relate to the lack of talent emerging at youth level.
Keane feels the correct measures are now in place, but admits the results of the system are unlikely to surface for 'many, many years'.
"To be fair to the English FA, from the one or two courses I have been on, I think they are working hard on that," he added.
"But you might not see the results of that for many, many years to come. We always talk about patience in football, but with the English national team - people don't have that patience."
"They certainly have the heart and the passion, but that only gets you so far," he said.
"Technically you have got to be able to handle the ball. These top countries who are constantly qualifying and winning tournaments have that.
"Having said that and if you look at some of the England players, they're ******* good players.
"But certainly if you look at some of the England players and the England set-up, and to be from the outside looking in - just my opinion - there are too many egos in there, too many big heads.
"If you get carried away with any little bit of success, then you're in trouble.
"I look at the England set-up and they don't look a happy bunch, and their body language sometimes isn't great. As good as they are players; good players don't make good teams.
"Steve McClaren lost his job because he did not qualify, and that is fair enough. But the players have got to take responsibility for their own actions.
"I don't think international football is that important to a lot of the players these days. Club football has taken over."
There is ongoing debate as to whether England's failings relate to the lack of talent emerging at youth level.
Keane feels the correct measures are now in place, but admits the results of the system are unlikely to surface for 'many, many years'.
"To be fair to the English FA, from the one or two courses I have been on, I think they are working hard on that," he added.
"But you might not see the results of that for many, many years to come. We always talk about patience in football, but with the English national team - people don't have that patience."