England U23s Olympics
With the announcement of the Great Britain team for the 2012 Olympics I applied for the job immediately (why not really?) I receive the appointment a few days later.
My first task is to arrange a friendly against Belarus, mostly just to give the players an extra team to gel with the tactics I want to play (the same as I use with Leicester though with a bit of added width due to most games being at Wembley and two cm instead of the AM and DM to reflect the build of my squad).
The squad that I selected is as follows:
GK Alex Smithies
GK Jason Steele
DRLC Jordan Spence
DRC Kyle Walker
DC Chris Smalling
DC Phil Jones
DC John Terry
DL Ryan Bertrand
AML Gareth Bale
MC Jack Rodwell
AMRLC Jack Wilshere
MC Aaron Ramsey
MC/AMRL James Milner
AMRLC Tom Cleverley
AMRL/SC Daniel Sturridge
SC Wayne Rooney
SC Andy Carroll
SC David Goodwillie
Most of those names are fairly obvious I’m sure. The selection of David Goodwillie as my third striker ahead of Danny Welbeck was in part due to wanting a Scottish player in the squad and I slightly prefer him anyway. Jordan Spence seemed to me better than several of the alternatives and had the benefit of being able to play across the entire back line (it being only an 18 man squad versatility was a key thing I wanted in deciding my squad).
For my three over age players I chose Wayne Rooney, John Terry and then James Milner. I wanted to have an experienced spine to my team which these three players provided and Milner again had the versatility advantage over the other contender for the final spot which was Ashley Young. I plumped for Milner in the end because he was better in the middle.
Warm-up match
Vs Belarus, Won 1-0
Despite dominating the game a single goal victory is only secured in the 70th minute courtesy of a Wayne Rooney strike.
Group Stages
Vs Uruguay, Won 3-0
Vs Mali, Won 2-0
Vs South Korea, Won 6-1
Great Britain were heavy favourites for all of these matches so the smooth progress shouldn’t be any surprise. My team dominated the matches and I was able to rotate my players enough that their fitness was still high despite the high volume of games.
Quarter Final
Vs Belarus, Won 4-1
Again a match GB were heavy favourites for and which the team delivered. Bale, Carroll, Goodwillie and Sturridge all netted with the only issue being the 63rd minute sending off of Carroll.
Semi Final
Vs Brazil, Won 2-0
First match GB entered not being favourites to win, but they came through with a great result to reach the final. A 20th minute sending off for Daniel Sturridge made the game trickier than it was already but goals from James Milner and Chris Smalling in added time ensure safe progression. GB managed to have double the attempts on goal despite the fact they played 70minutes with only 10 men.
Final
Vs Spain, Won 4-0
Injuries and suspensions mean GB are only able to name 4 substitutes but they make a mockery of the pre-match expectations that Spain were too strong and emerge with a thumping victory to secure the Gold Medal. A goal each from Rooney and Carroll put GB in command at half time before a second goal from Rooney and one from Tom Cleverly add the icing to the cake. GB managed 26 attempts on goal to Spain’s measly 5.
Overall then, a successful campaign in the world cup and a nice debut in international management for me. In truth though I think this may be one of the least well put together parts of the game. The squads available to the likes of Brazil and Spain should make them far better than they actually are. GB had more than 20 attempts on goal and dominated possession in most of the games making what should have been a fun extra challenge seem a bit pointless. I have managed an U23 team and won the Olympics in previous games but I’m certain that it was not this straightforward. Oh well my reputation I game has been given a nice boost by it at least and it kept me interested during pre-season.
With the announcement of the Great Britain team for the 2012 Olympics I applied for the job immediately (why not really?) I receive the appointment a few days later.
My first task is to arrange a friendly against Belarus, mostly just to give the players an extra team to gel with the tactics I want to play (the same as I use with Leicester though with a bit of added width due to most games being at Wembley and two cm instead of the AM and DM to reflect the build of my squad).
The squad that I selected is as follows:
GK Alex Smithies
GK Jason Steele
DRLC Jordan Spence
DRC Kyle Walker
DC Chris Smalling
DC Phil Jones
DC John Terry
DL Ryan Bertrand
AML Gareth Bale
MC Jack Rodwell
AMRLC Jack Wilshere
MC Aaron Ramsey
MC/AMRL James Milner
AMRLC Tom Cleverley
AMRL/SC Daniel Sturridge
SC Wayne Rooney
SC Andy Carroll
SC David Goodwillie
Most of those names are fairly obvious I’m sure. The selection of David Goodwillie as my third striker ahead of Danny Welbeck was in part due to wanting a Scottish player in the squad and I slightly prefer him anyway. Jordan Spence seemed to me better than several of the alternatives and had the benefit of being able to play across the entire back line (it being only an 18 man squad versatility was a key thing I wanted in deciding my squad).
For my three over age players I chose Wayne Rooney, John Terry and then James Milner. I wanted to have an experienced spine to my team which these three players provided and Milner again had the versatility advantage over the other contender for the final spot which was Ashley Young. I plumped for Milner in the end because he was better in the middle.
Warm-up match
Vs Belarus, Won 1-0
Despite dominating the game a single goal victory is only secured in the 70th minute courtesy of a Wayne Rooney strike.
Group Stages
Vs Uruguay, Won 3-0
Vs Mali, Won 2-0
Vs South Korea, Won 6-1
Great Britain were heavy favourites for all of these matches so the smooth progress shouldn’t be any surprise. My team dominated the matches and I was able to rotate my players enough that their fitness was still high despite the high volume of games.
Quarter Final
Vs Belarus, Won 4-1
Again a match GB were heavy favourites for and which the team delivered. Bale, Carroll, Goodwillie and Sturridge all netted with the only issue being the 63rd minute sending off of Carroll.
Semi Final
Vs Brazil, Won 2-0
First match GB entered not being favourites to win, but they came through with a great result to reach the final. A 20th minute sending off for Daniel Sturridge made the game trickier than it was already but goals from James Milner and Chris Smalling in added time ensure safe progression. GB managed to have double the attempts on goal despite the fact they played 70minutes with only 10 men.
Final
Vs Spain, Won 4-0
Injuries and suspensions mean GB are only able to name 4 substitutes but they make a mockery of the pre-match expectations that Spain were too strong and emerge with a thumping victory to secure the Gold Medal. A goal each from Rooney and Carroll put GB in command at half time before a second goal from Rooney and one from Tom Cleverly add the icing to the cake. GB managed 26 attempts on goal to Spain’s measly 5.
Overall then, a successful campaign in the world cup and a nice debut in international management for me. In truth though I think this may be one of the least well put together parts of the game. The squads available to the likes of Brazil and Spain should make them far better than they actually are. GB had more than 20 attempts on goal and dominated possession in most of the games making what should have been a fun extra challenge seem a bit pointless. I have managed an U23 team and won the Olympics in previous games but I’m certain that it was not this straightforward. Oh well my reputation I game has been given a nice boost by it at least and it kept me interested during pre-season.
