BBC pundit Robbo, today wrote:
“Is it time to accept that England are a poor football team?”
Maybe I’m just an optimist–although I think I’m a realist–but I don’t believe England are as bad as everyone makes out. For years we have got our hopes up and we’ve been disappointed and bored and then suddenly rewarded with a glimpse of what England can really do when everything clicks. It’s just that the most recent one has been a while, and having (the pleasure) to watch the most exciting international competition in my lifetime this summer, only rubbed salt in the wound.
It’s hard to recall those games that are so few and far between: back-to-back 3-0 wins one year ago against Isreal and Russia; a thrilling come from behind 3-2 win against Argentina in November 2005; another 3-2 win against Colombia earlier that year; and the one you’ve all been waiting for, 5-1 defeat of Germany, all the way back in 2001.
(Interestingly, considering his omission from the current squad, of the 17 goals scored in what were the only 5 great performances in 7 years, Michael Owen has scored 11 of them.)
For reasons I’ll discuss shortly, England have consistently failed to disappoint a demanding fan base and it has resulted in the now fashionable conclusion that England just aren’t good enough – it’s time we faced the music. Well I’m not dancing to that tune.
It is undeniable that the Premiership is the strongest league in Europe. Last season 3 English teams played in the semi-finals of the champions league. In recent years the Italian game has faltered with the match-fixing scandal scattering the cards, and in Spain after a few years of holding a monopoly on attractive successful football, their flagship teams have fallen to pieces. For the last decade English teams have equaled, and recently surpassed, the success of any other nation in European Club competition. Why then are England so bad when it comes to the international stage?
Well it can be pointed out, and fairly, that the number of English players that feature in the top English sides is quite low, that young talents are being deprived of the opportunity for first team football. But this is xenophobia disguised as patriotism. It is all true but it has no baring on the quality of the England team – if an English trainee cannot force his way into a Premiership side’s first team, then he is not good enough for England.
The real problems, as I see them, are ones that have been identified for a long time, and one that I have seen recognised in the media for the first time.
Robbo wrote:
“Why is it that Rooney is a worse player now than when he was 17? Shrek is slowly but surely turning into the bloody donkey.”
This season, barring injuries, I suspect that Wayne Rooney will begin his transition to attacking midfielder in the Manchester United team. With the acquisition of Berbatov and the securing of Tevez on a long term contract, United will be forced to choose between dropping one of their three strikers or dropping Rooney into an attacking midfield role – and with the inevitable decline of Scholes and Giggs – that choice has been made simple.
The simple fact is that Rooneyhas lost that striker’s edge and instinct, whether it is through injury or vanity. Since his explosion on the international scene, Rooney has been lauded as the saviour of the England team – however this has only resulted in his over-confidence which leads him to seek the ball out anywhere on the field. He rarely recieves the ball facing the goal anymore, he tends to pick it up on the half way line and drop it back to a defender. Capello needs to recognise this and either drop Rooney, force him to stick to his attacking duties or play him in a deeper role.
The other dilemma is the Gerrard/Lampard conundrum. It is a conundrum why they cannot play together, but it is a fact that they cannot play together. And yet, every manager persists. England have played their best in recent games when Lampard has pulled out of the squad. It is clear that this allows Gerrard the freedom with the responsibility to control the midfield. But with Gerrard absent through injury, perhaps Lampard will be able to shine. I’m yet to be convinced.
The real drought for England has been in the striker department. In the last decade we have seen the emergence of the injury prone Michael Owen, degenerative Wayne Rooney, inconsistent Heskey, Defoe and Crouch. Other inadequate strikers have been drafted in on the off chance that they might save the day, but with the exception of Ashton, who is yet to be fit enough to get his chance, and Bent, who is still a couple of 20-goal-seasons off ready, they have all been found wanting.
We have also lacked a world class goalkeeper since David Seaman retired. Many pretenders have laid claim, but in the end we have had to settle for veteran choice James after a series of prospects tried and failed. I still hold out hope that Ben Foster will succeed Van der Sar at Man Utd and make the England number 1 his own also.
But it is not a lack of World Class players, as many pessimistic fans attest, (Gerrard and Ferdinand are among the greatest players in world football in their position. Terry, Barry, Lampard, J Cole, Bentley, Rooney, Owen are all world class players, also) the problem is in the motivation to perform and the team that is picked.
It is just too easy to pick the England team – and when a team picks itself, those players become complacent. J Cole was dropped by Capello and when given the chance showed how willing he was to fight for his place with a brace against Andorra. When did we last see Terry or A Cole or Lampard or Rooney show that drive?
It is time to mix up the England team, play players on merit and current form and not on reputation.
I expect that Capello will pick:
James
Brown – Terry – Ferdinand – A. Cole
Walcott – Barry – Lampard – J. Cole
Rooney – Heskey
and I expect that team to do the job against Croatia. I don’t think that’s the best team we even have available, it lacks a goalscorer and a creative force in the centre but with two hungry wingers, and a solid defense that shouldn’t have trouble shutting down a weakened Croatia attack we should be favourites (despite what John Terry says). Perhaps the lack of pressure, that is the one positive result from the pervading pessimism, will allow this team to give us another game to remember.
