Why did England's 'golden generation' fail? Lampard, Gerrard and Rio reveal all | PL Tonight

BT Sport's Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard reflect on the reason why they stopped talking to each other at the height of their careers and they are joined by Steven Gerrard to identify the possible reasons why England's 'golden generation' failed to deliver a major prize.
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[@dawathongchi6912]

And then there's Ramos who will punch barca players and then celebrate with them in international like nothing happened .

[@MrJoemcf09]

Lmfao 😂😂 so true!

[@arkos1179]

Punch

[@CombustionKnight]

Tuff to avoid when out of the starting 11 8 players are from Barcelona😂

[@dawathongchi6912]

@@CombustionKnight brother he's the captain.

[@CombustionKnight]

@@dawathongchi6912 wasnt not too long ago🤷🏻‍♂️

[@Sportsfan94]

Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard, Rio, Owen, Ashley Cole, Beckham, Terry, Scholes... Painful that they didnt win anything.

[@kEirenic]

TorontoSportsfan94 this team will definitely win something today. Last time major nations all had many great players too.

[@reaperkillz2420]

They're English, what did u expect.

[@shreyanghosh758]

They were Good But other Teams were certainly Better.... Brazil 2002 we're Better than him 2006 also Brazil France with Zidane Henry And Italy were Much Better... And 2010 Spain was one of the Best side in history

[@starphirex3220]

It was all hatred

[@Decodes219]

They never had good goalkeeper.

[@stephenlooker607]

This feels like a therapy session

[@throdjo1803]

😂😂😂

[@mastaaceexclusive]

It is

[@ILOVELANEX]

A very good one

[@botanicplayz9396]

It secretly is

[@jaybunner87]

@@ILOVELANEX c j

[@vorebiz]

Belgium will be discussing this in 5-10 years time. KDB, Lukaku, the Hazards, Courtois... And they're never going to win a trophy.

[@adamg8814]

What’s happening at Belgium right now is very similar to what happened to England’s “Golden Generation”. Too many players are more focused on playing well for their clubs rather than their country. They don’t look like they have that bond that teams like England, Italy, Denmark and Switzerland have and don’t play with enough rhythm. Team spirit is what leads players to victories not just individual stats

[@stephenpeacock2627]

True, and the current crop of French players who on paper have the best players in euro 2020, but they are a team of individuals. Italy and England both have teams. A team is better than a bunch of individual stars.

[@Newerasamearea]

Spot on. Bang average manager is their issue.

[@josephhassall8523]

@@Newerasamearea They still have a chance of winning the world cup next year.

[@Newerasamearea]

@@josephhassall8523 so does everyone. But they won't because of a bang average manager that hasn't shown any improvement during his tenure.

[@flareb99]

It was also the golden generation for Brazil and France and Italy etc

[@miguelpereira9859]

Portugal aswell

[@angahbg9089]

Right.. Ofcourse Gerrad,Lampard,Scholes was great but Henry,Zidane,Viera Pirlo,Totti,Del Piero,Buffon Ronaldo,Ronaldinho,Rivaldo. German got Ballack,Khan,Schweintiger. The 90s to early 2000s was just stacked with legend

[@teey1287]

Brazil France and Italy don’t really have golden generations, their constantly producing world class teams

[@charlesdemaine3083]

Brazil who we beat 7:1. That must still hurt.

[@jackloughridge7617]

@@charlesdemaine3083 south korea must have hurt too...

[@jasperhayden21]

It’s because Jeremy Lynch wasn’t playing

[@lilpradabagxz]

🤣🤣🤣

[@suyash4891]

"Best on the ball including the first team" , smh

[@shahrazly]

Prime lynch was unstoppable

[@anasasif3996]

He's the best player I regret not playing with him -Jlingz

[@jonathan2755]

He was too busy seeing if he could beat his lambo 0-100 mph in a race.

[@benjamineckford1718]

That Spain team that won 3 tournaments in a row was mostly made up of Real Madrid and Barcelona players, one of the fiercest, bitterest rivalries in world football. When they were on international duty with Spain they were mature enough to put club rivalries aside and fight together for their country. The England players weren’t mature enough to do that. Simple as

[@John76125]

Even harder to believe cause half of the Barca players hate Spain and want nothing good for it. Probably only wanted to win internationally for their own glory. Pique voted in the independence referendum etc... + the Barca players brought the Catalan flag out at the end of World Cup victory which Spain fans hammered them for.

[@aye2you]

True

[@pgedits4184]

More than real it was about Barcelona...Xavi ,iniesta, fabregas ,busquests ,villa pique carles puyol were starters from barca.. From Real only ramos and cassilas.. Even the playing style was same as barca

[@alphavoid1011]

​@@pgedits4184 that Spain squad was so good even tho it was dominated by Barca players. Alonso, Ramos and Casillas were key players too, don't forget the COACH himself Del Bosque was a former Madrid manager

[@xyzzxyzzxyzzz]

Absolutely spot on plus erisson was a jerk he was also one of the reasons england did not win anything they had their chances 2006 world cup and 2008 euro championships.

[@1970cgb]

The so called “golden generation” were a team of individuals basically ,no togetherness and big egos .

[@cheryl467]

Exactly. Other countries put aside their egos to win for their country

[@Sam-ng3of]

Its the coaching staffs responsibility to build team chemistry by taking them out on team building trips etc

[@ross2007]

Yep. Save yourself 10 minutes and four seconds.

[@yeetwchybaban]

Yes

[@dewirya6684]

Because England always playing alone and always shows their ego, also the media are overrated them as well, but I still love Gerrard there

[@Ahmed-ln1fv]

Weird to see Lampard talk about young talents and now he’s making them

[@matcon7384]

Weird

[@oceanmike8516]

Sorry.......... But they got wolloped by Bayern

[@simon709]

@@oceanmike8516 It's not Football Manager. It can't just work instantly.

[@LuisLRC]

Simon *cough cough* dortmund *cough cough*

[@jamesmourant9079]

Michael Adeyemi that happens when half the team is out injured

[@pphyjynx8217]

because the manager chose to stupidly play gerrard and lampard together, despite it never working. Scholes getting shipped to the wing for England is one of the biggest mistakes in the history of football, we should have played a 3 man midfield, not 442. The manager is really to blame, not the players.

[@007Fusiion]

4-3-1-2 with wing backs would have been ideal.

[@santiagobauza4257]

John Kimmel 4-3-3 with all 3 in midfield. Scholes sitting behind Lamps and Gerrard dictating play, both given freedom to join the attack and shoot. That could've been incredible.

[@superstar_h_gamer5211]

The Premier League Is A Disgrace To Football what nonsense villa played down the wing pedro down the other with torres as st they changed to iniesta at wing because he used to play for barca down the wings and was comfortable playing there spain had a good all round team and they also had good wingers their wingers could play centrally because of the full backs england aren't so stacked

[@Trigga_47]

The Premier League Is A Disgrace To Football Iniesta and lahm are much intelligent than the English midfielders but the English managers are the one who cost England, they clearly know that playing Lampard and Gerrard together just didn't work.

[@yingyang1008]

Nonsense, they had great players all the way through to about 2010 - since then it's been bad

[@omaramr6107]

English fans: why do we never win anything Also English fans: WHY ARE STONES AND MAGUIRE FRIENDS

[@ArabDuniya]

lol true

[@J040PL7]

in this euros, there were arsenal fans who didn't celebrate a single kane goal -_-

[@Hudcrudder]

So true. Look at them now. Best cb pairing in the euros

[@connel09]

Its showing why now

[@IFEGRIZZLY]

@@J040PL7 really? See it's things like this that mess it up

[@greva2904]

Years ago I was talking to an old guy who’s son was head of security at Wembley, and his son told him that whenever the England team were in the bar for a charity do or whatnot, John Terry and friends would be clustered at one end of the bar, Steven Gerrard and friends would be at the other end of the bar, and both groups of England players would spend the entire night ignoring each other.

[@mikemorrison3913]

Wasn't the premier league rougher in the '00s? They really didn't like each other 🤣

[@damirblazevic7364]

Makes sense. Club colours should come before everything else.

[@mrshab]

Their clubs were always above country. Other top international teams its the opposite. No pride for country so they deserve what they get

[@chungarito7739]

@@damirblazevic7364 nah country over club World cups are far more important than league titles

[@damirblazevic7364]

@@chungarito7739 Nothing, absolutely NOTHING is over the club. Those who have no idea what football is about say that something is more important that the club. And they're wrong. Nothing is more important than the club. Nothing. Not a damn thing.

[@danielmaluenda9731]

Spain 2010 was basically Real Madrid and Barça together. One of the key players that helped them bond was probably Carles Puyol who would always celebrate with teammates, prioritizing the countries’ victory over club rivalries.

[@catinthehat906]

I remember Puyol's magnificent 2010 World Cup semifinal goal against Germany after 73 minutes of useless Tiki Taka got them nowhere. The killer question that wasn't asked though was if Eriksson, McClaren and Capello weren't good enough to produce a system to accommodate England's midfield talent and compete at a national level- WHO did they think should have been appointed the National Coach between 2000-2010?

[@damirblazevic7364]

That's bullshit. Your club colours are most important. Everything else comes second. And also, Puyol is Catalan, not Spanish

[@damirblazevic7364]

@@catinthehat906 England had NO midfield talent. Just a bunch of racing chickens that only knew to kick and run

[@seven-sevensevens877]

@@damirblazevic7364 they had too much midfield talent and managers that couldn't make that work. What they didnt have was a goalkeeper, after Seaman.

[@fox2569]

@@damirblazevic7364 Lampard, Scholes and Gerrard had no talent? At least put effort into trolling.

[@dannycheesums]

Very honest assessment by the boys. Can't have been easy to discuss. Fair play

[@laurencereid1462]

Danny Cheesums i

[@sarnobat2000]

I think it's the similar reason why Spain underachieved for so long. Only when Barcelona had 9 starting players did Spain win a World Cup.

[@daxecutioner24]

sarnobat2000 and when Spanish leaders from both sides wanted for things to flair down such as Casillas, Xavi. These England guys were too thick headed to try and make up.

[@MarlboroughBlenheim1]

Danny Cheesums no it’s easier to use this excuse than admit they weren’t good enough. The same things applied to lots of England squads in the past.

[@benlowe578]

They all chose club over country. It made them all club legends. But none are England legends.

[@ASM881]

Well said. That’s why it never came home.

[@jamiecaslin8693]

Beckham is

[@ASM881]

@@jamiecaslin8693 good point.

[@narrow3601]

@@jamiecaslin8693 and him only, and probably also Michael Owen

[@nwobuchinaunsoo]

Rooney is

[@Crasky1992]

As a fan, it's incredibly frustrating to hear that they couldn't put pettiness aside while representing their nation. I also find it hard to believe the managers weren't aware of these in-groups and the lack of bonding. With the foreign managers, perhaps this could be put down to a cultural issue...

[@mrblueskies4426]

The fact they put everyone on one big table tells me the managers were aware of it. Gareth has done such an amazing job getting the players to put there club duties to one side and come together as one. Alot of them played each other in a champions League final. Some lost, including our main man Sterling.

[@lightcase377]

@@mrblueskies4426 its why even when Southgate isnt an amazing tactical manager, he has bought better results just by making the players get along as Maguire mentioned

[@DizzyBusy]

To be fair, even with English managers they haven't been winning much, so...

[@Crasky1992]

@@DizzyBusy Only one team can win a tournament... Considering England made the semis of the World Cup and finals of the Euros under Southgate, that's pretty successful.

[@danielmaluenda9731]

Well said honestly. I’d be just as frustrated

[@ineednoname3158]

Damn hearing Gerrard say not to let premier league stiuations to interfere with national team sounds funny after sterling and gomez fight😅😆

[@HM-wn2in]

And Gerrard slipping and losing the entire prem

[@damedusa5107]

Hamza Malik have a day off

[@HAMID___]

Hamza Malik bore off

[@Adam-cj2jg]

Darren Murray slippy G 🤣

[@tylerfoster8567]

Hamza Malik 🧂🧂🧂🧂

[@wespicedmemes]

But Spain’s 2008-12 team were all rivals in el Classico literally fighting in game but put it aside for their country. A Real Madrid and Barcelona best 11 without Chris and lio

[@ahmadmukhlis3323]

Ikr. Even pique and Ramos became friend in national team

[@eddyededwin]

but those teams were really built around barca- u got pique occasionally puyol busquets xavi iniesta pedro villa, only real starters was the keeper and ramos, if busquets played for real and xavi for valencia they probably may not hve been as dominant

[@pato442bunker]

However, in Spain they play short possession football. England can't play like that. It's simply not they DNA. Also, as we can see from the video, lack of team spirit and cohesion it's more than enough reason to fail. Especially in knock out stages when your opponent have more or less similar quality but far more nation pride then England. It's a bit strange.

[@wespicedmemes]

The King yup, that’s like half...

[@wespicedmemes]

No_Pain no to play tiki taka takes bare intelligence. England don’t have the players for it. Xabi Alonso fit like a glove cuz he is just class, he can also go direct.

[@LeeTAZ-sl7de]

It was all down to the managers of England. Look at what Southgate has done, he has made sure that theres no cliques everyone eats together, he tries to get players from different clubs rooming together. Plus in some ways the so called golden generation let there club egos get in the way. That generation never really played as a team just a group of highly talented individuals who with a better manager could have changed anything. Southgate did have the advantage of coaching the under 21s for a few years before taking over the first team, he knew the youngsters who he could trust at the top level.

[@MidnightRambler]

they should have been dropped

[@sevenshots8363]

It's never coming home

[@j_james_01]

@@sevenshots8363 already has 😘 England 1 WC🏆🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@pendafen7405]

Honestly half the current England lads seem to like internationals way better than their domestic clubs

[@Tinywars]

After watching England beat Germany and the clear unity on display in the squad I think this interview shines a huge light on how selfish these clowns were when it came to the England team. Club above Country. Disgraceful.

[@poohbear4821]

They literally said they didnt do it consciously they only realise it in hindsight

[@ChaosCloud96]

i have to agree the 2018 and now the 2020 squads have so much less raw talent than the golden generation but they are playing for each other and look where it has got us, to a final. the thing that really breaks my heart is that if the golden generation could have accomplished the same team spirit the three lions have now then we would likely have another world cup and maybe euro title to our name

[@dondamon4669]

@@ChaosCloud96 could never of beaten Brazil!

[@lfcunityisstrength9221]

Agreed. Selfish

[@jrfw96]

The England squad now is a joy to watch

[@rudy1999]

Lampard looks like Liam Neeson xD

[@rockstarsharma53]

Lol he actually does

[@theroach1822]

@@rockstarsharma53 lol he actually dosen't

[@Yiannis2112]

He doesn't, but both have a very particular set of skills...

[@uselessdegenerate7565]

@@Yiannis2112 he does

[@Yiannis2112]

@GTS That's much more like it

[@ingrogies1]

Am I the only one who thinks that Ferdinand is a brilliant pundit? Probably the best for incite into his playing days. He gives such detailed and honest opinions on football, now he has everyone talking.

[@numa2k147]

I used to take him for jokes, but he's captivating.

[@MrKiingpin]

Yeah hes really good one of the best of the new generation of pundits

[@suprflyification]

I used to dislike him being a lfc supporter, stupid I know. But I have grown so much respect for him over the years. Down right decent guy.

[@marinpredescu9131]

Insight*

[@streplay]

footbol

[@TheResistance85]

I'm sorry but I don't believe that, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid absolutely despise eachother in the Spanish league but their players still worked well together to lift Spain to international glory. So that excuse only goes so far. I think it was more the fact the England football team stuck with the 4-4-2 system for too long whilst other teams such as Brazil, Spain ,Portugal and so on had moved on from that. The England set up was far too rigid and our best players just couldn't utilise space like some of the other teams we were up against. Since England changed up its set up we've had more success now

[@s4xtt]

It's that and combination of several other factors, UK has never moved on from Sir Alfred Ramsay style from 1966 plus a typical British mindset(sorry is the truth) too pompous to accept the philosophy and teachings of other countries, something players from other football superpowers have adapted(e.g Spain's Tiki Taka was based on Cryuff total football) Not only that, the EPL focuses more of scouting and gathering players worldwide which give lesser development time for their own players

[@TheResistance85]

@@s4xtt agreed 👍

[@alonelypotato2788]

to be honest they did say maybe this is the cause of the failure of the golden generation...."maybe" the truth is they don't know what the cause was...

[@s4xtt]

@@alonelypotato2788 The easiest comparison is actually NBA's redeem team. Before their official formation lead by the late great Kobe Bryant, the players are mostly overpaid celeb athletes who focus more on their teams, they are not on the same page as one USA team. Of course the main difference is the US men's basketball got too big for their head, being unstoppable in basketball....the English football team has only redeem themselves a lil but still no major trophy

[@duppy8457]

Until our euro 2008 triumph Spain national team had the Barca/Madrid issue n it hurt us badly

[@mattmckeon1688]

I keep coming back to this video every year or two and it's still a fascinatingly frank discussion (no pun intended). Also props to Jake Humphrey for how he conducted this interview - coaxed out some great reveals without ever seeming intrusive.

[@Shelsight]

Totally agree...

[@BreezyBulldog]

Big Ego’s is what prevented England from achieving greatness

[@mikedaw1738]

Or they just weren't good enough.........

[@Brickcellent]

Saying it was only egos that prevented English success is egotistical in its own right.

[@Lemonandlimefuey]

Mike Daw they had OP players.... they didn have a strong team chemistry

[@sehun2193]

Egos still makes no sense Since the Spanish team in 2010 had much more ego back then Heck, they even made it personal in evey single El Clasico matches most notably in the 2012 Super Copa de Espana and 2010 La Liga when Barcelona scored 5 past Real Madrid. But still their love for the national team outweighes all of that animosity. I think it stems from the fact that England had world class individuals not a world class team whereas Spain had world class individuals that come together and became a world class team. The English players back then have no idea how to work together.

[@stupendous7848]

yeah its definitely not egos. every team that wins has egos, look at the France team that just won the World Cup lol

[@MaxskiSynths]

It failed because while we had a golden generation, everyone else was platinum.

[@Olori-Ogun]

Underrated

[@cameronianwells1839]

In Sven Eriksson we didn't have a golden manager. He failed to get the best out of such talent. To get to 3 quarter finals and no further was a disappointment. In 2002 Turkey got to the semis of WC. 2004 Greece won the EUROS.

[@user-oi4bj4cv7u]

🤣🤣 Brazil was Vibranium bruv

[@donald9791]

Preeeeaaaaachhhh

[@Britonbear]

That's one way of putting it although it's more like England had an iron pyrites generation, while other countrie's golden generations were not figments of their imagination.

[@robnewton3368]

I can see how these cliques within the England squad would be damaging overall. But they really confirmed all along what we all believed to be true. Egos and club before country. To my mind the England set up, management et al missed these vitally disruptive emotional, psychological components to a hone an effective, unified England squad.

[@casparcubitt1117]

Here after England beat Denmark 2-1. This seems so relevant now. The lads in our team seem to really be close to each other, Southgate has created a team with chemistry as well as class. Before, England only really had one of those things. Tactically i have my doubts about Southgate, but i think that means nothing considering the team he's created that have a belief to win things, and hey look at us now in the final of the f*cking euross!!!!

[@lightyagami_9]

Aged well

[@itaachiii]

L

[@jrfw96]

Aged too well, England team now is actually exciting to watch

[@adamnohnson6276]

Imagine if they never played 4-4-2

[@MultiMcgurk]

Football-Pundit wrong they had quality in every position in 2006 just poor team

[@scarfacebitch8325]

England had the best midfield from 2002-2006

[@CIA571]

same result coz they naver had a no10 player

[@santiagobauza4257]

A 4-3-3 with Scholes as HM and Lampard and Gerrard in front of him, Beckham and Cole as wingers and Rooney as a sole striker/false 9. What could have been.

[@luker556]

Football-Pundit Rooney, Ashley Cole?

[@Takhar7]

Brilliant and insightful to listen to.

[@Oakland510]

TickTak77 not for me, just poor excuses for failing imo. Other teams were just better simply

[@tomthetit2419]

Couldn't agree more! Very interesting to listen too, but a load of BS "at the end of the day!"

[@skobird2732]

I don't think its all just bullshit... BUT it needed to be said MUCH earlier! Its worthless now but at least they are admitting it.

[@itaikahari9395]

TickTak77 not really

[@aaronohanlon8896]

I would have gone with “disappointing and shocking” to listen too

[@joaquimsousa9753]

We (Portugal) didn't win anything with our best team: Figo, Rui Costa, Deco, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ricardo Carvalho, Pauleta, Simão... but we did reach the euro's 2004 final

[@leonardocucchiara4782]

Damn shame! I hated that Greece won in 2004!

[@---cf9bj]

@@leonardocucchiara4782 We'll have to see how this new golden generation of portugal does, ronaldo, bruno, bernardo silva, joao felix, pepe, ruben diaz, semedo, cancelo. all massive names.

[@krystiasouza4127]

Yup, was a long road to that 2016 victory

[@carlinhos4063]

That was one of the biggest bottle jobs in football history Sou brasileiro e estou falando inglês com um português hahaha

[@samdefore2692]

@@leonardocucchiara4782 that was the year that Italy didn’t get out of group stage because Denmark and forgot the other country had to tie with at least two goals each and funny enough that’s what they did so it was a set up,

[@eddycarpenter8989]

I think today's generation of England players share a common experience being the underdog players in their own squads. They play each week with the best players from all over the world and are often looked over for foreign players. In many cases, they are one of only a handful of English players... in an English club! I think they all feel they have something to prove. Whatever happens Sunday against Italy, The togetherness of this generation of England players is what it takes to win trophies.

[@gaz9556]

"Shearer on his table" lmfao

[@imjustsomeguy72]

I laughed at that. What, was he sitting by himself, the poor bugger?

[@danthelongman]

@@imjustsomeguy72 hilarious.. and I'm a Shearer fan 😂

[@ashrafsahdan5606]

I imagine Shearer sitting on a big table, like the headmaster's table.

[@AM-hr9jx]

And thats why he’s bald

[@abdulfattah4276]

Not a Newcastle table, but a Shearer table. lol

[@BadBloodPodcast]

Right players wrong tactics!

[@bobforton3722]

It's more than just tactics. Some players were just not compatible and managers were too scared to drop them for the good of the team.

[@Chaggy1978]

They get paid a lot whether they won or lost surely that came into it.

[@leetomlin312]

Right players just the management wasn't good enough to stop this club rivalry like I believe and think Southgate has done from the first time he took charge

[@RY-xc1cx]

They had big egos I think and the managers didn’t help

[@ArcanePath360]

Lampards shots all went so far over the bar they went into orbit. That's not the manager's fault.

[@amoakar7423]

I’m not English but I do appreciate that team a lot, It was a once in a life time kind of team. I’ve always wondered why this beautiful team didn’t quite gel and be successful and this interview clarifies a lot of this and appreciate the talk and the host asking very meaningful questions to provoke such responses from the players. Obviously there was a lot more variables that would take a whole week to get through from human psychology,to man management, to schedules, to that team being in an era were other countries had immaculate teams at that time like Spain and Brazil but That England team winning the World Cup in my opinion would have done a team like that justice.

[@critical_analysis]

Other teams were simply superior to England. Also, England doesn't have the mentality to win under immense pressure. Germany with the talent of those English players would have won though because of their fighting spirit.

[@gabrieleriva651]

2:20 That didn't stop Italy winning in 2006, despite all the players playing in Italian Serie A.

[@IrvineBrooks]

Yeah but i like to put it this way "Italy/Spain world cup winners team was that A TEAM, England Golden Generation wasn't a team, was a bunch of the best players in the world but not a TEAM"

[@bigowenzy3397]

Italy had the whole match fixing scandal to latch onto

[@rc9719]

Gabriele Riva didn’t stop Spain too

[@the18thbam17]

Serie A at the time was insane

[@PolReilly]

most of those players played for ac Milan and inter Milan. England squad played for Chelsea, united, Tottenham, lpool, city, arsenal

[@mrshezza5028]

Bullshit.. what about spain and the el clasicos when they all tried killing each other.. the rivalry between madrid and barca was way more intense.. like when ramos got sent off and sent puyol flying.. they still won the world cup and euros together

[@ProGamer___]

ramos wasnt really important for spain tho it was mainly barcelona player who were far more important villa, puyol, pique, xavi, iniesta and co

[@fred4137]

Mr Shezza there was litterally 2 Madrid players in that team. Casillas and Ramos (who was playing right back)

[@damiank6653]

xabi alonso....

[@ciaranfleming9556]

Dont forget yaya toure

[@ItsThatVogue]

Pique and Ramos don't get on at all and don't play well together tho..

[@subzfit]

Late 90s to 2012 were the golden years of football. From a technical and global marketing point of view. Best players who made good money but played with passion. There were football documentaries and football based movies. Great commercials. David Beckhams popularity helped. This also coincided with video games and the increase in popularity of the PS2. Great era.

[@malcolmnicholas5931]

The problem is simple. The men of 1966 were moulded into a team by Ramsey. His cause was 'helped' by Jimmy Greaves being injured, and Geoff Hurst coming in, and a chemistry was found. It helped that the backbone of that side was Hurst, Peters, and Moore all playing for West Ham at the time. Unfortunately, Ramsey was never able to repeat this somehow. By the time "The Golden Generation" had arrived, England's fortunes had improved from the dark days of the 1970's, but whilst England coaches/managers thought that building a squad around Beckham, Rooney, etc, was a brilliant idea, it came from an ideal that they should have built squads around Hoddle, Gascoigne, etc, in the 1980's and into the 1990's, to make an impact at International level. This carried on, with Hodgson building his squad around Rooney. After the 2016 debacle, Southgate immediately burst the bubble, building squads that would allow a team to have better experienced players at their heart, but would also allow fresh talent to come through. Although Harry Kane is nominally the "first name on the sheet" he himself has admitted that if Southgate were to leave him on the bench, he knows what he's doing. This is why that 'golden generation' failed; successive managers/coaches got caught up in the notion of "this player must be picked at all costs" which (imho) doesn't always work.

[@_billyblack]

really honest confessions from these lads. england doesnt have a style like spain, italy, germany. there should be "The England Style" so when the players get to international duty, they know the philosophy of the style theyre trying to play and they know their roles. leave club styles and roles behind and embrace a new style when youre with the country. think of it as a break from playing the same style every week with your club. i think Gareth Southgate gets it and were making progress.

[@GuinessOriginal]

Milan Dave there is. Lump it up to the big man

[@007Fusiion]

The English do have a style, 'Hit and run', 'Hit and hope' and 'Long ball'.

[@falaflani4831]

like how we do it in the olden days. lump it into the big man upfront and have a speedy striker to scrap and run all day. No wonder they voted for brexit

[@thegoonist]

england does have a style. hoof it up long ball route 1 LOL

[@champagnefroggy3801]

+Jon Sm Lol

[@neeraash]

before Stevie speaks *Darren Farley goes in my head "yeeeeeah course"*

[@eichbienyermaw]

Same!😂😂😂

[@lucyward4391]

Why are we hearing this NOW? I would have loved to have known this decades before so as to have understood why we were so unsuccessful at tournaments! There is a saying, better late than never! Anyway the reason why Southgate is so successful is because the players are all on the same page unlike the golden age players, Southgate has a TEAM!

[@yehudalichtenstein574]

I just love Gerrard's moral sense- he feels like if he's about to criticize someone else, he should also make it clear that it was also his responsibility. He's always the first one to take responsibility for an underachievement

[@muhammadsyukurmuslim]

belgium stars will have this talk years later

[@djas95219]

They did well in the 2018 world cup, but France’s generation and team was better

[@smenzelwendlela4369]

@@djas95219 Frances squad is STACKED. dider can form and entire good team without the world cup winners

[@djas95219]

@@smenzelwendlela4369 Yeah it’s true France raised great players

[@lejzertejzerpejzer1835]

What...why...they're doing pretty well. Lossing to a better team, or luckier, still doesn't match what England should've achieved but ultimately failed to be capable of doing so.

[@benjicool2808]

Euro 2016 will be a big regret... but I think in 2018 is about as far as we could go

[@santaklaustheiii501]

imagine having these 3 players on your team.. and not winning everything

[@baconrastas]

Plus a prime Micheal owen, Paul Scholes, John Terry, hell even Wayne Rooney, legit it's a travesty to think, they'd rather shag grannies and each others wives than be serial winners

[@Wonderkid44]

They’re not that good, premier league is not as good as people think it is.

[@what3534]

Travor McDonald u are prolly a psg fan lmao

[@what3534]

RNIK tube i didnt say it wasnt? just clowned him for saying i it isnt “as good as people think it is”

[@bepsolo]

@RNIK tube , That has yet to translate into trophies which at the end of the day is the most important. England has not won a WC in more than 50 yrs, they are the biggest underachievers in futbol. Competitive futbol means little if it doesnt translate into dominating futbol in europe and winning tittles. Laliga has won a record the most CL, europa, balon dors, world player. they had the best teams and best players from 2009 to 2017.

[@youngstars4144]

8:02 Really glad that Gerrard mentioned this. And in fairness to Eriksen, when Owen got injured in 2006, England actually played 4-5-1 with Carrick/Hargreaves holding.

[@glimpsepandey3174]

Real club legends, doubt if anyone will come around in the future who will be that passionate for their clubs, proud to have Frank graced my favorite club

[@gtologlou]

Nice to see a presenter asking the good questions and getting equally good and insightful answers.

[@MainsMain]

Nice excuse how bout Spain having players from the rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona? It didn't hold them back..

[@kashattack]

A lot of Spain's key players were not playing in Spain whereas for England, ALL of their key players were playing for rival teams in England.

[@hrithiktrikha875]

@@kashattack u are deluded

[@b6pablo]

I don't know about that tbf core of spain was barca

[@michaelafubwa8125]

kashattack wrong. Real and Barca made up 90% of Spain’s first 11.

[@miguelpereira9859]

@@kashattack Dude the Spanish team in 2008-2012 was basically Real Madrid + Barcelona

[@Oldmansland1]

This is a very interesting topic and discussion. Well done! It mustn’t have been easy.

[@bradsswinton]

I remember when they played for England and a lot of people and media at that time were always saying they just wanted to play for their club more than England.

[@buffalosowljah373]

and like someone said on here.. they dont get paid for england 😳

[@lewishughes7740]

Simply goes down to poor management, there wasn't a big enough manager to gather the top quality players in one place an control them

[@BabsW]

Capello?

[@petershortland478]

I disagree there were managers ie Redknapp but he wasnt a yes man the FA want yes man no manager was strong enough to take a risk and play a certain player deeper i feel we could have played either lampard or gerrard deeper as CAM

[@simonthomson217]

The lack of true ball-playing talent had far more to do with it than that. How many English players can weave their way around 4 or 5 players like the Spanish can?

[@ultrademigod]

SIMON THOMSON It has more to do with a clear purpose, a sense of identity, mental toughness and belief, than being able to weave around 4 or 5 players. Germany won world cups without players who can dribble around half the opposition, while the Dutch couldn't win one with some of the best technical players ever. The Germans go onto the pitch expecting to win and they all know exactly what their role in the team is, while England don't even seem to know what system they're playing.

[@proche101]

How come Spain managed to win the Euros + World Cup with so many players from Barcelona and Real Madrid in the squad!? Club rivalry didn't stop them!! It's just an excuse from players who believed the media hype - they were good, but not that good. Simple as that

[@mr-ov5gt]

they were as big as flops as england puyul and casillas relationship changed everything they were quite close and both were senior figures in yhe respective clubs also they played barca tiki taka method

[@ishmaelforester9825]

Historically the intensity of the Barca vs Real Madrid rivalry was known as a big problem for groups of Spain players and it still is to some extent, but they overcame it with that generation of players. It's just a losers excuse, to be honest, but it is a factor. Domestic football is especially intense and competitive in nations like England and Spain and that can effect players from the big clubs when they meet up for an international tournament. It is a losers excuse though.

[@josha4128]

They're not making excuses. They're just saying how it was. They admitted that it wasn't exactly conscious.

[@alexanderbeck9337]

Peter Roche I think part of it is that the Spain team is made of one or the other, meaning that Spain would have a Barca section and a Madrid section. England is different, players from a load of different teams played internationally...meaning that everyone was a literal individual with maybe 1 other player they bond with from their club

[@sEaNoYeAh]

Remember that Spain were the other great underachievers in world football, and they adopted a team identity based on Barcelona's style.

[@belikewater2413]

Very refreshingly honest and there to be learned from

[@cmos1981]

0:43 i thought Ferdinand said the friendship fell apart because of the "obsession with women". Had to play it again...

[@cmos1981]

@Dominic O'reilly 😂👍

[@jamesrichards4294]

Must be thinking of John Terry

[@oggyjack8252]

Whatever anybody says 1998 to 2010 was the best period for Football. Legends all over the pitch, almost every team had a superstar.

[@manan612]

Nothing beats 2010-20. The Messi Ronaldo dominance.

[@J6fundsssss]

@@manan612Nahh 88 - 10 is better

[@legendgamer676]

Rooney, Owen, Gerrard, Lampard, Scholes, Beckham, Ferdinand, Terry, Cole. The list goes on. Incredible players all in their prime, and they never won a trophy. Hard to believe

[@s1763aago]

those players need to face against france top players zidane, henry, thuram, vieira, trezeguet. brazilian 3 ballon dors strikers Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho (best in the world) 2002 squad who beat england. italy late golden generation at the end of their time led by cannavaro, buffon, nesta, zambrotta, PIRLO, TOTTI, INZAGHI, DEL PIERO, TONI who won the world cup. those english generation was great, I'm a big fan of david beckham, but sad, the other nation generation was just much too amazing and much better than them. Owen Shearer wasnt a matched for brazil trio ballon dors Ronaldo Rivaldo and Ronaldinho who won world cup 2002. the english was good, but the others was amazing.

[@abdikarimali3144]

Football was different back then every country was loaded with so much talent Brazil Spain Germany Holland France Italy it would been tough, but had England stuck together and put their club differences aside England would’ve been different team. We can say what if, but it’s God who determines our Fate.

[@robboniface6752]

Interesting video. Really explains a lot, and why its not really felt the same since Venables took his team to Euro 96.... until now that is.

[@lordvoldemort8904]

The golden generation failed cuz they didn't know how to win in penalties.

[@calamorta]

golden generations aren't supposed to get to penalties, though

[@midlands8819]

Lord Voldemort well that's a ridiculous statement. A game should not go t o penalties in the first game

[@ameenah720]

🤣

[@rahelndalahwa8677]

Lord Voldemort 😂😂😂😂

[@eliyonan3994]

calamorta 3/4 of the last 4 world cups at least 1 of the teams in finals played in a shootout

[@paulgray7014]

Because we never kept the ball well enough lacked the technical ability against the big nations. Brazil, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal were all far better at keeping the ball than we were

[@akshatbetala2813]

We should have played scholes and Carrick. United was dominant cause of those two leony the ball was a major reason and we could have player Gerrard as a no 10

[@beancheung5682]

ya they cant keep the ball...for example rooney after 24, whenever there's defender presses him he'll just either force to pass or got steal easily, he never protected the ball like he did in 2004 european cup, the other player are just even worse, they never been able to keep the ball and use it.

[@ezeee595]

Thy were not just far better. They were solar years ahead of England!!!

[@damirblazevic7364]

@@akshatbetala2813 Don't be ridiculous. Carrick is even more useless that Lampard.

[@nihilistcentraluk442]

@@ezeee595 Spain were the top of the Premier League 2008-2012. England were mid table at their very best

[@markmacfarlane3169]

Now that was a great interview from 3 men that have really matured into amazing human beings.

[@HalleyBay61]

Not sure about Gerrard being an amazing person to be honest. But Rio & Lamps have always come across as decent folk.

[@timbromilow7769]

Really fascinating. Great insights re bonding, playing as a team and inter-club rivalries. But also blaming the manager/s for not being flexible enough, brave enough, adaptable, interchanging the players' roles, not picking those who were out of form or who didn't match the requirements of the games against specific opposition. Maybe this kind of realisation has helped change or mould the mentality of Southgate and the current players in the England team.

[@11THEJOHN]

Same reason why Spain (Barcelona) and Germany (Bayern Munich) were so strong. Most of their International players played together every week. Its not practical, but definitely has an effect psychologically.

[@ahmedfaiyazazad8415]

Spain succeeded because of La masia . When Barcelona started to buy players the Spanish team started to fall down

[@ks-li4ic]

@@ahmedfaiyazazad8415 without Casillas there is no world cup...that stupid tiki taka got them nowhere for more than 90 minutes against Holland...

[@THOMASCOLTON1]

Played like individuals not a team. Scholes, many players like zidane & xavi said best ever midfield play maker, played on the left!

[@THOMASCOLTON1]

The Premier League Is A Disgrace To Football Iniesta & scholes are different types of players.

[@chanchaniceman]

The Premier League Is A Disgrace To Football there is an interview where Xavi did praises Scholes... some six years ago

[@frankofratr2581]

SPAIN FINAL TEAM OF THE WORLD CUP 2010 - CASILLAS -[𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐃] - PIQUÉ -[𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐀] - PUYOL -[𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐀] - INIESTA -[𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐀] - VILLA -[𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐀] - XAVI -[𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐀] - CAPDEVILA -[𝐕𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋] - ALONSO -[𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐃] - RAMOS -[𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐃] - BUSQUETS -[𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐀] - PEDRO -[𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐀] BARCELONA: 7 players MADRID: 3 players VILLAREAL: 1 Player

[@steliosp1770]

best midfield play maker played on the right and his name is david beckham.

[@Project-im8vc]

hahahaha no wonder he retired sooner than later. if u aint enjoying it then why bother

[@prasannanepal2050]

wow probably the best expalined vedio in youtube just calm and composed players sharing their life experience. They have the mutual respect until now just missing the flare of bonding thats wonderfully explained. Also the fact that english players didnt miss home country while playing leagues unlike south american players who had different kind of joy returning home and playing for the country it triggers and different kind of enthusiasm.

[@daviddean292]

It's not a hard one. Country should always come before club. No wonder we never won anything.

[@smokeybarr]

And they're sat there still trying to blame it on someone else. The failure has all become abundantly clear.

[@Jordan-qj7we]

Does country pay their wages every week then?

[@niketkumar2933]

@@Jordan-qj7we it's fans who gives salary to the players if u r happy that players should prefer clubs over country and ur country always humiliated in world cup and their continental turnament then u totally deserve these things

[@splinter360]

I've said it for years. The biggest issue is that they all play in England. This as the route causes 3 big problems. Firstly as the boys explained, it ironically creates a divide because of how passionately some of the clubs dislike each other. Meaning the team spirit becomes piss poor. The 2nd problem is because they all play in England, they're automatically less experienced than all other major nations. Germany for example have players from the Prem, La Liga, Seria A etc and of course the Bundesliga. So by consequence have players who are experienced in different styles of play, from different countries. The final issue is arguably the biggest. Pressure. They're all exposed to the ridiculous pressure the domestic media puts on them because they're exposed to it months and even years in advance with no break. Where as say an Argentina player can escape a lot of the pressure because chances are he doesn't actually live in Argentina.

[@irieite9666]

splinter360 Spain Won lots over the past ten years with basically a mix of different almost warring nations (Catalan, Spanish, Basque) etc. Catalunya vs Spain is much greater rivalry than any English rivalry its like IRA vs Unionist. The reason they don't win is simple. Italy had Buffon, Spain had Casillas, Germany had Neur. England always had Casper the friendly ghost playing in goal.

[@BCGT_Mikee_Dredd]

I agree with your comment, all started by Alex Ferguson

[@Fearhumans]

Your 2nd point is gold. Well said!

[@dannyhustle2599]

@@BCGT_Mikee_Dredd why sir alex always blamed sir alex

[@BCGT_Mikee_Dredd]

@@dannyhustle2599 Its because he caused that much rivalry towards Liverpool that when top players all got together for England it wasn't a good team, even with all that talent we had. Manu players snubbed LFC players so there was never that bond of working together, they should have left the rivalry at home. Purple Nose wouldn't be bothered, he's Scottish at the end of the day. No skin off his nose... no pun intended 😂

[@benmitchell2537]

This isn't really surprising. Everyone knew they weren't passionate about playing for their country. Now we know why. "We'd love to have all won at England, but to the detriment of winning at your club as well. I don't know, it's a hard one." Sums it up really.

[@politicallycorrectredskin796]

Brainless. How would winning internationally have been detrimental to club success? It is just a moronic excuse, and if that is what they thought at the time they are all morons. Spain won a WC and a Euro consecutively with half the team being Barcelona players and the other half Real Madrid players, and it didn't seem to stop them to any extent. Germany too almost always send all Bundesliga players to the World Cup and they've won it repeatedly. Ditto with the Italians obviously. Of all the pathetic excuses they could cook up, this might the worst one I can imagine.

[@MrKezzaRHCP]

@@politicallycorrectredskin796 that spain team was effe tively a barca team. That's why they did so well.

[@politicallycorrectredskin796]

@@@MrKezzaRHCP Yes, tactically for sure. I meant the players were mostly a mix of Madrid and Barcelona.

[@MrKezzaRHCP]

@@politicallycorrectredskin796 the mix of players was more half barca, half valencia/Villarreal players for the squad but the first team was deffo 2/3 barca and 1/3 Madrid. Think that's why they played so effortlessly much to everyone's dismay haha

[@MB-hq6vf]

Just to see these lads together makes everything they talk about intresting

[@THEremiXFACTOR]

England had a great pool of talent, but there were also lots of great players and teams out there back then. The international scene was tough. I think today that same England team would have a good chance of winning.

[@alvino108]

Great chat, I wish players were more open and honest like this while they are still playing. Interviews with current players are so contrived. "We move onto the next game....." "They were a tough team to play....." "The fans were great today....." blah blah blah

[@HellRyder18]

ahahha like the FIFA story mode

[@derrydouglas8133]

Michael carrick was the most underated England player that man could control tempo's of the game

[@fredblair8230]

I couldn't agree more, Carrick was underappreciated. I think this was because he had a more composed style, which in this country was misread as a lack of passion, but really meant he was good in possession and a very clean tackler who made few errors. In the words of Guardiola "He is one of the best holding midfielders I’ve ever seen in my life by far. He’s the level of Xabi Alonso, Sergio Busquets in Barcelona and Munich"

[@dannyhustle2599]

Paul scholes to

[@stationkidd]

Hargreaves also

[@theroach1822]

BOKE!!!

[@bepsolo]

@@fredblair8230 , carrick was no xabi alonzo or busquets, he was never in that same level.

[@emilyscialom9445]

Good to see these players being so honest about their shortcomings.

[@tonyrowe4701]

Oh ....... update July 2021: problem resolved. England Euro SF starting 11 v Denmark came from 8 different clubs (if including the subs who came on, make that 11 different clubs).

[@olivercawrey405]

And most of them are mates off the pitch

[@patchh15]

Too respectful to the stream of shocking managers we had. Capello tried to bring back Scholes though, he knew.

[@johndelacruz8505]

So in short. They were just being selfish

[@ahmedsafaa1000]

Not really but distance in terms of communication

[@GOTHICforLIFE1]

Selfish? They wanted to give their club the best possible chance of winning. The Club came before the country, that's all. It's not selfish, it's just a different priority

[@eddyla00]

Its merely because, they went to WC like as if its their god given right to be there if u know what i mean....so no real passion to win the cup...(except the 1986, 1990 squad...under robson) ..just went and complete the fixtures...and try not to get humiliated at least....its a pool of talent get together and play ball....thats all....u can always see that in their face in the tunnel before the start of the match....funny thing is, they always look suprised whenever they scored a goal. Its like they just weny out there and hope someone will score...

[@kamenRiderJB]

Subconsciously

[@goldenboygq9]

Basically.

[@pureassassinxd3385]

the thing to take from this is most of the players felt they didn't really have a voice but with south gate there is no complaints its just who our team playing against and what the other team is doing next... its also importent to know that the manager is always on his feet and always cares because that spirit matters

[@austinwilson6199]

watching this now waiting for the final on Sunday seems crazy

[@solodreamytraveller6648]

Pique and Ramos also played and won together.

[@AquilineOP]

Exactly and barca vs madrid is possibly the biggest rivalry in world football

[@nischayjitsingh4453]

"I dont need to converse with him much because we understand everything just by looking each other in eyes. Pique was my best cb partner"

[@mithulb9742]

now 2 rivals or 11 rivals playing for the same team , what's worse ? And in Spain the rivalry is more between Barca and Real Madrid and less between the other clubs , but in English football the rivalry was almost the same between every top 4-5 club , only apart from derbies

[@andrawalter4151]

Because they had Casillas back then. Casillas retire, Spain got nothing afterwards.

[@TheJohnCooper]

Wow. Great eye opener. I like Rio in interviews, he's very candid

[@shaduwy]

Playing for your country is more important than anything. The German Manger that Coached Greece understood this and got everyone on board. Greece went on to win the UEFA European championship

[@davidadams3408]

One reason why that generation failed, Alex Ferguson! He drove the club over country ethos especially where England is concerned and ultimately England payed the price. No surprise that now he's no longer involved day to day with players that ethos had changed and Southgate having been involved and on the receiving end as a player he's moved massively to breakdown that wall.

[@Zack_410]

This has to be the worst take possible

[@brrrrrtenjoyer]

Lmao so if Spain failed, it would be Pep Guardiola's fault? Horrible take. The players were just media products with big egos.

[@liamjam9635]

We should of built our whole team around Scholes for a decade..

[@markpazz1983]

Ron P The same Gerrard and Lampard that failed to qualify for euros.

[@GetOnTheFloor82]

Should HAVE*

[@SuperTfury]

@Ron P It's a difficult one with Scholesy given that 98 was his first tournament and the first one we'd had without Gazza who'd been our best player for many years. True he never scored many goals from midfield but I think there were many things he did including keeping the ball, dictating the play and bringing other players in that often get overlooked, I think I only ever saw him lose the ball once playing for England when he conceded the free kick against Germany in last old Wembley game where Hamann scored. A big case of mismanagement contributed to England not getting the most they could out of Scholes Gerrard and Lampard.

[@allovdem]

Defo

[@plumrains5010]

Scholes, what a player

[@gaz9943]

What an absolute bullshit mentality they had then. Such a typical English hard man mentality to not wanna bond with other team mates because of the team they play for. The team we had from 2004-2008 was the best we will see for years. Neville Terry Ferdinand King A. Cole Beckham Lampard Gerrard Scholes Carrick J. Cole Hargreaves Rooney Owen and we got nothing to show for it. Look at Spain’s team through the years. Always tryna scrap each other in el Classico

[@gnbyrne]

Gaz exactly. English teams have almost never had a team culture. A group of individuals but never a team.

[@Dietze9]

Spain were similar back in the days, barca and rel players always hated each other and couldnt get along with each other. I think the manager they had for the 2008 euro was the one that bonded them for the first time, cant remember his name tho

[@izdatsumcp]

The Spanish players/set-up made a point of having a united Spain so it's not an English hard man mentality. Everyone has forgotten this/didn't know about this though.

[@Guero96]

Del Bosque

[@Guero96]

But it's also down to the fact that they had a capable manager. Spain had plenty of midfield players who could've started then, but the manager made it work well. All the top international teams have a particular style, England don't have a style to their own. I don't remember who said it, but the players played individually, and not as a team, and that really faulted England. Spain had a definite style. The players knew how they were going to play when they go to international duty.

[@adamgrimsley2900]

Shows what a great job Gareth has done, I bet the spirit and unity in the squad is the best since 96

[@GaryHaase]

A fantastic candid conversation between 3 great players.

[@liquidsnakeslovechild3599]

2 great players and Rio

[@sociallynoncompliant9491]

Reading between the lines it’s what most England fans already knew. Amazing individuals playing as individuals. Played for their selves and not each other. Fundamental flaw

[@mydogatemydentures5190]

Exactly.

[@denisdaly1708]

It's an English, problem. It is an individualistic country. It's the reason why a very poor, but collective Scottish team dominated England in the Euros 2021. Culture is their problem.

[@sociallynoncompliant9491]

@@denisdaly1708 don’t - I had Algeria wc 2010 in my head all over again last night. It will take something for me to get over that. Czech Republic is a game we could easily lose

[@DuckSmokezQuack]

We just weren't that good. Why do people struggle to accept that? We had a couple of real star players but the chemistry just wasn't there

[@bikramarora1819]

This “golden generation” of players should hang their heads in shame. The current England squad is nowhere near their talent and ability but there’s real unity and harmony in the team. If they bring the Euros home this year, then we need to revisit the legacies of some of these older players who couldn’t set aside club rivalries.

[@itzzaster]

I much prefer this team. I can't remember much of the Gerrard era of England, but from what I remember all they did was just boot it up the field and hope for the best. Our current squad keeps possession nicely passing, passing around the box instead of random hit and hopes and can score consistent non spectacular goals. Instead of just shooting and hoping for luck.

[@fadirilastname4528]

We didn't bring it home. But this team we have right now has a bright future and will go further than this old 'golden generation'

[@jancollins319]

That’s a great room to be sat in. Top top players. Two of them I hated on the pitch because of their team. But it takes nothing away from how good they were.

[@smtpbay5697]

pisses me off hearing them talk about this, the amount of money i spent in the pub watching and hoping this team would do something

[@BodyInFlight1983]

Man that team was special but I can never remember them giving us a truly special performance. It was always scrappy with individual moments of brilliance. Fair play to them for being honest, fascinating interview.

[@garethedwards3379]

Quite prophetic looking at this now. Improve the bond amongst the players and results will improve.

[@ollieleech5103]

Rio seemed really intelligent here and really gave some great insight, top form lad 👏👏

[@scottwhitley3392]

As good as the england squad was at the time, it wasn’t a patch on the Brazil italy and French teams of the time people tend to forget how good they squads were

[@spotted9106]

England never got disqualified by any of these teams, that's the thing.

[@blituarik]

@@spotted9106 England did lose against Brazil in 2002

[@sensibility1174]

Add Argentina, Holland, Spain, Portugal. Everyone else had a golden generation too, it seems.

[@lovemycountrylovemycountry8889]

@@sensibility1174 yep brazil germany france italy Holland Czech republic portugal argentina spain in 2006 it was the best era of football

[@lovemycountrylovemycountry8889]

@@spotted9106 the thing is on that time portugal had a pretty good squad so England were eliminated by them 3 times and one time in 1998 wc by a good Argentina team and they faced brazil in 2002 that Brazil was one of the best teams in the history of football so to sum it up england were very unfortunate to have that kind of talented squad on that time where every team had their star players which was arguably football's golden generation that england team would've won atleast one international trophy if they played today

[@upender6233]

England failed because they didn’t play with a top class holding midfielder in Carrick. He would have allowed the likes of Scholes, Gerrard and Lampard to play.

[@attzable]

Upender Gowda Unbelievable really this midfield never played together, I don't think this ever happened at a tournament. Capello & McClaren & Sven should never manage again.

[@pphyjynx8217]

scholes being played would have unlocked the team

[@SharpTechno]

That was the manager's fault. They always had dumb managers.

[@attzable]

PP Hyjynx Yeah Scholes really Would've given us more control, Lampard and especially Gerrard were more runners who thrived off second phase chances.

[@attzable]

SharpTechno I can only hope we learn from this and with the new generation like Loftus-Cheek, Winks, Alli etc we can make the most of the talent we have coming through.

[@HalleyBay61]

I said it for years and years but never really knew (I couldn't like everyone) and its really nice to actually hear them say it themselves. I respect them more for doing so. Subconsciously or not they put club over nation and that should NEVER happen. EVER. When Gerrard said that it's difficult to tell your star strikers that they can't play "is difficult" it confirms the fact that in all those years of playing, 2 things occurred all the time......... 1 England never had a manager who had the guts to cut the big players out and make the decisions for the best of the game at that time and that for me is very sad. 2......The players were allowed to be bigger than their country. From the top of the organisation to the players themselves and the grounds keepers, it will nearly always fail because of this. How can a manager ever be the boss if the players he manages know that they will always get what they want? I always wanted someone like Ian Holloway to manage England....not because of his tactics, or his style of play, but because I felt that regardless of how England played tactically, he would never stand for huge overshadowing player egos to dictate events and he would not be a 'YES MAN' to those who run the national squad from behind a desk and dictate who should be on the pitch for 'image sake' and similar things. He would have been strong willed enough to stand taller than them and control the group club players and maybe make them into nation players. The talent was there for the whole world to see, but the team was no't. Sad but true. The honour of playing for your country must always come first no matter what, but for that generation.......It did not.

[@lordoreoandminion475]

This conversation is indispensable

[@officialchinz]

What needs to change is the worry of previous downfalls and just look at what is positive and the potential in the team. Just allow the players to focus on getting the best performances and building a good chemistry during internationals