re: EPL's Most Ineffective XI 2012/13

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If any Chelsea players were to make this list,

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I'd suspect Ramires

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I'd suspect Ramires

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and

The 3 lions will never rock the world anywhere.

Both are fantastic young talents, but neither had the season that other young international players had.

Whether or not England succeed in Brazil is yet to be known, but they are transitioning to a contemporary style which should facilitate improved competitiveness internationally (IMO).

The young generation is much more technically and tactically adept than the previous one.

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The young generation is much more technically and tactically adept than the previous one.

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With much less bottle. England is in trouble imo, the next generation isn't ready or good enough. Major downgrades at so many positions from where they were 4-8 years ago.

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With much less bottle. England is in trouble imo, the next generation isn't ready or good enough. Major downgrades at so many positions from where they were 4-8 years ago.

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What has bottle ever given them? Having courage has little to do with international success. If you are referring to some immeasurable quality that this new generation doesn't have, then I'd contend that no English team has had that innate quality, which for me would be the game changing ability that other good international sides have.

Internationally England has been trying to fit square pegs into round holes for too long. At least England is trying to modernize their tactical and technical approach, which gives this generation a better chance for something which resembles a decent international showing.

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I still think France (provided that off-the-field woes don't plague them) have better potential in the short-to-medium term, but y'all laughed at me.

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Not sure who laughs at the idea of France having better international potential than England. I'd take my chances with pretty much any French roster I can recall.

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You mean the France who notched a single point in the 2010 WC group stages?

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It;s a good point but I'd still be inclined to take that team over England's if it started again today.

They were a shipwreck of epic proportions but even that squad still probably had more top end potential to advance deeply.

I say this as someone who also thinks England's NT is often unfairly made the butt of jokes. It's usually a very solid side that mainly suffers from unrealistic expectations.

2010 was 3 years ago. They did better at Euros.

The French locker room is a mess because the coaches are too proper French to really "get" the younger generation of players and to be able to truly communicate with them on their level. That and a lot of the new gen, ie Ben Arfa and Nasri, are head cases.

But seriously can you imagine a CB pairing of Varane and Kos?

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What has bottle ever given them?

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For all the crap they get they are almost always a tough out in tournaments. They go out in penalties in virtually every tournament it seems. If they had even a decent record in penalties they would be viewed completley different.

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At least England is trying to modernize their tactical and technical approach, which gives this generation a better chance for something which resembles a decent international showing.

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And it may pay off at some point down the road but I just don't think this upcoming generation is nearly talented enough to pull anything off and they won't have the backbone to grind out any results.