Neville says Golden Generation THEMSELVES should have used entirely new formation and drops
GARY NEVILLE believes England's Golden Generation should have changed formation… and dropped HIM.
The Three Lions promised a lot in the early 2000s with the likes of Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole, David Beckham and Paul Scholes.
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Despite an impressive amount of talent, they were eliminated at the quarter-finals in three consecutive major tournaments between 2002 and 2006.
Despite their disappointing performances, they were dubbed the “Golden Generation” and strictly adhered to a 4-4-2 formation.
But ex-England defender Neville believes they should have switched to a 3-5-2 instead.
And in an XI he mentioned the last episode of The overlapNeville even replaced himself with Beckham at right wing-back.
His team consisted of David James as goalkeeper and a back three of Terry, Ferdinand and Sol Campbell.
Cole and Beckham would then be used as wing-backs either side of a midfield trio of Scholes, Gerrard and Lampard.
Prolific duo Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen would remain up front.
Interestingly, 10 of the 11 players Neville mentioned featured in three of England's four matches at Euro 2004.
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The only personnel difference is that Ferdinand did not go to the tournament, while Marcel was selected to play on the right of a back four.
But the formation change represents a much-changed side from the 4-4-2 that England were known for during the reigns of Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.
Roy Hodgson began to move away from that tactical structure before Gareth Southgate moved into the back three for the 2018 World Cup.
