ROTHERHAM, England -- Ahead of the start of Euro 2022 this summer, Dutch midfielder Jill Roord had made headlines at home when she called new manager Mark Parsons, in a word, boring.
Team meetings lasted too long and were unnecessary, she said, failing to hold the players' interest. Although she later recanted her statements as a misunderstanding over a joke, there was an agreement amongst pundits that the last thing players want is team meetings that go on and on. The implication was that Parsons wasn't just letting the football flow and was too focused on talking long after the players had lost interest.