What a player Ashley Cole was.Agreed. Sven was probably the guiltiest of that era as he had a near flawless golden generation to pick from, only to mess around with tactics like playing Lampard and Gerrard together and Scholes on the left.
If GS had the luxury of G Neville, Ferdinand, Terry and Cole in his back four rather than Walker, Stones, Maguire and Shaw I’m pretty sure we’d be hot favourites in the Euros.
I mentioned Alf in the context of being the only manager with a better record at international level. Not a direct comparison.
For all the talk of the golden generation and the midfield I felt that era’s strength was the defence.
Other central defensive options include Sol Campbell (very good international player, even if not manager) and Ledley King - all of whom would probably strengthen the current England defence.