The current England side is transitional - and that fact wouldn't change if they'd won both games 6-0.
The coverage this year, insofar as expectations are concerned, has been refreshingly level-headed....bordering on logical, I'd say (the occassional, hopelessly-optimistic eejit apart). Why therefore the apparent shock when they get papped-out early-doors?
For me, there were two fundamental problems with the England side. Firstly, they looked a yard slower than their opponents in almost every respect. Whether this lethargy was due to laziness/lack of grit, or the demands of a "tough league", is moot. As the wise davidjohnson once said - "we deal in effect - cause is largely immaterial". Either way, they looked somnambulent.
Secondly, they looked like they were playing in a system they'd been shown two minutes before kick-off. The midfield was absent in both matches (referred to earlier in the thread as a 4-2-0-4 formation), and they looked like they didn't even have a rudimentary grasp of how they needed to shape themselves. This much I can accept, given the limited opportunities this squad have had to play together.
The FAs reaction is the right one, imo. Hodgson is a much better manager than he is given credit for, and I think he will put together a very capable side in the medium-term, once some of the English Galacticos start to self-exclude on the back of the tournament.
