Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers thinks England players are 'stricken with fear' at major tournaments following their poor display at the World Cup in Brazil
- Rodgers will start the new season with seven of Roy Hodgson's squad
- He is confident England's performances in Brazil will have no impact on their displays in the Premier League though
- Liverpool boss said he was not blaming Hodgson, but that he thinks there are some deep-lying problems surrounding England's poor displays
- He thinks England's players are as good as any in the world but that they become 'stricken with fear' at major tournaments
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes England's players are 'stricken with fear' at big tournaments.
Rodgers will start the season with seven members of Roy Hodgson's squad who flopped in Brazil.
But he is confident there will be no hangover at Anfield because the players will feel confident playing in a system they know.
![Liverpool leader: Steven Gerrard captained England during their disappointing World Cup campaign](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/08/03/1407025840087_wps_2_NEW_YORK_NY_JULY_30_Steve.jpg)
Liverpool leader: Steven Gerrard captained England during their disappointing World Cup campaign
!['Stricken with fear': Raheem Sterling, left, and Jordan Henderson, centre, were also part of England set-up](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/08/03/1407025846773_wps_4_CHARLOTTE_NC_AUGUST_01_TH.jpg)
'Stricken with fear': Raheem Sterling, left, and Jordan Henderson, centre, were also part of England set-up
Rodgers was not blaming Hodgson, a former Liverpool boss, but says there are deep-lying reasons about why England don't succeed – problems which could get worse.
He said: 'I don't think what happened to England is a Steven Gerrard problem or a Jordan Henderson problem, or even a Frank Lampard problem.
'It's an England problem that has been around for many years. Brazil, South Africa, tournament after tournament.
'The game in England needs a radical change so that they can identify a way of playing and then pursue that way of playing.
'England's players are as good as any players in the world, but they are stricken with fear when it comes to playing at big tournaments.'
![Shrugging it off: Sturridge is one of the England players Rodgers is confident will hit top form in the league](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/08/03/1407026126922_wps_9_NEW_YORK_NY_JULY_30_THE_S.jpg)
Shrugging it off: Sturridge is one of the England players Rodgers is confident will hit top form in the league
![Early flight home: New signing Rickie Lambert, left, and Liverpool stalwart Glen Johnson, right were also part of Roy Hodgson's squad that faltered in Brazil at the World Cup](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/08/03/1407025968697_wps_7_NEW_YORK_NY_JULY_30_THE_S.jpg)
Early flight home: New signing Rickie Lambert, left, and Liverpool stalwart Glen Johnson, right were also part of Roy Hodgson's squad that faltered in Brazil at the World Cup
![Arrival: Like Lambert, Adam Lallana, pictured, is an England player that has recently moved to Anfield](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/08/03/1407025949685_wps_5_FILE_PHOTO_Sources_say_Li.jpg)
Arrival: Like Lambert, Adam Lallana, pictured, is an England player that has recently moved to Anfield
Five of the players who helped Liverpool finish second in the Premier League last season were in Engalnd's World Cup squad; Glen Johnson, Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson, Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge.
Since then, Rodgers has signed two more from Southampton, Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana.
He added: 'They have to find a way to remove that fear and they can only do that by developing a system of playing that everyone is comfortable with. If you play without fear, you have a chance.
'Roy Hodgson is doing a very difficult job and he needs help from the FA. They have got to come up with some solutions now, because the worrying thing is that it could go the other way and get even worse.'
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