Advertisement
PA Wire/Press Association Images

Carragher slams England players as 'too soft' and 'babies'

The former Liverpool defender laid into the national team in his newspaper column.

JAMIE CARRAGHER HAS slammed England players as “too soft” and “babies” after their humiliating Euro 2016 exit at the hands of Iceland.

Roy Hodgson resigned in the wake of the 2-1 loss in Nice on Monday as his team were beaten despite taking an early lead.

Carragher, a 38-time England international, blasted the national team over what the players had developed into.

“Too soft. The more I think about England’s humiliation against Iceland, the more those two words come into my mind,” he wrote in the Daily Mail.

“This is what England’s players have become. The ‘Academy Generation’ – for that is what they are – are soft physically and soft mentally.

“We saw the end result in all its gruesome detail in Nice on Monday when another major tournament ended in calamity and blame.”

Wayne Rooney had given England an early lead from the penalty spot, but they found themselves behind at half-time.

Carragher said the players coming through in the youth set-up were pampered and not growing into mature players.

“I call them the ‘Academy Generation’ because they have come through in an era when footballers have never had more time being coached,” he wrote.

“At this point I want to make it clear I am not pointing the finger at academy coaches, as others will do.

“But they get ferried to football schools, they work on immaculate pitches, play in pristine training gear every day and everything is done to ensure all they have to do is focus on football.

“We think we are making them men but actually we are creating babies.”

The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!

The FA is already hinting that Gareth Southgate could be made England interim manager

Ireland’s fans really did charm Euro 2016 – and they’re getting a medal to prove it

Author
The 42
View 13 comments
Close
13 Comments
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.