England blame Pietersen for Ashes hammering

[shaunbhoy]

The nationality issue is a red herring. At the top level of sport you pick the best players who are eligible according to the laws of the game. Any other policy and it isn't the top level.

Indeed. And it is quite a useful tactic too, for when England's South Africans lose to South Africa's South Africans, for example, the blame can be put firmly in the lap of South Africa for not producing enough young talent.

[Mich the Tester]

And sometimes you don't pick them because it ain't going to work and you need to cut your losses. Alex Ferguson got rid of David Beckham, Jaap Stam, Paul Ince, Ruud van Nistleroy and Roy Keane over the years, all top players, and no one would call him a weak manager.

...and he replaced them with better players, I presume?

[MarillionFan]

I never knew 'can't be arsed' was the definition of maverick.

Australia got him out time and time again with the same simple tactics, he could not be arsed changing what he was doing, just punting out the most obvious lame efforts.

Complete let down and he was already in the last chance salon with his texting stuff, privately there has always been an issue with Pietersen from certain players and it was no different this winter.

He was England's top scorer. Just because you have one maverick in the team he isn't responsible for everyone else's tulip performance around him. That's like saying because I post on CUK that's why your posts are always so pish.

[Mich the Tester]

Indeed. And it is quite a useful tactic too, for when England's South Africans lose to South Africa's South Africans, for example, the blame can be put firmly in the lap of South Africa for not producing enough young talent.

Well yes, but get the nationality stuff out of mind for a moment. There are two questions to be asked by selectors;

1 Who is eligible and available?
2 From that list, who is best?

Anything else is polluting the whole approach. Sport at the highest level is about winning; win and everyone wants to be your friend and give you hugs and shags and money even if they hated you beforehand, lose and they will ridicule you even if you've given them 7 or 8 years of success to cheer.

[DirtyDog]

I think there is more to it than simple form. There was all that stuff with the saffers before and I think perhaps he's a disruptive influence and the team as a whole may be better off without him.

The time to get rid of him would have been in 2012, then. He was reintegrated into the team at the behest of Cook, so I wonder what has happened this year to have turned the situation around.

[Mich the Tester]

The time to get rid of him would have been in 2012, then. He was reintegrated into the team at the behest of Cook, so I wonder what has happened this year to have turned the situation around.

Panic.

[DirtyDog]

And sometimes you don't pick them because it ain't going to work and you need to cut your losses. Alex Ferguson got rid of David Beckham, Jaap Stam, Paul Ince, Ruud van Nistleroy and Roy Keane over the years, all top players, and no one would call him a weak manager.

Ferguson had the advantage of going out and buying a world-class replacement (or Laurent Blanc). Football has an open(ish) market, so he could always look for someone to bring in quickly.

You can't do that here, though.

[MarillionFan]

Panic.

They're covering up the fact that Cook is not a good captain. His tactics were awful and he failed with the bat. Leading from the back springs to mind.

Swanns actions were that of a coward.

[doodab]

...and he replaced them with better players, I presume?

Not really no. Veron came in for Beckham and flopped, and he described losing Stam as his "biggest mistake".

The key thing he understood was that it's a team game, a team with 8 out of 11 ordinary guys playing well will beat a team with a couple of superstars and a bunch of can't be arsed makeweights.

[Mich the Tester]

Ferguson had the advantage of going out and buying a world-class replacement (or Laurent Blanc). Football has an open(ish) market, so he could always look for someone to bring in quickly.

You can't do that here, though.

Indeed, perhaps for less than he could sell the older bloke and keep some change to buy another top class player. Two for the price of one. Professional football is a business.